A Grandmother’s search for answers | ADHD Information

Hello I am new to this and I have decided to do research to find out what I can find out about my grandson and his bout with ADHD. He is 13 yrs old and he has mood swings with his medicine. He told his mother he didn't like it becaused it ruins his day. I am not sure what that meant and he doesn't explain what he means. He is failing in 3 grades, he is up one moment and sleepy another. He doesn't like or think about getting into any sport or activities. He has been suspended from school 3 times this year, the 4th is a charm. He many times lies about taking his medicine and also other things.

I would like to know what medicines has worked for you and if you had experienced the same thing. I have suggest to his mother that she needs to find a group of parents also experiencing he same problem so she can get an understanding how to handle it. Things have gotten pretty bad and I want to find a solution and maybe by his next doctor's appointment she can suggest some things even though the doctors are suppose to know. She says that there is no medicine in between what he is getting now which is 20 mg a day now.

Ok, that is about it, hopefully others have experienced the same thing and can offer suggestions which may help.

GrandmaJ

What kind of med is he on? My son went through the mood swings also. Does this happen late afternoon, evening? Some parents find a short acting 2nd dose later in the day is helpful. I have not tried this for my son, but I'm sure other's on here can make a suggestion. My son was on Concerta 36mg for about 3 years. Within the past few months, he's had terrible moodiness/tantrums and said the medicine made him feel weird and like there was a brick wall in front of him . We've just switched him to Daytrana (the patch) 20mg. His mood swings have improved greatly. He also takes .1mg of Clonidine in the evening to help him sleep - has also improved morning attitude.

As far as the lieing about taking his medicine - I'd give my son his pill and a glass of water, he drank and had to open his mouth for me to make sure he swallowed it (not all the time, just the days he wanted to be defiant). The patch is a possibility but he may take it off himself when no one's around.

My son also has difficulty in school - before we put him on meds, he'd get in trouble for talking, punching, just about everything. Things have been better, but homework really frustrates him now since he's in the 4th grade and getting more. He's bright but he received an F in one class so far (didn't do/hand in homework assignments). Since the daytrana patch, it has improved but I go over every inch of homework and keep in contact with his teachers. He also sees a behavioral counselor which has helped some. Is his mother working with the school teachers/counselor on rewards/consequences? There's also a section on here for ADHD and school where you'll find many ways of getting him help with the school system - I'm checking into all the options myself.

By all means, please suggest to his mother that she visit this board. It has saved my sanity many times and I've only been on here a couple weeks. No child is the same, and she'll realize it's all trial and error but just being able to talk and "rant" will help get through some bad times and give that 2nd wind needed to keep fighting for her child and her sanity .

Welcome and best of luck to you, your grandson and his mother!

zjmom,

Thanks so much for your input. I am not sure when he gets moody. I think during the day he is hyper at night he lays around and withdrawn. I found out tonight that he is on Matadate about 20 mg. She says he takes both pills at once. His mother has been talking to the school and the 504 Law requires that the school provides help for kids such as my grandson. So there is a meeting next week.

Thanks for the information on the medication that seems to be helping your son. This is good information because it is something that we could perhaps try if this medicine isn't working. He has a doctor's appointment Nov. 9th, maybe they will change his medicine. I feel sorry for the kids to have to go thru this things and I also feel for the parents. I will pass this group on to her and she says she has been researching the web but every little bit helps.

Grandmaj

My daugter also had mood swings on certain meds. She is now on Dexidrine and it is great for her. The drawback is that she can't sleep at night. She takes blood pressure pills just before bed to help her sleep. Shes doing great.

Hi and welcome. It must be hard to watch your grandson struggle. How long has it been since he has had a complete evaluation? Maybe in addition to ADHD, he has another issue. Perhaps depression? if it has been several years since his last eval, you might consider getting another eval done. As children mature, the central nervous system also changes.

He also may need a different medication. DD was very down and moody on Concerta, for example. But at the time it was happening, we didn't know if it was a mood disorder, depression, or what was going on--VERY stressful period. Thank goodness I thought to ask the doctor to switch meds. Is he seeing a specialist such as a pediatric psychiatrist? A specialist for managing medications is very important. Don't give that job to his regular pediatrician. A specialist is current on the latest medications--it seems there are new meds every month or so.

Do you suspect a learning disorder? If so, he should be thoroughly evaluated by a neuropsychologist to find out if and what the cognitive impairments might be. It will also help you get appropriate school accommodations, if need be.

