Well, here is how the rest of our day played out...needless to say I'm very frustrated! I called his psych and relayed thru the receptionist to receive a call back telling me that we are uping his appt from July to next Tues and until then, just stop taking the Methylin. I pretty much knew this is what would happen as his psych has been encouraging us the past two appts to eliminate the Methylin and just increase his patch dose to accomodate. I have not yet figured out his rationalization for this yet, as the Methylin helps us get thru morning routines before getting out the door & off to school/work, due to the patch taking 2 hours to start working. We've questioned the reason & it's not related to any medical reason, just convenience.
Onto the Doc, I called & was not able to get into his regular family practice Doc and was urged to go to the "walk in" clinic, so we did, with the hopes of being able to see his former Doc (whom I love & trust completely) and she wasn't in. We were instead referred to the ped Doc that we started this whole ADHD process with, and left him for a child pshych cause he was an absolute idiot! I almost got up & walked out when I was told we'd be seeing him. After telling him about our morning, he listened to his heart & lungs, checked his ears, took his blood pressure and told me that we could do an EKG but it wouldn't really give us a definative answer that we're looking for, they're not all that accurate for what we're looking for. So I asked what was and he said an Echiocardiogram (sp?)would be the best test but they normally don't do those kind of tests on younger kids as they are too invasive. I asked what it involved and he said "an ultrasound"...doesn't sound too invasive to me?! I asked who does that kind of test & he said a pediatric cardiologist, which I'm assuming we don't have one in our town cause he didn't elaborate. I mentioned that I've done a lot of reading on ADHD meds and the possibilities to result in heart problems, he practically rolled his eyes at me & said that most of those cases resulted in kids who had, and I quote, "undiagnosed heart problems before starting meds". Hmmm, undiagnosed...I'm pretty sure that's the base I'm trying to cover being we've never had any kind of tests done on his heart! I was so frustrated by this point that I said, "okay, so heartburn?" and he said it probably was and we gathered our things & left. What a waste of my time! From all of the posts I've read on here, kids should have EKG's, blood tests & all other sorts of tests before even being diagnosed & on meds, we've never had any of that. I honestly don't think there is anyone that qualified in our town.
DH & I talked it over & decided to make an appt w/his reg Doc (even though he's scheduled 3 wks out) and discuss our options with him. We plan to let him know our concerns & that we want these tests done regardless if we have to travel to get them. If we get these tests done & his heart is fine, I will feel much better about him taking his meds. We are not aprehensive at all about meds, we've seen the difference it makes for him and how much more pleasant our family is, but we want to make sure we take all the necessary steps to make sure he stays healthy along with taking them. Any other input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I haven't been on in a while as things have been going very well for us since we found the right combo of meds for our DS. He is taking 15 mg Methylin right away in the AM and the Daytrana patch 20mg about an hour later. Every morning he tells me after about an hour of taking his pill that he has a tummy ache (he's 5). By the time we get to school, he says no more about it & is fine. I assume it's his pill disagreeing w/his tummy for a short period and then it goes away. This morning, instead of his tummy hurting he told me "I have a fire in my heart" (his words). I asked more & he pointed to his chest saying it hurt. His Pshychiatrist is the one who prescribes his meds but should he be seen by a regular doc for this? I have called his doc and it was suggested that he go to the "walk in" clinic as his Doc has no openings today & he should be seen soon. Should I call his pshych also? I'm not sure which direction to take this, could it just be heartburn? I'm a little leary that it will be blown off as heartburn, which maybe it is, but what kind of testing could they do to make sure his heart is okay? How much should I insist & what should I be asking? Thanks for anyone who has suggestions.I'd start with the pediatrician.
I would at the minimum make sure that they do an EKG,along with blood work, and if possible an ECG. Dont accept their explanation that it is growing pains or something else unless they can totally rule out that the pain are not coming from his heart. Please keep us informed. I know from experience how scary this can seem.Not only should they have done those tests before putting him on meds but they should be doing them at least once a year to make sure that no heart problems happen. I have a cousin that is the same age as our DD and he kept having chest pains. They kept telling his mom that it was asthma. Come to fnd out the stimulants were making his heart beat so fast that it was causing heart problems. Please make sure that you make them keep up with these tests and try and get them done ASAP. Our DD is on meds and the stimulants actually slowed her heart beat down but I have heard way too many stories of it going the wrong way. Don't let them shut you down. You know your child better than anyone and if you have a concern make them listen or find someone who will.Perhaps I am used to living in a "big city" but do you not have an emergency room? Going to a "walk in clinic" will do you possibly no good if they do not have the medical equipment/devices needed for testing, which is what it sounds like to me.
Before starting meds I went to the psych because I knew of the deaths related to undiagnosed congential heart conditions of kids starting stimulants. I asked the psych to write a script for an echo. He said what should I put down? I said just put down he's having heart palpitations!!! It only cost me 125$ bucks after insurance and was such a load off my mind. DS thought it was really cool to cuz the technician explained the ultrasound as she was doing it. It is about the most non-invasive test you can have. Rub a plastic ball over the chest and watch it appear on the monitor!!
These undx'd things can happen. DH's cousin at 14 went in for routine sports physical. Dr thought he heard something, wasn't sure, etc., etc. They did echo and found a hole in his heart the size of a quarter. Had open heart 4 days later. It's well worth the $ to find out for sure.
Just to give you something else to consider - my DS gets horrible chest pains. He clutches and sometimes actually collapses to the ground while holding his chest. Every time it happens we freak out because it resembles a heart attack so closely. We've had him thouroghly checked over, and the dx is panic attacks. Supposedly anxiety is not uncommon with ADHD.
We have learned that a placebo works great with DS to get him through the panic attacks and he is going to start counselling soon for the anxiety.
Good luck! It's a scary part of the part of the body for our kids to feel pain in. I'm sure you know by now how to fight the system to get what you want. This is one of those times.
DS has been feeling fine & acting normal otherwise. The triage nurse at the walk in said we would possibly be sent to the ER, she checked with the Doc & that's when we were referred to the idiot Doc we saw before. We have an appt w/his Psych and his regular Doc next week and we are going insist on testing, even if we have to go elsewhere.Dear andarah: when I was a child I would get terrible chest pains that hurt so much I couldn't breathe. After suffering for years the docs figured out that the sac around my heart was spasiming and I had meds to control it. I eventually outgrew it in my 30's!!
One of the physical effects is that my blood pressure would go very low. Please see if this could be happening to your child.
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