[QUOTE=spamula]I have read the thread on bi-polar vs ADHD and my son does not seem to fit the bi-polar bill. It is normal for him to wake up in a bad mood almost every morning? This is getting old. At least the meds helped part way through but now without them he is a mean nasty little guy all morning long.[/QUOTE]
mine is a demon ! screams shouts , spits , swears - its the same thing day in and day out until meds kick in .
I wake up early , give meds but as soon as i do the screaming and shouting starts usually about an hour later she's behaving herself as meds are working.
He stopped taking the meds about 1 month ago. once he took them 30 min later he was fine for a good 10 hours. But now that he won't take them he is in a bad mood all the time.My son is grumpy in the mornings and mood definately improves once med has kicked in. It takes at least 2 hours before that happens. He is on Daytrana. I usually put it on before he wakes on school days, but on weekends I just let him sleep. Funny thing today he was grouchy and he asked me why didn't I put on his patch before he wakes up?!?!?! Mommy needs sleep too!!
BTW my son is not bi=polar
Good luck
Neesmom
Well, it's certainly not abnormal. "Caged Tiger" is the term I've heard from one person and I think that is an apt description. What I've found works with a lot of kids who take oral medications is to wake them up an hour or so before they actually get up, give them their meds, and have them go back to sleep. It works best if you have meds and water (or whatever the child takes it with) set up the night before so that they don't even have to leave the bed or wake up fully. This combineed with the promise of a return to sleep usually eliminates the 'caged tiger' reaction.
I don't know of anything of help that doesn't require medication, so in your son's case, I would worry more about the reason he stopped taking his meds, and make your priority finding a solution to that. If that problem is solved, then you can take care of the morning problem.
Nothing you have said indicates bi-polar to me.
I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. Keep us posted.
Redwinged39389.7836458333I have read the thread on bi-polar vs ADHD and my son does not seem to fit the bi-polar bill. It is normal for him to wake up in a bad mood almost every morning? This is getting old. At least the meds helped part way through but now without them he is a mean nasty little guy all morning long.Does his mood change once he takes the meds? Both of my kids are grumpy on school mornings. My youngest is medicated and it seems he is still grumpy but must get better cause mornings are his best time in school. If he sleeps in till he wants to on weekends he is better.
My son is the exact same way in the mornings!! A lot of mornings it seems like I'm trying my best not to cry b/c it's so difficult. Especially with two sons w/ADHD - ages 6yr & 8yr. The 6yr has just been diagnosed and we're waiting for the Neuro. appt to get here. Hang in there! You hang in there you have 2 to deal with and I know that am beast can be a nightmare!We have started the marble system and it's working. This am started out bad, but when I mentioned the marbles and taking some away, the boys straightened right up. I homeschool both boys while also keeping a 2yr boy (who is the best child!!) who arrives at 9am in the mornnings. I get the boys up at 7:30am and by the time Austin arrived they had had breakfast, dressed, brushed teeth, put clean clothes up, cleaned bathroom AND we had started school with the oldest!!!!
Honestly, I have noticed through the years that my son only seems to be grumpy when he is woken up. If he wakes on his own he is not crabby at all. I believe the biggest problem is that most ADHDer's flat out don't get enough sleep. So of course, if one is having to be coaxed out of sleep they are probably going to be tired and cranky.
I often hear the argument that children don't actually have ADHD, it's their diet, or in this case, lack of sleep. And I often think - Golly gee, does my son have ADHD that causes sleep disturbances or does he simply have sleep disturbances causing him to behave as though he has ADHD...Which sounds like an oddly familiar argument - Which came first the chicken or the egg? That's not to say that sleep disturbances don't play a part in ADHD - I just don't believe that it's quite that simple. I just don't believe the entire human populace is a sleepless night away from having ADHD. If only it were that simple...
Many mornings my son is so unpleasant I just want to scream at him. He'll complain about breakfast, and not do anything I ask, including taking his pill. He doesn't even listen - he's in his own world, so he starts frustrating me right out of the gate. I have to watch him take the pill because I've found it on the floor. Then he runs around, plays with the dogs, gets distracted, and the idea of getting dressed is completely lost on him. We go thru a lot of reminders and many time threats of consequences "if you are not dressed by the time I count to 20, no TV after school." It all seems so negative and I really hate it. I am working on "acceptance". This is what I have so just get over it attitude and let him be a pain in the rear - it doesn't have to put me in a bad mood. It's very hard tho.
He's been diagnosed both bipolar and ADHD, but I don't see the bipolar. I think he's ODD.
My son is not grumpy in the mornings, but he does hit the floor running at 5:30 am, knocking everything and everyone out of his way, with a stream of diarrhea coming from his mouth that would leave your mouth hanging open. We have tried giving him a short acting stim before waking but he doesn't return to sleep-he's up for good then. He is so aggressive until the short acting kicks in (if it ever really does-some mornings we have to wait for the Concerta to take effect) that I have had to lock my 4 year old daughter in her bedroom so she is safe.
Since we switched Clonidine for Melatonin it's like he doesn't need sleep...
We use the "wake them up, take the meds, go back to sleep" method. By the time they get up, they are great.
If we don't, then we just deal with the ADHD stuff. Mine is more on the goofy side than monster side. But they all can have their moments!!
Well it sounds like you got it going on! We have a reward system close to the marble system but he doesn't seem affected by it sometimes, other times he straightens right up. I wish I could homeschool, but he needs the socialixation and normalcy the public (at this time) school can provide, not to mention the education, I didn't pass most of school, so I do not think I could teach even if the dynamic between us was different(that's my main reason for not homeschooling)He does like going this year so far(a far cry from last year) so Hopefully we are headed in the right direction.
YES. My son did this until I started giving him melatonin to help him fall asleep at night. The poor kid was lying awake in bed for 2 hrs, trying to go to sleep. Then of course he would wake up like a bear in the morning (woken up by me), because he was not done sleeping.It does seem that when he wakes up him self(a little too much and early lately) he is in a better mood. It is when I have to get him up that there is a problem. But it doesn't seem to make much sence to worry about it since he is now up at 4:30 -5am like him mom anyway. And no I am not waking him, he just gets up and peeks out to see if I am here them comes out and reads comics or something for a while.after reading your replys to this problem, it seems coman most adhd ers are grumpy when woken up, this does seem to a big problem especially while waiting for meds to kick in
my son turned 16 in sep yes he too is very grumpy in the mornings i get him to eat his breakfast, then he spends 30 mins playing his ds while using the loo, we have been doing this routine for about 5 yrs once he spent 30 mins going to the loo , and eaten his breakfast his meds have kicked in he normaly then the first one to be ready to go out to school
but he decided he wants to watch tv in the mornings so he needs to get up earlier he has set three alarms and still has a problem waking, the only time he wakes easy is after having a risperdol to help him settle the night before
also remember teens are TIRED!!! Some of that is typical teen behavior. Diane V39399.2359375