itching, scratching | ADHD Information

Thanks everyone for being supportive. I have honestly felt anxious and panicky myself.

Last night went so well , I was so thankful. The poor little guy needed a break. He didn't complain of any itching this morning either.

I went to school to talk w/ the counselor. He will be seeing my ds one morning a week for now. He really seems kind and caring. He knows about AS and ADHD too. I am so thankful that he is willing to help even though ds does not have an iep or 504.

I checked on ds and he said he was itching some. It was time for his periactin so I gave it to him and reminded him that it helps w/itching too. I told him to tell the nurse if it bothers him anymore today.

Our school nurse is a wonderful person. She will let him come to her office and put lotion (caladryl) on if he has any more problems.

I put a call into our pediatrician and told them I took ds off of Straterra and Atterax. I asked them to recommend a psychiatrist. When they call back I am going to ask them about tenex for afterschool.

 

I am so happy for your son and you. You have a wonderful school and your son has a wonderful mommy!!

I wish I had the answer for you and everyone, including myself.

What I would say, is go with your gut. He is your child, you know best, mothers know these things.

You are so on top of things and his doctors, meds, etc. that you know in your heart what is best for your child.

Keep us posted!!

 

Thanks Bethann. I have been fighting the school for some  help since he was 5 and in kindergarten. I don't know what finally did it, but they agreed to the counseling. I wish I knew what they were thinking. When ds was tested at school by the spec. ed dept they asked that he remain on meds (in kindergarten) while testing. I think that the results are skewed. He was found ineligible for any help because his academics and iq were so high and of course he only tested borderline adhd and aspergers.

I have prayed, cried, yelled and begged for help. I didn't want an iep, just help from the counselor and a few accomodations in the class room.

What ever has happened to make the school cooperate, I am so thankful for.

The counselor will see ds tomorrow!!!!!

This evening at home there was very little picking and scratching. He only looked for bugs once that I saw. And bed time was ok. He came out of his room twice . Once to say he was itching and once to say he was scared.

Again, I let him play w/a toy quietly until he felt ready to sleep. I left the lotion by his bed and told him he could use it if needed. And he was asleep by 9:30.

Now, I just need to hear back from my ped about the tenex and research a really good psychiatrist.

RCMommy, I hope your dd gets through this stage quickly. And I hope your conferene goes well. Do you guys turn her clothing inside out so the seams don't touch her skin? We do. I even bought 2 pairs of track pants that are lined, but the inside seams are turned to the inside of the pant - so no seams. They work well. The other day I sent him to school w/ inside out pj pants under baggy jeans and an inside out shirt w/a t shirt over it (not inside out).

The school counselor and I talked some about things like chewing gum to help focus, or giving a stress ball to keep his hands busy. These things could very well keep my son from having to have his meds raised as soon. I feel like the counselor is on our side.

I got to thinking about it and wondered if the counselor observed ds in the mornings when his meds are working well. It is right before lunch that his teacher observes some rebound affect. Then ds gets an afternoon dose that lasts until he gets home. Then I get to deal w/the rebound and homework at the same time.

One funny thing, ds is so upset about bugs - but he is still wearing pj's w/cute little bugs on them.....

At least he didn't complain yesterday afternoon, or evening. And he didn't even mention itching this a.m.

 

When I first read the post my first thought was to go by the opinions of those that see your son everyday.  Not just one observation.  But more time will tell right?

Luckily seams don't seem to bother my DD at all, so far and my fingers are crossed.  I notice the 'itch' is when she is tired, nervous, upset, for sure.

Ah the bugs,....I forgot to mention bugs.  My DD is terrified of bumble bees.  I swear she is convinced they are all out to get her.  She HATES them.  Tried to tell her what good they do to nature and just to stay calm.  Yeah right!  She won't wear yellow b/c they are attracted to yellow and will sting her.  Her words not mine .

Sometimes it is all so crazy you just want to laugh......or cry....sometimes both at the same time

I talked to the school counselor yesterday. He saw ds and his comment was "he is a perfect child". He observed ds in the classroom and saw no itching, no distractability and ds focused well.

Now, I'm glad to hear this. It is wonderful news! But what the......? I talked to the teacher and she said she thought his medicine wasn't working as well. That he could not focus and was easily distracted. The substitute teacher sent home a note about ds scratching all day long......

I just wonder what IS going on? I know that all of the teachers comments and the sub's, along w/itching made me take him to the ped. early for a med. change. And now there are no problems and he is perfect.

The counselor said he is still going to keep seeing ds, so we will get to the bottom of all of this.

That is confusing. It makes you wonder who is observing him and what is going on.

Maybe the counselor doesn't see him as long and during that time he wasn't scratching. But since the classroom teacher has him most of the day, he/she sees more.

Just a thought

I just wanted to say I know what you are going through and feel for ya.  My DD6 is going through this itchy stage and it is so tiring.  Her head is itchy so she cannot wear headbands, Mom I am itchy - I can't sleep, takes off her shoes in the car because her feet are itchy, have to cut all the tags our of her clothes.

She also pulls her bottom lip. 

