Revenge

Anyone have similar problems with their ADHD child?  My son age 7 does things if he does not get his way beyond a fit.  He has started a fire because he did not get a kleenex box when he wanted it, he urinates on the bathroom floor because he was not allowed tv or allowed to play outside or whatever else he does not get he will urniate on my floors in the bathroom, he has hit his sisters with his toys, stolen toys from stores, stolen money from his sisters fundraisers and stolen money from my purse.  He cut his shirts with scissors because he does not like the shirt anymore and wants a new one.  He is currently on 27 mg Concerta and 5mg patch of catapres and we still have the above mentioned problems.  I have three other children and it is impossible to watch him 24 hours a day.  In the middle of the night he will sneak downstairs into the pantry and eat cookies or candy or whatever else he can find that is sweet.  The cookies I bought were for the kids lunches and I put them on the highest shelf above the washer and dryer and found that he will get the step stool and climb on the washer and climb on the shelves to get what he wants. I think I am losing my mind with him.

Very frustrated. 

I'm not a doctor, but I think the behaviors you are seeing go beyond ADHD.  Has he been evaluated by a board-certified child psychiatrist?  Has he seen a neuropsychologist for testing?  In your case, I would recommend doing both to find out what's going on with your son.

 

[QUOTE=bjrivera26]

Anyone have similar problems with their ADHD child?  My son age 7 does things if he does not get his way beyond a fit.  He has started a fire because he did not get a kleenex box when he wanted it, he urinates on the bathroom floor because he was not allowed tv or allowed to play outside or whatever else he does not get he will urniate on my floors in the bathroom, he has hit his sisters with his toys, stolen toys from stores, stolen money from his sisters fundraisers and stolen money from my purse.  He cut his shirts with scissors because he does not like the shirt anymore and wants a new one.  He is currently on 27 mg Concerta and 5mg patch of catapres and we still have the above mentioned problems.  I have three other children and it is impossible to watch him 24 hours a day.  In the middle of the night he will sneak downstairs into the pantry and eat cookies or candy or whatever else he can find that is sweet.  The cookies I bought were for the kids lunches and I put them on the highest shelf above the washer and dryer and found that he will get the step stool and climb on the washer and climb on the shelves to get what he wants. I think I am losing my mind with him.

Very frustrated. 

[/QUOTE]

I would call his Dr, and set up an appointment, I would also let the pediatrican know what is going on. As far as the cookies I would lock them up. I ended up doing that with my son. I don't keep sweet stuff where he can see it, or know that I have it.

As far as urinating on the floor, I would make him clean it up, and watch him do it. See if that helps. They enjoy doing the deed, but don't like cleaning it up.

my experience was similar. We started out with Strattera in Kindergarten thru 1st grade. My son was so bad and defiant he almost got kicked out of the private school he was in. He wouldn't take naps, which because of the medication, I arrange it so he could read. He contantly hit other children and got into fights. We added zyprexa and he ate himself silly and gained alot of weight. In first grade he was always in trouble with fighting and not getting along. He couldn't organize his desk or sit to finish his work, so we switched to Concerta. The rages began at this point and there were several times I drug him out stores where he was throwing fits because he didn't get his way. He smeared poop, he threw things, he was argumentive and kicked and hit me. He was awful, but at times he could be so loving and kind. This last summer, I decided to take him off Concerta and the 2nd mood disorder drug, I don't remember the name. Before school started, I went back to the doctor again to see if we could try something different. His rages were almost gone after taking him off the medications, but he still had enough time to learn that behavior. We tried Provigil, a stimulant for narcolepsy patients and people who have extreme fatigue. We also put him on Geodon for a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant. I swear he is a new child. He has worked himself back into regular school. I don't sit in fear at work thinking any minute I'm going to get a call from school and have to leave work. I hope he grows out of ADHD/ODD one day, but for now this combination seems to be working.

Gretchen, with the meds your son is on, I'm betting his doctor is thinking mood disorder, not ADHD/ODD.  Rages aren't part of ADHD; they are part of bipolar disorder.

 

