Hello to everyone,
I have a 5 year old son diagonosed with Adhd back in march. We've been on daytrana since then but were switched to adderall xr by a new doctor 2 weeks ago. This past thursday my son asked me how he could kill himself, I called the doctors office 20 times that day and still have not heard back from these people. I may have done the wrong thing but I pulled him off it until we go back which by the way is tomorrow morning. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do for him but I was sooo scared for him. Ive been reading all of your posts trying to learn as much info as possible about all of this. Its still so new to me, I just want to do the best thing possible to help him. Any advice, suggestions about meds, or words of encouragement at this point would be graetly appreciated.
thanks you guys
I think you did the right choice taking him off the Adderal XL. It sounds like it's not the right drug for him. You could try going back to a Ritalin based drug. Good luck at your appointment tomorrow.Can anyone tell me about focalin...if spelt right.....we start it in 2 weeks and Im trying to find out first hand info from others who have used it.....he's also on abilify twice daily.......please let me know if you have any good or bad experiences with this med.
Thanks soooo much
Abilify is an atypical antipsychotic ... my own son is on Risperdal (also an atypical antipsychotic) and is also on Focalin XR and Focalin (short-acting).update............
the focalin isnt working, we go back tomorrow. I havent gotten on here because Ive been so tired by the time I finally get gabe to bed and asleep that all I do myself is toss and turn at night. Im gonna ask the dr to put him back on the daytrana.
Best wishes to everyone
thank you so much mommys2boys!!
And you were right, the new dr agreed that I know gabey better than anyone else even himself, they took him off the abilify said it was worthless in gabe's case and we're now officially starting the focalin. And because Ive been listening to everyone on here I got him to go ahead and write a script for a booster if we need it. Dont wanna have to go back if we dont have to. The dr said he was glad I had found this site and that we(all of us) know so much more than doctors sometimes and its good to have ya'll to bounce my ideas off of. Thanks bunches!!!
If the focalin doesnt work we are going back to daytrana so.....we'll see. I am very optimistic today and I'll keep my hopes up.
B.J.
Good for you, i hope that everything works out
Actually, there are some vast distinctions between ADHD and Bipolar disorder (one of them being episodes of rage which is not seen in ADHD) and thats why it's important to have the child evaluated by a doctor who is capable of making a differential diagnosis. When a child with bipolar disorder who also has ADHD is given stimulant medication, the stimulant meds could trigger a manic episode which is why its important to treat the bipolar disorder first. If its just a case of a bad reaction to medication, the symptoms go away immediately when the med has worn off. Anyway, good luck delia ann327 and please keep us posted :)
Hello,
I'll try to keep it brief because the story stretches out on and on it seems....We went to meet the child psychologist the 17th. the daytrana had been working since march, however gabe was starting to act out again(hyper behavior/non stop chatter) so I asked the new dr if there was a chance he had outgrown the meds(remember still new to this) He starts asking questions about family history(my sis is bipolar). Leads to the dr wanting to try the adderall xr, which led to gabey asking me how to kill himself a week later.....i was physically sick. I looked at all of your posts and I did the checklists for bi polar in children....Im still confused about the diagnosis. We went back the 31st, he put gabe on abilify...and we're holding on for a week to start the focalin to see if he needs it.....let me tell ya'll he NEEDS it if its what should be helping the adhd because im going on 3 weeks of non stop gabriel at full force. He's wetting the bed and having wetting accidents at school. He's taking the abilify twice daily now but he cries alot in the wee hours of the night and I completely understand that it has to get into his system but Im beginning to regret meeting the new dr, ever asking to change the daytrana....the burns broke my heart tho. I just want gabe back.....forgive me for ranting, no one except all of you seems to understand and feel what Im going through.
thanks so much,
B.J.
if he had a strange reaction to the Adderall XR pay close attention to him once he starts the focalin. Every child is different and needs differnt meds.
