Anyone try Daytrana Patch for medication?

Jamie - posted on 01/05/2013

Hello my Daughter is on the Daytrana Patch 10mg she was on the 20 mg's for about amonth and lost a ton of weight so the doctor bumped her down to 10mg's and her appitite just isnt there. She went from being a thick child to a skinnymini. I am taking her off of it this Monday. She seems to be scared of everything when she is on it when she usually is not scared of anything. She has been on Adderal and Ritalin but they werent lasting her thru the day. I liked the Ritalin the best she still ate and munched. Now I cant get this child to eat anything and she barely drinks.

Eric - posted on 12/28/2012

my son takes the patch.... it has benefits when i come to focusing and in school activities. However, the patch does raise anxiety levels and makes my 16 year old more reserved. WHether he takes the patch or not will determine how the day will precede greatly. For instance, if he takes the patch for a few days he will eat very little and feel anxious (can be good for sport activities). If he then does not take the patch... he will eat so much it doesn't even seem physically possible. I recommend this medication to most, unless the child already eats very little. If your child is overweight this medication would be highly recommended,

Julie - posted on 10/25/2012

my son has been using the patch for about a month (10mg) with no change, so my doctor wanted him to take Adderall, which we did for only a week, he was not eating and complained of felling sick, and one morining he begged me not to give it to him.So starting tomorrow we are going to try 20mg.

No weight lose with Daytrana, but 4 pounds lost in a week on Adderall.

Karen - posted on 07/04/2011

I just wanted to write and tell everyone that Daytrana has been the best medicine for our son. He is 14 and has been on the patch for over a year. At first he was not gaining weight, but his appetite was still there. He just recently went to the doctor for a physical, and had gained 21 pounds since last September, the biggest gain of his lifetime! Granted a lot of it is muscle, but he is growing in leaps and bounds, just as he should. Not to mention that he is an honor student now in school, and has so much confidence. We are so thankful for Daytrana!

Karen - posted on 07/04/2011

I just wanted to write and tell everyone that Daytrana has been the best medicine for our son. He is 14 and has been on the patch for over a year. At first he was not gaining weight, but his appetite was still there. He just recently went to the doctor for a physical, and had gained 21 pounds since last September, the biggest gain of his lifetime! Granted a lot of it is muscle, but he is growing in leaps and bounds, just as he should. Not to mention that he is an honor student now in school, and has so much confidence. We are so thankful for Daytrana!

Jennifer - posted on 07/04/2011

my son is about to turn 14 this month and has been on daytrana for 2007. he has always been on the low end of the weight charts but has steadily gone up even on daytrana! it has greatly improved his focus and grades. our doc is monitoring his weight each visit. good luck!

Lulu - posted on 02/12/2009

Update on my son Nick. At our last weight check, he had only lost 1 lb... He was alright with that, and we are continuing Daytrana. Our pediatrician & psychologist both agreed that it was alright to let him go without the patch on the weekend if that works for him. He does great without it on the weekend, and he eats more. He usually wears the patch from 7:15 - 3:00, so by 6:30 he's actually hungry for dinner. He's also progressing much better in school.

Lulu - posted on 01/17/2009

Nick is doing great now w/the patch. He's got more confidence in school, and is slowly getting his appetite back. We see the doc for a weight check on Tuesday, and we'll see what happens. Thanks for all the great responses. Have a great weekend!

Jen - posted on 01/16/2009

We use Focalin and can open the pill. We take a small spoon of sugar free vanilla pudding and pour the focalin on the pudding. Our peditrician suggested this and it works greats. Wish the Daytrana would not have caused such a skin irritation for her, we really liked it.

Amanda Merck - posted on 01/16/2009

Overall We love it! It has caused my daughter weight lose but mainly in the first few mths and then no more! We've been on it 1 1/2 yr. She still has decreased appetite but I make her eat small portions anyway! Its a much better way, side effect wise...

Give it a good try!!

Kimberly - posted on 01/11/2009

Quoting Tracy:

I'd never even heard of Daytrana, but we're still fairly new to the ADHD "battle." My 7-year-old can't swallow pills, so getting her meds in her is a fight. I'm definitely going to be doing some research on this option!!

Yes, Daytrana will solve the not taking pills problem. In the off chance that the patch ends up not serving your needs and you have to go back to a pill form, try practicing with orange tic tacs first. Our ped suggested this while we were on the Daytrana in case we had to switch and I was very glad she did. It worked great for my 7 year old to learn with. Good luck.

