Son not doing well on medication | ADHD Information

What kind of doctor dxed your son? How exhaustive was it? Was it just through questionnaires for parents and teachers? It's very possible that you have more going on than just ADHD. ADHD usually has co-morbid conditions. This means that your son may be dyslexic or have sensitivity issues or in our case dysgraphia. There are other LDs that may be happening right along side the ADHD. If you haven't already, go to a neuropsychologist and get a dx. They do exhaustive testing and can identify all of the issues your child is facing. Sometimes insurance covers it, depending on what kind of plan you have.

Is this the first time you've tried meds with your ds? Do you give him meds on the weekend? My son is on Daytrana which is a ritalin patch and doing very well on it. He says there are no low spots in his day anymore. Since you're trying to solve the meds problem, go to the medications board (use the forum jump at the bottom of the page). You may also want to look at the alternatives board. This board deals with non-med ways to treat ADHD.
I could use any advice on what is happening to my 5 year old. He is now on 15mg of Adderall XR. The last two days have been brutal. He doesn't want to sleep and is very argumentative and mean. The teacher just says that she is baffled and doesn't know what to think. He talks non stop...even while on the medication. I am considering asking the doctor to try a new medication and possibly Zoloft to help with his temper and moods. He was doing well for a few days and then he started to slide downhill. We know he is ADHD but we cannot seem to find a medication that works. I know there are alot of them out there but when you are 5 yrs old and won't swallow pills, the choices are limited. Please help with any suggestions. I am awaiting a call from a dietician as I write this. I just don't know what to do. To top it all off, all of the office staff has gone home and I can't get anyone to talk to me and they tell me to take him to the emergency room (which he doesn't need) or wait until Monday. How is that for help!!!

Thanks for the book info. I will try to go out this weekend and buy. What does Greene PHd think this fixation is related to?

Finding this board was the best thing for me in realizing that we are not alone in our fight to help our child deal with the cards he was dealt in life. Wish I would have found it a year ago.

Thanks. Taxchick1

Adderall has a reputation for making kids moody and aggressive as a side effect. Instead of adding Zoloft to the med mix (which in and of itself can bring out other bad side effects), I would recommend asking to stop the Adderall and make sure you have the right diagnosis. What other meds has he tried? What were his reactions? Honestly, you might be looking at something beyond ADHD.

We did go through alot of questionaries last year and once again since we moved to a new state (husband in the military). I am with both of you when you say this may be something beyond ADHD or something else in addition. He was to begin testing this week but doctor was MIA and had to come back home and reschedule for next week. He was on Adderall IR 5mg from Sep 05 until recently when they put him on Adderall XR and went from 5 mg to 10 up to 15mg over the last month or so. We never skip days or weekends but I am going to not give it to him this weekend and see what happens. We go back to the Dr on Tuesday and testing begins on Wed. They are telling me that they are looking at a form of autism called Ausbergers. I have researched it and my son does have alot of the traits and he is only 5. I think I am moving in the right direction I just think the Adderall is causing my normally ADHD but pretty sweet kid to be down right horrible with his moods and sleep. I also have a 4 month old so last night I got no sleep between the 5 year old not wanting to sleep and the 4 month old waking up due to the older one.

He really had no reactions on the Adderall IR 5mg but it started to wear off quickly and then we saw no benefit from it. That is why they switched to the XR version. I am definitely going to ask to stop Adderall and try another route. He really cannot function at school without it but he is a ver young 5 and he is going to repeat kindergarten next year at a private school...he is in private half day now. I will keep you posted but I hope I can just make it until next week. I am going to research dysgraphia which you spoke about and see what it is. I have never heard of it. Thanks for the info.

Adderall XR was the first med. we tried. Our son is 5 also, and this was last year (Age 4). Adderall made him cry for hours on end, he was miserable. I know all meds. react differently with different kids, but you may need to put a little pressure on your Dr. to switch him. We went from Adderall to Focalin and had some success for a while, but we are revisiting it's effectiveness, as now he is back to his old ways, and seems at times worse. Good luck to you and your family. We are having the same issues right now and I am also trying to make heads or tails of it too!

Hi.

Are these military doctors your child is seeing, or private through Tricare?

Adderall was a disaster for my son when we tried it when he was 8. We only lasted 4 days on it. Scared us so bad we wouldn't even consider stimulants again until he was 10. I was very uninformed about how these meds work back then. In hindsight, if I knew then what I know now, we would have tried different meds and doses.