One teacher notices it all but realized it is just part of the complexity that is my DD.  The other teacher just seems to think that my DD is a pain in the ass and out to ruin her day.  My DD has these two teachers everyday, its a nightmare.  For the same behaviours she gets treated differently by the two teachers.  Tomorrow is parent teacher night and I plan to politely law down the law.

Heeeellllllooooo...she has ADHD, can we all agree on some consistency !

My 7 yr old son is adhd/aspergers. He is in 2nd grade and doing great. He takes Focalinxr 20 mg. 2 x day. Just 2 weeks ago he starting scratching his skin all of the time. I had been using home made laundry detergent for a long time and had gotten lazy about making it and washed his clothes in Surf. That's when the itching began. (He used to have bad eczema until I switched to home made det). Also, the weather turned cold and the heat came on. To make matters more difficult, we had a ladybug invasion and it triggered a obsessive fear of bugs.

So, I washed all of his clothes in home made det again. I started bathing him every other day and applying lotion faithfully. The itching and scratching got worse. His anxiety over bugs intensified. He kept taking off his clothes to see if a bug or bee was inside his clotheing. The teacher sent home 2 notes about him being distracted in class from the itching.

I talked to the teacher and she said he was distracted and overly talkative and couldn't focus.

I then took him to the pediatrician who treats him for adhd. He decided to add Straterra for focus. We couldn't up his Focalin xr because his weight is too low.He is an extremely picky eater. The ped also prescribed atterax for anxiety and to help itching.

Things went along ok, he was still itching but a little less. Thanksgiving break started and Wednesday the itching, scratching, looking for bugs was intense. So I gave him the atterax (1tsp) that night at 8 pm.

I laid in bed w/ ds and his whole body was twitching, and moving . He could not sleep. He said he was afraid of bugs. His leg hurt. The pj's were bothering him. His skin was itching.

We did not sleep that entire night. I believe the atterax made it worse. I haven't given it to him since.

I wondered if the Straterra had any effect in keeping him awake.

Since I have not given the atterax he has slept through the night, but the itching is still an issue.

Any comments are appreciated and I will be glad to answer any questions.

Does the itching seem like there is an actual irriatation on the skin or is it just a mental/emotional reaction? How long has he been on the Focalin?  I'm just wondering if the itching could be a side effect of the medication???

At first his skin was irritated w/eczema because I was using Surf laundry det. When I went back to homemade laundry det. , bathing him every other day and using lotion- his skin got better. Right now there is only one dry patch on his tummy. Oddly enough, the dry patch never itches him.

I think what started out as a real problem of dry skin became mixed up somehow w/ the bug fear and turned into an anxiety or obsession.

As long as he is busy playing or doing something there is no scratching. But as soon as he lays down at night and is quiet, it begins. Last night he was in tears because he couldn't quit scratching. He said "This isn't right- it's beginning to scare me."

It may be that his meds aren't right. I feel that we shouldn't be adding another med right now until we figure this out. His doctor wants him to do this 3 week trial of adding Straterra in the pm. (25 mg). He already takes Focalin xr 20 mg twice  a day.

Also, the night I gave him the Atterax -he was up the entire night.

This medication-go-round is ridiculous.

Tomorrow I am calling around to get an appt. w/a good physchiatrist who specializes in adhd and aspergers.

In the mean time - what do I do?

I know the go-around with the meds can drive you crazy!  My son has been stable for about 8 months but is starting to slip so here we go again trying to figure out what to do!

First, I agree with you that you should see a specialist! I've had all different docs prescribe meds and we've had the best luck (by far!) with the psychaitrist.  She is an expert in these meds and I trust her.

The more I think about it the more it sounds like your son is having anxiety and it's coming out as itching and obsession about bugs.  My son has anxiety and stimulants aggravate it.  So in a way the anxiety is a side effect of the stimulants. When my son started Tenex in addition to his Ritalin it got better.  The Tenex really helped his anxiety and calmed him down overall.  I'm not familair with adderax but I'm guessing it's an anti anxiety medication.  Sounds like your doc thought it was anxiety related also.  He just gave you a med that didn't work. 

I wish I had some advice for what to do while you're waiting to get to the psychiatrist.  I know it's hard! Hang in there!

Logan'sMom40146.7710300926

Thanks for talking w/me. The atterax is an antihistimine prescribed for itching, but it is commonly used for general anxiety as well. Dentists will sometimes prescribe it for nervous patients.

I just wonder if it reacted opposite w/ds.Because benedryl will sometimes cause me to be up all night with a creepy crawly sensation all over (I call it the heebie jeebies). It was like this was happening to him when I gave him the atterax in the pm.

On a good note, last night he went to sleep w/no itching. I could not believe it. We stopped the Straterra.(It was given right before bed).

We put a new lotion on him (Gold Bond Ultra) and gave him his periacitn (he gets this 3 days a week to help appetite) and told him that the lotion was a very special kind to stop itching and that his appetite meds also stop itching. The periactin is also an antihistimine.....

We let him go to bed with a toy to keep his hands busy. Even though he was up 1 hour past his bed time we heard no complaints of itching and he slept through the night!

That's great!  Hope it keeps up for him!