Halloween was a total bust | ADHD Information

Horrible horrible night. Me and my three kids, my best friend and her two kids and a friend of hers and HER two kids all went trick or treating tonight. As soon as we got htre I knew it was goig to be a BAD night. Mac was really quiet...REALLY quiet. Didnt want any pics taken, wouldnt even try to ahve any fun. Once we started going up to doors, he got really weird. He just HAD to have me with him, woudlnt let go of my shirt tail or my hand and I HAD to go to the door. He refused to say thank you for the candy, wouldnt even look at the people. Now this is ODD for my kid. Every year he is off to the doors like a bullet, with out me or with me. So this was odd for him. I got so upset about him not saying thank you and just generally looking like he was missereable that I made him skip ONE house. WEll that blew the whole evening. He started crying, throwing a tantrum then started calling me names. So we went back to car, my firend took my DD so she could finish trick or treating. Then we headed home and on the way we had to go thru the historic district ( i live in the oldest town in tennessee) and they were having a big shindig with trick or treating on teh square, games balloons face painting etc. DD wanted to go and since she had been so good, i saw no reason not to, even the Mac refused. Tried to take him to my moms so she could watch him and he flipped out. Begging me not to leave him there just to take him home. So we stopped at McD's for dinner on teh way and POOF! Mac was back! Back to normal like NOTHING had happened. WTH is going on with him?! I drove home tonight in TEARS because it broke my heart taht he didtn have fun. We seemed doomed before we even hit the first house. I have no idea why either. He took his 18 mgs of concerta this am, then took 4mgs of Ritilin at 5 and things went down hill from there. I cant stand this rollercoaster. My nerves are shot, my hearts broken, and im exhausted....mentally and physically. I want him normal and happy damn it. Thats all I want. WHy is that so much to ask for?

Was it the food that did it? Is this the kind of thing that normally happens before dinner? I think the fact that his behavior changed drastically after he ate something is significant.

I feel for you, because I've been there, too. (((Hugs))) to you!
I agree. The food may be a factor. He could have a problem with maintaining his glucose levels. I hate to keep harping about this book whenever I leave a message but in "Optimum Nutrition For Your Child's Mind" the author (Patrick Holford) goes over how important keeping a level amount of fuel (glucose) going to your brain is. You need to choose only foods that do not have much sugar so that the body has to take the time to convert them to glucose, giving your brain a slow, steady supply of fuel. Have you tried taking him to a nutritionist or to the Pfeiffer Clinic for testing? Don't give up! Things will get better.

Too much stimulation. Once you were at McD's, just the three of you, big difference. My daughter can be the same exact way. Too many kids, too much noise, etc. and it's all down hill. Once we are one on one again she snaps right out of it.

45 minutes into trick or treating last night she wanted to go home and started getting cranky - we went home, no questions asked. She had about 45 minutes down time and then we went to a halloween party at our town hall. Within a half hour I could see that it was getting to be too much for her. We were outta there.

Beckysmom39022.3334143519

I agree with Becky's mom. When my son gets too stimulated and starts feeling out of control, it's H*LL on the rest of us. I always try to have a talk before we head into something like that, kind of,"You do what you're comfortable with and when you start feeling bad, just come and stand by me." He didn't even want to go out last night (after I spent two weeks on an Avatar costume!), but my husband talked him into 20 minutes and while they were out they ran into a friend of my son's, and stayed out with him the whole time. I think if it had been a bigger group they would have been home in a heartbeat.

Don't feel too bad about the night, because it's just one night in a long and fun-filled life. It won't hurt him and by next week he probably won't even remember how the night went.

Whatever the cause, the important thing to remember is that it's not their fault they do these things. When my son was diagnosed it really helped me chill out and not get so upset wtih him because I knew he wasn't doing these things to aggravate me or because I was not disciplining him enough. He couldn't help it. These kids are as frustrated as we are and its up to us to do everything we can to make their lives run as smoothly as possible. They tend to overreact to stimuli and sometimes scolding them even though they seem to deserve it can damage their self esteem and send them on a downward spiral. They need consistent discipline but extra love and loads of compliments too. That being said, you also need to take care of yourself and find time to relax, read a book, take a vacation with your spouse or friends, etc.

As far as the food seeming to calm him down, my son doesn't get out of control anymore but when we are doing homework and his concentration goes to zero, a quick bite of a nutricious snack usually works wonders within minutes. Also ADHD kids generally do better one on one and can get overstimulated and angry in larger groups. My son is hypersensitive to noise. It used to make him have an angry outburst in kindergarten when there was too much going on. Food allergies can also cause anger outbursts. The fact that you are asking advice and searching the net shows what a good, caring mom you are.

But would it happend that fast? I mean he was starting to come out of it before we got to McD's, but less then 5 min after he started eating he was different, out of his "shell" so to speak that he had been in all evening.

Hugs to you and Mac.

He's lucky to have you.

