One small step in the right direction | ADHD Information
Well, I have one small bit of good news. We tried Clonidine last night to get my son to sleep. He has been up playing and it was getting harder and harder to get him to settle down every day. Then he started having tantrums when I wouldn't let him come out of his room when he was supposed to be sleeping. It was to the point it was after midnight before he would go to sleep. It worked like a CHARM! He was out cold within 30 minutes of giving it to him. The down side is that he really didn't want to get up this morning, I will have to try to give it to him earlier tonight. We tried him on focalin 2 weeks ago and it was a miserable failure. Within 5 days he was out of control, he got REALLY violent, to the point he was breaking and sharpening the jagged edges of his toys to hurt me and trying to start fires(I found a burnt stuffed animal) and trying to run away every chance he got. I pulled him off that medication and until last night he was off all medications. He went to school unmedicated today and I think his teacher wanted to hurt me! His doc just wanted to see how he would do without it. He was so wild that his teacher had to send him out of class for a while. His doc says that it looks like bipolar, but she has never diagnosed bipolar in a child as young as he is(6yo) and so she is reluctant to medicate him for it. I am currently hunting down a new doc, but it doesn't look too promising. Looks like I will have to find someone that isn't on our insurance and pay them myself. His doc keeps going back and saying that she thinks he is just ADHD/ODD too. I think it is obvious to just about anyone that it is much more than that. Am I wrong?My ds was also dx ADHD/ODD, but has never been that violent. His meds and supps (adderall) have made him much better and more affectionate.I would definitely go for another dx.. and an unmedicated bp is not a good thing. Your insurance should be able to help you find a good psychiatrist.
Good luck- Sarah
That's great about the Clonidine. Works for my son, too. Hope you get the doctor thing straightened out soon. This pdoc has taken far too long to get with the program . . .momoftwoboyz,
I had trouble finding new docs too, I finally broke down and called the insurance company. In NY we have Empire, they have their own mental health unit...they gave me several names and some background info on them all. It was worth the aggravation of the touch tone nonsence!
Good luck, my lil guy is 5, not on meds yet but im waiting for the day!!!
Oldermom, I agree. In fact my son described what is going on exactly the way that a kid in the book "the bipolar child" did. He said that there is lightning in his brain and it makes him bad. I copied it and highlighted it and will give it to pdoc next time I see her. I am fighting an uphill battle with finding a new doc. Hopefully we will get somewhere soon. I still have one more way that I might be able to find someone the insurance will cover. Hopefully it will work.
ADHD/ODD is often bipolar, if not usually bipolar. Violence is not a trait of ADHD. I would definitely try to find a Psychiatrist familiar with how to treat bipolar. If he has it, stimulants will only make it worse. Bipolar (which I have) is progressive and without medication, the cycling/raging/out of control behavior gets worse with time. It's important to try to stop the cycling ASAP. Here are a few sites you may want to try. One is a reading site. The other is a posting site for parents with kids of all sorts. If you go to the conduct disorder site, ask which parents of bipolar kids first had a dx. of ADHD/ODD. It may be all of them! 
It is also a common first dx. of high functioning autism, but the ASD kids tend to be less violent or not violent at all. You are usually looking at bp when a kid rages just because he hears "no."
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