Immediate or extended release stimulants
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| Trying to better understand why our provider prefers extended release for 9 yo. It seems like immediate would be better because all that's needed to get through school. The meds are to increase attention and decrease impulsivity. Any tips on what has worked best with the elementary school age group? |
Anonymous
| Extended release usually has a mix of fast acting medication that releases immediately as well as longer release that keep the kid medicated after the fast acting wears off. |
Anonymous
| Immediate release is not long lasting enough to get my 9yo through a whole school day. |
Anonymous
|
My DD gets about 4-5 hours out of her regular Adderall, max. Without the XR, she’d be an exhausted mess by the time she got home from school.
She takes a generic Adderall XR in the morning, which gets her through school and a normal amount of homework. If she has an evening extracurricular activity or a lot of homework, she’ll take a regular generic Adderall about 4:00, so the slight overlap keeps things relatively level, but still wears off in plenty of time for a bedtime on the later side of her window (she’s 16). A lot depends on how your kid’s body metabolizes the medication, but some kids can crash pretty hard when it wears off. You don’t want that happening at the end of the school day, or during the transition from school to home. It’s truly a trial and error situation, though, to figure out what works for your kid and their schedule. |
Anonymous
| My kid takes extended release with a lunchtime booster. |
Anonymous
| Extended release didn't work for my kid. But 2 immediate release doses did. Its worth trying both if you don't like one. |
Anonymous
|
Have never heard of IR lasting through the school day - they last about 4 hours - would need a lunchtime booster.
|
Anonymous
|
IR can cause emotional breakdowns as it wears off bc it’s pretty sudden - ER is supposed to be a more gradual tapering off each day.
Plus IR requires a lunchtime booster. |
Anonymous
Why didn't ER work? |
Anonymous
| Extended release made my kid suicidal. We can only do short acting. It’s trial and error, unfortunately. |
Anonymous
| My 8 yo takes ER methylphenidate—one in the early morning and one in the early afternoon. It gets him though the morning school prep, the entire school day, and wears off around dinner. It seems to taper off nicely for him in the evenings. He doesn’t really have homework yet but our Dr has said that many of her older patients (middle school and up) switch to an instant release dose for after school to help get through homework. |
Anonymous
It just didnt help. It didnt address the issues he was having with attention deficit and impulse control. Exact same drug in 2 IR doses did help. I was surprised! |
Anonymous
| ER is very smooth, it's like driving a Lexus. IR is like driving a minivan that's speeding into a parking lot. My kid needs the speeding minivan feeling ymmv. One in AM, one after lunch, half after school. Two total on weekends. |
Anonymous
| OP, all so very helpful, thank you all! FWIW, the ER made sense, had thought IR could give a lower dose (based on some adults who use), but really it's just our ADHD & depression kid can't tolerate even low doses of stimulants on their own |