Doctors offices are flooded due to children needing physicals scheduled for school is my guess they get busy between sick visits, routine baby check ups, and older kids needing physicals for school.
As for why your son may be mis-behaving which I am surprised no one else caught is bordem and lack of structure. There is serious bordem and lack of structure. Our children need structure and when the structure is gone they go crazy.
Jillette38886.6169560185where i live there is a shortage of pediatricians,the drs had a clinic with 4 drs,well two of the drs are leaving so i was told that for an appt for meds could'nt get scheduled til august.i even asked that could they put he was sick and i was told that since my son has medicaid if he isn't actually sick i would be billed for it.he has been on ritalin 10 which was the first med,then concerta 54 which made him not eat,medadate,and now focalin xr.i was trying to do the meds through the dr since my son is sooo skinny,he 46 inches tall and weighs 40 lbs and he just turned 7.he was doing so bad the other day that i gave him a concerta which used to last all day but within i'd say 4 hours he was completely worn off.i did take him to a neuropsych which cost me 400 dollars and all he did was dx him as adhd.he did recommend giving josh strattera and a small dose of ritalin but the pediatrician said he was'nt recommending strattera because of concerns.so i have no idea where to turn anymore.I work at an Office of Mental Health clinic in Brooklyn, NY. We specialize in children, and the bulk of our cases are medicaid. We have a pediatric psychiatrist on staff for those kids that need medication. I don't know what state you are in, but try to maybe find a Mental Health clinic in your area. Additionally, a child should be getting some form of pscyhotherapy along with medication anyway - pscyotherapy can help tremendously with many of the behavioral issues that go along with ADD/ADHD. In NY state, medicaid does cover Mental Health visits. Best of Luck to you.I would contact a child psychiatrist specializing in med management. They are REALLY easy to get into in my area. Also, with my medical plan the mental health authorizations are seperate from regular authorizations, and are MUCH easier to get. I don't need a referral from my primary treater. I think most plans work this way.The reason for the delay in appts is probably because you told them the problem and they list it as behavioral. Behavioral appts are catagorized differently and are a lower priority than medical appts. I bet if you call the pediatrician back, mention a high fever and earache you'd get an appt next week!! We ran into this last year too! Do what you can, and work the doctors office! You just have to know how to work around it because while it's a lower priority for them it is a very high priority for you!
tonisatx38884.7104513889my son who just turned 7 is on focalin xr 30,he was ok on this when school was on,yet when school got got out.he's been out of control,it seems as some days i can't do anything,last summer was'nt this way.i called the pediatrician to see what could be done but i was told that i can't get an appt until august,by august i will have lost my mind.i even called the mental health dr that is here and was told that an appt there would be in sept,so it looks like i'm on my own.since school was out he had a bday and his grandma moved and since he has been out of control.i'm i just needed to vent,i really don't know what to do.Why can't you get an appointment with your ped until August? If I call in the morning, I can get an appointment for our ped that day.
Do you think Focalin XR is making him worse? Can you just talk to the doc about possibly giving him a med vacation to see if he calms down? Some kids actually do get worse on stimulants (especially if the dx is wrong).
Sorry you're struggling.
I agree that finding a practice where there are many doctors to have access to might be in the best interest for you and your son. Another idea might be to try play therapy with him if you haven't already. I feel that my son has benefited form play therapy in conjunction with medicine and healthy diet. Just another person throwing out ideas. I'll keep you and your son in my prayers.I wouldn't even trust a Pediatrician for this sort of problem. I'd get him in to a Child Psychiatrist (with the MD) or a NeuroPsych. Pediatricians are out of their field when they start trying to diagnose behavioral issues. Seriously, what's so special about this pediatrician that he's booked until August? I would try to find a practice with several doctors who can help out when your "regular" is busy. Is the Focalin is first presription? Maybe he's taking the wrong stim. Kids react differently and may have built up a resistance to what he's taking. Are you stuck going to one clinic? Maybe you need to go to a walk-in clinic when he's really acting up and see what they can do. They might have someone they can schedule you with sooner. I don't know, I'm just tossing out ideas. Good luck, and remember, this too shall pass.