Daytrana Safety: 12 Month Data Is In
ByDaytrana, the skin patch for ADD/ADHD now has research demonstrating that it is safe over a 12 month period. The research was reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, in Boston in October 2007.
This is important research, to help to establish the safe longer term use of this medicine.
Daytrana is the first skin patch of the medicine methylphenidate. Methylphenidate is the same active ingredient as Ritalin, Concerta,
Metadate CD, Methylin and Biphentin. It can play a role in the treatment of ADHD, especially in children who have trouble swallowing tablets or pills.
Daytrana is one option used in the medication treatment of ADD/ADHD. Research has proven that the best treatment for ADD/ADHD is a comprehensive, multimodal approach.
To get free information about the medication treatment of ADHD, please visit: ADHD Medication Mastery to download a free report that I’ve written for you.
Dr. Kenny
Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Daytrana, Medication, Ritalin
I have a 10 year old son who I was told has ADHD, that was about 4 years ago. The school would not help unless we got him evaluated. We have recently moved and the new school says he shows more signs of autism. I was told 4 years ago that ADHD, ADD, autism they all fall into the same circle and the doctors just put it all into one lump and call it ADHD. I am lost with him because I don’t have the finances to find out exactly what is going on with him and am concerned about his education, he is in 4th grade but is basically on a 2nd-3rd grade level. I don’t want to keep using him as a guinea pig with all the medications that are coming out and am not sure how much if any my insurance carrier will pay for. He is going through a bunch of childhood changes that I have already been through with my oldest son but his seem to be more drastic, no violence just more dificult. I have read up on everything from ADHD to autism and I am lost with him. It seems like the most difficult thing in our lives right now dealing with him. Is there any way of dealing with these issues without having a nervous breakdown? We are at our wits ends with him and are lost now. We need help without medicating him.
Hi Donna,
I am not Dr. Kenny, I will try to partly answer on your questions. I am a father of 11 y.o. child with ADHD and PDD (it is from autism spectrum). You asked about ways without medication (and without costly evaluation?)… Actually, we paid for such evaluation for our son when he was 7. We were told about ADHD and communication disorder (without specifically tag it as PDD).
I am now use some less known no-drug treatment method for ADHD – crawling exercises. Visit my blog, watch videos:
CrawlingClub.org
The question: did your son crawled for full 6 months when he was an infant? If less than full 6 months (or improper crawling, like crawling while sitting), then he can benefit from these exercises. Our son shows improvement. We are in the middle of the course.
These exercises address ADHD, not autism etc. Our son studies in a special “Communication Class”, especially for PDD, part hours in this class and part hours in usual class. The therapists teach him when to talk, when to keep silent, how to politely ask permission to talk, wait for attention from another person, and only then to talk. He knows all the theory, but it doesn’t seem to work. So his PDD remains as is, despite on all these teachings. He talks too much and when he wants to talk, immediately. He learned one thing – the other person has to look at him, while he talks.
Our crawling exercises greatly improved his handwriting and drawing, and attention but no help with PDD and not intended to help with PDD.
I hope this helps.
Arieh
P.S. Dr Kenny, I am actually entered this article to ask you a question about Ritalin SR stomach pains, we don’t like to give meds to our son, but we did it in some periods some time ago and terminated, because of these pains. Our doctor (professor) told us that Concerta is the same chemical, and will lead to the same pains. We remained without any medication. I am happy, but teachers prefer some medications, so my son can study in more intensive usual class.
Is this patch maybe our solution, because it sits on a skin, correct? Another issue – it can take long years until it will be approved in Israel. We will complete our crawling course and will be no need for this.
Arieh
CrawlingClub.org
Arieh,
Thanks for contributing to the blog.
For your question re: Ritalin SR vs. concerta vs. daytrana – although the methylphenidate is the same in all of these preparations – the rate of absorption could have a difference in the side effects – i.e. concerta may yield different side effects than ritalin SR (of course they could be better, or they could be worse!).
It may be worth trying a different class of medicine – i.e. dexedrine/adderall or strattera.
To learn more about medicines, you can download my free report on medication here: http://www.medicationmastery.com. After you get the report, you will learn about a course that I have on this topic.