As another poster said....... this may be beyond ADHD, but without a professional evaluation, its hard to say. Can you describe one of his behavioral incidents, how far it went, and what you think triggered it?

Okiemom

okiemom38982.5976967593

We use private doctors not military. I will give 3 examples:

1) Excessive talking form morning to night bouncing from subject to subject barely taking a breath. This happens most days. He can't sit still unless he is hyper focused on some task that he wants to do...at the moment he is wrapping up things he has found in the house for "presents." He will sit and string beads for hours. He will not sit at school and seems to bounce all over and walk around.

2) We were shopping the other day and he was told that we had to go one place before going to the next. He started asking over and over to leave the store and go the second place. We warned him to stop and it escalated to an all out crying, kicking, biting session and he was taken to the car by Dad and followed by me. I was able to calm him down but he was overstimulated and we had to count to 10 about 50 times and he still was worked up.

3) Yesterday he wanted the laptop that his uncle gave him a while ago. Unfortunately, the movers packed it and we have yet to find which box and there are lots of them in the attic. He asked over and over about 100 times and had another meltdown like the shopping one. He gets fixated on things/ideas and can't move on. He woke up at 12:15 this morning and wanted to know where the computer was after I had explained in detail that it was packed and we would eventually find it.

This behavior is only part of what we go through each day. SOme days are better than others but I know things have to get better. I have hope we can find out exactly what is going on and work to help him become everyhting he wants to become. Thanks for the advice I am taking it all in and will report back as the testing goes on as well as the doctor and medication.

Get a copy of "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene PHD and read some of the stories in it. There are ones described in there about children who get "stuck" or fixated on an topic or issue. Dr. Greene does a good job of explaining in laymen's terms what the mental process and mental "blindness" the child goes through when they are stuck in this inflexible thinking mode. Kind of like a "broken record" mode.

The book has great tips for parents on how to help your child avoid trigger situations.

Good luck! Stay on the boards. You aren't alone dealing with a child who is inflexible.

Okiemom

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Thanks for the book info. I will try to go out this weekend and buy. What does Greene PHd think this fixation is related to?

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As I recall.....he explains it as kind of a neural disconnect in the brain. I'll go dig out my copy of the book and try to excerpt a few of his comments later today.

I do remember that Dr. Greene stresses that a lot of these kids who get into this inflexible "stuck" type thinking mode many times get misunderstood by their parents (and teachers), who many times just feel the child is being deliberately disobediant and willfull. He gives examples and tries to help parents not fall into that trap, because it can have serious ramifications. A parent who wrongly thinks the child is doing this deliberately can easily get into situations of child abuse and their bond with the child can be seriously damaged. Now.... I am certainly not saying our kids don't do willful, deliberate, manipulative things to get their way..... my son is great at trying these tactics. But a parent really has to understand the difference between those behaviors that are non deliberate and beyond their control....and those behaviors that are manipulative, deliberate, and willfull. Not easy. Okiemom

He is in private school so testing is being done through the private sector. He does really well on clonodine and is best to work with when he is given that medication with kind of slows him down. The dr has mentioned Risperdal and Zoloft as the next possible step with the testing. Thanks for your help. [QUOTE=taxchick1]

I am going to research dysgraphia which you spoke about and see what it is. I have never heard of it. Thanks for the info.

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Dysgraphia is a disconnect between the brain and the hand. The brain knows stuff like how to make letters, that capital letters go at the start of a sentence or that you don't have to squeeze the words in at the end of the line, you can start a new line. It just never seems to come out through the hand that way. My ds writes like a kindergardener. Caps in the middle of words, words not on the line, everything squeezed in a the end of the line. When he types, it's flawless. Your son doesn't sound like dysgraphia is a problem, or at least that's not the main problem that you need to solve first. I don't have the kind of experience with issues like the ones you face, so I can't give any good advice except: The parents who are responding to your post know what they're talking about. They're all terrific and smart! You've picked a good place to start!

If your son has Aspergers (a form of high-functioning autism), the fixation is related to that disorder (not ADHD). Most kids with autism have ADHD-like symptoms, but not all do well on stimulants. Some kids with autism are also prescribed atypical antipsychotics like Risperdal for moodiness and aggression. Some have extreme anxiety that need calming with SSRIs like Zoloft. All need school-based interventions in the form of an IEP. I personally think you need to nail down the dx. Only then will you be able to put the proper interventions into place.