Son diagnosed at age 2.5, is that possibl | ADHD Information

My son was diagnosed with severe ADHD with major anxiety at age 2.5 with a question of pediatric bipolar disorder. We were very reluctant to medicate due to his age as you all could imagine but with a new baby in the house and his emotions so out of control we started meds. when he was 3. He started on Stretarra but seemed to be more aggressive, then Adderall but had a skin reaction possibly due to his ezema. He was then put on Concerta, doses played with and Clonidine for sleep aid in the beginning. I question if I am doing the right thing every single day and worry about my little boy constantly, I could actually need help with my anxiety issues myself. I am off work today and we are out of his meds. and no money to refill for another week or so. I think I can see the difference in him since he has had no meds for the 4 days now, is that really possible? Will it harm him to be off meds for 2 weeks? He had a 3 month break from meds. when my husband was on seasonal leave but I dont think we will do that again. We have been told of long term affects if not medicated and I just dont know what is right anymore. Any advice or insight would be great.

There should not be a problem being of the Concerta. Stimulants are in and out of your system in a matter of hours. 12 hours for Concerta for most. The Clonidine should not be just stopped. I'm not sure if he is still on the Clonidine or not.

When you say you see a difference what do you mean? He is ok or not ok off the meds? With Concerta you would most likely notice him not on it in one day.

What does his doctor say about the on meds off meds thing. A lot of people go off meds every 6 months or so to check symptoms especially in a child this young. This should really be done under guidance of your physician.

 

He started having nightmares again the day after he was off and today was a long day. He just can not stand still, gets very angry and will not even let me finish a sentence before he starts mouthing off or just refusing to comply. The Dr. was actually happy we took him off meds for 3 months so we could see that our son did indeed have some struggles and it also helped us realize that eventhough he is quite large for his age the dose he was on was to much. We were given 5mg Ritalin for the afternoon but I have heard so much negative that I am afraid to give it to him so we just hold on tight from 3-8PM. We have not given him the CLonidine for some time and he sleeps better with the lower dose of Conserta, he was on 27mg now only 18mg which he gets at 5:30AM just before I take him to day-care.So it sounds like he was does much, much better on the meds. Well the decision when/how to medicate is up to you and your physician. My daughter needed a short acting Ritilin (5mg) after her long acting med wore off for a while too. A lot of people do that.

I feel 2 1/2 is young. Others may disagree, but at that age, I think they are pushing it. My son was diagnosed just before 5, still young to some, but he truly is ADHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHD.

Do you have him in preschool yet? We had our son at an integrated preschool with children with and without disabilities. My son also has speech and sensorie issues so he was to recieve services, but didn't, long story but we got an IEP out of it.

My son was on strattera for a few months until he became depressed and told us he wanted to die. We stopped the meds immediately and he never talked like tht again. He was 7 at the time.

We live in Massachusetts. Here I don't think they would truly evaluate and medicate at your son's age. What does his pediatrician think?

I agree he should be evaluated by a psychiatrist although he is is young and it may be difficult to diagnose even by a psychiatrist. at least, though, you'll have a baseline evlaution to go from. If he has anxiety issues the ADHD meds can easily exacerbate that. Some kids get better once ADHD symptoms imrpove, but some, like mikne get more anxiety. Again (sorry to keep bringing it up, but it's a big part of this), he is VERY young. How old is he now, you say daignosed at 3, but when was that? Your doctor is somewhat right in that a couple of meds is not a large sample, we have tried many.

The Strat was strted to high, and ramped too quickly, it is strictly dosed by weight. That is probably why he had issues with it. It totally frustrates me that Dr's don't read the prescribing info.

 

If he has not seena Psychiatrist and been evaluated by one, I would not be quick to medicate. He may very well not have ADHD.

The only problem I can see is that none of the meds have been tested or are recommended for children under 6. That would make me hesitate, but it is your decision. I am curious what dosage of Straterra he was started on? It usually only causes aggression at too high( agression) or too low ( modd swings).

Does he have any comorbids besides tha nxiety? What is te anxiety being treated with? Sometimes it is easier to get a handle on the anxiety then address the ADHD.

At this age my son really benefited from play therapy and 123 Magic- I highly recommend both. 

Who dx'ed him? Your right to think it's very young to be dx'ed- children this age can be extremely active, defiant, and innattentive and most of them grow out of it.  That's not to say that he doesn't have adhd- he very well may, but be careful.

