Camp Overnight and Skipping 1 Day of Meds

[Anonymous]

My DD is on 20 mg focalin for ADHD inattentive, and 75mg Zoloft for anxiety. She is at day camp but they're doing an overnight next week that she wants to do, and I'm all for her doing. But she's very upset at the idea of having to take her meds at camp. She's been on them both for over a year. I know none of you are her doctor so I'm not looking for a clinical opinion but from those of you who have kids on these or similar meds, is it a terrible idea for me to let her skip one day? She'll be home the second day by around 4pm so I could give her her Zoloft later in the day, and I'd do a half dose of the focalin so it doesn't affect her sleep that night. I don't want her to be stressing out about having to take meds at camp if I can avoid it. Thanks for your advice.

[Anonymous]

can you do a test run this weekend? check how she acts, if works well go for it. if not she won't be the only one takings pills and talk to other girls might have to wear pull ups or take pills at night for other problems, etcc..

[Anonymous]

do a test run..... Does she take her adhd pills everyday? I guess if she will be home at 4pm she can skip the focalin the next day.. Everyone has a bad day so if anything happens she is just having a bad day... is the camp far away? if not then if she having a meltdown, you can pick her up?

[Anonymous]

What time does she usually take the Zoloft?

Skipping the Focalin isn't a big deal, unless she's a kid where the inattention or impulsivity would cause safety issues. Focalin is out of the system within 24 hours, so by the next day her medication level will be unaffected by the missing dose.

Zoloft is a little different, since it's a blood level med. But people skip meds once in a while all the time, and do OK. I know my kid has forgotten on occasion. If she usually takes it in the a.m., I'd do a 4 p.m. dose. If she'd usually take it at bedtime, then I think you need to skip or the next two doses will be too close together.

[Anonymous]

Is it her first overnight? Are you concerned about underlying anxiety + homesickness + no Zoloft?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What time does she usually take the Zoloft?

Skipping the Focalin isn't a big deal, unless she's a kid where the inattention or impulsivity would cause safety issues. Focalin is out of the system within 24 hours, so by the next day her medication level will be unaffected by the missing dose.

Zoloft is a little different, since it's a blood level med. But people skip meds once in a while all the time, and do OK. I know my kid has forgotten on occasion. If she usually takes it in the a.m., I'd do a 4 p.m. dose. If she'd usually take it at bedtime, then I think you need to skip or the next two doses will be too close together.

Quoting myself, because I wanted to add, I wouldn't give focalin at 4 p.m.. A half dose won't be out of his system twice as fast, extended release doesn't work that way. I'd just skip the Focalin for that day and restart the next. I would dose the Zoloft if it's more than 12 hours to her next dose, assuming she takes it every 24 hours.

[Anonymous]

My kid skipped his medicine in the same situation - it was vyvannse and intuniv - it was fine once. Actually I sent the medicine with him (but not with the counselor) so he obviously didn't think to take it. It was fine.

[Anonymous]

I think you should send them. I work at a camp that has overnights. We can definitely tell the children who have not had their ADHD meds. If the overnight is next week there will be very high temps which tends to make sleep harder. If a very tired child does not get the meds, it can be hard for the kid and the staff.

I would send a note to the person that will administer the meds and explain the situation and ask that they be given discreetly.

[Anonymous]

MY DS was at a daycamp earlier this summer that had an overnight. He absolutely took his meds. Without them he could not function (as in focus on anything and follow directions from the counselors). He also took his booster dose daily at camp, so he was not phased by taking his other meds on the overnight (plus he had done overnight camp in the past and definitely took his meds there daily). If you do med breaks and your child functions ok, then I don't see the big deal in skpping. However, if your child is like my DS, skipping meds makes it hard for him to participate.

[Anonymous]

I'd let her skip, and I call bs on the camp counselor above who claims s/he can tell who's missed a dose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd let her skip, and I call bs on the camp counselor above who claims s/he can tell who's missed a dose.

NP. If there's no difference in a child when they have taken their medication and when they haven't, I would question whether the medication is appropriate for them. If my child misses his medication, the change is dramatic and I would be concerned about any camp counselor that wouldn't be able to see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd let her skip, and I call bs on the camp counselor above who claims s/he can tell who's missed a dose.

NP. If there's no difference in a child when they have taken their medication and when they haven't, I would question whether the medication is appropriate for them. If my child misses his medication, the change is dramatic and I would be concerned about any camp counselor that wouldn't be able to see it.

I'm a teacher and I can tell within a minute or two if a student with ADHD hasn't taken their meds. OP- Is your child self conscious about taking the meds in front of other people? My son takes meds for ADHD and when he went on an overnight, I asked the school nurse if she could give it to him without calling him out in front of others. He said she told him to walk into the cafeteria and go into the kitchen to pick up something for his cabin table and she would give it to him with nobody around.

[Anonymous]

You can absolutely tell when children do not have their medicine- that's why they are on it.

If your child takes it, do not skip a day, especially after a late night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can absolutely tell when children do not have their medicine- that's why they are on it.

If your child takes it, do not skip a day, especially after a late night.

I'm a teacher and a parent of a kid with inattentive ADHD. I can tell when a child in my class or my own child has missed stimulant medication.

But there's no way that I'd be able to distinguish between sleep deprivation and ADHD-inattentive in a kid who I had never seen sleep deprived before. The symptoms of the two are very similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can absolutely tell when children do not have their medicine- that's why they are on it.

If your child takes it, do not skip a day, especially after a late night.

I'm a teacher and a parent of a kid with inattentive ADHD. I can tell when a child in my class or my own child has missed stimulant medication.

But there's no way that I'd be able to distinguish between sleep deprivation and ADHD-inattentive in a kid who I had never seen sleep deprived before. The symptoms of the two are very similar.

I think this kind of misses the point. It's not like OP's child would be punished simply for not having taken her medication, it's a question of how her daughter will feel and behave the next day without them, especially if she's also sleep deprived.