My husband takes Depakote for bipolar. This is an extreme drug for a 6 year old. I would do more research or get a 2nd opinion.
twirly1
thanks for the info.
I kinda of think this drug is a little bit much for my son at this point. My motherly instinct says to keep looking into all other options.
I was with him(he's with his dad this weekend) for a bit this afternoon at soccer and another little kid was very pushy and rough around my son and the other kids. The parent never said anything to his son (we are not on a team yet...this is just a club that works on basic skills through use of games). My son was able to control himself pretty well. He didn't react toward the other child. Thank God. He did however come over to me and sit in my lap with some frustration after the last time of being pushed intentionally. I was quite proud of the way he handled himself overall. I made sure to let him know that I noticed that he handled the situation well.
I applaud you for several things:
1) Leaving his father. A lot of women don't have the strength to stand up to such abuse.
2) You clearly believe in and love your son. You are able to see the good in him.
I can understand your fears based on his father. But you seem to be a positive person......things aren't always as negative as they might seem.
Trust your gut instincts. Doctors are not always right........follow your gut, mom.
Take it one day at a time. Don't feel that you have to rush until your gut tells you so. Take a deep breath......do what is right for YOU and YOUR SON.....in your gut. You are stronger than you think.
twirly1
dr wants me to read up on "depakote" as a possible addition to my son taking focalin xr. Does anyone know anything about this drug? From what I have read so far it is very scary to me. It is used by eplepsy patients but is also used for impulsitivity issues /anger outbursts. My concern stems from liver checks must be done pretty often. My son is only 6 and this of course is pretty scary to me...
I have my son in play therapy and have had for several years. I recently decided I should go back to counseling myself in order to handle my emotions. I'm at lost for what to do to help my baby.
He seemed to be doing really well and all of a sudden he is starting to get argumentative at night with me. The other night he threw a stuffed animal at my face when I said it was time for homework. He usually loves homework (academics are not his problem/ matter of fact he is a very smart little boy).
Another example of his problems lately: He pushed a friend and kicked a friend at school because they pushed him. I realize these issues are a result of the other students starting something with him, but he just can't seem to get over it or for that matter just go and talk to a teacher. His teacher finally had to do an office referral this last time he pushed a child down. His teacher is wonderful and it just killed her to do this.
My biggest fear is that his dad whom I am divorced from is much like this. The reason I left him was because he had a terrible temper. He'd push me or squeeze my arm until it became bruised. He'd go from being very nice to irate in a second. I'm so fearful that my son will have these same issues if we don't get him the help now. My son never saw his dad hurt me but did hear his verbal abuse towards me. He was very small when I left.
My son is very lovable and when he doesn't have one of his outbursts he is quite fun and enjoyable to be around. He goes from 0 to 100. You never can tell when he might have an outburst. Honestly these issues had subsided until here recently( he went through this early on when he was 4 and this is when we worked with a doctor and determined his ad/hd status). He can be laughing and hugging you one moment and the very next moment mad at you.
Sorry for this long post... I just thought someone might have some ideas on other medicines or for that matter depakote. I'd just like to have my research done before meeting with the doctor to discuss our next measure. I really don't want to jump on the drug band wagon unless it is absoultly necessary. I'm not against drugs for helping I just want to rule out everything before we go the more serious route.
By the way his pedi(doesn't do the ad/hd ...we use a psychiatrist for ad/hd) and I are also going to have an ENT doctor take a look at my son to rule out sleeping disorder. He sleeps well or so it seems.. he just has had major allergies a lot this last 6 months and the doctor wants to see if maybe the sleeping patterns are being disturbed by the allergies resulting in causing him to be more irritable.
I would read up on depakote, the atypical antipsychotics, antidepressants/ antianxiety meds and guanfacine/clonidine. I listed these in the reverse order of how they are usually tried out. The later ones are more mild and the earlier ones are the "big guns" for when the later ones fail or when things are bad enough to bring out the big guns right away.
You can then discuss why the doc is choosing depakote over the other options (knowing this will help you accept or reject his resoning). Then go over the things to look for to know the med is working and to watch for side effects. Testing the blood for early detection of a potential liver issue (while it is still reversable) is not uncommon with meds (cholesterol meds, MS meds and should be used with frequent tylenol use).
thanks Notellin...I will most definitely do the research. [QUOTE=twirly1]Rather than you and I hashing it out, maybe we should connect our psychs to hatch it out! LOL! What do I know? I chose a psych who has SPECIALIZED in children and adolescents for 13+ years. As a parent seeking for answers, I find this highly credible.
thanks everyone for your thoughts... I will definitely continue to consider our best options... I haven't had a sit down meeting yet with this doc to discuss my findings and to question their pros and cons. I'm suspecting they are thinking the possibility of bi-polar(his dad we suspect has bi-polar but he hasn't expressed the doctors findings to his family or me) but it was not directly stated to me as such. My error in not checking or questioning their reasoning while there last for a med check.
notellin, I think you may be onto something...I'm going to read about the g and talk to the doctor about this as a possiblity. You are right as most of my son's symptons seem to be more on the impulsive side rather than focus and attention. Although he can be hyper in the evenings or in large crowds.
aesopito, thanks for your insight...I will definitely check into your www site.
