Is My Daughter Snorting Focalin Xr?
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I may have found evidence that my 15yo girl is snorting her folacin xr, 20mgs. Is this even possible? How or rather why would she smash the luttle beads up? To snort them? What kind of high? Sincerely, Worried Mother

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Listen, I was prescribed focalin xr last year, soon after I discovered its hidden effects from snorting. I failed all my college classes due to lack of sleep and the addiction and now I am barely making ends meet with my pizza delivery job. Don't let your child mess with this stuff because I wish my parents had stopped me before I threw away my life. This is only the start.

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i tried it a couple times i never crushed the beads up after emptying the capsule. It makes me feal awake alert focused and just amazzinggggg. but if you get carried away you can become addicted big time. its not hard to snort the beads atall crushing them is not needed. just sit her down and ask her dont sound pushy controlling or freeked out just tell her youd appreciate it if she stopped snorting them and end with i love you and i care about you.

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I know this post is old but i figured I would offer my two cents. If it turns out your daughter was snorting it (and even if she wasn't and you still want to do this as a precaution) I would reccomend a change in medicine to vyavance, or at least looking into it. This is what I take now. It has pretty much all of the same effects, and it even helps with several of the side effects that accompany most ADHD medicines,
but the way its released into your system prevents abuse of the drug by means of snorting or any other method. The way adderall, focalin, and other stimulants work is you take a certain dosage, and this dose is let out into your system all at once, creating an initial spike or "high". Throughout the day it is slowly absorbed by the body until the effects have worn off. If you crush these and snort them all of the medicine shoots immediatly into your system which gives you a rush or high similar to speed. Vyavance, on the other hand, is a fairly new drug that instead of releasing the full dosage upon taking it, slowly lets off a certain amount of the medicine systematically throughout the day. Pretty much this means that there is no initial spike of a large amount of medicine being released into your system, as in adderall/focaline, so there is no way to abuse it or get high from it. It also means that the medicine doesnt slowly lose its effect throughout the day, but keeps a consistant effect so you can concentrate throughout the day. I took both adderall and focalin for seven years when I was in gradeschool. Because of past holdups with drug abuse I was sent to a rehab program where I was switched to Vyavance to prevent abuse. When I did take focalin, I hated all of the side effects (nausea, irritability, loss of appetite, sleep deprevation) but since I have switched to vyavance these effects have greatly diminished. Irritability is down, I'm able to go to sleep at night fairly easy, and I dont get morning sickness anymore. However loss of appetite is still pretty consistent. One thing I will say, however, is I feel as if focalin did help me to concentrate better than vyavance does, but which medicine works better on this front really depends on the person so it might help your daughter more.
I'll end by saying I don't fully know the complete process behind how vyavance works, I tried to explain it the best way I could, but I strongly recommend that you look into it as a possibility and talk to your daughter's doctor/pyschiatrist about it. Hope this helped

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my mother did this method to me when she found my weed, agent lemon (DXM) and a few other things and i quit most everything just because its a buzz kill to thing about " hey what if my mom walked in on me trippin balls and started yelling at me that'd be scary "... also if she has good friends who care about hey they might tell you the same way one of mine did and just waited untill i was high and called my house to report his concern for my health and well-being to the parentals... i hated him for it for a few days but i soon realized it was for my best and i thank him every time i see him for it . well all that being said ...i deff. just snorted 60 mg of the ole DexXR and currently i am feelin quite nice not high but im in a great mood and this s*** got rid of my killer tequila/cheep gin hang over and 2 hours of sleep

so i hope the best came of this situation and you didnt like yell and scream at her

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WTF is wrong with you??

sort your life out!!

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"Shes a kid, and wants to get high. Dont ground her for it but drop a hint like * hey i found some white beads, blah, blah, blah. im 16 and have snorted it, n it gets u very high such as speed er coke would. so its nothing to fret over, just drop the hint n leave it at that"

She's 15. and doing something that even RESEMBLES coke/speed can really f*** up your life (sorry for the language), so it IS something to fret about. She'll probably be more likely to snort coke in the future if she's getting comfortable with her ADHD meds.

