Thank you all for the responses I really appreciate it. I am sorry I haven't been able to respond I had to work a 12 hr shift today. That was the down side of my day. The upside to my day was this evening when my son's pediatrician was on the floor where I was working to see patients. We had a nice chat about how my son was doing and the problems I was having. He told me to call his office in the morning and he would get us into have the pysc (sp) eval done tomorrow. I then talked with my hubby, he pointed out that I have it pretty lucky to just bypass most ways to get what I want from doctors. I told him he better be happy that the doctors I work with trust me enough to give us what we need without having to show up in the clinic or the emergancy department. But my hubby didn't think that we should push for an inpatient stay now. He thinks that he should finish out the last 2 weeks of school and then do an inpatient stay. But it does not work that way as if there are no beds available in 2 weeks then we sit on pins and needles until we can get him into the hospital. So we have decided to see what my son's councilor thinks tomorrow.
I also understand the withdrawl from Zoloft. I don't work in behavioral health but get to float into the unit a lot. I have heard the stories about Adderall increasing the anger and agressiveness in kids. I think that we need to get all the meds out of his system and start over. Thanks again for all of the support.
He is on Adderall 20mg at 7 am and Adderall 20mg at 10 am and Zoloft 100mg every morning..IMac38945.4647106482Oh and he is followed by a peds developmentalistHi, I am new here and really need some advice. My son is 13 yrs old and in the last year has become more of a monster. In the past 3 weeks he has been pulled out of school and placed in alternative school twice. The last time was his 3rd stike and he will finish out the school year there. He tried to get out of a car going 30 miles/hour, cursed and swore at teachers at school and pitched a fit during Sunday school and broke a vase there. He doesn't realize that he has done anything wrong and he will blame everyone else for what has happened. I have been told by the doctor that follows him that he really didn't think he need to be placed in a behavioral health unit and that he wouldn't take him off his meds or do anything with his meds unless he was an inpatient some where. When I asked for a psyc eval I was told that the doctor didn't really think my son needed one. I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place with a ticking bomb that will go off at any second. Could I get some suggestions as to how to proceed with what is going on? Thank youwhat meds is he on? and what kind of doc is following him?Was he recently put on Zoloft? Or did his behavior change for the worse after being put on Zoloft?lillian38851.9003125He has been on Zoloft since mid July of 2004. His behavior has gotten progressively worse over the past school year. When he was put on it I had a very happy out going young boy. Since Oct of 2005 he has gotten more and more angry. It seems that if anyone tries to get him to try to conform to the group he will go off the deep end and act out.You said that a dr. was following your son? A developmentalist? Anyway, what is the dr. take on this? Has he/she witnessed any of this outbursts? What is the dr. perception of the environment your son is in? Are the teachers/kids/people giving him grief or is your son just acting out without provocation?Welcome. The thing you have to ask yourself is whether the meds are making your son better or worse. It sure sounds as if the meds are making your son worse. Adderall can cause anger and agression. It can also cause depression when used over the long haul. Zoloft can cause rage reactions in children. (My 13-year-old son had a manic reaction to Zoloft last fall, which caused nightly raging until we put him on a mood stabilizer.) I highly recommend you seek an evaluation by a board-certified child psychiatrist, who will help you wean your son from both meds. Zoloft must be weaned slowly, or your son will experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. We were working with a developmental pediatrician at the time of my son's rage reaction, and he had absolutely no idea how to help my son recover from his intense reaction. I'm not saying your doctor is not good, but psychiatrists really have more knowledge of and training in psychopharmacology. You also don't need the blessing of your current doctor to have a psych evaluation -- you should just go and find a psychiatrist on your own.
Only in weaning your son from both meds will you get a sense of where you are with him. You have absolutely no idea at this point what is going on with him. And by the way, it's not a bad idea to do it inpatient because coming off Zoloft can be unpleasant and it is helpful to have him watched 24/7.
Good luck. We're here for you if you have further questions.
How long has he been on the Adderall? Did the behavior occur before he went on any of his meds or worsen after he went on them or had an increased dosage?
You may need to ask the dr why he won't take him off the meds without his being an inpatient. What does he suspect will happen? Why can't he at least lower the dosages?
Sometimes the meds themselves are causing the behavior or making it worse. If so, it could be a reaction to something in it or even a misdiagnosis.
If you don't get satilfactory answers and the dr doesn't start doing something, find a dr who will work with you and not treat you as though you are wrong for questioning him.
Summer break is nearly here and it would be an ideal time to try to find the answers so he can start next year out fresh.
I agree with Smallmom. A Developmentmental Ped, from what I understand, follows a child's development for delays/autism. I feel that degree of behavior warrnants seeing a Child Psychiatrist (with the MD) and a re-evaluation of those meds. Latent disorders often pop up during the teen years. Adderrall and Zoloft are both very activating and could well be making him worse. I'd want another opinion at this point.