And make sure to take care of yourself too.  You'll have a much easier time dealing with the behavior if you're rested (as much as possible w/ the new baby) and have some regularly set aside time to yourself.

He was started on I believe 18mg Stretarra for 3 days then it increased to 25mg I think. It was almost 2 years ago that the was tried. We spoke about the anxiety issue with his phycologist but he agreed with the DR. that he was severe enough ADHD that that needed to by treated. I do not no for sure why we are afraid of the RItalin, we tried it for 3 days and did not see enough of an effect to continue and he was again staying awake until 10 PM which caused more problems since I have to get him up at 5:30 AM. Our son was in play therepy as well but was literally kicked out after 5 sessions due to lack of progress, they actually told us he was becoming more anxious and withdrawn with each visit. We only have one child psyciatrist in town and you need a referal, our DR. told me that we have only tried 3 meds. and he needs time to adjust and learn controlled behavior before he thinks our little boy would be a canidate to be seen. I have some huge social anxziety problems and my husband has family history of depression and scitzophrinia so I really want our child to see the best professional possible.my son was diagnosed at 2 and i struggled for a year before i gave him the meds. my pediatrician said to me that this is a handicap and that i shouldn't continue to leave him untreated and leave him in that state. i contemplated waiting til he started school but it is better to weed out the meds that work BEFORE they start school. it takes some time to figure out what works for each child and as they grow, it can change, or they build resistances, etc. my son is 9.5 now and this has  been a long road, with a long ways to go. i am frustrated out of my mind, but don't let age be the deciding factor for getting help. the day we started my ds on the proper meds for him, he started to say letters and sounds that he couldn't before. you never know what you might be unlocking. i struggled with the guilt and the 'maybe i'm not doing enough' mentality, but you can't change a disability any more than you can change these kids. you have to make your mind up and go with it with a vengance and know that you want what is best for your child. you will be more confident in your decisions with as much self education as you can find. it has been our experience, and confirmed by our dr, that the meds work cumulatively in the system and it's not good to stop and start. constant and consistant is best, if the meds are helping.

Tell me if I'm right here, but wouldn't he respond well to ADHD meds only if he is indeed ADHD?  If so, the improvement on meds confirms the diagnosis, even though it's young. 

My son was diagnosed 2 weeks before his 3rd birthday. But his therapists (OT, Speech, and physical) were saying he needed to be tested when they firsted started seeing him (at 22 months). But I told myself they did not know they were talking about! Finally I thought maybe there was something when he was continually kicked out of 3 vacation bible schools, and sunday school.

 I took him to 7 different doctors (including a neuro-psyh.) and they all said the same thing he had  ADHD with severe impulsivity. He started on Focalin XR and has been on it for 2 years now. He will be 5 in July. The meds have done alot for him. After 3 months of being on the meds he tested out of OT, he was finally able to sit still and listen to learn what he needed to do. From the time my son was 1 1/2 I was told by several specialists my son was so developmental delays that he would require SpED. I am proud to say that my son just completed K4 and can read on a 1st grade level!!  I have tried taking him off the meds. but without them he can not even write his name because his hand shakes so bad.

 I am not an advocate for meds by no means (I tried the herbal stuff, and changing his diet) but meds where what worked for MY CHILD.  

Also I was told by all 7 specialists that there are 2 ways to tell if a child does indeed have ADHD  1.  you do the brain mapping    or 2. you give them the stim. med. if it calms them down then they do have ADHD but if it "speeds" them up then they do not have it.

I think you need to do what you and your dr.s think is best for YOUR child, not matter the age, but that is just my 2 cents!!! 

  Tiff

momtologanjacob,

Hello, I read your post and thought it couldn't have been said any better! I completely understand every word you wrote!

My son was early for the diagnosis,by me. I actually diagnosed him myself before he was 3 because I read so much about it. My son was in Early Intervention for speech and OT and they would say autism. Children's Hospital Boston ruled that out before he was 2. But he was so H and had his two delays that I knew something was up and I wanted to know! He is my first and I am a worrier.

My motherly insticts were confirmed right before his 5th birthday. We didn't officially go for the neuropsych until he was almost 5. NO meds were mentioned by the diagnosing doctor. We regretably didn't start until he was 6 1/2 

Biggest regret of my life! He suffered longer than he should have. He is lucky because he is smart and his education,  reading and math, did not suffer. As much as I think his penmanship is good for a boy, the school has really worked with him, both his OT and teachers, which is fine with me!

Such a wonderful post, well said!!

Beth