I am a parent with ADHD. My son is only 2 1/2, and has no diagnosis, but that is pretty much how our night went too(didn't want to go, freaked out with the crowds, major tantrums, while all the other toddlers were all happy and smiling). I am also bad with changes in my routines, overstimulated by large crowds, and all of that gets worse when my blood sugar is too low. So, basically I agree with what everyone has said. It was probably a combination of the stimulation, transitioning, and low blood sugar that resulted in a bummer Halloween. But like others said, they will have many more. At least that is what I am hanging on to!! I am worried that my son may also be ADD like me. My husband hates when I point out what I see as ADD traits similar to mine, but he is so extremely slow to warm, hyper, loud, inappropriate (throws things at the TV, runs through the house screaming, torments his pet rat, etc), throws major tantrums when he doesn't get his way or if we do something that he did not want us to do, like if he says color with me, and then I color what he wanted to color, or even if I colored something that he wanted, but used the wrong color (

), cannot stand large crowds, or even a group of more than 4-5 kids, can zone out on the TV, but then does not stay with a task, even a fun one, for more than a few minutes...is any of this sounding familar, like when your kids were toddlers? I really want to know because I was undiagnosed until I was in my early 20s, and even though my husband is not ADD, 3 of his 5 sisters, and his mom have ADD!!!

I know there is a hereditary link and with it being on both sides...yikes. Soooo, I worry that my son will also have to bear this burden. Any insight would be appreciated since I don't recall what I was like at such a young age and my parents don't remember 35 years back.

Thanks and here is too a better Halloween next year!!

I also agree that over stimulation can trigger such behavior and it is seen very often in children with ADHD. The over stimulation can cause these children to experience tremendous anxiety This is why they always fare better in small groups or in a one on one situation. You mention that your child is taking concerta and ritilan. Based on your observation, are these medications and doses working effectively for your child? Such doses are very low doses and usually the starting dose when the child is starting a trail of medication. On effective medication, your child would be able to filter out all the distractions around him in a large setting thus this would eliminate the feeling of being overwhelmed and certainly reduce his anxiety level. Hang in there mom. Hugs to you

I just remembered something funny that my oldest, non-ADHDer did when he was 8. The night before Easter he kept calling for us or coming down to use the bathroom. This nonsense went on 'til after 11pm, at which time I told him not to come down or yell unless the house was on fire, he was bleeding or throwing up. A few minutes later, we hear bawling. We go up to see what the problem is and he's hysterical. "I can't fall asleep and the Easter bunny won't come!!" He was up for hours, and so were we . Funny now, not so funny then.

[QUOTE=Better~Late]I am a parent with ADHD. My son is only 2 1/2, and has no diagnosis, but that is pretty much how our night went too(didn't want to go, freaked out with the crowds, major tantrums, while all the other toddlers were all happy and smiling). [/QUOTE]

This is for Better~Late. I think two is definitely too early to diagnose ADHD and if any pediatrician tries to give you meds for him RUN! I have been doing a lot of research on alternate methods of treatment because I have seen too many friends kids have major problems with years of medication. Most pediatricians just lump all kids with behavior or learning disabilities into one group and then medicate. We caved when our son was 7 because the school laid on the guilt trip making us feel like bad parents if we didn't but he started ticing on 27 of Concerta. We have him on only 5mg of Focalin now and it doesn't do much for him, just takes off the edge. Knowing what I know, I'm not willing to do more. I would rather home school if it comes to that. That is not to say parents who medicate are wrong but they often are not fully informed. Doc's in this country have a pill for every problem instead of finding and fixing the cause of the problem. I feel medicating or not should be an individual choice that should be left up to the parent, not the school or pediatrician.

There are several tests you may want to insist on having run on your son and yourself as well (we are important too) such as a hair mineral analysis test which tests for toxic metals and essential minerals, a Pyroluria urine test (which most doctors have never heard of but, if your Pyrroles are high, it can keep you from Absorbing B6 and Zinc which are essential for brain function), a full array of allergy testing for food and food additive allergies, a fecal test to make certain his digestive system is working properly (antibiotics can weaken your digestive system by killing too many good bacteria in your gut, making you less able to absorb nutrients), and a test for essential fats (our brains are made up of 60% fat and the myelin sheath around the receptor sites in our brains are made of the good essential omega fats. If we don't have enough good (omega) essential fats the brain won't function properly). If any of these things are going on with your child it can cause ADHD-like symptoms. We had to fight for the test but our son tested positive for Pyroluria. Supplements like B6, zinc and magnesium may help him significantly. It is also important because Pyrolurics can get worse with omega 3 supplements. They need omega 6. We are so excited there could be a curable cause for his ADHD that we are taking him to the Pfeiffer clinic near Chicago to have the full array of testing done. We cannot begin treatment until all of the testing is done but have high hopes it will work or at least help. All of these ideas are more popular in Europe and the right changes in diet are well documented to work in many kids with ADHD. Doc's are extremely resistant to it in the U.S. I'm sure I have told you way more than you wanted to know but I read all of these posts of distraught parents with kids on meds and it breaks my heart. If there are alternatives we need to seek them out and force the doctors to listen to us. If we see improvement with our son we will post the results in the coming months. It may take a while. Good luck to you!

{{{Hugs}}} to you. We have been there, done that! Overstimulation. Anticipating Halloween. This happens for us on Christmas and birthdays also! It's so frustrating because they should be having a blast, but they're having a meltdown.

My only advice is for the next big exciting event where he may get overstimulated and overexcited, anticipate that he may just become overwhelmed again. Have a plan B ready (McDonalds!) All kids have bad days. We moms have to be ultra-flexible to deal with them sometimes. Hang in there![QUOTE=macsmom]

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WOW! That is exactly what my son did. He's 5.5 and he didn't even MAKE it to the FIRST house! He dropped his bag and ran back to grandmas. Instead of trick or treating he went to church wiht grandma. Last year he was RUNNING up to the houses and always saying thank you. AGH! This boy! It's definetly very ODD for my child - I feel you completely! :-)

I hope that everyone can nip this in the behind nextyear!