Patriciah, how long has he been on the Strattera?
My son, if he has enough sleep, has "out grown" the anger problems for the most part. Strattera has also helped him with this.
Hi! You are not alone. I also have an 8 year old who is ADHD with a problem modulating anger. He takes Metadate and zoloft in the morning and Methylphenidate and Zoloft in the afternoon. He is perfect in school but when he gets home it all changes. It was, if he didn't get his way he would get anger and throw things, things like that. Now it is 2or 3 times a day for sometimes, no reason. I have a knot on my arm from our first round today. He says that he does not remember anything that happens. I tend to believe him. He will just come at you hitting you, The first one today was "lets do your homework. I had to hold him on the floor for 20 minutes. I don't remember what the second one was. And the last, I was giving my daughter a bath and he stormed out of the bathroom and I went to see what was wrong. Of course going in the same room with him was the wrong thing to do, I meet his fist. His doctor says to Isolte him that to me is not the answer. I am scared he might hurt himself He was on a med. called Risperdal that really fixed the problem. It can also cause you to have permanite ticks. So his new doctor took him off of it. I really do not want him back on it, but I do not know what to do. The smallest thing is setting him off now and he has a younger sister who does not understand to stay away from him when he is angry and he also has an older brother. I don't want him to hurt anyone and I am not always around him. I too am looking for help
My son is 10 and has been diagnosised with ADHD. It has been 3 year nightmare on and off different med. he has had problems with ticts. As of this year we are having problems with him going to sleep. When he was first diagnosised his pediatrican put him on sttratta and Zolof. He had suicide thoughts at the age of 8. He knew this was not right, but could not understand why he was thinking this way. He then started with a tict, he was coughing severl times a min. I took him back to his pediatrican and he wanted to double all of his med. I got a second opinion and took him off of everthing. he now has no ticts and has no suicide thoughts. please be carefull for Zolof, it caused problems for my child. He is on Ritalin la know-it's not the best answer yet, but we can't give up.
Dave
I know that bi polar cannot be treated with any amphetamine based drug. Therefore this becomes somewhat more complicated. I guess if he is treated for his bi-polar and you find alternative treatments and programs for the ADHD - this may help.patriciah
Well you described my 8 year old as well. He gets tics from every med even straterra, risperdal, clonidine I could go on. He has to be on a stimulant for attention so we had to go with 5mg of Adderal, would work better if higher dose but then it exacerbates the neg. side effecets: tics, anxiety anger etc..
We saw a Developmental Behavioral Neurologist this summer and had brain mapping, cognitive, physiological, psychological testing. Very pleased with this, it finally gave us objective findings instead of everyones subjective findings for our sons behavior.
Anyway, my son started Prozac 3 weeks ago and we really notice a difference in his anger, much less and not as aggressive. We have had no problems out on the playground at school. Before it was a daily occurance. He just seems more in control over himself, I can see it in his face.
My son has OCD and ADHD.
My son is on Adderall XR (40mg per day) I also have issues with him being angry sometimes. Recently his pdoc has put him also on Risperdal. However, that caused him to become almost zombie like and his neck and head were all twisted and he had literally no control. I almost died myself when this happened as I didn't know what to do.
Thankfully he is ok. And now i'm even more confused, concerned and nervous about what we can do to help him. His pdoc says its also bipolar along with the ADHD but I just am so unsure. As he doesn't seem to be that severe.
I"m curious to know if anyone else has had this similar issue and had any success with other medications?
I have been dealing with my son and ADHD for two years. He is 8. He has been on Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and now is on Straterra. School issues have resolved. The problem is at home with his anger (of course directed to me -single mom). When ever he has to do something, even as simple as sit down to eat,he becomes very angry. He throws things, hits things (including himself). He hates everyone, he states he is stupid and that noone loves him. This lasts for about 10 minutes, then he is in tears and very apologetic. DOES this sound like any of your ADHAD children. I am beginning to wonder IF he has ADHD or has he been mis-diagnosed. He has had two phyciatrists, his pedatrician and a therapist. Could they all be wrong?
I am completely dumb at this point. PLEASE someone help!
-Getting Number
Patriciah,
You've could have been talking about my son including the path you took with meds (he is also on Strattera now).
We were finally referred to a pharmacological pschiatrist who added Risperdal to the recipe. So far the anger and fits have subsided and when they do arise, are at a point that my son can now exercise some self control and pull himself together. In other words, it still triggers (less often) but it doesn't escalate.
Of course one of the challenges of using off-label meds to treat these kinds of conditions is the fear of side effects. Our decision was a tough one but because of such a low dose and the very positive results the decision was one we were glad to have made.
Paul
Unfortuneately Single moms have these issues with their sons. I wonder if boys have this innate sense of, if they are the eldest male in the house, they need to be the boss.
My son also would have fits over nothing. He was almost inconsolable and could not be reasoned with, very angry with both myself and my husband. We saw his ped Dr this summer and his Ped ADD dr also. Felt this was anxiety related and tried zoloft and he has become a different child. Much easier to reason with and the fits have been a downgraded to a dull roar. Hope this helps. He also takes adderall for school.