I started doing this same in high school, and it honestly was the worst decision i ever made. I had all these extra pills, and one day i just crushed one up and snorted. Things definitely spiraled out of control to the point where i was having anxiety attacks every time i started running low. I also started looked at drug user sites to see what else i could snort. I got so depressed and moody every time i started coming down off the high (i know this can happen even when you take focalin xr orally, but it's sooo much worse when you snort it). once i stopped, i was so much happier. but it was also my decision to stop. it might be tricky if she doesn't see the harm in it, so you should definitely confront her about it.

however, I do agree that you should be very gentle and semi-lenient on her (especially if this is the first time you've caught her doing something bad). Try talking to her about it. If you're too harsh on her, she might rebel and try buying it off kids at school. She needs to know that you're someone she can come talk to about tough issues like this, and she wont feel that way if you just yell and punish her. She's probably already a little paranoid you're gonna find out (i know i was, but maybe that's just me). she might try to deny it too, so look for evidence first. I know this is an invasion of privacy blah blah blah, but seriously her health is wayyy more important. people die all the time from stuff like this: overdosing (minor concern if it's only 20mg) and also SERIOUS heart problems. snorting it made my heart race so fast that i used to get a little scared. if it seems like she's not listening, google pictures of people's noses after they've snorted too much coke and lost the cartilage between the nostrils. and tell her about the heart problems. my sister died of suddenly from an unknown heart problem where you're heart just stops if it's beating too fast. she's wasn't snorting pills, but it just shows you that these things are no joke, and racing hearts are a serious concern.

if it's true, you're gonna have to start watching her more closely (not that you haven't been because clearly you've noticed what's going on), and if you get any suspicions, i would take away her pills and distribute them to her as prescribed. Harsh, i know, but honestly it's better in the long run. In high school my mom used to do this to me with my sleeping medication (ambien), and i hated her for it, but i'm so grateful now because I probably would have taken way to many and overdosed/died (i've had some serious issues in the past, obviously as i've just told you my sister died). you'll hate yourself if something worse comes out of this.

sorry this is long. and i'm so sorry if i sound like i'm trying to tell you how to be a parent. i'm not one, so i dont know what it's like. but i've been in your daughters shoes, and i can tell you that while it might be exciting for her and all her friends are doing it, i can guarantee you she's not thinking about the long term results.

sorry for the rant, i'm just really concerned (weird bc i dont know you), and i hope everything works out. i want to be a teen counselor, so let me know how i did!

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intuniv is not for everyone.
i am a former amphetamine addict and to try to get the temptation out of my life i tried it as an alternitive to focalin. for the first few days i was so tired that i gave up on it, being tired is a side effect to intuniv. my mom now keeps my focalin supply hidden, and gives it to me as perscribed. you should hide the pills and give her the appropriate amount every day.

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I agree with Teenager's post.

I'm 20 years old and awhile back I snorted focalin xr along with a few other things for recreation. It's just something kids do to get out of their system, rebel, and try to have fun and find something substantial in life.

If you look down on her for it and lecture her, let's face it. She's a teenager. That'll only make her rebel even more. And taking the pills away will by no means stop her from getting it if she wants to (nearly every kid in town has ADD meds.)

The best thing to do is drop the hint "i found some little white balls..." and treat her as an adult who can take guidance from a parent, but essentially it's her life and her decision. If you respect her, I guarantee she will respect you back and see that you only want whats best for her.

If you force her to stop, it'll last a week. If she stops on her own, it'll last a lifetime.

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The doctor had my son on 20mg vyvanse the side effects from it got to be too much. He is now on intuniv which is a non-amphetemine based ADHD...result are spectacular. Just have to communicate with the doc in detail the first couple of weeks of taking it to find out what works best. It's been a godsend.

