It is very possible he needs to go up in dosage. Find a Psychiatrist to handle meds, peds should not be prescibing for ADHD.
Wa he diagnosed with ADHD/Combined type by a Neuropsych or your ped? If your ped then who knows what you are dealing with, and you need an evaluation by a Psych.
edbson39538.3793287037thanks for your suggestions!try getting a psychiartrist referral from your pediatrician, or go to your insurance companies website. Then start calling. Try to find some one who specializes in ADHD and especially some one who specializes in children.
Find a specialist. My son's psychiatrist specializes in ADHD.
Pediatricians can handle very mild ADHD but nothing really complicated. They are very uncomfortable prescribing anything other than ritalin or adderal, My son is taking amood stabilzer, which I know his pediatrican would have never prescribed. A pschychiatrist is more experienced with prescribing and managing these type of meds. The pediatrician spent 10-15 minutes with him every three months. His psychiatrist with spend as long as we need each month.
You need to have good communication with the doctor. Share your feelings with him/her. I remember telling my son's doctor that I was mad at him when he didn't schedule us appointment and we almost ran out of meds. He shared with me that he was having problems with service that handled his appointment scheduling.
We go to the pediatrician for all the other health problems.
You need to become an expert on any medical condition you have to protect yourself, advice from my doctor. There are several books out there that are full of good advice and some filled really bad stuff too. You have to be selective in what you read. ADDitude is a great magazine filled with good info. Check out their website.
You might want to keep a notebook with all this information it it. I maintain a notebook for my son and myself. Keep a log of all his meds, the dates when he took it, any side effects and why it was changed or stopped. Learn the correct terminology too. Your doctor will treat you differently when you speak their lingo. I keep all the med info sheets in there and any paper I get from his doctor.
One thing that helps is a good diet--watch the refined and processed foods. Watch the sugar. Try to get them to eat a balanced diet if possible. Make sure they eat and afternoon snack to help with rebound.
Get him some physical exercise everyday. A lot of people swear by karate, works wonders for self control.
Sleep, major issue at our house. We used melatonin to help with sleep. The pediatrician would not prescribe anything to help, only would talk about sleep hygiene. I had been trying that for months. I am sure the psychiatrist would have been able to help us.
I give my son fish oil, a multivitamin with minerals, calcium, vitamin C and magnesium. I have a very picky eater so I try to supplement to make sure he get what he needs. I think it helps..
If your son has all three, then they call that ADHD-combined. My son is in the same boat. I will tell you it does get better, still challenging.
I would tell your doctor that the dose was working fine before and you think it is best for your son - have it switched back, then go find another Dr! We had to go to a specialist for my son, I would look into it. I have learned to be my son's activist, sometimes we have to stand up to the doctors a bit - God bless!