There is no way a kid with only ADHD is starting fires. That is a very serious problem. I'd be t hinking more early onset bipolar, and if he's on stimulants or antidepressants (and STrattera is one) it could just be making it worse. Fire starting is not even that common in bipolar. so I'm guessing he's on some stimulating medication. I would get this kid to a psychiatrist. It is not the norm for a child with ADHD to rage and certainly not to start fires. In the meantime, I'd hide all my matches and not leave him unattended. (I have bipolar). Gretchen, your child sounds like much more than ADHD/ODD is going on too and I'd re-evaluate him. I agree with Smallmom about both kids. I'd see both a NeuroPsych and a Psychiatrist. The firesetting and poop smearing are serious and not related to ADHD and ODD is more a symptom of another disorder than a disorder itself. Both kids have a good chance of having bipolar or maybe something else, but ADHD kids just are not that extreme. Gretchen, GEodon is an antipsychotic sometimes used in younger kids as a mood stabilizer, often not as effective as a real mood stabilizer, but I'm glad it's working. If he's been on the antidepressant only a short while, watch him to see if his behavior starts getting worse. If the child is on Geodon, the doctor is thinking "bipolar" even if he didn't say the words. A doctor puts a child on a mood stabilizer for a mood disorder, not for ADHD. IT's a heavy duty med. Take care both. psm090438734.5487731481Smallmom, just to let you know I once thought a raging kid always meant bipolar too, but autisitc spectrum kids also often rage, although these two kids sound more like bipolar raging. 50% of all autistic kids have out of control behaviors. 50% tend to be very good. I'm lucky that my son switched from the first 50% to the second 50%! Just wanted to let you know. If rages run together with sensory issues up the wazoo, speech delays, LD's, problems with crowds, inability to make friends, "strangeness" (lol) it could be HFA (high functioning autism). it is UNBELIEVABLY difficult to diagnose our kids right because of the ADHD/bipolar/HFA mimicking and I know you've been there with me. The only reason I know squat about childhood bipolar is because my son had that label once and I researched it. That's when it hit me in the face that *I* had early onset bipolar! I never knew a child could have bipolar so I didn't know why I'd been such a nervous, angry kid. Anyways, just wanted to tell you that these HFA kids often rage too, although bipolar kids are more apt to do it and to do it if they hear "no". I'm glad you have your kids straightened out. Took both of us long enough, didn't it??!! psm090438734.5530555556My son is seeing a Psychiatrist and all he does is change his meds and tell me to keep a chart and award stickers for good behavior and that hasn't been working.  Everytime I take a priviledge away from him for bad behavior he does something back, like urinating on my carpet, spitting on his bedroom floor, wiping his snots on the wall.  He wanted a kleenex box for a valentine day activity for school and I told him after his homework was finished I would get it for him but that was not good enough for him and that's when he went into the bathroom where I had a candle lit and he took all the tissues and lit them on fire so he could get the kleenex box faster than I would get it to him.  So if anyone has a suggestion of a different doc in GA please let me know.

Thanks, PSM.  Yeah, it did take us long enough to figure our kids out.  LOL!  One of the reasons I thought "bipolar" with Gretchen's post is the meds her doc put her son on. 

 

[QUOTE=SmallMom]

Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm gonna roll my eyes.  This child's behavior is too outrageous to be attributed to diet.  I'm not a doctor, but I know enough from my own kids to say this child needs a psychiatric/neuropsychological evaluation to assess for a childhood disorder.[/QUOTE]

Well I appreciate your honesty  I also agree with what everyone else had to say. I'm only adding diet as one of many possibilities .. I'm sure it's a bag full of issues he's dealing with.

Do you have access to a university hospital? They're usually good, on the cutting edge and I would recommend a multi-disciplinary evaluation with a bunch of different professionals. That way you get a bunch of heads being put together. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee even that will be right, but clearly his doctor isn't helping him if he's still acting that way. I would probably want to see a neuropsych too. A Neurologist can point you in the direction of one.

Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm gonna roll my eyes.  This child's behavior is too outrageous to be attributed to diet.  I'm not a doctor, but I know enough from my own kids to say this child needs a psychiatric/neuropsychological evaluation to assess for a childhood disorder.

 

I know some may roll their eyes at this but I'd also look into his diet. The fact that he's sneaking cookies and candies without permission could also be a redflag of some food sensitivities. I know my son can get pretty outrageous when he's eaten something his body can't handle (he's never played w fire, mind you).

What's his typical diet like?

[QUOTE=psm0904]Diet alone is not the cause of such extreme behavior. These kids need serious evaluations and the correct interventions. Food sensitives do not explain the degree of how these kids are acting out. Maybe you can control that when they're six, but once they're in school, they'll get that twinkie and once their teens, forget it. [/QUOTE]

I'm not suggesting that diet alone is the cause of extreme behaviours in these two specific situations. I said it could possibly be one factor of many. It wouldn't hurt to take a look at their diet and see if any adjustments can be made. That's all I'm saying. Diet is often underestimated in it's relation to behaviour. I just wanted to say that.

Diet alone is not the cause of such extreme behavior. These kids need serious evaluations and the correct interventions. Food sensitives do not explain the degree of how these kids are acting out. I'm suspecting bipolar on both kids. I can't diagnose, of course, but it's just a guess. However, since three disorders mimic each other, I recommend leaving no stone unturned and seeing both a psyciatrist and a neuropsych, at the very least. Certain meds cause extreme hunger. I know. I've been on some of them and gained the weight...now since I cut out sugar and processed carbs I lost it all, but what kid, realistically, will eat a diet of no sugar and no processed carbs? Maybe you can control that when they're six, but once they're in school, they'll get that twinkie and once their teens, forget it. psm090438734.9010416667
 

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