need med help | ADHD Information

[QUOTE=teric506]

Hello,

I have an 8 year old son who is dignosed with PDD, ADHD, and some other things. He is so extremely hyper and impulsive, aggressive, throws tantrums and has no safety awareness.

That's a lot going on for the little guy--and for you.

What is PDD? What "other things"?

He sleeps good but only for a short time (is up a 5am no matter what time he goes to sleep) He is already on a lot of meds and I have tried the natural route with no sucess but even with the meds he is on now he is like a rollercoaster tasmanian devil. Right now he is on Concerta, risperdal, texen, and trileptal.

Whoa, chemical soup there. No wonder he's off the rails.

He used to be on clonidine and it did work good but the pill would were off in 2 hours and the patch was absolutely the best thing we have ever tried with him and he had such a bad skin reaction from it.

The FIRST thing you need to do is keep a medication journal. That will help when you talk to the psych about what is working and what is not. A journal will help you keep track of what is working, for how long, when he tends to melt down and other patterns related to medication.

We have recently increase his risperdal and added an extra dose of concerta in the afternoon and at first it seemed like it was working but now it seems like he is back to how he was before. I feel so bad for him because he gets so hyper and impulsive that he looks like he wants to jump right out of his skin and he also has tics.

Tics are not a good sign. Which medication is causing that?

We have a new psyciatrist who seems really good and she has mentioned something about seraquil in place of the risperdal. She also seems like she would be willing to listen to sugestions.

That's good news. I don't know who the last one was but I'd suggest working this out a lot more slowly and carefully because this poor kid and you are suffering.

Has anyone had any experiences with seraquil or anything else that has really helped. I would love to get him to a point were his days are not like he is on a rollercoaster ride with his behavior and mood. Thanks so much for the help.

Teri

[/QUOTE]

The parent cavalry should arrive shortly

Do those of us who are cognitively impaired a small favor though--please break your post up into paragraphs.

Welcome aboard!

Hello,

I have an 8 year old son who is dignosed with PDD, ADHD, and some other things. He is so extremely hyper and impulsive, aggressive, throws tantrums and has no safety awareness. He sleeps good but only for a short time (is up a 5am no matter what time he goes to sleep) He is already on a lot of meds and I have tried the natural route with no sucess but even with the meds he is on now he is like a rollercoaster tasmanian devil. Right now he is on Concerta, risperdal, texen, and trileptal. He used to be on clonidine and it did work good but the pill would were off in 2 hours and the patch was absolutely the best thing we have ever tried with him and he had such a bad skin reaction from it. We have recently increase his risperdal and added an extra dose of concerta in the afternoon and at first it seemed like it was working but now it seems like he is back to how he was before. I feel so bad for him because he gets so hyper and impulsive that he looks like he wants to jump right out of his skin and he also has tics. We have a new psyciatrist who seems really good and she has mentioned something about seraquil in place of the risperdal. She also seems like she would be willing to listen to sugestions. Has anyone had any experiences with seraquil or anything else that has really helped. I would love to get him to a point were his days are not like he is on a rollercoaster ride with his behavior and mood. Thanks so much for the help.

Teri

hi there,

We just got back from the psyciatrist and she made some changes. She did not want to take him off of Concerta yet because we did see positive changes when we started it and our only complaint is that is weres off so quickly.

So, we are weaning him off of the risperdal and tenex. We will be done with those on the 30th and then we add seraquel. She added a dose of Concerta at 11 am along with a dose of trileptal, and another dose of Concerta at 3. If the increase in the concerta does not work we are going to try Vyvanse.

When he is completely off the risperdal and tenex he will be getting:

6am
Concerta - 54mg
Trileptal - 300mg

11am
Concerta - 54mg
Trileptal - 300mg

3pm
Concerta - 18mg

6pm
Trileptal - 300mg

Bedtime
Seoquel - 50mg
Melatonin - 2mg

It still seems like a lot to me but if it helps him to calm down and be safe i am ok with it.

So at least there is a game plan now. I am a little concerned about how much Concerta he is going to be getting but the doc said he metabolizes so quickly that more than one dose is needed throughout the day.

the biggest thing with almost all ADHD meds (the stimulants in particular) is that the dosage is based on need/efficacy, NOT weight/age. My oldest son is on only 5mg of Adderall XR, when most children of his age (nearly 10) and weight (88lbs currently... but he had been up to nearly 100lbs) are on 3-4times his dose! Same with the Risperdal that he's on; he's only on 1mg of Risperdal.... a therapeutic dose is 2mg, and I know of children 3-4yrs YOUNGER than my son who are on 2-3times the amount that he's on.

Please keep us updated on how the meds work - I'm curious to see how your son does on Seroquel. We've kept my son on Risperdal despite the heavy weight gain he experienced in the first year; which we no longer experience. It just works very well for him and it's the right med FOR HIM.