As far as snorting Focalin XR is time released the other is not. Crushed bypasses the slow release and abusers compare it to cocaine more so then speed.
Its much easier to Overdose from snorting. I'd be putting your daughter into check on this ASAP.



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Your daughter is a teenager,and she is starting to see the world through her own point of view.
There could be many reasons she snorts it. By just orally ingesting focalin it can greatly decrease sleep, and this could drastically alter her sleep patterns which is unhealthy. Often, pill snorters might do this because they enjoy their sleep, and dont want to be laying in bed for 7 hours wide awake.
Would you want that? No, probably not.

Don't get me wrong, have words with her but absolutely do NOT immediately accuse or punish her. Get her side of it, see why she does it.
If need be, hide her perscription and only allow her the recommended daily dosage. A 15 year old girl does not need to be holding on to a whole script bottle of a controlled substance, thats just asking for trouble with peers and maybe even school.

If nothing else works, try a medicine change to Strattera, or even Wellbutrin; two non stimulant ADHD medicines.
I hope I helped!

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just my two cents but she may be doing it to conserve the stuff. People who use it to study sometimes will snort smaller amounts than they would take orally periodically so that the studying aide effects are not as long (1-3 hours). THis rather than being speedy for 5-6

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she very well could be, i am an 18yr old that does it myself. the reasons why include weight loss, quick onset opposed to ingestion, it is a lot like speed, she may do it to stay awake at parties or if she is losing sleep over homework or gaming, a quick wake up call for school, to become social and many other reasons...... signs are weight loss, loss of appetite, talkative, difficulty sleeping, some times post-use depression..... my complications with its use have been irregular heart beats, insomnia, MAKE SURE SHE DOESNT TAKE 5HR ENERGY WITH IT!!! i did this when i didnt even abuse focalin and it was giving me heart arrhythmias and i thought that my heart was about to stop cause it was working so hard

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Shes a kid, and wants to get high. Dont ground her for it but drop a hint like * hey i found some white beads, blah, blah, blah. im 16 and have snorted it, n it gets u very high such as speed er coke would. so its nothing to fret over, just drop the hint n leave it at that.

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I don't know how many times I have said this, But there is no prescription drug on earth that was made to crush and snort. Prescirption or not she needs to stop at once and get some help. Hopefully, you will confront her and ask what the deal is before it goes to far. I gave this same advice to a friend of mine because his son was crushing some drug I never heard of before, and it made a world of difference to them both. Do not be afraid to ask and stop her. Her life is worth more. I just had surgery on my leg, and I am afraid to take vicodin because of the stories I have heard. I take tylenol extra strenght and deal with the remaining pain because I know it will not last forever. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS, Don't let your daughter destroy her life at a young age, because it will only get worse if she continues what she is doing.

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Not a good idea and something that you need to disguss with her ASAP...They are time released; to help her throughought day. It will get into her system faster, (she's probably crushng the beads) but then the enegry and concentration will dicipate within a few hours, if not sooner.. This is the NEW Thig the kids are into. I actualy was just perscribed this med, (I'm 49 years old) and it helps tremendously...BUT I am also a former cocaine addict and I know that if were to go down the that path of abusung this controlled substance i would obsess on getting more. the 30 day RX would be gone quickly, and I would spend all my time gong to other doctors to get more. It is NOT WORTH IT. BE THERE...DONE THAT! (many, many, many times) .Look for cut off straws...pens that have the innerds removed, razor blades to crush the beads...and stop it..NOW!

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That is very much possible. I'm prescribed 40 mg of focalin. Being a heaby drug user in the past i quickly looked it up, and snorting this drug is very much similar to speed, and usually gives a great euphoria. I used to snort it every day, and it made me feel great and speedy and all of that. So chances are, she's probably snorting her focalin like i did.

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