Amy - posted on 01/11/2009

My son is ten.  He has been on aderal xr for @ 6 months.  The meds were interfering with his sleep, so we decided to try the Daytrana Patch.  He has been on it for 3 weeks and it does not work as well as the pills.  The patch did not cause him to lose any more weight, but his school work has been greatly affected.  The patch does not seem to get in his system enough to help him.  We have decided the patch is not the right meds for him.

Barbara - posted on 01/10/2009

My daughter was on Ritalin and it really suppressed her appetite.  We then had her on Daytrana patch and she says she actually eats better at school.  I know she does at home.  The only problem we have with the patch is that it irritates her skin and we have to use benadryl cream when we remove the patch.  It usually leaves a red area on her skin and itches.  the patch we use is cut into three uses, so we get 3 months out of a 1 month prescription.  We have not had to increase the patch amount yet, but even if we do, it will really be worth the cost.  She seems to have tolerated it alot better than the pill.

Maegan - posted on 01/10/2009

MY 6 YEAR OLD IS ON THE PATCH AND WE LOVE IT!! SHE DID LOSE A BUNCH OF WEIGHT IN THE BEGINNING AND HER BEING 5 AND TALL SHE LOOKED ILL!!! BUT AFTER A FEW MONTHS SHE GOT BACK TO HER EATING!! I GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I WOULD LET HER EAT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING EVEN IF IT WAS JUNK!!! SHE WAS 5 AND VERY TALL AND ONLY WEIGHED 40 POUNDS!!! BUT SHE HAS GAINED 6 POUNDS AND LOOKS SO MUCH HEALTHIER!!! SHE HAS BEEN ON THE PATCH FOR ABOUT 5 MONTHS

Lulu - posted on 01/09/2009

We had the support Nick's psychologist and his pediatrician. So far so good.

Tracy - posted on 01/09/2009

I'd never even heard of Daytrana, but we're still fairly new to the ADHD "battle." My 7-year-old can't swallow pills, so getting her meds in her is a fight. I'm definitely going to be doing some research on this option!!

Lulu - posted on 01/09/2009

Well, our son Nick is on his 2nd prescription of Daytrana, and he's actually back to eating his lunch again. He told me he actually feels hungry after school, and that's good because the first month on it he lost that hungry feeling for a snack after school. We are on a good schedule w/putting it on after his breakfast and taking it off by 4:00 each day. Homework time has been so much better as well. We just take it one day at a time.

Jen - posted on 01/09/2009

Quoting Jennifer:

Hello, my 8 year old daughter has been on the patch for maybe a little over 6 months now. I like it, because when she was taking Vyvanse in pill form, she was not eating at all and dropped from the 98th percentile for weight to below the 50%, (she is very tall for her age, almost 5 ft, 98%) Now on the patch she is still not eating lunch, but will eat a good breakfast and dinner, before and after the meds quick in. i also allow her to have healthy snacking in the evening. Her weight loss only seems to slightly concern the Dr., she only suggests I allow her to eat when ever she seems ready too. I also switched her back to whole milk from the 1% we were drinking, I don't know that makes that much difference, since she seems to not drink much of it any more.
Starting out with Vyvanse I observed my once not picky eater not wanting to eat anything at all. She is finally easing up a bit on her choices, but really craves sugar, when she didn't before. Also when on Vyvanse, her feet and hands always appeared purple tinted, like very poor circulation and she seemed very edgy, moody, and would become very defiant and angry. We don't seem to have that with Daytrana. But it really does seem that every child is different and what might work for one does not work for another.
She does ask quite often to be put back on a pill form, she hates to pull off the 'tape' as she refers to it. This seems to be working for us right now, so we will continue that at least until summer....

I think we had the same experience!  OMG!  We loved the patch also, but caused severe skin irritation and we just could not deal with that.  It caused to many issues.

