My son is newly diagnosed with ADHD. He also has sensory processing disorder (oversensitive to sound, and touch and under sensitive to propriceptive and vestibular input). At the beginning I was insistent that that school needed to try sensory interventions before I’d consider ADHD well they never did but since they kept pushing I took him for ADHD testing and the test showed that his attention is actually really good he is above his age level in attention the doc said if he appears inattentive he it is more likely sensory related. He said that although his attention is good his impulsively rated very impaired for his age he said 90% of kids his age have better impulse control then him. He said that he feels that if we can treat the ADHD with medication that it will make it easier handle the sensory processing problems. I have been a little reluctant because I honestly think a lot of what they are complaining about are sensory and not ADHD because I can control it with sensory input. Anyways to my question.
We decided to try a medication to see if it would help. Although I am reluctant I am also hoping that we will see some nice changes that will help him with peer relations and not moving so fast. From what I have been told ADHD meds work right away they don’t have to build up or anything and they are out of your system by the next day. So we got a prescription for Concerta and today was the first day he has taken it. Today was terrible. I gave him the medication at 8:15 before he had taken it he requested to play with play dough and he played with it as he normally would talking the whole time. At about 9:15 Josh was bouncing off the walls. I mean he does move fast and when he does I usually find him some proprioceptive activities to slow him down and that has always worked in the past. Today it was like Josh on steroids he was moving probably 100 times faster then usual just literally bouncing off the walls (ok not the walls the top of the couch) doing things he normally wouldn’t and I could even get to slow down enough to attempt sensory interventions which is usually how I handle him moving to fast. Then at about 11:30 he was moving more at his normal speed which is faster then most kids but at least not super charged. Also he had a friend coming over at noon so I thought maybe we could write it off as he was excited about the friend coming over. But I really don’t think that is it. Then at about 2:00 He totally lost it. (normally when he is upset he will cry, he may stomp his feet, he may yell usually I tell him he needs to take a time out in his room and he needs to stay there until he is calm and he Will go there and about every 2 or 3 mins he will come out to complain about what he is mad about but after once or twice he quiets down and usually he’ll play nice in his room.) Well today he got upset and started yelling but then he starting hitting me, pushing his head into me as hard as he could when I asked him to go to his room to calm down he got in my face and started yelling (oh by the way he is only 5) he grabbed my shirt I was surprised he didn’t rip it.) I have never seen him act like this before. It persisted for about 45mins. When he finally calmed down he was moving more at his normal speed (like I said faster then most but at least not supercharged) then about an hour or so later he had another fit over something that was not a big deal this time he wasn’t hitting, pushing, kicking, mostly angry yelling. This time his angry fit lasted about 60 mins but at least he was not physically attaching me. After that he once again resumed to his normal speed. At no point in the day was he moving at a slower speed then normal it didn’t seem to affect his relationships except maybe people wondering why he was getting so upset over something small. This was the first day I had hoped to start today so we’d get 3 days of seeing the change before sending him to school but I can’t send him to school if he is having these fits. The school wanted us to try the meds before the end of the school year.
My husband doesn’t want me to try the medication another day he just wants to stop and call the doc on Tuesday. I am worried if we stop that people will think I am making to much out of his behavior . But trust me I have never seen him like this before. Has anyone else experienced this type of reaction with concerta. I am not sure what to do
kstaal39957.8899537037Have you called the doctor? I think you're right to be asking questions if this response to the medicine is normal.Mom2ADHDboy39957.7330439815I will be calling the doctor on Tuesday, The first day we tried the concerta was saturday so they were closed this weekend. I was considering trying again today but after the 60 min eposide my husband said no. I mean if he had a fit like that at school they would have sent him home. After thinking about it it really took his normal moods and amplified them if he was hyper he was REALLY REALLY hyper, and if he was upset he was really really upset.
Welcome ksaatl What you describe are unacceptable side effects. Stop the meds and give the doctor a call. Its important to ascertain the reason your child had such bad side effects even though sometimes if the dose is too high or too low you might see such a reaction. In any event, its not an acceptable side effect. You have done your homework in terms of educating yourself about the medication and these disoders so your on the right track and evetually all will work out. Please keep us posted and hang in there.