Thank you Vickie. Our son is brilliant. He is reading at a 2nd grade level at minimum. He does math in his head and is far more advanced than others in his kindergarden class. Maybe thsi is why he is having such problems. He has vocalized that he knows he wants to be good and gets mad when "his brain" won't let him. My wife and I have spoken with a Psychologist and the recommendation was to move him to Welbutrin due to the ticks. We have not found the right dosage yet, but a praying we see results.
Still Confused,
My daughter also suffers from tics from stimulants, but she is much older. Its difficult at 5 as most meds are not approved for under age 6. Good luck with the Wellbutrin. As he gets older you'll have more options. Strattera is non stimulant and does not cause increase in tics. Another option are tricyclic antidepressants that also do not cause tics to increase, but I dont think they would be prescribed in a child this young. You may want to think about a full neuropsych evaluation for him. If he is gifted, and sounds very likely, he may get bored in a regular classroom. There is quite a link with giftedness and ADHD. I have a Kindegartner and she is just starting to read so reading at a second grade level is huge!
I agree with the others about seeing a specialist. Although we have a wonderful ped, I would not leave ADHD medication decisions in her hands. It's too complex and they do not have the specialized background. If you live near a big city and can afford it, a team evaluation (neurodevelopmental MD, psychiatrist, psychologist) is the way to go. We just did this and it was WONDERFUL to have so many brains to pick and so much knowledge of the medications at our disposal (after 2 years of trial and error). Otherwise, it seems like neuropsychology or child psychiatry is the way to go. I'm not sure how effective Wellbutrin is for ADHD -- there might be something better. Good luck with your psych visit.The smarter the kid is, the harder they can be on themselves and stress about not being able to do the things they know they can do. This stress can cause the brain to work less efficiently and symptoms to be worse. Also the frustration of not being able to function like he did on meds can cause alot of stress.
With meds, it is a journey to find the best med for an individual. You will need ttry another med and see if he gets results without the tic. Appetite issues can ease after the body gets used to the med. If not, summer breaks can help them catch up. Guanfacine can help with tics for some kids. A psychiatrist will have more experience with med management than the pediatrician and will help you on this journey.
My youngest is thin and was first on concerta. We added guanfacine which stopped the weight loss and helped with the ADHD symptoms. Then moved to focalin which allowed for slow weight gain. She took a bread from the stimulant over the summer (with the guanfacine controlling the hyper/imulsiveness) and she gained 8 pounds and 3 inches.
My wife and I have been dealing with our 5 yo son for the past few years with ADHD. We were adament that we were not going to put him on medication. We finally started him on Vyvance and saw a tremendous improvement. After a few weeks we noticed he lost 4 pounds due to a decrease in appetite. He also developed a nervous twitch with his hands. We took him off Vyvance after consultation with our Pediatrician and are scheduled to meet with a Psychiatrist. His behavior is worse now than before we started. He seems to be out of control at school. Could this be a withdrawal symptom of sorts? Does anyone have any advice or similar situations? We are truly at a loss.
It sounds like Vyvanse is not the med for him. It does not have a wide range of dosages like the other (older ) meds, and not all meds work for everyone.
Was he evaluated by a Psychologist or a Psychiatrist?
[QUOTE=ataloss]My wife and I have been dealing with our 5 yo son for the past few years with ADHD. We were adament that we were not going to put him on medication. We finally started him on Vyvance and saw a tremendous improvement. After a few weeks we noticed he lost 4 pounds due to a decrease in appetite. He also developed a nervous twitch with his hands. We took him off Vyvance after consultation with our Pediatrician and are scheduled to meet with a Psychiatrist. His behavior is worse now than before we started. He seems to be out of control at school. Could this be a withdrawal symptom of sorts? Does anyone have any advice or similar situations? We are truly at a loss.
[/QUOTE]Antidepressants are a 3rd tier treatment for ADHD and very effective for some. The potential issues with antidepressants are not too common. By knowing what to look for you can act quickly and avert any real problem. Your son is being cared for by a specialist who will keep close monitoring of the situation and not just send you home with a prescription for the next year.
As far as suicides and antidepressants: depression is a serious disorder that has a rate of suicide; treatment prevents suicide in the majority of depressed patients; the meds may allow a person who was so depressed that they could not act on the suicidal thought to get it together enough to act on those thoughts; in some people, these meds cause a feeling of "no feelings, good or bad". The best reasons for the warnings on these meds is to get the attention of family docs who prescribe these meds and do not follow up with the patients; or at least get the attention of the patents so they can watch out for themselves.
vickie39402.5267361111I hope you are using at least a child phychiatrist and not a pediatrician to perscribe meds. They are much more qaulified to do so. I have heard of children getting worse when the meds leave their body but that shouldn't last that long. I would definatly see a psychiatrist and maybe see about something shorter acting to start or a different class of meds. It sounds like Vyvanse was not for him.