Don't you just wish there was a miracle cure for these kids and for the adults with these issues? It just doesn't seem fair.
On the upside ... I got a great message from his teacher today...she stated he has had a great week at school and just wanted me to know this before I left work. It really was nice to read this as I was leaving work for the day.
There is huge bipolar history on both sides of my kids' families. Knowing the stats, I took them in for a psych evaluation just to stay on top of it "if it is there".
My oldest child is 15. Psychiatrist refuses to even consider bipolar at this point. She says that it really doesn't show up until late teens/early adulthood. She says that hormones play a huge role at this stage.
I keep saying, "Yeah....but look at the history.........."
In essence, she says, "Right now, I only see ADHD and will closely monitor as they get older....."
I guess it depends on the psychiatrist. That is why 2nd opinions are really good.
twirly1
[QUOTE=twirly1]
Psychiatrist refuses to even consider bipolar at this point. She says that it really doesn't show up until late teens/early adulthood. She says that hormones play a huge role at this stage.
[/QUOTE]Rather than you and I hashing it out, maybe we should connect our psychs to hatch it out! LOL! What do I know? I chose a psych who has SPECIALIZED in children and adolescents for 13+ years. As a parent seeking for answers, I find this highly credible.
Times like this, I am so thankful to have my trust in God. He is ultimately the one who I go to about all of this. Doctors may have ulterior motives. But God's motive is pure. He is the ROCk upon which I will continually stand and trust in....
twirlygirl
Depakote is regularly prescribed for children with early onset bipolar disorder. It's preferred because its safety as an anti-epileptic for children has been relatively well-established. It requires regular blood-draws to determine blood levels, which can be a pain in the butt.Guanfacine is for symptoms of hyperactivity, implusivity, anxiety, irritability, temper tantrums, explosive anger. It can increase patience and frustration tolerance, as well as improve self-control and cooperation with adults. I certainly am no doctor, but based on what you've posted, it seems appropriate.
Bi-polar is not something that I have researched, but I'm pretty sure that it is generally not diagnosed before teenage years. And if it is, I think the dx is in the grey area. You could look on the American Academy of Pediatrics website. Even if the father is suspected bipolar, I would personally not jump on this bandwagon based on the age and descriptions of your son's behavior. The meds for bipolar are pretty intense, and might muck everything up. My son did the same things that you have described, and he has ADHD with no comorbids and there is absolutely no history of bipolar in the family. And I think you'll see that pattern on the board if you research. Really, they do mature. The hitting etc is just normal for an ADHD boy of your son's age. Not normal compared to his peers, but I think you need to cut him some slack. Maturity kicked in around age 7 for my son, and definately by age 8 he had good control over physical impulses. This is with constant parental coaching of course. You should look into Omega-3, BTW. I bet it would benefit in your scenario. The Eaton Hall study shows that it reduces aggression if you care to do the research.
NoTellin39435.9434490741My 10 year old daughter has been on Depakote for about 3 years. She has some OCD traits, and this keeps them in check. She has been tried on Zoloft and Prozac for these symptoms, both with disasterous results. She has done very well on the depakote, and has had no side effects. We do the 6 month blood draws, and although they are not pleasant, she would rather have them than the side effects of the other meds. When she goes in for med evals, she will even tell the doctor herself not to change the depakote!twirly1 thank you for your kind words.My brother took Depakote and Tegretol as a child for epilepsy. He is allergic to phenobarbitol (which is apparently very rare) so he had to try this combo to manage the epilepsy.
My mom was worried about it too, but he never had any problems. He did have bloodwork checked every 6 months and nothing ever came back as problematic. When he was 18, he weaned off (since kids can "outgrow" epilepsy - as least the petit mal kind) and was fine!
He also took Accutane as a teenager which is another medication that freaks people out. He did well on that too and it did deal with his acne well.
Depakote has been around a while and is used pretty often. That said, I am sure there are other options you can try if you want to keep it as more of a last resort.
Good luck!
He's only six. Things will get better as he matures, particularly with the issues that you are describing. Maybe the focalin is not the right med. Sometimes an increase in argumentativeness means you've got the wrong med. I don't understand why the doctor is not recommending guanfacine. If I am recalling correctly, most of the issues are not about focus, but about impulsivity, and now temper. If that's correct, maybe you need to stop the stim and use just guanfacine.