Those are some ideas to think about. Try to get his mood stabilized first. HTH, Good Luck!

Cr and Struggling mom,

Thanks so much for your input. Struggling Mom how old is your daughter and how long had she had ADHD? All of this helps to suggest other things. He was going to a professional he was talking with a professional at first but I think has terminated it because it got to be so expensive. I am not sure if he has been evaluated recently. I will definitely present these questions to her tomorrow. He is coming over to spend some time with me. Heck if that is the case of money and he needs that type of treatment I will help her pay for it but she probably didn't want to ask me to help. Also depression could be some of it also. Again, thanks for the input. It is the reason why I am here.

GrandmaJ

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Ok, that is about it, hopefully others have experienced the same thing and can offer suggestions which may help.

GrandmaJ

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I don't like what the medication that he is on currently is doing to him. From what I understand, these medications are to help, not make them depressed, withdrawn, moody, etc. They are to make them the most successful that they can be. I would start with a complete evaluation from a neurologist. Then I would find a good psychopharmacologist who specializes in medications and what works with what, etc. He may also need to just talk to someone after all of these have begun, however, you still need to have a complete diagnosis. A lot of adhd'ers have a co-existing condition. Depression is one of them, also bipolar. Your daughter needs to have things ruled out as well. Even learning disabilities. The school can also do an evaluation of your grandson, especially in his cognitive ways of learning, dyslexia, learning disabilities, etc. Your daughter needs to request this in writting to the school and stay on them to do it!! They are famous for avoiding as long as they can, however, if you know the laws, you can have them punished for breaking the law!!

Start with both a neuropsycho. evaluation - call your closest Children's Hospital and ask for that department, then have your daughter call the school and tell them what she want and that she will put it in writing - have her speak with special education.

There is also a parents organization in every town/city for parents of children with special needs, adhd is considered a special need!! She should also ask special ed. at the school about that - other parents from her school district can help her with all this because they all attend the same school district and live near each other!!

I hope this helps! Keep us posted to your grandsons progress, which is what will happen once the ball starts rolling!!

Hi GrandmaJ:
My daughter is now 15. I believe she has had ADD since she was in elementary school but was not diagnosed until she was 12/13. The reason being that she had a great learning base at home. I.E.: alphabets, colors, numbers and homework drilling from us. At around grade 6 she didn't want our help with homework anymore. This was where the trouble started. We thought it was just rebellion for about a year.

She was/is also depressed. The doctor believes it is because she has felt like a failure academically for about 3 years and also for the fact that she knew she was different but couldn't change it. She just wanted to be like everybody else. She was always in trouble at school for not finishing her homework, or not handing it in, silly things like not bringing a pencil or pen to class, not paying attention, late assignments, socializing too much during class, etc. She is also so disorganized.
She is now on the anti-depressant sertraline. She is doing so much better and she is much happier.

Your grandson may be up one minute and tired the next because of his meds. They cause insomnia. His brain is fully awake but his body is tired. This reason is why my daughter went on blood pressure pills. (She refused to take her meds because she wasn't sleeping, which lead to mood swings.) The doctor says that they are fine for her to take. I checked into this on the net and found nothing negative to stop her from taking them.

Your grandson probably doesn't want to get into any sports because he thinks he is not good enough. My daughter was the same way.

As far as taking his meds goes. I switched my daughter to once a day meds so that I may give them to her in the morning. She always forgot or just didn't take the afternoon one otherwise. The school also will administer them in the afternoon if need be but they don't always remember as the child must remember or the teacher is supposed to send them down to take them each day.

Anyway, don't give up. I know how you feel. I just wanted to make everything better for my daughter but unfortunately, better sometimes takes longer than we would like.

Bethan and Struggling Mom thanks.

It's always a good feeling to have people who have experienced similiar problems and can offer suggestions. I agree with you about the school trying to get out of their responsibilities. I have told his mother to make sure she keeps in close contact with the school. Use all that is entitled to you regarding this issue.

Stuggling Mom, the same traits of your daughter regarding school that she was doing is what my grandson is doing now. Turning in papers late or none at all, not paying attention, not being prepared. Oh my, did you hit the nail on the head about sports. No he doesn't want to get into anything! He was in baseball 2 yrs ago when he wasn't on the medication however was sad when he lost and pouted over it for a while. Again, thanks so very much, I am not giving up and now that I have more input it has to help.

I will definitely let you know how it goes. One thing about it, I have my own problems and certainly don't need extra to worry about grandchildren even though I love him so much.