The agressiveness and moodiness is definitely a side effect of the concerta, in fact my ped says that it is a side effect of all the stims. The addition of the guanfacine really made chase much easier to live with in the evenings. It calms down the moods and aggression, and just mellows him out.
It also helps him sleep and I believe it helped his appetite though my ped said she had never seen it help with weight gain/appetite. In the first month, Chase gained 3 pounds.
Ask your doctor about the tenex/guanfacine.
I have the same with my 19 y.o stepson (mod ADHD, Poss bi-polar, low IQ). I've noticed that he loves to get everyone else in the house upset. I read somewhere that it stimulates his brain to cause chaos! So I try to ignore the bad behavior and just acknowledge the good behavior. Not easy, but I try.
I have a 12 year old ADHD son who is on Concerta. He does wonderful in school and never gets in any trouble there. The problem is when he gets home. He gets into these moods where you can't talk around him, the littlest thing will set him off. He has his little sisters scared. He will play with them 1 minute and the next he is hitting on them or doing something to try and hurt them. He refuses to listen to me when he is like this. He throws things at me and will do anything to make me mad. It seems to me he wants me fighting with him all the time. He says he hates everyone, he is going to run away, and then turns around and says Mommy I'm sorry and is all loving. What do I do? I told him we were going to talk to someone and he said he isn't talking to anyone. Please someone give me some advise....I'm at the end of my rope.
It sounds like maybe rebound. How long has he been on Concerta at the current dose?
I would also call his prescibing doctor and let them know how he is acting. Maybe concerta is the best choice.
My son is 9 and takes guanfacine along with concerta. I think the guanfacine helps any rebound from concerta. I also make sure he has something to eat, even a piece of candy. Their blood sugar levels can get real low.
Definetly get in touch with his doctor!
Regards
[QUOTE=susiequte]I have the same with my 19 y.o stepson (mod ADHD, Poss bi-polar, low IQ). I've noticed that he loves to get everyone else in the house upset. I read somewhere that it stimulates his brain to cause chaos! So I try to ignore the bad behavior and just acknowledge the good behavior. Not easy, but I try.
[/QUOTE]
Susie, is your stepson currently taking any medication? Has he ever? At the age of 19 what is he doing with his life?
I don't mean to pry, however, having a adhd son, I do worry about the future.
Thank you for sharing!
I can't really offer much advice except to say consult with his doc, but I do feel for you.Also, welcome to this board! We've all experienced stuff like this at one time or another.My 19 yo stepson takes Concerta, Celexa and we just added Tegretol to control his moods. His IQ is only 80, he has been fired from the only 2 jobs he's ever had. (Fired from Wal-mart last month for stealing 0). He has no ambition to do anything with his life!! I doubt he will ever be able to live alone, but we are about to the point of kicking him out because of his anger, moods, and unwillingness to help around the house, shower, clean up after himself, etc. His dad and I have only been married 18 months and this kid is coming between us. My biggest fear is that my husband will die and leave me with this kid!! Jared was adopted so we don't know a lot about his birth parents. I love my husband very very much, but this kid is causing some major problems for us!!
Susiequte
Is there an adult workshop for mentally disabled adults in your area? We have one and adults with issues such as your step son can do piece work...things such as trunk kits for new cars, with the jackhandle, etc in a pouch.....call the board of MRDD in your phone book.....I think that maybe they can help. I know in my area (very small town, rural area) they have group homes with supervision and even adults with downs syndrome are aided in their independence...it is worth a try...maybe they can get him a case worker and help him on his path.... I had the same problem with my little boy (8) good in school ay home go in to horriable rages anything set him off he would hit his head against the walls or try to hit my grnadaugghter ot nephew that r way younger then he is he was diagnoised with adhd cobo bipolar had him retested his docotr refuse to treat his bipolar lucly I found a very good doctor she put him on 10 mg foclian at 8 am and 25 mg strattera at 8 pm and for his bipolar Risperdal 0.5 mg at 8 am 3 pm 8pm so far he seems to be doing great. stimulant can make a child rage even more so if they have bipolar