Good luck and enjoy your holiday!
that makes me feel better. We increased Gregory's risperdal to 5mg per day for the past month and I did not see any changes from the 2mg per day he was on. We didn't feel comfortable increasing it anymore so that is were the seroquel came into play.

I am hopeful that we will see some nice changes with that.

Ya know, I went into the doctors office prepared to take him off of everything and that I would only put him on two medications at most. The doc made me realize that I wasn't being completely realistic.

Gregory is so complicated and so many different symptoms. Just because something isnt working as well as we would like doesnt mean it is not working at all. She explained that she likes to increase things to see if they get better before switching to something that is different.

I made sense to me but when she explained it. I was with a different doctor before and she always said he was maxed out as far as dosages go and didnt want to try anything different, so to have a doctor that works with us and is willing to increase things is new territory for us.

I will keep you posted on the seroquel. We dont start that until the 30th so it might be a week or so. I hope you have a wonderful holiday

PDD is Pervasive Development Disorder, it is on the autism spectrum. Besides the ADHD he is also diagnosed with ODD, OCD, articulation delays, Anxiety disorder and shows bipolar tendencies.

He is on so much and although we have seen results with each they are very short lived. He seems to metabolize medication extremely fast so something that would normally work for the whole day will only work on Gregory for 4 hours.

We are not sure what medication is causing the tics. He was on everything for a long time when they started so the doctors dont thing they are related to his meds.

I have school keeping a log on him now on his behaviors and any patterns that they may see but so far it is very unpredictable. We cant pinpoint anything because he is all over the place.

I have to take him back next week and am trying to come up with a game plan. I am really thinking about asking to take him off everything and start over with one thing at a time. I dont want him to suffer any more than what he is now and with no meds he would be so very out of control.

If I do start over I am hoping to find something that will keep him on an even keel so to speak. I dont mind having to give him something more than once a day as we are used to that. I have read some posts on focalin XR and Vyvanse and was hoping someone could give me some advice on those.

I would like to have a say in what meds Gregory is taking as I did not before so I would like to go into the doctors knowing what I am talking about and maybe even have some suggestions from things some of you have had good success with.

Sorry this was so long, and I even put it into paragraphs. Hopefully thats answers the questions you asked. Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it.

Ya, i do have my hands full and working full time and my masters program dont help any. I dont mind though, My boys are so precious to me and all I want to do is help them have a healthy and happy life. My goal is to get Gregory to a point were not only other people can manage him and his behavior but that he can manage it as well.

I started a journal last night. Not sure how much it will help the dr. on tuesday but I am going to bring it just in case.

I have all of next week off from work so I think I may start over with meds then, at least that way I can be the one tracking him. I have already started weaning him off of the tenex. He has gone from 3mg per day down to 1mg per day.

I am going to talk to the doctor about focalin XR and Vyvanse on tuesday. I am not really sure which one I should try. I worry about how long they will last in him and I dont want him to become aggressive on them as he can be agressive enough now.

Thanks for all of the support. It is nice to know there are others out there that have been through the same thing and that dont look at me like I am a monster because I give my child meds.

[QUOTE=teric506]

Excellent paragraphs. Thank you

PDD is Pervasive Development Disorder, it is on the autism spectrum. Besides the ADHD he is also diagnosed with ODD, OCD, articulation delays, Anxiety disorder and shows bipolar tendencies.

Good heavens, you DO have your hands full

I understand that--my meds are supposed to be 8 hours but they work about 5, really. Some don't work at all, and some go weird.

We are not sure what medication is causing the tics. He was on everything for a long time when they started so the doctors dont thing they are related to his meds.

Depends on how much has built up in his system, possibly. Won't know unless you go with NO meds. I don't envy that

I have school keeping a log on him now on his behaviors and any patterns that they may see but so far it is very unpredictable. We cant pinpoint anything because he is all over the place.

Do it at home too--maybe over the course of both, over time, something will emerge. Just stick a journal on your desktop [computer] and stick bullets in it. That's how I keep track and it makes the doc's work easier.

Hate to ruin Christmas for you but could you do it then?

Don't be blindsided. A "diagnosis" is a medical opinion. Start googling medications for ADHD. Any time a doc gives you a med, google it before you decide to use it. Tell them you are going to do this! based on scientific research. It's a professional opinion. Not necessarily completely accurate.

Sorry this was so long, and I even put it into paragraphs. Hopefully thats answers the questions you asked. Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it.

[/QUOTE]

Good luck. It seems you have some tough decisions to make. Keep us posted and let us know how you manage it all!
Keep in mind that all meds affect different children/adults, differently.

I know lots of people who've had great success with Focalin XR (and we did, initially... 6months later is when we started noticing the increase in aggression, but my son had a lot of major changes going on at the same time....).