Vyvanse was a nightmare for us.  Samething.  She dropped 23 lbs in 3-4 months

Charity - posted on 01/09/2009

My daughter (11 now) was diagnosed with ADD in 2007. I just happened to stumble across a site one night talking about ADHD/ADD and when I started looking at the characteristics of ADD I was in shock. She had almost every one of the characteristics. I tried the Daytrana and loved it. School work was like night and day. She was able to focus and her grades came up. After the first month I had to play the game with my insurance company because they didn't want to pay for it. So I tried the Focalin 20 mg. If you said hi to her she would burst out in tears and she lost like 7 pounds from Friday to Monday. Then we tried 2 other dosage levels. I finally asked my insurance company how to file a greivence against them and they finally approved it. My daughter is now on Vyvanse 30 mg and I love it as much as the Daytrana. The only reason we switched is the ease of her taking the pill verses peeling the patch off the backing. Sometimes not so easy. She didn't have any weightloss with Daytrana and I think she only lost like one pound when she started the Vyvanse. If you have to try something else I highly reccomend the Vyvanse. And if 30 mg sounds like a high dose our pediatrician said that 30 mg is the low end of the spectrum for Vyvanse. I just hate to see a child that looks drugged. That is why the Daytrana and the Vyvanse are my choices for ADHD/ADD. Good luck!!!

Shauna - posted on 01/08/2009

My 9 yr old daughter has been on the patch for 2 years.  We love it!!  We tried adderall and focaline before and it was awful.  The medicine was out of her system before she got home from school (so, we still couldn't get through homework) and she was so irritable.  I like that I can control the timing and it has really helped her.  She has a 95% rating on a scale of 0-100, so when she is off it, she is off the walls, but on it...she has so much more self control, confidence and she made almost all a's...she is happier and so is everyone else in the family.  My only problem is the weight, she has always been skinny and it takes a while to work in the morning. So, mornings are still tough for us.  Just have to help her by staying positive and keeping calm myself, not engaging in the chaos.  Easier said than done!  Peace and Grace to you!

Lynn - posted on 01/08/2009

Hi....my son was on the Daytrana patch.  He too lost weight...went from 55 lbs to 47 lbs in 3 months.  He looked terrible.  The Dr said he was not under weight, but when he took his shirt off, the Dr had second thoughts.  He developed severe anxieties.  We took him off and put him on Vyvanse.  He is up to 58 lbs.  It took a year to put the weight on.

Renee - posted on 01/08/2009

My daughter is 11 my question is how old until they have to switch to another med due to age and height or do they

Jennifer - posted on 01/07/2009

Hello, my 8 year old daughter has been on the patch for maybe a little over 6 months now. I like it, because when she was taking Vyvanse in pill form, she was not eating at all and dropped from the 98th percentile for weight to below the 50%, (she is very tall for her age, almost 5 ft, 98%) Now on the patch she is still not eating lunch, but will eat a good breakfast and dinner, before and after the meds quick in. i also allow her to have healthy snacking in the evening. Her weight loss only seems to slightly concern the Dr., she only suggests I allow her to eat when ever she seems ready too. I also switched her back to whole milk from the 1% we were drinking, I don't know that makes that much difference, since she seems to not drink much of it any more.
Starting out with Vyvanse I observed my once not picky eater not wanting to eat anything at all. She is finally easing up a bit on her choices, but really craves sugar, when she didn't before. Also when on Vyvanse, her feet and hands always appeared purple tinted, like very poor circulation and she seemed very edgy, moody, and would become very defiant and angry. We don't seem to have that with Daytrana. But it really does seem that every child is different and what might work for one does not work for another.
She does ask quite often to be put back on a pill form, she hates to pull off the 'tape' as she refers to it. This seems to be working for us right now, so we will continue that at least until summer....

Hedy - posted on 01/07/2009

My 14 year old (then 13) had a severe reaction to Daytrana. Her heart raced during gym class so much (and she is fit and had been in class for a month before we started it) that she nearly passed out a few times. Doctor pulled her off of it. Have been using Focalin since with no side effects. Bad mood swings with others we've tried too; Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall.

Amesha - posted on 01/07/2009

My son was on the patch for over a year.  It is common to have a surpressed appetite.  He lost 10 lbs in the first 3 months.  Then it started leveling out.  He still ate just not as much.  he was fine losing the weight, it wasn't putting him in danger or anything.  Usually when you start a medication there is usually a loss of appeitie.  Don't worry yet, see what the next 30 days bring.  There might be a little loss but it should start balancing out.  Good luck!

Amesha - posted on 01/07/2009

My son was on the patch for over a year.  It is common to have a surpressed appetite.  He lost 10 lbs in the first 3 months.  Then it started leveling out.  He still ate just not as much.  he was fine losing the weight, it wasn't putting him in danger or anything.  Usually when you start a medication there is usually a loss of appeitie.  Don't worry yet, see what the next 30 days bring.  There might be a little loss but it should start balancing out.  Good luck!

