Special Needs Education

» skippypac - patch update

In response to patch update posted by gailgarbonzobean: In just the first day and a half alone, I have become very concerned about the loss of appetite situation. My son was a picky eater to begin with, but he has eaten very little since yesterday morning. He has not complained about stomach pain, but when you ask him, he tells you he's not hungry. I will really have to keep an eye out for this.

Thanks

-- posted by skippypac

» msdossett - Update: Patch comes Off

The Doctor and Nurse tried to apply the two remaining patches today: Very difficult and one tore across the side. We suspect the box had previously been exposed to some heat in a vehicle bringing the partial batch to our pharmacy. Doc upped us to 20mg and we start the new ones (plus first day of school) tomorrow. We are very hopeful that everything will turn out well. Doc had us apply two 10 mg patches today (to = the 20 mg) and within an hour our son was calm and focused with being dazed.

-- posted by msdossett

» mmmom - adhd info and patch

www.additudemag.com- great mag for lots of info, addwarehouse.com, also great is sandrarief.com. Every day is a new day, good or bad, one at a time. about patch i started holding it with both hands, patch side down, bend in half and roll apart, turn it over onto skin grabbing the tabs and pulling apart. works pretty good. my hands are always warm, i think maybe the heat helps it stick. i'm putting 2; 10mg on ,doing ok, also 5mg to start off the day at school, along with the supplement shake which is invaluable, get used to no appetite; sorry, it's normal. i try to get as much food in him before meds and he usually eats from 6 to 9 every night.

-- posted by mmmom

» skippypac - adhd info and patch

In response to adhd info and patch posted by mmmom:

Thanks for the info. What kind of shakes to give your son?

-- posted by skippypac

» mmmom - shakes

i get a safeway brand shake, 350 cal. 13g protein, some fiber, some of the ingrediants aren't great, but its better than nothing at all, and they are quick to grab on the go. a little cheaper than the pedisure shakes. also health food stores have protein powder, but not always appetizing unless you blend it with fruits, or ice cream. anyone having any more luck with getting the patch on, trying the rolling technique?

-- posted by mmmom

» bazzill_babe - Our experience...

I have found it easier to remove the backing from the patch if I use a pair of very sharp pointed tweezers. Bend the sticky sides together to loosen, along the diagonal line. Then use the tweezers to remove the backing. It's been working really well for us.

DS is ten and this is his first experience with any ADHD med. So far, it's been very positive. No negative side effects.

-- posted by bazzill_babe

» klbird911 - Is it worth the trouble?

My son is 11 years old. He has been on Concerta since he was 6. He has graduated to the highest dose safely perscribed, 90mg. We decided to try the patch because it is supposed to lower the dose he is on and also we were supposed to be able to control how long the medicine was in his system. We just started yesterday with the 10mg patch and it has been a complete pain. Half the medicine and the glue sticks to the back when we try to peel the backing off the patch. I spoke with my pharmacist and he was no help because the medicine is so new. Then I called shire and they were no help either. They think that the batch had been exposed to heat but it does me no good when that is the batch I have to work with. This is very frustrating.
Was hoping someone could give me tips to make removing the backing easier. I too have resorted to using tweezers and they did not help much.
Also how long does the patch usually work for and if anyone knows how do the effects compare to these effects of concerta
Thanks for any help offered

-- posted by klbird911

» mmmom - Is it worth the trouble?

In response to Is it worth the trouble? posted by klbird911:
been using patch for awhile, really quite dissapointed. on saturday morning i put it on at regular time and three hours later we're still goin balistic. during the schoolweek i've been giving him a 10mg ritalin in addition to the 20mg patch, so he can function in school. i just don't know what to think of the patch, anyone else seeing same results? as far as the stickiness, the 10mg dose split in the middle, that was good, but the higher doses split sideways have been difficult to open, but i'm still doing ok with rolling them apart. we go to dr. on tues., i don't know what he'll say, keeps telling me the patch dosage is double what a pill is. not seeing that, but i think he's tired of me calling, he's not a super friendly guy:( think we'll go back to pills!

-- posted by mmmom

» ShansMom - Is it worth the trouble?

In response to Is it worth the trouble? posted by klbird911:

Our experience with the patch has been very positive. Once we found the right dosage, we were still having a long (and difficult) wait for the meds to start working. Now 10 mg of Focalin along with patch gets things going within 30-40 minutes in the a.m. That's it for the day. Very different than what we were doing with pills. My daughter will not have to take meds at school (huge bonus in the world of a 10-year-old girl). She has responded just as well (if not better) to the patch and it is consistent throughout the day. We have not have the backing problems others have experienced... Shire definately has some work to do in that area. For us it has definately been worth it.
Good luck to all.

-- posted by ShansMom

» jad0327 - Is it worth the trouble?

In response to Is it worth the trouble? posted by klbird911:

We picked up the patches yesterday. We had to try 3 pharmacies before we found one that had them in stock. Went to use them this morning and wasted 2 due to the lining not coming off clean. I called Shire and apparently this is a problem they know about and are investigating. Which is no good for us, we're now short 2 patches! I'l try the tweezers tomorrow and see if that helps. Thanks for the suggestion.

Is it worth the trouble? I don't know yet since we're on day one! Early this morning, trying to get the lining off the patch I would have some NO loud and clear!

-- posted by jad0327