Hi IMac. Thanks for the reply. My son is doing okay. The diagnosis he received is also based on the fact that he claims he has seen "demons". These "demons" have never tried to communicate with him or hurt him. It is also based on the fact that he dislikes corporate America and wants to take his college funds, buy a van, and travel. (He's 14!!!)
My son is extremely articulate and has a vivid imagination. He has written poetry so poignant, I have mistaken them for professional music lyrics. He is a voracious reader and reads a wide range of genre including horror and fanasy.
However, sometime he has angry outburst that can frustrate and frighten me. It usually has to do with wanting him to do something he doesn't want to do. Or it can be taking a privilege away. I'm not sure if this is adolescence or his disease.
[QUOTE=melex]Hi IMac. Thanks for the reply. My son is doing okay.
It is also based on the fact that he dislikes corporate America and wants to take his college funds, buy a van, and travel. (He's 14!!!)
My son was diagnosed with ADHD in 5th grade and given Concerta (timed released Ritalin). As the years progress, his medication was increased until he was on 72 mg. In 6th grade, he began feeling angry at people, usually schoolmates that he felt wronged him. While he never acted out on any of these feelings, he would express them to me and his psychiatrist.
In 7th grade, my son began feeling paranoid. He felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck as though someone was watching him. He plays alot of video games and enjoys action movies, so I didn't place alot of concern on this. Last year, I had him take some neuro psych testing at the insistance of our psychiatrist. The testing showed that he exhibits signs of psychosis.
3 weeks ago, my son impulsively took an overdose of Concerta to get my attention. Well, he did. I called 911 and the paramedics took him to emergency. From there, he was sent to an adolescent psych hospital for observation. He is diagnosed as having Paranoid Schizophrenia.
I've looked on many websites and found that by using stimulants, you can develop psychotic behaviours. Sometime these symptoms go away, but sometimes not. It breaks my heart to think that I may have given him something that has caused this to happen. Please watch your children closely if they are taking stimulants so that it doesn't happen to them.
Imac, they diagnose schizophrenia in kids and have for years. I know someone who had a schizophrenic child. There is a site for Early Onset Schizophrenia. They may not diagnose it in Scotland. I do know, from chatting with others from different countries, that ADHD tends to rule the day in other countries and there is less of a tendancy to consider that it may be something else. This is, at least, what I've been told by many mostly frustrated parents. STimulants cause nothing, but can certainly trigger disorders that are latent. So can SSRI's. That doesn't mean kids are at high risk for this, but it happens. If your child has a predisposition to a psychiatric disorders other meds CAN bring it out. Unfortunately, the world of meds and our kids isn't perfect. I wish it were. .IMac38947.4095949074
Schizophrenia does not run in the family. I have taken my son to psychiatrists since 5th grade. They felt he had ADHD and put him on concerta. After 6 months, he began feeling paranoid. We changed psychiatrists because my son didn't trust his anymore. New psychiatrist kept him on concerta. My son began to feel angry, and strong opinions on Corporate America. He claims he saw "demons" and heard them. However, these "demons" never spoke to him.
I had a neuro psychiatrist do an indepth observation and her opinion was he is psychotic and needs to be in residential care. My son has never hurt anyone in his life, but he has very strong opinions.
My son ended up in a psychiatric hospital (one of the best in the country) and it is their diagnosis that he has Paranoid Schizophrenia. He has been put on anti psychotic mediacation.
I wanted to caution any parent that puts their children on stimulants that psychosis is something to watch out for. As for my son, I'm not sure his disease is a result of the meds, but if I had known, I may have asked for a different med to begin with.
IMac--I do understand that Concerta doesn't cause Paranoid Schizophrenia. I just wanted to share that when researching my son's diagnosis, I found that stimulants can cause psychosis that strongly resembles Schizophrenia.
While we have no family history of Schizophrenia, we do have Tourette Syndrome. I wish I had been more careful in checking out Concerta before giving it to my son for over 3 years.
.IMac38947.4099074074.IMac38947.4101041667They don't LIKE to diagnose it, but they will if it's obvious, especially if it's on the family tree. I lost the addy to the Early Onset Schizophrenia site, but I used to read it sometimes mostly out of curiousity. It was really sad. Sometimes schizophrenic teens would post there about their hallucinations--just very sad. It's a very sad illness...I hope this child's meds are removed. Sounds like they are triggering something more than ADHD. Unless schizophrenia runs in the family, I wouldn't worry about that too much. Schizophrenia IS diagnosed in children, but you need to take this child to a Psychiatrist (with the MD). This child needs the right meds, obviously not stimulants and obviously has a lot more going on than ADHD. Stims CAN trigger other disorders that are latent, which is one of the downfalls of stims. Antidepressants can too. I certainly would get another opinion and not let this go. If he has schizophrenia or bipolar, this type of treatment will only continue making him worse and therapy won't help until he is stable on the right sort of medication. Here is another site you may want to check out as the kids here have all sorts of disorders and have had all sorts of weird reactions to meds, and the parents are very astute. Good luck.