is this normal? | ADHD Information

oooooh thank you. What's the paste do? Help with the dry mouth or is just a cavity protection thing?well, I dont think it would hurt to ask about them. I will on our next appointmentnope definitely wont hurt to ask. The only side effect she is seeing is dry mouth, but it is tolerable.

Hi Diane V

Watch out for cavities with the dry mouth.  We've found that kids and adults on meds which cause the limited saliva have a tendency to have dental issues.  We have a paste at the moment that helps with this. It may be worth asking your dentist.

well, I thought it was unrealistic of me to expect him to turn into a "normal" child with meds. I always thought that with the meds, he would still talk a lot, still be somewhat hyper etc..  I never thought the meds were a cure all.  Now I am wondering. He can be sweet.  Like today, he is home with me and there is no stimulation from other kids.  He is not running around, jumping or talking too much.  He asked me if he could help me clean up.  When he has any stimulation, however, he is gone gone gone. On the ship we just got off of, he could not sit at dinner, he stood next to his chair or sat with one leg or walked around the table.  This is on meds mind you.  Too much stiimulation.  Is that what the meds are supposed to squash?

Does he have coexisting anxiety? Maybe he gets socially anxious.

To answer your question though, yes the meds should help his hyperactivity. He wont no longer have ADHD, and he will still have "stuff", but life should be easier for him on his meds. What is he taking? If he's doing fairly well on it maybe the dose could just be increased.

The excitement of certain situations may overwhelm the effects of the meds at the current dose, just as stress does. My youngest is only on the risperdal and guanfacine for the summer and is doing great. I know that when the challenges of school come around, we will have to add back the focalin. The demands of school are higher than the demands of home and she needs extra help to meet those demands. I also add an afternoon dose of guanfacine when she has a socially challenging activity planned for the early evening. This slows the impulsiveness that can place her and others in danger and prevents the overstimulation from causing a melt down,

The meds are not a cure-all. They can certainly curb behaviours that adversely affect his interaction with others (eg impulsivity that can set him apart from others and affect his self esteem), or put him or others in danger. If the behaviours are not a problem, there is no point addressing them.

My youngest has a friend that gets crazy with her (and they have had a massive 10 day play date with sleep overs until today). The 2 of them feed off of each other's energy and they need to be watched more carefully when together. This is managable and not worth optimizing her meds to effect. However, these same kinds of activities in school would set her apart from others (which has led to teasing) and causes more risky behaviours which are not as closely watched at school. Others do not expect an 11 year old to do the impulsive things that a 7 year old would do and so there is a lot less supervision.

vickie39286.3321180556

My son is/was like that. He is ADHD hyperactive and impulsive. I think he did that to get attention and get a rise out of us.

I also think it is a maturity thing. He doesn't do anything like that anymore. He is 10 now and it has been quite some time. It may have ended with meds at age 6, almost 7 or he just out grew it!

But I do think it is a BOY thing to say "things" to get a rise out of girls, to try to scare or gross them out!

Both my kids bring up things from months and years past. I have never thought it was unnormal. I sometimes talk with my husband and friends about things gone bye.

My 5 year old NT, is always bringing up things from the past. She also says things like what would happen if we drove this car off that bridge? In her case I think she REALLY wants to know what would happen. I woudlnt be too worried about it. Vickie's advice is good about trying to explain how it makes others uncomfortable (although it may make him do it more if likes to instigate his sister ).

I also agree about the med check. If his symptoms are not relieved maybe you should re-evaluate and change his meds? His meds should help with all of those things.

well, today, with no stimulation from others, he was the perfect child, literally.  His brother is home now and he is still good. What happens though, is he gets with other kids and starts getting hyped up and then he starts bossing others around, being pushy, telling everyone what to do.  I measure the meds working based on school performance.

Last year, I was told he was an angel on Foculin xr, twice daily.  When the dr changed it to Concerta and titrated up, the teacher called me for help constantly that he would not sit still, would blurt out answers, etc...We changed him back the last 3 week of school and he went back to being a great kid who sat still and did his work.  The teacher also told me that he had friends that he played with on a regular basis and seemed to have no issues with other children.  I did notice, however, that he was only invited to one b-day party for the entire year.

