243 Responses (26 Discussion Threads) to “More Resources on Problems With the Daytrana ADHD Patch”

1. 

   Jessica

   141

   25th September 2008

   My son is 11 and has been on the patch (for school days only) for over a year. He likes it much better then the Concerta he was on as it is not digested in his stomach therefore he is not having the stomach cramps. He does complain this year about his skin itching where the patch is but I feel like part of it is he does not want to take any medicine. I had a hard time removing the back but now that it is cooler -but not cold- it is peeling right off. I have been very pleased with the medicine and I highly recommend it to my friends.
2. 

   Amy

   142

   26th September 2008

   My son was diagnosed w/severe ADHD at age 4. Unfortunately, at the time he refused to swallow pills and would find the “sprinkles” in his yogurt from Adderall XR. Luckily, at the beginning of his kindergarten year the Daytrana patch came out. The only side effect he had was red, itchy skin where the patch was and a problem with the patch not being effective in the mornings. He is now almost 8 years old and I learned today he can swallow a pill. His teachers are suggesting a change in his dosage now and due to the little effect Daytrana has in the mornings we are going to give Adderall XR another whirl.
3. 

   Amy

   143

   26th September 2008

   AMEN to what Michelle wrote on June 27th! I couldn’t have said it any better myself! If I may, add to the “dopey” comment by Steven…If a child is acting “dopey” due to an ADD/ADHD medicine their dosage is too high!
4. 

   Heather

   144

   2nd October 2008

   My son has just started the Daytrana patch today. I too noticed that it was difficult to peel the back off, is there something different i should do to make it come off easier?
5. 

   Jen

   145

   2nd October 2008

   Hello Heather,
   Yes, take the patch out of the wrapper and place it for a few seconds (just 20 or 30 seconds) in the freezer. Take it out of the freezer and you’ll find that the little triangles on the back peel off a lot easier.

   Good luck!
6. 

   Jen

   146

   31st October 2008

   I was wondering if anyone else has noticed a lot of variability with Daytrana. What I mean is that some days I can really see it working — my daughter is calm, in control, seems more mature. And then other days it’s as if she doesn’t have the patch on at all. She had four great weeks at school but the last two have been much worse. She’s off-task a great deal, gets really spacey, and doesn’t seem as in control of her actions.

   My question is whether other parents have seen this. Does it matter exactly where you place the patch on the hip? Are some boxes of Daytrana better than others? After you open a box, do the patches lose some of their effectiveness over time? And after a dose seems right for a while, do you have to increase it to maintain effectiveness?

   Or maybe her behavior is unrelated to the medication, I don’t know.

   Thanks for any observations or suggestions.
7. 

   Kimberly

   147

   3rd November 2008

   My son has been taking the patch for about three weeks and it takes nearly three hours to kick in. Mornings are a nightmare as he is more hyperactive than I believe he would be normally. He just laughs in our face when we ask him to get ready, or when we try to help him. He doesn’t hear what we say, he rages when reprimanded. We just switched from Adderall XR because it seemed to wear off and night time was a nightmare. But I think this is worse. Has anyone experienced craziness in the morning like this??
8. 

   Tina

   148

   3rd November 2008

   Kimberly,
   I do not know if you get up in the morning before you son does, but have you thought about putting the patch on your son while he is still sleeping? I use to do this with my son, I would put the patch on him about an hour before he got up. This helped him get the medication in his system so he could focus sooner in the morning. This would also keep his teachers from going insane trying to teach him in the morning. You might see if this would help at all. Another thing, I have heard putting a bit of pressure on the patch can help to get the medication into the system a bit faster, maybe using both of these two things would help you get some control over your mornings a bit earlier. Just suggestions I have tried. Cody is doing great on the 20 mg. patches. His grades are improving and his ability to focus is a lot better than it has ever been. I do hope you all are doing well with your children and the patches. Have a Great Day all.
9. 

   Michelle

   149

   4th November 2008

   Dear Kimberly,
   We did. The doctors, I sought a second opinion, suggested we apply the patch a few hours before our son awoke. It made such a difference. My husband and I no longer had to awake two plus hours to accommodate the wasted time of getting him ready in the mornings. We’ve since switched from the patch because of skin irritation. He now takes Focalin XR 12.5mg in the morning- 10mg XR and 1/2 of the 5mg XR, we have to open and split the capsule in 1/2. Once our son arrives home from school we give him Focalin 7.5mg, immediate release. It gets us through the evening and he chooses to do and complete homework independently. Finally! He’s 8 and in the third grade. I empathize with you and your husband. It’s isn’t easy. My son is the middle child so we also had to devote attention to our daughters which was difficult prior to medication. It’s much better now. Good luck!
10. 

    Solana

    150

    7th November 2008

    My 4 year old son was recently diagnosed with a severe case of ADHD & ODD, and was prescribed 10 mg Daytrana patches. The first day was like a dream & I couldn’t stop staring at him, because I was so amazed at the change in his behavior. The second day ended with hallucinations about a mouse being in his clothes. Over the weekend there was only one episode which involved a tantrum, but at least there were no hallucinations. Overall though his behavior has improved tremendously both at home and at school & even his teachers have praised the change for the better.

    We’re now 8 days in & things seemed to be going well until he began complaining yesterday of itching all over & kept clawing at his entire body for hours even after the patch was removed, but eventually stopped. Yet today with another patch on he is clawing himself again & even had an anger outburst at school & had to be picked up early. Can anyone tell me if these are normal side effects of the medication? And if so how long before I can expect to see some sort of improvement?

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