I will give you a quick run down of what we have been through. I have a 10yr old who was diagnosed ADHD at 4, started on the adderall xr 5mg, after about a year we added strattera to help witht the mornings and nights, over the next one to two yeard we went up on the stratterra to 20mg and the Adderall 20mg, once he hit the 20 on adderall he went into a tail-spin (acting out non-stop, and very aggressive) we went to concertta and left the strattera at night. Over the next 3 years we have increased both meds Concertta to 72mg and strattera to 40mg, all of this has worked for quite a while, a few weeks ago we decided to change meds (he was maxed out on concertta and started to act out again) we tried the focalin started it a week ago friday and by tues we had to put him back on the old meds he was so out of control and was extreamly emotional. Next week we go back to add resprodol.
Anyway what I was getting at is my child had negitive reactions to both meds.
I hope that everything works out, I know how tough and confusing this can be, take care
(please don't mind my spelling, I know that it is bad)
Thanks so much....
I keep trying to read everyone's stories on here so I can learn more without feeling like Im asking the same old questions even though I know their important things that we all need to know.
I just want to the best thing for gabe. Im worried that he is going to get paddled and kicked out of school this next week because of the adhd. Even though the teacher is being supportive...they can only take so much, I had to go up there thurs morning because the principal apparently had told MY 5yr old child that they were gonna have a "meeting".
On a better note...gabe has not wet his pants since yesterday afternoon!!!!!
hooray for us!
best wishes on going back to you old meds....I'll keep positive thoughts for you!!!
Hi there! I hope that Gabe is doing okay. I personally would have taken him off the meds after the "killing himself" question, too.
My son Joseph is 6 and was diagnosed with ADHD early on, and we only started meds last year. We tried Concerta, Stratera, Focalin XR, and now short acting Focalin. The Focalin has made a very positive difference. We're still not at our "ideal" place but things have improved a LOT.
Joseph's psychiatrist also thinks he has anxiety. (He was also diagnosed at his eval with mild PDD-NOS, which is autism spectrum). She tried giving him Zoloft and it was awful. He was an emotional wreck. (He is not on the Zoloft anymore!!) But, now that the focalin is working better, his anxiety has decreased.
I will say with the Focalin, Joseph's appetite is lower. He eats like a horse in the mornings, doesn't eat much during the day, then eats a big supper and is quite hungry before bed. His psychiatrist said we should let him have a snack before bed, and recommended things high in protein. Another issue we had was that it was hard for Joseph to fall asleep at night. He is now taking clonidine before betime- it helps him transition and relax.
It is a tough journey- I've been very frustrated, desperate, hopeless. But seeing Joseph now, seeing the difference between how he was before and how far he has come, is incredible.
I hope things improve for you and Gabriel, and that this forum can help you.
Hi,I try to have everyone involved at the school, because he has been suspended so many times during med changes. Now we have an agreement, if he gets upset they send him to sit with the administrator, after he calms down they send him back to class. If he does not calm down they call me, Igo and pick him up but there is no suspention, or negitive action, i just go get him. Talk with the administrator, teacher and guidence to see what they suggest.
I hope that he is doing better, take care
Thanks for all of your suggestions....means the world to us right now. I have been considering pulling gabey out of school for atleast this next week, but then I re-thought this idea because his teacher is trying to be cooperative with me. She sends home a daily chart to gauge his behavior which I need this next week so that I can call the dr friday so he can say start the focalin because the abilify is not enough. No bedwetting since friday but ya'll it's like we're back to the way it was before we started the daytrana in march.........I hate being that mom who is staying holed up in my house because I cant take gabe out anywhere right now. I personally couldnt care less what people think of my child...you know the ones...that say "oh, he's bad, he has no disipline"......these are the people who have never been in my situation.
But I am rambling, sorry guys, I dont need a majic answer, I just need a happy little boy who knows he's loved. We're getting there, one day at a time........best wishes to you all and again thank you so much for halping me know we're not alone.