All the best,
Dr. Kenny
Dr. Kenny
When do you think Daytrana will come to Canada?? I sure could use it for our son,,can not get him to a pill, liquid meds just do not last long enough,,its awful.
Michelle
Hi,
Daytrana will come to Canada, yes.
However, it will likely be at least 2009. There is no way to know for sure when it will get here (it depends on too many factors).
You can be sure that if you sign up for updates from this blog, or my newsletter – that I will let you know!
Dr. Kenny
Dear Michelle,
We have the same problem with our 9 year old daughter. We have being trying for over one year, we tried every type of pill for ADD. She refuses to swallow her pill, however the few time it went down by accident, she did great. She still raves about her concentration on those few days at school. Yet she act’s up, cries, screams, spits it out, whenever it’s time to take the medication. Your right it’s AWFUL! We have tried everything, we are even thinking of going to the U.S. TO Daytrana. I’m not convinced that will work anyway. Any advice, tips or experiences we could share would greatly appreciated.
John
Dr. Kenny~
In 2005 I was diagnosed with Adult ADD after taking the online tests at Dr. Amen’s website. I started out taking Adderall. Then in 2006 I had roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery. As a result of the surgery, I had to investigate new options for taking my ADD meds. I found that taking the pills weren’t working because they weren’t absorbed properly in the intestinal system. So, I took my script to a compounding pharmacy where they crushed them and put them in a syrup so that my body was able to absorb the medication. IT TASTED TERRIBLE and I didn’t want to take it. So I started investigating other options. I learned that there was a patch for birth control that had just come out on the market and it struck me… if they can do that, why can’t they do ADD meds the same way? After searching on Google, I found Daytrana. On my next visit to my psychiatric nurse practitioner, I took all the information I could find to her to see if it was a viable option for my types (5 of the 6 different types) of ADD. Luckily it was. So, since mid-2006, I have been wearing the Daytrana patch. I have to say that I am very pleased. It works better for me than the Adderall ever did. I hope that others have had the same luck. It is a very viable option for adults and for kids who may have a hard time remember to take their meds… and it will cut down on the time and stigma of having to visit the nurses’ office during school hours.
Hello,
Being re DX with ADHD again later in life as an adult, I find myself trying to remember to take my pill every 4 hours. I tried the Concerta, but my GI tract moves so fast I feel like Im getting half the doze, for only a few hours, so they switched me back to the individual pill. Im wondering if the patch would do the same thing that the individual pill does, with out having to worry about taking the pill. Does it have the same dosage? How does it know how much your body needs? I do have spine damage and chronic pain from a radical thoracotomy, and have a hard time with skin irritations, so I have concerns in regards to those as well.
If anyone has any info on the relation to the patch, skin irritation, and my other questions, please le me know.
Thank you,
David
Portland, ME
I just happened by this discussion tonight (but by the date of things about a year too late)…Here’s what I’d like to contribute about my youngest child. Since age 3 1/2 til now almost 14, my son has always been misunderstood by everyone, behind in his milestones, always emotional to the point of being dramatic, is a complete bowl of alphabet soup meaning everything from ADHD combined type with OCD ODD and Learning Disabled and Speech Impaired and can olnly seem to “obessively focus on his future career goals of becoming a “pond/water garden expert” (in fact everything in his world revolves around this goal)…Nothing on the market works for him, or he begins eating through his bottom lip, and NOW just refuses to be medicated…Refuses even a Tylenol for his countless headaches! One place a year ago, after 30 days in-house and semi-isolated from us, told us that he infact has some spectrum of Autism…BUT of course never tested him for it…it actually only boiled down to a Doctor guessing he had it. Now I am leaning to putting him on these “Patches” to see if it helps with the negative aspects of appetite loss, insominia, and “the bounce” commonly known to be a problem with dosaging with traditional oral Ritalin. I simply refuse to accept “off labeling” of children onto mediactions approved by the FDA for adults only! He and I just experience simular and very bad reactions from us both being on the same exact dosages of Risperidone! No one took our “family history” into account with this one particular drug and now after reading up in it further…it’s warnings far exceed the benefit! We should never have been put onto it in the first place! I am taking a new look at the theory behind “diet control”, espcially when it comes to the junk we allow our kids to ingest like food colourings…Red 40 adn Yellow 5 & 6 and combinations thereof have always made him worse to manage…I also think the Lupis Diet (removing refined white sugars and white flours alike) would be more helpful…When I don’t watch exactally what he eats he becomes out of control like some drug addict looking for a fix! Modifying his diet has made him more bearable! Dr. Kenny what do you think?
