my son’s doctor is scared | ADHD Information

That's seriously bad news. He wants my son to see a psychiatric nurse or
something like that - I was so stunned by the call I didn't quite catch it -
because he doesn't know what medication he could prescribe that
wouldn't cause my son's reaction. I don't even know for sure it was the
medicine - it could have been that the medicine caused sleeplessness so
he was exhausted and it wasn't doing anything for the ADHD so his
impulsiveness took over.

It's very freaky to think about what might happen next. There's only so
much time I can spend on dealing with this. If he has to go into extensive
therapy or needs alternate schooling, I'm a single mother, I can't not
work to deal with that. So much for looking for the silver lining, huh?

I wish I never went down this route. Just let him be a space cadet - he's
still a grade above his classmates - let his teacher be responsible for
getting through to him. Now everyone thinks that my sweet little boy
could be a danger to others. Funny, he's polite and compliant with me. I
never would have known he had such an extreme reaction because he
didn't do anything like that around me.

Maybe therapy will help him. I don't think so. The therapist would first
have to get his attention - yeah, right, that's going to happen.

Sorry for dumping this here - I just really think the bottom is falling out
on us.I think you should call the school nurse and ask exactly what was said. Jessica N39841.882650463I know I've gone round the bend. It's just that he was doing so well and then
I went and screwed it up for him!

Well, since he's had no meds since Thursday morning he'll be completely
fine on Monday, and we're not doing anything new for at least two weeks, so
I just need to step back a bit.

And his school definitely overreacts to this sort of stuff. They have a zero
tolerance policy toward violent speech, and IEP's don't override it.What happened (as best I can cobble together - my son's school is
notoriously bad about about communication) is that there is a new kid in
my son's class and he wanted to sit with him at lunch. However, because
he has executive skills issues, he can't sit with his class he has to sit at a
"lunch bunch" table with an ed tech. He got mad about it, they took him
out of the lunchroom, and he told his ed tech something about wanting to
kill everyone and burn the school down or something like that. And the
day before he said some sort of threat (no idea what it was - the school
wouldn't tell me) to the school nurse. They also wouldn't tell me why she
was anywhere near my son. The incidences seem to be triggered when
my son is being somehow "othered" by teachers, when they make a
spectacle of him as not a normal student. But you better believe I didn't
call the school out on being less than subtle - again, the issue isn't that
the school is less than perfect, the issue is that I want what's best for my
son.

His doctor is a pediatrician, and he's very good, and one of the reasons
he's good is that when it's something outside of his area he's very quick
to refer kids to someone who does know what's going on.

But in the meantime I'm kind of freaking out. You know when newbies
come on here and they're full of irrational fears? Yeah, that's me. I keep
thinking they're going to say I did something wrong and they'll take my
son away. How's that for blowing everything out of proportion? What's
really ironic about that is I wrote a book in which one of my main
character's mother refused to do the best thing for her daughter because
she was afraid her exhusband would use her daughter's problems to get
custody. I couldn't relate to her at all - I thought she was a selfish flake.
Well, now I can relate. There is a big chunk of me that really wishes I kept
my big mouth shut and never tried meds on my son. Despite the fact that
his focus level fell off a cliff and he's gotten to the point he needs
something. I just don't think I can keep up.

And, also, now I have this prescription I will never use. I've got to get it
out of the house. I feel bad about dropping it at the pharmacy to get
tossed because there are families who are struggling who could really use
the medication for their kid. I'm just one big ball of guilt. You think I'd
be used to it by now...What did your son do?
What kind of doctor is prescribing the medication?
Which school staff used the words "danger to others" and what did they say?I'm confused?

This dr. sounds over his head.  What type of dr. is it?  Is he a specialist in ADHD meds?  Honestly, your son's making threats to others is not such an extreme reaction, and the dr.'s reaction seems blown out of proportion.  I'm not saying his reaction was nothing, but 1 med sometimes can make someone irritable or angry and that same person may do wonderfully on a different one.

If I were you, I'd get involved w/ a developmental pediatrician or a child psychiatrist -- and make sure the person has lots of experience w/ treating ADHD in children approx. the same age as your child.

I feel for you.  This situation is getting more complicated by the moment.  Don't give up, though.  You've only tried one med.  You will find a way to help your child have a better life.

Mom2ADHDboy39837.2357060185

Hmmm, I hope you feel a bit better now that you've heard more details from the school.  These don't sound like serious threats.  They sound like a kid who got angry that he had to do something differently, and he didn't express that anger and frustration in the best way. 

Truthfully, I'm not sure you could say from this that Concerta is the wrong med for him.  He had a right to be angry in that situation, and he needs to learn how to express his anger more appropriately.  Also, when you start a new med., you start at the lowest dose.  You might see only minimal symptom control and you might need to increase it a few times before you get to a point where the ADHD is actually controlled.

Honestly, I think it'll be very hard, but you need to try to look at the situation objectively.  I know you are very scared about the meds., and the slightest indication of side effects terrifies you and makes you want to discontinue the process.  However, taking him off all meds and not trying any others may not be the best answer here.  I'm not saying you should do meds again, but I'm saying you should consider it.  His reaction was not major that he made those general comments that many kids say and in a situation where anger was a normal response. 

I'm glad you have an excellent pediatrician, but I think you should ask the person how much he/she knows about ADHD meds.  It doesn't sound like much if he/she concluded from this that all ADHD meds are dangerous for your child to try.  There are different types of ADHD meds (methylphenidates and amphetamines).  Even within one type of medication family, you usually try 2 or 3 of them before ruling out all types of meds in that family.  Or, maybe it doesn't matter how much the ped. knows since he/she already has told you that they're no longer comfortable managing your child's meds.

I had the same situation w/ my ped.  She said from the start that she's managed ADHD meds for a lot of kids, but she can only handle very simple cases.  If any complications arise, she would want us to work w/ a developmental pediatrician or a child psychiatrist.  It turns out that my child needs high doses of stimulants in order to control his ADHD.  The ped. wasn't comfortable w/ this and gave us a few referrals.  We've been working for a few years now w/ a developmental ped.  He's helped us safely and effectively manage my child's ADHD.  I am sure that your situation could be the same if you find the right person.  If you are willing to post in what state you live, I'm sure people would be willing to give you some good names.  Or, ask your ped., the school, and/or friends for good developmental pediatricians or child psychiatrists.  When talking w/ them, make sure they have a lot of experience managing ADHD and w/ children your child's age.

Please stay open to trying medication for your child.  Remember all the reasons why you decided to try it.  Don't close that door due to 1 bump in the road.

I hope that you reconsider the meds with a specialist. Jessica N39841.8830671296