B.J.
wait? why was your son taken off of Daytrana to begin with? If he was doing well and was successful on it, I can't understand why a doctor would take him off of it. Why did you see a new doctor (as opposed to the original prescribing doctor? Just curious as those 2 points don't make sense to me.Thanks so much.....
Its been a roller coaster ride trying to find the right combination. I appreciate your insight.
we will start the focalin next week and Im really thinking that he needs it. The abilify is fine and dandy but he still cant sit still or quitely at all.
Thanks again!!
I didn't catch this post after you had gone to the doctor. I don't want to question your doctor, but am curious why they added the bipolar diagnosis? It's only 5 right? I could be totally off base, that seems a little young to me. Many times untreated ADHD can act like bipolar or the wrong med combination can look like it as well.asdkidsarecool,
gonna try to answer all of your questions......original dr, only saw us as a "favor" doesnt deal with childrens disorders(did not know that at the time until he said we were going to see the new dr), who is a I guess pharmacologist? I think thats what their called, deals only with kids and gives them meds.
When we went in to meet new dr he asked how it was all going, I brought progress reports and daily sticker charts and notes from everyone and then......here's where it got all messed up, he starts asking questions about family history and if I had any complaints bout the daytrana(which was only the burns they left on gabey's skin) my sis has bi polar disorder and he starts talking about genetics......new dr says adderall brought out the depression of the bi polar and now he has to be on abilify and focalin to counteract each other......does this sound remotely normal to you?????
Side note...I posted on the adhd and combined disorders as well, let me tell ya about today if you dont mind a long post...ha ha
I went to gabeys dr's office today to find ME a counselor because I seriously thought I might be loosing it this week, I needed a person, face to face to help me, ya know? Well, gabey has a counselor who comes to see him every week at school and meets with me once a month to catch up on his progress....well she was at the clinic today and she came to me and wanted to know what in tarnation was goning on with his meds...she was not happy. I filled her in, she says this new dr has been diagnosing kids left and right with bi polar disorder and prescibing meds for such. She pulled up gabe's chart and says all dr's involoved except the new dr have diagnosed gabey adhd with odd, she thinks he only needs the focalin not the abilify also.......okay I think Im through rambling i think....please excuse my spelling, its been a tiring day and gabey is still going strong which means we're in for a long night here.
please if you have any other suggestions to help I would love to hear them, it seems like everyone on here understands so much better than the dr's who are supposed to be helping my child.......................
best wishes to you
B.J.
It sounds to me as though Daytrana was doing WONDERFUL things for your son, aside from the patches bothering his skin, am I right?As a mom, you know your child better than any doctor ever will. Go with what you think is best.
Good luck, i hope that everything works out.
I am freaking out today...........I called the dr.'s office this morning like they told me to so that they would know that none of the adhd symptoms are being touched by the abilify and we need to start the focalin. I talked to the nurse told her bout gabey still wetting his pants, crying alot more now than ever, and the sudden onset of fears(scared of bathroom, closets, ect..) and she's like okay I'll call you after I talk to the dr......well guess what?!! She didnt call back but some random receptionist did and now we have an "emergency appointment" sunday morning................WHY? And why didnt the dr or the nurse even bother to call me back and say something? Im beginning to not like my child's dr...seriously. And if it was such an emergency then why werent we told to be at that office today? Is there dsomething im not seeing? I understand the focalin being a narcotic but the dr already had me fill the presciption so its not like there is an issue there............I am petrified that this dr is gonna try to tell me that gabey needs to be hospitalized or some other nonsense...which he doesnt. I think Ive decided that if I dont like what he says sunday morning then im loading gabe up and we're heading to children's hopspital in Little rock. What do ya'll think? Am I being a witch or for real does something about all this just not seem right?
Thanks everyone....i am so glad I can get all this out instead of bottling it all up.
B.J.
Good luck, I hope that it works. I know that you are tired, take careThis is a parent <(*o*)>