Kerri - posted on 01/01/2009

Hey LuLu, I guess God put me on your heart to join this group...my 13yr old boy tried the patch for about 3 days...it didn't work at all for him so he went back on the Concerta (I home school my kids so I see right away wether he is able to focus when I am teaching him math etc.). I have heard that the patch can be very effective and like someone else said it can be taken off to help with eating etc. However, our other problem is that the whole sticking something to his body and me checking to see if it was on right wasn't really very cool with him. He is a pretty big guy 5'-8" and now 170ish...he lost 10 pounds the first couple of weeks back on Concerta. He raids the frig. in the evening which really stinks when you think about night time eating habits but am concerned about his nutrition needs. (He plays soccer and is starting to work out). I have tried sooo hard to school him without it. Concerta is the only one we have had success with the least amt. of side effects. Also, a good website to sign up for is CelebrateADHD. God Bless!! :-)

Jen - posted on 12/31/2008

We tried daytrana patch, and really liked the results we got. She is very sensitive skin, and the patch caused a horrible rash. We tried several different skin creams to help, but it was just not worth the trouble. I wish we could have gotten the skin issue worked out. Good luck! BTW, we use Focalin 20 mg now.

Karen - posted on 12/30/2008

Lulu...one of my very good friends has her son on it, and he has been on it for over a year now, with HUGE success. Prior to daytrana, he was on concerta, and was doing ok with it, however, he was having no growth. A short time after the daytrana, he started to grow, and gain weight, and have an appetite again. He is now over 6 foot tall, and has gained the proper amount of weight. She swears by it. I however, have my 11 year old son on concerta, it will be a year in January. We went from the smallest dose 18 mg to now 36 mg. What a world of difference in his confidence, and his self esteem, not to mention making high honors in school for the very first time ever this year! He is maintaining his weight, but is not really gaining. I can't blame it on the medication though, because prior to going on it, he has always been skinny, not underweight, but just very "slim" as we like to call him. Keep me posted, and if you want, I can get you my friend Patti's phone number, she is a wealth of information when it comes to ADHD, since her son has been on medication since kindergarten, and is now a freshman in high school.

Have a Happy New Year if I don't talk to you!

Carli - posted on 12/30/2008

My daughter has been on the patch for over a year we have tried 4differant oral meds but the side effects were not good, I love it so far theonly complaint is her appetite is not good during the day she pretty much dosen't eat but when it wears off she makes up forit I don't put it on on weekends or summer unless needed, but her grades are excellent and I can tell a big diffeance in her behaviour!

Renee - posted on 12/30/2008

I just read the last post. With any meds. it is trial and error. You have to try differ ones until you find the right medication for your child.

Jen - posted on 12/30/2008

My 10 year old was on it for ONE day and got so sick we took it off within and hour or two. He was very sick to his stomach and could not hold down any food. It may have been some sort of allergic reaction, but that is my experience.

Renee - posted on 12/30/2008

My daughter is 11 she is also the patch. When she first went on the patch she lost weight the doctor said to just give her anything when she is hungry. The weight problem is not an issue anymore. I love the patch it has helped her so much. She takes it off at 4:00.

Marni - posted on 12/30/2008

I have to say, I love the patch. My son has been on it for about two years, in the beginning a little weight loss, but for the most part it was perfect. We have little to issues anymore with the medication and with the behaviour or hyperness. We have him take it off around 4:00 or so and then by 9:00 he is hungry and so we save a plate for him and/or we make him sandwiches that he can take himself at night. Turkey (good for helping with sleep) cheeses and crackers, fruit, sliced Salami, tuna, stuff that is easy and he can help himself. Though he goes to bed very late, he takes a book at night and tries to settle down by 11:00, he gets up easily on his own around 6:30 or so for school. I hated the thought of pill popping at 9 years old, so the patch is on and off on our schedule and we have NEVER had to up his dose (10mg) in two years, that is the minimum, and my son couldn't sit still or stop rocking, or opening and closing doors, touching everything in site...it has been great and I will use nothing else. In the beginning he was on Metadate hated it, then Focaline (awful) then they gave us the patch, two years happy with a Straight A son! FINALLY