change in routine and anxiety | ADHD Information

we are currently out of town for a week due to a death in the family.   We
didn't plan this major change in routine obviously. my ds is 8 and has
adhd/anxiety. we had to drive 12 hours and have to spend one week in
another state. we are spending the week in a hotel. this whole change in
routine has increased my ds anxiety and it is like his adhd meds aren't
really working well. is this normal? I am getting stressed myself about it.
I know that the change in routine and taking him out of school is big. We
should get home 2 days before school begins next monday. please tell
me that this will pass and that his anxiety will go down. He is chewing on
things (blanket, etc) and twirling the top of his hair. I think it is the
increased anxiety (on low dose of Zoloft for) is what is affecting his
behavior and that the Daytrana meds probably are OK. what do you all
think? I guess I just need to bounce this off someone and get some
advice so I can relax a little. Any tips?Maybe this is just from the trip and the adjustment or his meds might need dosing changes. Mine just went up on his dosages both zoloft and his adhd meds Hopefully school will work out now it was nuts here for a while like he was never on meds. Give it a couple of days then call your doc.

I agree not to make any decisions about the meds' effectiveness now.  Wait until you're home for a few days, and then see how things are going.  I hope it gets better!

Well we got home from a 12 hour car ride early Sat. morning. DS got a good
sleep last night, but I think his allergies are bothering him. He is more
"hyper" and active than usual and can't seem to relax today. I really think he
will need to go up on his Daytrana. I am calling the doctor tomorrow.
Hopefully we can try the 20 mg patch (currently on 15 mg). It just seems
like the current dose is not very effective now. I guess I just am not sure,
but something has to change. It has been a stressful 2 weeks here and I am
full of anxiety. I am dreading school tomorrow. Any advice?

If you think his allergies are bothering him, I wouldn't change the dose at this time.  Do whatever you do to get the allergies under control, let him settle into being back home, let him adjust to the new school year, and only then evaluate how he's doing ADHD wise.  There's a lot going on now, and it's understandable that he's not his normal self.  That's my opinion, anyway.

Speaking just to the allergies, my child's allergies exacerbate the ADHD when the allergies aren't well controlled.  This past spring was the 1st time he wasn't a behavioral mess during pollen season, and that's probably b/c it rained a lot.  He takes a daily antihistamine and steroid nasal spray, which never has been enough in pollen season so this past spring we added Singulair to the mix.  I don't know if the Singulair helped or if it was just luck that it rained so much during pollen season.  Anyway, point being that you have to get the allergies under control before you know how well the stimulant is working to control the ADHD.

Thanks for the input. I have an appt. with the allergist tomorrow and will
discuss with him. I am going to continue the allegra with ds to see if we can
alleviate the allergies. I will also call the doctor today to discuss this all and
his ADHD meds. It just freaks me out when meds stop "working" for some
reason. It puts lots of stress on me and the household. We don't normally
have fall allergy issues, but I think we do now. Spring is the worst. He is
allergic to cats, dogs, mold, most outdoor grass and trees. Glad to know
that allergies can be contributing to this. I didn't think it would as much.