Dexedrine / Dexedrine Spansules

Dexedrine is the oldest drug used for ADHD and is made by GSK. The tablets last about 2-3 hours at the most. The Spansules last about 12 hours. The Spansules are tiny pills in a capsule like a cold capsule. I rarely use the regular tablets because they are so short acting. click here for prescribing info.

However, they are some children who will respond to short acting Dexedrine and nothing else. In fact they might respond to Short acting Dexedrine but not the Dexedrine Spansules! The drug is twice as potent as Ritalin, so you are usually taking about a quarter of your weight in pounds. The Spansules come in 10 and 15 mg sizes. The tablets come in 5 mg size. That means that if you weigh less than about 40 lb., the 10 mg spansule will probably be too much.

What is good about dexedrine?

Little monitoring is required, it doesn't need to be given at school, there is lots of experience with it in pre-schoolers.

What is bad about Dexedrine?

It is abusable by drug addicts (the tablets, that is), it is a little awkward to find the right dose as you are combining 10mg and 15 mg pills to slowly get to the right dose. If your child is around 40 lb. or less, you are basically starting with a full dose of the Spansules, and I usually like to start with less. That means you have to use the short acting preparation, which I find requires dosing every 2-3 hours. This is very difficult to do. However, in some children who are very sensitive to medications, the drug can last half the day or all day.