Maybe decide what ONE issue you need to keep in check (for us initially, it was the aggression..... ) and give the med for that. Seroquel from what I've heard is a lot like Risperdal but with fewer side effects like less chance of weight gain, etc. And yes, my son ballooned up on Risperdal, gaining nearly 40lbs in one year!! But he's evened out and now,he weighs less than he did a year ago (we've done some diet changes, and he's on the stimulant which as I'm sure you know, decreases appetite).

I would say maybe deal with the one issue you HAVE to get under control and then go from there.

Good lluck! Your son sounds a bit like my son. My son has never been very aggressive, which is why when the aggression kicked in 2yrs ago (I was afraid to take him anywheres because of his behavior/aggression) we medicated him after trying behavior modification, etc.

*HUGS*
wow - and I think my autistic/ADHD son is a pistol to deal with! Your little guy sounds like he has so much going on! My 9yo is on Adderall XR (5mg)... this is purely for impulsivity and attention issues. He only gets hyper when overstimulated which the Adderall XR and Risperdal (which he's on for aggression.... 1mg) help keep in check. He's also started Clonidine for sleep issues which we haven't been having recently because he's been sick and wants to do nothing but sleep! lol

Personally... if there is any way you can stand it (and think your son would be okay...) take him off ALL the meds and get his system back in check and on an even keel, naturally. Doing this over the holidays would mean that you'd have to deal with any backlash from taking him off all meds but then it wouldn't interfere with school. Then, along with advice from the new psychiatrist, make sure you are treating symptoms of the problems he's having, not symptoms of med issues. (my son got extremely aggressive on Focalin XR after being on it for 6mo.... our specialist wanted to up his Risperdal, which I refused.. I took him off Focalin XR and Adderall XR has been much better for him....).

As far as the Vyvanse goes... my younger son is on it for ADHD. Honestly, his attitude seems a bit better and he's not nearly as impulsive as he used to be. He's not perfect by any means but his personality is still shining crystal clear and I don't want him to be in a medicine fog all the time. Plus, he's getting wonderful reports from school and his work seems to be going a lot better for him. Ya know.... I was wondering if the Vyvanse was really working for my kiddo but after reading my post here, I realize it IS working! :) that's a good thing. The only bad thing we've had with the Vyvanse, is extreme insomnia (which has gotten better over the last 2weeks on the meds) and he WILL promptly puke as soon as he gets to school, if he doesn't eat breakfast or at least something before taking it.

I hope this helps!! :)
asdkidsarecool39799.6054976852oh he is a pistol alright.

we tried adderol XR with no results and also have tried regular adderoll and medadate with no sucess. We really did like clonidine but his body metabolized it so quickly after 2 hours it was like we never gave it to him. I think we are going to ask to start over with meds but i am not sure gregory or the rest of the family can handle nothing at all.

I was thinking of starting with just one med and going from there. We will keep him off everything if we have to though.

He is alreadiy pretty agressive so maybe the focalin xr wont work for him.

this is all so frusterating because his dr before didnt want to change or increaase anything and now that we have one that is willing to work with us we dont know quite what to do.

He has suffered for so long being on this rollercoaster of his now that I have the chance to get him better hopefully, i am not sure what to do.

We have been lucky with the risperdol and the weight gain, Gregory hasnt gained any weight from it. He is a very picky eater. My older son is also on it and did gain a lot of weight.

His agression is mostly out of frustration or anger. Gregory is actually a really lovable kid. He loves to hug people and is very affectionate. When he gets angry or frustrated he becomes really aggresive.

The biggest issue we need to work on is his hyperactivity/impulsiveness. He is so hyper and impulsive that he is unsafe and could really hurt himself or someone else. So we would need something that would work really well for that.

I worry that he wont be so lovy either. Right now one of the meds he is on is triletptal. They give him that for his bipolar tendencies. He has wicked mood swings and now he is aways huggin us and telling us he loves us. He loves to sit on the couch with me and cuddle while watching TV. I dont want to lose that part of him, he is so much happier since we started that.

I do know that the biggest thing we would have to target right away is the hyperactivity/impulsiveness since that is such a huge issue for him.
Well, we ended up completely taking Gregory off of Risperdal and Tenex and started Seroquel and increased his concerta. Well it has been a complete nightmare. He is so hyper and his ticks are awful. He is moving every second, even if he is sitting down his little body is jerking around constantly. He is really emotional and moody, you can just say something to him and he has a meltdown saying we were yelling at him. I just dont know what to do now, I have to call the doctor back monday morning and I am at a loss, I dont know what to do now. I keep going back to clonidine in my head because that worked really well for him it just didnt last very long. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for the help.

Teri
Good ideas.

Keep us posted