Respectfully,
Marie Malatak
Long Island Desperate Mother
Hi Dr. Kenny, we have an 11 year old who has been diagnosed with ADHD. He will not ,take the Adderall prescribed to him. It’s a fight and he will often gag or vomit after we try to sneak it into food. Is there any sign of the patch or is there any liquid medication that he can take.
Terry – it seems that the patch will be seriously delayed coming into Canada.
You can consider using Vyvanse – the new medicine – which has capsules which can be opened and poured into water -so that kids can drink them.
Any advice would be helpful. My stepson, 6, has Autism and has been on focalin since last Oct. He is a sweet child and was very compliant at home, school, church, etc. In fact, his Psychologist says hes very well behaved for his age and issues. About 3 weeks ago he seemed to start having what we call his meltdowns. It was almost a separation anxiety thing. He would scream about things like going to his Nanas and he almost seemed to be punishing us for something. We are a blended family and have built a new home with his needs specifically in mind and hes fine there unless Nana is around. We were thinking just a phase, Nana has been a constant and Nana gives him whatever he wants. Then his mother (who seems to like sedated) took him back to the Dr. and hes been on the Daytrana patch for 2 weeks. I dont even know this child. He has every severe symptom they list. He is having major anxiety attacks, sadness, severe paranoia, we think hallucinations. When hes calm, he just sits there, open mouthed and in another world. He had been doing so well in responding to questions and hes back to just repeating what you say or ask him. Is this an overdose? Have we not given it enough time? The problem we have is that his mother likes him calm and medicated even though you dont see any of his personality and he seems miserable. We like him behaved of course but had rather deal with a little hyper than drugged. What do we do? The Dr. is on vacation until July 6.
I have a question, I read that daytrana is only for ages 6-17. Well my 3yr old son just got diagnosed with adhd and was prescibed daytrana by his doctor. Is that safe for a 3yr old to be taking? I’m concerned because I put two patches on him already, one each day, and he has became very emotional and gets frustrated very easily. Is that a sign that it is to strong for his body?
Also my 3yr old is having trouble sleeping, I forgot to put that in my last comment. Please get back to me with atleast some answers. I am worried my son is too young for this daytrana patch. Thank you.
Chelsea,
Please see this blog post and discussion thread: http://www.addadhdblog.com/adhd-medication-for-3-4-and-5-year-olds
I have a 9 year old Daughter who we have been treating for almost a year now with the Daytrana patches. She was very fidigity, talkitive, got distracted easily and daydreamed a lot. She is taking a very low dose just the 10mg patch but the results have been just wonderful! Her grades have made a huge improvment in school. She is no longer getting her card pulled (use to get it pulled daily). Thank goodness this patch worked for us because I can never get any pills down her and I couldn’t imagine the battle I would have to go thru every morning to get her to drink a liquid medicine. I absolutly hate admitting she has a disability but at the same time I am so glad I finally accepted it and we were able to fine a treatment that works so well for us. I can truely enjoy spending time with daughter on a daily basis now and am so proud of her and the accomplishments she has made. Now if someone would just make a Tylenol patch or cold medicine patch that would be like a dream!!!
Oh! and as for effecting her appetite. We did start noticing this so we have her in the routine of taking the patch off when she gets home from school and with the 2 hour lag over (where the patch is off but still working) we make sure we get our homework done and then by the time I’m finished cooking dinner she has her appetite back. (We get home at 3:30pm) This also helps her sleep better at night.
The patches do dry out her skin sometimes and the only lotion I have found that remoisturizes and allows the patches to stick properly the next morning is Corn Huskers Lotion. A friend recommended it to me and I find it at Walmart.