Am I crazy?? | ADHD Information
Hello-
Psychotropic medications can be very very dangerous for children. Clonodine and Risperadol are psychotropic meds and you are describing side effects- probably from the clonodine. Please call your child's doctor and have her see him IMMEDIATELY. We had this happen with our son and he had to be hospitalized for self injurious behavior. When he finally got some meds for minor adhd behavior he was OK except for the emotional devastation of being hospitalized in a children's mental hospital which is dangerous in and of itself if it is not a good one.
ADHD med that are used are mostly STIMULANTS: Focalin, Adderal, Ritalin Dexymethasone to name a few.
Stimulant medication in children AND adults can cause side effects such as visual hallucinations and anger. Think of methheads (illegal dopers) who use uppers and their behavior. Antipsychotics are prescribed to tone down the side effects from the stimulants that some children have.
CLONIDINE should NEVER be used in conjunction with stimulant medication. It can cause the heart to stop suddenly. Risperadone (Risperadol) is usually the medication of choice and just enough is given to stop the hallucinations and anger and self mutilation.
Hope this helps. Been there and through it all and have learned that caution and knowledge is our best protection for our children.
My 9 year old son is now on focalinxr 15mg in the morning for school (only 5mg when there is no school) and 5mg quick acting in the afternoons when he has sports or other activities. He gets 1.0mg of Risperadol at night because he had hallucinations from the focalin and anger issues. I have finally found a cautious and wonderfully educated psychiatrist for Jon and he is thriving. She reminds me that boys are RAMBUNCTIOUS normally and a lot of his activity is just being a boy. I am hoping and praying that we will be able to lower the focalin slowly over the years and also lower the risperadol.
Hope this helps.
Hi everyone! I had some sort of virus that knocked me for a loop for a month or so but I am OK now, thank the Lord!
Thank you everyone for your input!Last night went much better - we decided to NOT give him his .05mg dose of Clonodine at night and it turns out he slept the entire night and didn't wet the bed!!!!
I think he was rebounding from it, so I think we'll just take it out of rotation for awhile and see what happens.
randyjim - my son has been on Risperidal .5mg 3x day (7am, Noon, 4pm) for about 5 months now and hasn't had any side effects besides increased appetite (we had to stop eating at buffets because he would go crazy and want to eat everything but he's blessed with his father's metabolism and is skinny and tall!). We did find that it calms him a bit (he's really severly over active - can't even sit still for 2 sec) but in high stimulus surroundings - like a party or group gathering, he just doesn't do as well. Our ped psych is the best in the area and has really been patient and cautious with my son on the meds because of his age. She did say that the Clonodine could wear off and cause him to rebound or have nightmares and such - but when I spoke to her that time my son had been sporadically taking it and didn't have any problems, so I think switching it to a regular nighttime dose was just too much.
The self mutilation thing isn't as bad as it sounds I guess, we've had just instances where he mindlessly scratches his hands and they get a rash, or he tried to pick at an eyelash near his eye and created a few scratches, or chewing on the side of his lip - I think mostly out of anxiety, but it seems to only come along every now and then. He's also just very clumsy and unaware of himself and usually trips, falls, or runs into things and he gets hurt.
The doc said that in her practice with younger kids the Risperadol helps them be more prepared for putting stimulants in their bodies - helps reduce some of the side effects when they eventually start taking them. She wanted me to wait as long as possible before doing so and has switched our appointments to every 4 weeks to keep track of him. He's still only 5 years old and she's worried about some of the more serious side effects I guess.
Today is so far so good - he seems well rested and alert - so hopefully this trend continues and I'll lay off the Clonodine for now!
Thanks again for all of your helpful advice - I have many supportive friends in my church family, but none of their children have or are being treated for ADHD so it means the world to me to be able to talk to you all on here!!!!
Much love to you all from Texas!
Hmmm, I guess different dr.s have different philosophies about clonidine and stimulants (and guanfacine and stimulants. Guanfacine and clonidine are very similar). My child's dr. is top notch, excellent reputation in the field. My child's been taking a stimulant and guanfacine for years, and I know he prescribes clonidine and a stimulant for others. He said that, as long as the blood pressure and heart rate are monitored to see the effect the guanfacine (or clonidine) is having on that child, then it's safe to use it. My child was monitored when he first started taking the guanfacine and whenever we increased the dose, and after that it was clear that it was safe for him, so we went back to the regular checks every 6 months.randyjim, I've never heard of clonidine being a psychotropic medication. Can you elaborate on this? I'd like to hear more about what you know. From my dr.'s explanation and my reading, clonidine (and guanfacine) primarily is an antihypertensive medication, so it lowers blood pressure. Secondary uses are treating impulsivity and hyperactivity for ADHD, and it also has some anti-anxiety properties. It also helps control tics. Mom2ADHDboy39849.4380092593If a child has severe side effects from adhd meds the child is taken off the med, especially if they are getting hallucinations. If the child is expereincing anything other than normal side effects that would suggest there are other things going on and taking adhd med's just exacerbates the problem. In certain instances the dose is just too high for the child in which case, the dose is lowered or the med is changed. The problem is not remedied by prescribing Risperadol. This is not the general protocol. I don't know any competent doctor that would prescribe Risperadol to calm down dangerous side effects of stimulant medication. There are also a percentage of children that just don't respond well to stimulant medication no matter what med they try and also in that case, the child is taken off the medication.