Maybe, while they are watching 2 classes on the playground, they are not really seeing how he is with others. 

Both my kids are totally "off- the- wall" on a daily basis- and only one of them has ADHD!  It ranges from absolutely horrifying (an out of the blue comment about how so- and- so's pet is going to die) to the truely bizarre (an 10 minute monologue on purple eyeshadow).

Our teenage babysitter has told us that they are "the most interesting children she's ever met", but she loves them. 

It's definetely worse in high- stim. settings, but I think it's more of an attention thing than anything else.  And let me tell you- it works!

 

Has anyone noticed your child saying things way out there?  Today in the car on the way back from the airport, I heard my ds aged 6 telling my 4 year old that he was going to put out his eyeball and then laughed, saying it was a joke.  I told my son I didnt find statements like that funny and if he said them in school, it could get him in trouble.  Then he stated that he was going to cause us to have an accident.  He again laughed and stated it was a joke.  He always makes comments like that and I am beginning to wonder if this is normal behavior for a child his age or what.  He is still innatentive, unfocused, hyper, talkative and all over the place whether he is on his meds or not. The only thing they enable him to do is sit in class so he does not get into trouble with the teacher. 

I am also wondering....sometimes, out of the blue, he will ask me about something that happenned months ago, completely off the subject.  Is this normal also?

HI longsally,

My youngest used to talk that way. She was impulsive and curious and was entertaining herself and getting a rise out of others to further entertain herself. Her doc and I discussed this with her and after finding she did not really mean any of the things she was saying, the doc explained to her that everyone thinks these weird and wacky things. The difference is that most people do not share these thoughts because it bothers those around them.

Some of the things he says may scare his sister and he may not realize it. You might see if you can channel the activity into somethings else. Play a game of coming up with the best and funniest situation he can think of (that does not involve scarry talk). I have worked with my youngest on what words to use to express herself in many situation. This will continue for a long time.

On a side note, I would look at the meds again. If he is going to take meds, he should be getting maximal benefit from them. I would not settle for less.

what 24 hour med?  I would like to research it

hmmmmmmmmmm not sure it'll be a go for most people, although TCA's were the treatment for ADHD pre stimulants. They have been around a LONG time, but not generally used and rarely 1st line. But you here goes my spiel.

We've had luck using 2 different tricylcic antidepressants. Nortryptiline was one, but is was quite sedating for us and dd was falling asleep during the day. We are now using Desipramine and it has been good. Not 100%, but not sure if anything ever will be. My thing is she's better and she is having basically no side effects. We're even throughout the day, no ups and downs like coming on and off stims. She had terrible side effects from the stims. Weight loss, nervousness, anxiety, tics, hyperfocusing and rebound.

So anyway, that's us Desipramine, another med in this family commonly used for ADHD is Norpramine. One BIG reason people dont like to use it is that it must be monitored by blood work and an EKG. Beats the way she was on those stimulants though, so for us it is the right choice.

I have to say that I did not realize how well the meds were working until last night.  Ok, dont laugh.....My son went to ride his bicycle and the tire was low so I pumped it up with an automatic airpump and I guess I put too much in and the tire exploded!!!  I should have known there was too much air in it when my son stated that he was sitting up really high (lol), ok, laugh!!!!!!!!

Anyway, we went last night to get him a new bicycle and eat a late dinner and he was SO loud, no inside voiceand talking NON_STOP!!!!!!  I wondered what was happenninng as he had been so good all day and then I looked at the time and realized his meds had worn off.  Husband was getting very aggrevated with him and I got mad at husband and asked him why, after only 1 hour with him was he yelling and told him to calm down and leave son alone if he could not speak nicely to him.  Son was SO excited about the bike,

Good for him. Hope he enjoys his bike!! Great way to get a new bike, have mom pop your tire .

Isnt it amazing when you can compare the difference once meds wear off. We dont see that now that we're using a 24 hour med instead of stimulants. It used to be pretty dramatic.