Jeff's Mom and others,
This is the biggest fear -- let's analyze this briefly.
Something is not right with our kid. Let's give him medication. Uh oh, now another thing is wrong and it started after we gave him medication #1. Let's go back to Doc and SURPRISE....now we have medication #2. It won't be long before medication #3 is coming.
A friend of mine, a teacher no less who sees her fair share of ADHD has a theory. Doctor has a BMW payment to make. Think twice before your child's medication schedule looks like my grandmothers.
[QUOTE=cass151]
Jeff's Mom and others,
This is the biggest fear -- let's analyze this briefly.
Something is not right with our kid. Let's give him medication. Uh oh, now another thing is wrong and it started after we gave him medication #1. Let's go back to Doc and SURPRISE....now we have medication #2. It won't be long before medication #3 is coming.
A friend of mine, a teacher no less who sees her fair share of ADHD has a theory. Doctor has a BMW payment to make. Think twice before your child's medication schedule looks like my grandmothers.
[/QUOTE]
Or the original medicine perscribed did not suit the chemical makeup of the individual it was perscribed to, so perhaps a different one will work better. This has happened more times then I could possibly count over the past 10 years I have been a parent with antibiotics.
cass151 wrote
A friend of mine, a teacher no less who sees her fair share of ADHD has a theory. Doctor has a BMW payment to make. Think twice before your child's medication schedule looks like my grandmothers.
Cass151.......Teachers may see their fair share of adhd students but they are not phychiatirsts, pharmacists or neurologists. Im sure parents would like to see documented and conclusive evidence that substantiate the teacher's theory. The teacher should do her homework and know her subject. Just because a person has a theory doesnt make it fact and basing decisions on what peoples theories are can be very harmful in terms of making the right decision for a child. There are many children who have had organ transplants and they are required to take several anti rejection medications which can also have serious side effects if not given the right med and the right dose. I dont know any parent that would deny their children these drugs in order to attempt to sustain quality of life. Not every doctor is in it for the money and like any other profession, some are truly dedicated and some arent. In order to understand how the right medication and right dose is acheived for treatment of adhd, perhaps the below link will be helpful.
Evidence-based Medication Management for Children and Adolescents with AD/HD - CHADD Fact Sheet #3
My 13 year old son is on 72 mg. of concerta for about nine months with 25 mg of tenex to control impulsivity.
His anger can be turned on and off like a light switch. Usually when he does not get his way..but then an hour later he acts as if nothing happens. Does anyone else have this...i know part of it is him, adolescence, etc.
also he doesn't eat. he's picky to begin with but he is not getting enough protein...although he is growing normally.
any suggestions? jamie
Hi Jeff's mom
Makes you think you're living with Dr jeckyl Mr Hyde huh? My son used to be the same way. We've been to (alot) of professionals, and finally we went to a Developmental Behavioral Neurologist who explained to me what was happening. I'll try to explain like he did. He said that when some kids take a stimulant they tend to produce an excess of dopamine (they need the increase of dopamine for attention) but some kids produce too much. The excess dopamine exacerbates the side effects of the stimulant ( aggression, anxiety, OCD, tics, decrease appetitie ect..) But attention may be good. What our doctor did was give our son a very small dose of an Anti-Anxiety med called Abilify. He explained what it does is takes away or lessens the side effects of the stimulant except for attention. One of the side effects is increase appetite. My son has gained 4 pounds!
And guess what it worked, I was really hesitant about adding another med. but we had to try it because of his anger. just like your son he would be happy one minute and then all you had to do was say, you can't do that or have that, and Oh my God all H&%% would break loose! Then alittle while later he would say sorry mom or act like nothing happened.Aarrgh.
Now, you might get people telling you it sounds like Bi-polar which it kind of does. But in our case it was not, believe me he's had every test under the sun, and since the abilify he really is a different child, it did not change his personality, he just does not get angry or aggressive. He actually can play a game without getting all upset that "someone is cheating!" and he can now play with his little sister which he would never do.
OK, he still gets upset sometimes especially when he hasn't eaten (low blood sugar) I can always tell. Or when he is tired, or when the stimulant is wearing off. But it is a 95% better house to live in now. And he is happier how could he not be.
I hope that helps, I'm sure you'll get many other experiences and opinions. This is a great board.
hi taxi mom,
thanks so much for your reply. we have an appointment with our neurologist in about 2 weeks and i'm going to call him first and ask him about this. Our sons sound exactly the same! It drives me crazy.
jamie
Jamie ~ I just had to say that my son sounds like yours except mine is only 7. His eating is fine at home most of the time but at school he doesn't eat much even when he makes his own lunch(I let him do this figuring he'll eat what he makes....lol) doesn't always work