Clonidine and Tenex are perfectly safe if given to children without a heart conditions. Clonidine has been used for years in combination with adhd med's. Tenex is being prescribed more than Clonidine now as it is less sedating. Like any other medication, it should always be prescribed and monitored by a competent physician. Too many times certain information is left out of posts so a parent will draw a generalized conclusion and panic.
As far as Risperadol being given to young children to help them be more prepared to put stimulants in their bodies is something I would double check with a pharmacist or a child psychiatrist as I really don't think that is accurate information. Whatever information and advice that is given to parents on this message board, parents should never assume its factual information. Take the information you need here and double and triple check with your doctors and local pharmacists. Every child is different and each one has different circumstances that may change outcomes of the reaction to medication We don't want parents to panic as a result of blanket statements that may not apply to their child.
It can be a real roller coaster ride trying to get the diagnosis and med's right so do the research and communicate openly and often with your child's doctor so that you can make informed decisions for your child.
Luvmykids02- No worries, my child sees a very qualified Pediatric Psychiatrist that's been practicing for years and that we trust very much
my reason for this posting was not to get consultations on what meds to give him but just to see if there was anyone else that might be experiencing the same thing possibly with the same meds - like I said I didn't give my son the Clonodine last night and he slept through the whole night. The only reason our psych presrcibed it was to help him sleep. Honestly I was hoping to see if anyone on here has a younger child on just Risperidone and if it is helping their child or not. Our psych says the same as Mom2ADHDboy the Clonodine is a blood pressure med used to calm him down since it works with the brain in lowering blood pressure and helps with ADHD a bit, esp. sleeping. We've been blessed to not really have any serious side effects at all with any of our medications - it seems this one med might simply not be working.
Our psych has also said that the Risperidone will be continued with a stimulant at some point.
But yes, please always trust a medical professional over someone on a forum - this has been my main line of support but I go to my child's Pediatric Psychiatrist with medical questions and concerns.
texasadhdmom wrote:
my reason for this posting was not to get consultations on what meds to give him but just to see if there was anyone else that might be experiencing the same thing possibly with the same meds -
Exactly right and thats why I said that parents should speak to professionals and in some instances get a second opinion to confirm or deny information or advice given elsewhere. Also yes, Clonidine is a blood pressure medication but the word psychotropic refers to the class of the medication, not its function and its the class of the medication that was being questioned. I think you may get more responses to your specific questions about Risperadol in the "ADHD and Co existing Disorders" folder because a vast majority of children taking Risperadol have bipolar disorder as well as ADHD so that's why it is prescribed so the topic about this medication is more prevalent in that folder.
Good luck
Recently my ds has been prescribed Risperidal (.5mg 3x day) to help him with his ADHD. It has kind of been helping?? He's not in school yet and I stay at home with him, so I'm not sure if it's just me or the meds sometimes. We had a "vacation meltdown" this last October where he flew with his grandfather in a plane on vacation and he went totally berzerk! Almost got himself kicked off the plane and totally drained his grandfather's patience. After that the ped psych perscribed Clonodine to slow him down at these moments. Recenlty in the last month he's been having chronic awakenings in the middle of the night and won't sleep so we switched the Clonodine to nighttime to help him sleep (it turned him into a zombie if he ever took it during the day).
For the past week he has wet the bed and has decided that he thinks that 3-5am should be his wake up time and he will still try to get up and go to use the bathroom and wake us up. Now I hate to call it "bed wetting" because he's actually awake and knows that he has to pee when he does it. When asked why he has replied with "I didn't want to use the bathroom" or "I don't want to be 5". I've been very careful to not punish him for this, but he has gotten in trouble in the past for getting up and playing in the middle of the night (i.e. must have nap time during the day, no TV, etc) and the days after these nights are usually pretty rough and hard for him to even behave or listen at all. The worst part is my husband doesn't even want to deal with it or refuses to deal with it leading to a huge tension between us. My son is adopted (he's my husband's biologically) and his birth mother is not in the picture, so sometimes I feel like his only advocate in all of this.
Our next doc appt. isn't until the 18th, and she's reluctant to get him on any ADHD meds yet because of side effects, but I really feel like I am going crazy! He's had increased incidents of lying, hiding things, disobeying, acting out, self-inflicting injuries and even has peed on himself this past weekend during the day and didn't seem to care! My husband doesn't believe me and thinks any advice I get from you all on here is crap because you aren't medical doctors or whatever I don't get it.
Has anyone else been experiencing this?? any advice?? any support?? I could really use it right about now
You know one of the side effects of ADHD medication is the halting of
impulsivity, right? And that there are different types of meds, and that
they all affect kids differently, so there's no guarantee your son will have
any of them?
He might have something more than ADHD going on. It's the injuries
that stand out to me.
I suggest calling the doctor and seeing if you can get his appointment
moved up. It sounds to me like these are not behavior issues that you
can "work with." Your whole family needs and deserves help.
My son said to send you a hug! :)
Risperidal is an anti pyschotic medication generally used for bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, and sometimes for Autistic children. It aids in calming rages. ADHD medication is not an anti psychotic medication and its function is to allow the child to come into focus so that they are able to make a choice rather than act on impulse. I would be more concerned with side effects from Risperidal . Children with ADHD need to be focused, not sedated or calmed down. Some of the symptoms you describe are not indicative of ADHD like self inflicting injuries and meltdowns. Before moving forward with any medication, I suggest that you get second opinion to confirm or deny an ADHD diagnosis and also whether there is something more going on. My heart goes our to your beautiful son and the entire family unit. Hugs to you.