TOXIC PSYCHOSIS
My son went through something very similar a few weeks ago. The meds are toxic to her system. I would either cut it in half or I would demand they change them all together.
diamondagain, I am really sorry you are going through this. It's hard enough with a close support system.
My daughter cannot tolerate stimulant meds either. Her side effects were not to the extreme you're seeing, but enough to make us stop. She is currently taking Strattera and doing well. It is non stimulant and I'm sure will be brought up at you're appointment. Obviously it doesnt work for everyone, but may be wrht thinking about. You need a solid diagnosis though to see if there is anything else going on.
Maybe you could try strattera,a non stimulant. My son can't take stimulants because it gives him chest pains.
He has just recently(3 weeks)started pycnogenol. It is a brand name for pine bark extract. There was a recent study that kids on this supplement did much better in adhd symptoms. There were also urine tests done that showed stress hormones were lowered 26%. My son is much calmer,doesn't do the class clown thing anymore in class and just seems much more mature. If you use this, you use 1mg per kg of weight. My son takes 50 mg because he is just a little over 100 lbs. A 2 month supply from GNC was 30-some dollars. I would use the brand name,not a generic. Pyc has been patented since the 1950's......can't find any side effects either. It seems to work fairly quickly. I give it to him every morning.
Maybe worth a try...Good Luck!
Oh my, you poor thing! Your poor daughter!! Your poor 4 y/o. You need to get some local support- either through your church or a local CHADD group (your ped should have info). My son became psychotic on stimulants and we are now on Strattera. Clonidine can also be used to help with hyperactivity and irritibility. It's original use is a blood pressure med but it is used with good success in a number of children with ADHD.
I can empathize with your daughter- when I was 17 I had some wisdom teeth pulled and they gave me a painkiller that made me hallucinate. I remember that I looked in the mirror and had one arm and one flipper. It was absolutely horrifying!!!
My daughter was diagnosed by her pediatrician about 3 weeks ago. She started out on 18mg of Concerta and it was immediately wonderful during the day. She started to get really emotional at night. She was having anxiety attacks and talked of being a failure. (She just turned 7). Well her doctor changed her to Vyvanse. Day four of Vyvanse and we end up at the Children's Hospital ER. DD started the day normal, then came the rapid fire speach, then nonsensical sentences, she then fell into the huge cascade of cycling emotions. She seemed to display every emotion possible almost simultaneously. I got her to the bed and laid down with her to soothe her. She then started screaming because "pictures were falling at her". It was a total nightmare.
diamondagain,
I pray that you will get the help that you and your daughter need. It is such a challenging condition and so many different stimulant meds are available but not much else.
My nightmare is not as bad as yours. But the whole introduction of meds to my child is a nightmare to me. The only med I take is Xanax due to my anxiety level with his condition!
My son just started meds 3 wks ago and he had rebound effects so that I couldn't keep him on the first drug . He is now 5 days on different stimulant with only appetite loss and a little bit more sensitive/emotional than he used to be.I uld love to try something other than a stimulant but I read staterra and clonidine not good choice for little ones. I will research pycnogenol. He is only 48 lbs. Too little to be giving drugs yet his impulsive,non-compliant, high energy, and all of those anti-social behaviors constantly get him in trouble. I only want what is best for him and I am so torn over this whole situation that I am in. I feel such a responsibility and guilt. I only want to make the best decision for him.
I just joined and feel so much better knowing that there are other's that totally know where I am coming from. I am also looking for other treatment ideas. We have a parenting coach that comes to our home 1 x week that is on hold right now until we get his meds straight and I am possibly going to put him in counselling. I have a fear of him thinking that he is broken if I do too much!!(guilt)! What to do? It's the biggest challenge of my life!
[QUOTE=diamondagain]My daughter was diagnosed by her pediatrician about 3 weeks ago. She started out on 18mg of Concerta and it was immediately wonderful during the day. She started to get really emotional at night. She was having anxiety attacks and talked of being a failure. (She just turned 7). Well her doctor changed her to Vyvanse. Day four of Vyvanse and we end up at the Children's Hospital ER. DD started the day normal, then came the rapid fire speach, then nonsensical sentences, she then fell into the huge cascade of cycling emotions. She seemed to display every emotion possible almost simultaneously. I got her to the bed and laid down with her to soothe her. She then started screaming because "pictures were falling at her". It was a total nightmare.
My husband is Navy and is out to sea. We are new to the area so I had no one to call on to help. I ended up taking my 7 year old hallucinating daughter and my 4 year old daughter to the hospital. My four year old had to see the whole thing. The ER just observed her. (We didn't even have to wait in the waiting room) They didn't want to sedate her unless she became violent. It was possibly the worse day as a mother I've had so far. I can't help but blame myself. She then started coming out of it and started vomiting. We were there for about 8 hours.
The consulting psychiatrist said no more ADHD meds that are stimulants. She can not tolerate them or she may have an underlying mood disorder along with the ADHD.
Has anyone else ever heard of this happening? We are seeing a Pdoc next tuesday to discuss options and for a more in depth evaluation. (She was initially being treated at her pediatrician) I'm at a loss. My only support is thousands of miles away on an aircraft carrier and I'm just so tired of dealing with everything. I want to help her. She makes all A's in school, but she is disruptive with all of her moving around and interrupting all day. She is starting to have trouble socially as the girls around her mature. She is just "too much" for them. I'm not sure what to do. I'm terrified of trying any other meds.
Any ideas?
Thank you
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Has she been evlauated for Bi Polar Disorder? She really needs to be seen by a Neuropsych, and a Psychiatrist for meds, not a ped.
edbson39532.8547569444I totally agree with edbson. Have your child tested and evaluated by clinicians who specialize in childhood neuro biological disorders. A good neuro/psych can make a differential diagnosis followed by a psychiatrist for med management. I recommend that you stop the med's at this time until you get another opinion as such side affects are totally unacceptable. A child sometimes is either misdiagnosed or could also have co existing bipolar disorder which can indeed trigger such horrible side effects when given stimulant medication. Also, some children just cant tolerate stimulant medication even if the dignosis is correct. There are normal side effects and then there are totally unacceptable side effects. For whatever reason your child is having such extreme side effects, it is critical at this point that you get a second opinion and a proper diagnosis before continuing the medication route. Good luck and please keep us posted.I do have an appointment with a Pediatric Psychiatrist next week. This week we are going to our first child pyschologist therapy session. since this is the first one, they only want to talk to me. An underlying mood element is definitely possible. The pediatrician even said that he saw this in her. The wait to get into the Psychiatrist was 3 months and the pediatrician was only treating in the interum. That changed after yesterday's episode. Her meds were stopped. The consulting psychiatrist at the hospital made some recommendations and got us in to an appointment much sooner. (by 2 months). It may be BPII, it may be something else. I won't know until she is properly evaluated. I am very weary of the meds now. However, if a correct diagnosis is made, I feel that the correct meds can be put into play. If it is something like ADHD w/ underlying BiPolar II, i'm definitely having her treated with meds. There is a family history of both of these and I have seen what the right combination (cocktail) of meds can do and what not being medicated can do. She just scared me so much in that hospital.