Is 40mg of adderall too much for a child?

Answer 1

Our son weighs around 95 pounds and started out on 40, then 60 mg, this did not seem to work. Dr is now saying to try 80 mg. We don't know what to do either. Dr says 80 is not too much for him. You are not alone in this, even though we feel like we are sometimes.

My son, age 10 weighed 96# when he started on stratera. He now weighs 90# (side effect) and the maximum dose he was ever on was 25 mg. (started at 10mg., went to 18mg. and stopped titrating at 25mg. due to extremely positive impact) His doc. was planning on going to 40mg. but saw no need due to positive impact on ODD symptoms. On the other hand, my friend has a daughter who weighs the same amount and is on 120mg. (80 at night, 40 in AM). Based on my experience, 60mg. is a moderate dose and 120 is the legal max.

Good luck!

I'm finding I'm learning more from "users" or parents of children that use than I do from the doctors. I agree about taking him off on weekends is a disaster. I think we're beginning to see the key to making this work. Since we've kept it continuous, we've significantly lessened the mood swings, hair pulling, etc. Also, from another posting on this website I learned that taking peanut butter before each pill eliminates the stomach aches. That's a miracle solution for us!

Our son is 12 and about 95 lbs. He has been on a 60 mg dose of Strattera about six months and is doing well. He was originally on a 40 mg dose and it had almost no effect. This medication has been far superior to the stimulants for him, and his school work has improved. He seems more "normal" on it than on the stimulants where he would have the rebound effect and act horribly at night. We took him off of the Strattera on his vacation in December and it was a big mistake. I don't think you can just use Strattera like the stimulants, stopping them on weekends and vacations. I don't think 60 mg is too high at all, and his side effects are limited to occasional heartburn.

How young are you talking about? My daughter is ADHD and has been on meds since she was 6 yrs old. She's been on Stattera since September 2003. Started her out on 40 mg in the morning and 40 mg in the evening. Now she's up to 60mg in the am & 40 at night. That's 100 mg!!! She is now 14 yrs old. Only side effect she has had is the heartburn. She takes Nexium for that.

My son has been on every kind of ADHD meds. He on strattera 60mg one time a day. he weights 79#, he 10. with him we been through everything mood swings, hitting, bitting, you name it he did it.I find that if he on a routine everyday things go much smoother, he also take risperdal 0.5mg that's a antipsychotic agent for the volent outburst. If you think that ur child is on to high of a dose than talk to ur Dr. only you know what going on with ur child on the meds. talk to your child about how they feel on the meds,I found that my son will tell me if he on to high of a dose. Only you and your child can get the dose where it should be at.

Answer 2

I have an 8 year old that weighs 60lbs and takes 30mg of strattera. Her psychiatrist said this is the maximum dosage she could safely take at her weight.

HI,

mY CHILD HE IS 10 YR. OLD AND WEIGHS 125pound and takes 60mg of the strattera. He is dx of Aspergers but with alot of stress from school. put on strattera to help his focus/attention span and his coping of school/stress situation. He has headaches off and on in the back of his head. He is scheduled for a catscan next week. Headaches started since school and start of Strattera. been on it almost 5 months now. he says he don't like the pill and he don't want to take it. but it has helped his emotional reactions as he is more controlled since been on it.

You have to know how much your child weighs. In children, the starting dosage of Strattera is calculated according to the formula: 0.5mg atomoxetine (Strattera) / 1kg body weight daily. During a period of 3 days or more, dosing is gradually increased up to 1.2mg to 1kg body weight. Larger dosages are said to be useless. If you are accustomed to pounds, you may easily convert pounds to kilos. One pound approximately equals 0.45kg. One kilo approximately equals 2.2lbs. You may easily find an online converter, such as this one:

http://www.goodcooking.com/conversions/metricw.htm

When a child weighs 125 pounds, that equals 56.7 kilos. So, the initial dosage of Strattera is about 28mg daily. A 25mg capsule can be used. In three days, the dosage can be increased to 56*1.2=67.2mg. Let's make it a lttle lower, not to overdose. 60mg is all right.

Answer 3

Answer: 40 mg is alot for a child but depending on the weight+height and age of the child. Like if the child is 12 and up its not that much. If the child is younger than that and not obese, than 40 mg probably is a bit much, 30 mg should be more than enough for children 10 and younger. But I am no doctor [[just have alot of experience with Adderall is all]] Ultimately you will make the decision with your doctor on the dosage of Adderall your child will get. Anyways I hope this helps, Megan. ******

Answer 4

Yes. But this is only my lay person, non medically trained opinion, based on my own personal experience with the drug. I'm getting good results with half of that dose per day. The smallest dose that does the trick is the best guidance.

Answer 5

Ask your prescribing doctor.