My son is 17 and is starting to rebel against meds. He has been on Ritlin since he was 8.Later they swapped him to Ritlin la. The anger outburst got worse.Then they swapped him to Concerta.3 days into the concerta he was as angry as a bunch of bees.With the Ritlin la they gave him Tegretal for the anger but he was still angry. Since I pulled him from the concerta his mood got better he wasn't as angry as before.When I went back to the psych. and told him this he says if my son has bipolar then stimulants will make him worse so he put him on Trileptal 300 mg. starting off with only half till he built himself up so that the side effects wouldn't be so bad.4 days into this my son starts complaning that he doesn't like this med either. The next day he wrecked his car and blames some of it on the meds.No more meds he says. At 6ft. 2 and 184pds. I can't hold him down and give them to him. So I need advice as what to do now.Where we live we can only see psych. once a month. So for now we are without meds.
Can anyone help with this.
momsanders
I will ask him to post because that is a great idea because he says that everyone just wants to medicate him and not listen to what he has to say.I listen but between therapist and pysc.docs.I don't know what to do. Right now his decision is no meds.The counselor we went to see says no way he should be off meds.And I agree with you he is telling me all the time that he just wants to be a normal teenager.And I laugh and ask what is normal when it comes to teens?He says that when he is off meds. he is happy and that the frustrations and anger are gone.I guess he is referring to all the years on Ritlin and the trouble he stayed in because of the anger. My big concern tho' is if this is bipolar then he will only get worse and maybe not make good decisions after he turns 18.We are trying to find a dr. who would diagnose him instead of saying it might be this or it might be that.We just have to find one that will accept his ins.Can you get him to post on this or one of the other ADHD boards (sections where adults and/or teens post)? Maybe if he feels he has more control, he will take a more active role in his medical care. He is at an age (size) that he needs to be involved in his own care and the decision making. Also is there a couselor that he can see? I have not been through this with ADHD teens yet, but diabetic teens can really rebel against their treatments because they hate so much being different from their peers (they have not yet learned that everybody is different and similar). vickie38957.5460532407What is his behavior like when he is not on meds?My 13-year-old son was on Concerta for 1.5 years. At age 12, he asked us to take him off of it because he felt flat and inhibited. We agreed because we have always felt that we should listen to him and he should be part of his treatment decisions. It turns out Concerta was depressing him, and he was right to stop it.
My son also has anxiety. When we attempted last fall to medicate it with an SSRI, he had a prolonged intense manic reaction that did lead to a dx of bipolar disorder. In our experience, both stimulants and antidepressants did make him worse. So it is important for you to discover what your son's true dx is. Our pdoc, BTW, said Trileptal would not be a strong enough mood stabilizer for a teenage boy. My son is on a combo of Lamictal and Depakote (he falls strongly on the depressive end of bipolar disorder).
Your son is 17. In another year you won't have any say in his treatment. It is wise for you to find a doctor who will work with your son and you as a team in solving the issue of what treatment your son should have.
My sons behavior off meds.is almost constently moving loud talking gets frustrated for only short periods of time impulsive-has a thought and either says it or attempts to do whatever he thinks without worry about getting into trouble.He also does not sleep well at night. He gets up and goes to school on about 3 or 4 hours sleep.Eats better.Has a sense of humor and more playful. Bossy both on and off.More demanding on meds.Also on meds. he is easily frustrated and it turns to anger to the point he has to punch something Off we have not hit anything.On meds. he is sooo serious about everything.When on meds. he still has trouble sleeping and will self medicate with Tylenol PM.Still gets into trouble on meds.The impulsiveness is there no matter what.An example is he was driving to the store in my explorer and decided to check out the 4 wheel drive by going thru huge mud holes and covering my truck with mud both inside and out. 2 days later he wrecked his car by hitting a tree but it was raining that day pretty bad but he was on the mood stabilizer at that time.He says that he doesn't like the way it slows his brain process down and he says he can't react as he needs to.Some of what he does is normal teen goofiness but it is hard to know which one is driving him at the moment.He also has alot of the time that no matter what he is in control and thinks that nothing will happen to him.He manipulates no matter-off or on.He also has been told that he has RAD.Reactive attachment disorder.This caused from living in foster care since he was 8 and sometimes having as many as 3 homes in one year.He also has a dx of conduct disorder and a depressive disorder. So as you can see nobody has told him exactly what the problem is they just seem to medicate and try different meds. I think he is just tired of all this and wants to be treated like he is normal.
Thanks smallmom I just want you to know that I am glad someone else can see things my way. This is my arguement all the time. Please help me find something that he will work with because when he turns 18 I have no say-so I have very little right now as we are trying to get him ready for adulthood.My concern is that if we don't find what works now when he gets older he will turn to alcohol and self medication.We are currently seeking a dr. that will help us because the one that he sees now only comes to our community once a month.The counselor says that to swap meds. we have to see him. So at the rate we are going at now he will be 25 years old before they get it right.By that time he will be frustrated at the dr.s and probally give up on them.My son also has anxiety and can stress himself out terribly over everyday stuff.When I asked the dr about this he says just try the meds.The only thing they have given me is the mood stabilizer lately.This is a good kid and I hate what he has already been thru' and I know that he was moved from home to home because of his behavior.Nobody took time to find out what the true cause of his problems were.So I will try to and hopefully he won't give up on this.He has a therapist that says that he is just being defient and that there is nothing much I can do but I don't believe her.
Thanks,momsanders
I have a 16 year old who is on meds for ADHD. We havent hit the defiant years because he realizes he needs the medication to focus, and to stay out of trouble. He rarely forgets to take them on his own. Its sounds like your son hasn't had alot of positive effects from the meds. and has to realize himself that they help or don't. Right now he sounds sick of the problems he's having on the meds. It may help for him to experience some negative effects himself- like inappropriate behavior etc. for him to seek out the med.s again. I feel bad for the frustration and worry you are going through and hope things get better for you soon.