My 5 yr old son is very emotional and was never like that before he started taking medication for his ADHD. Tonight for example, I asked him to put something away and he started crying, throwing a fit and yelling at me. It seems like we can't have a conversation without both of us getting upset. Is this going to last long? Any ideas how I can help him get past this? Thanks!
Jacob's Mom, I agree with Janna and OlderMom. If the meds are making him moody, you may need to revisit the diagnosis, preferably with a neuropsychologist. In your shoes, I'd want to make sure it's ADHD and that alone before trying meds.
Mommy3, I suggest you go back to your doctor and tell him what your seeing in your son. It may take a week or two for him to adjust to Strattera, but his reactions seem extreme and merit discussing with your doctor. Strattera is not as mild as some docs make it out to be. Headaches, stomachaches and mood swings are common side effects. In addition, our docs tend to be underwhelmed by its efficacy and don't prescribe it as frequently as the stimulants. My 12-year-old son took 10 mg Strattera for 3 days. He got 2 full-blown migraines in those 3 days, and we pulled him off. It just wasn't worth it in my opinion.
My son started on Medadate for about 3 weeks. The mood swings were so bad I asked the dr to change the meds because that just wasn't jacob. Now we just started taking Adderall this week and I don't see any improvement. I too wonder if the meds are worth it. He does so good in school but when he gets home, boy look out. I think the meds are wearing off by the time I get home from work. Is there really a drug out there that will not make him so emotional?
The majority of your ADHD medications are all the same, stimulants.
If he is having negative reactions to all the ADHD medications you are trying, IMO, that's a light bulb that something is not right.
My son was on Metadate as well, along with Ritalyn, Concerta, Strattera, Adderall, Tenex, Clonodine (those two are not stimulants, but rather for people with high blood pressure, but are used for ADHD), I could keep going.
None of them did any good - the purpose of the stimulant meds is to a) calm and b) help with focus and attention. If you're not seeing that, to me, that says, "problem".
Mood instability can be treated with mood stabilizers, however, these are not typically prescribed to children with ADHD, that I know of. Mood stabilizers (such at Lithium, Lamictal, Depakote) take time to work and require frequent blood draws, and have side effects the same as stimulants do. It's not a pill like Metadate that you can pop in and go on with your day, unfortunately (my son is on Lithium).
One other thing - your child is 5. Your child is engaging in an upsetting argument with you. You are responding by becoming upset?
When your child argues with you it is best to remain flat and composed. Your child is going to learn off your own reactions and how to handle things, and if you get upset - cry, argue back, fight, etc with him as he's trying to "trigger" you (which is what he's doing), he is going to mimick your own behaviors.
Just my .02 on that one.
Good luck
I'm with Janna, although, based on your description of your son, I'm not sure he has ADHD or any disorder at all. My son was put on (in order) Ritalin, Concerta and Adderrall. All three meds made my mild tempered son aggressive. They tried Prozac and he went off the wall. He has high functioning autism. They diagnosed him wrong. Be careful. After our experiences, I'm leery of professionals who make snap diagnoses based on what schools say or the Conners (yes, we did the Conners and my son was off the charts). Many disorders mimic ADHD and some teachers see ADHD where it ain't. There's no mood/mind-altering drug that is as benign as an antibiotic. And even antibiotics can cause side effects (my daughter is allergic to Penecillan). Take it slow. Don't rush. Get another opinion. Tell the teachers that you'll let the medical community decide what is wrong with your son, if anything, and that you will decide his course of treatment, if any, with professioinals. I wish we'd have done that. Good luck :) I know it's tough. Been there, done that.how soon did you all see moodiness in your kid when put on meds and which one was the worst?
My son who is 6 was put on 10mg of straterra on monday night and on tue he was sleepy and nausea and then on weds he was nausea but a little more teary and then on thurs he just wanted to sleep and cry and today he was like a zombie he sat on the couch for 4hrs watching tv and didnt even want to eat or move when asked to do anything such as pick up your back pack he burst into tears and yelled at us then went to his bed where he laid there looking at the wall for 2hrs then when i asked what was wrong he said im stupid and my brain is dumb and began tring to hold back tears he told me he just wants to go to sleep forever im really worried because before he threw tantrums but they were normal kid kinds and this was just like he didnt really know what he was yelling about he just yelled utterly nothing at the top of lungs then went to bed and now just wants to sleep forever .
Please help as i have never done anything like this before (Meds)
I was told that this was a great med and the sideaffects are so little "just like taking a antibiotic such as stomach upset and sleepiness ) but i dont ever recall having my son on a antibiotic that made him want to sleep forever.
ANY advice would be welcomed
My son is the same way. He was an extremly happy go lucky kid until the meds started. We tell him to do something and he flips out. Homework is always a fight and going on Vacation or somewhere just for the day is more like torture no matter how much he likes it or doesn't because he's always mad about something. He started on Strattera and was taken off because of the mood swings. They tried adderoll which made him the same way and he also had a bad appetite and couldn't sleep at night once the med wore off. They them put him on Concerta and again was in a terrible mood all the time. He also said he was stupid all the time and hated himself. Needless to say he was taken off that. Now they started him on stattera again. He has only been on it a few weeks and the mood swings are coming back. I am beginning to think we should stop all meds. He also takes risperdal prescribed for ODD.
Since you have tried more than one med, I agree with all above. I have had bad a bad experience with 1 med, but then a better, but not perfect experience with the next one. My pdoc said that 70% of kids respond to the first med they are on, and the other 30% have a more difficult time of it. Maybe your son could also be in this 30%. I may be off some on my stats, but it was close to that.