It's been a while since I last posted, so let me reintroduce myself. I am a single mom raising an ADHD daughter. She was dx'ed when she was 5, and is now almost 11. Things seem to be taking a big downhill turn this year. She is very moody and mouthy, extremely hoards things (I'm talking about trash, pencil shavings, etc.), and her work is suffering. Her teachers complain about her being unorganized. I teach at the same school, and they say every day she wants to come to my room for something she has forgotten.
This morning her teachers stopped me in the hall to talk about her behavior. They tell me she acts like a kicked puppy, afraid of the next blow. I don't know why this is. I have talked to her about it, and she says she is not aware that she is doing it.
The dr started her out on Adderall XR in K, and slowly increased it. Then they switched to Vyvanse becasue she is so little they were afraid to up the Adderall (right now at almost 11 she is still under 60 lbs). At the beginning of this year they upped her to 60 mg of Vyvanse, and it doesn't seem to be working anymore. She has been having "spells" lately where she complains of sudden;y being hot, falls to the floor, and says she can't breathe. Her teachers say she is extremely nervous and cries very easily.
I just don't know what to do anymore. Goodness knows I am NOT the world's most organized person, and I tend to lose things easily and forget easily. I don't know if this is just something she's going to have to learn to live with or if it's part of the ADHD. The othe concern is that bi-polar runs in the family, but I don't see the issues in her. I read in another post about a parent having a hard time explaining the symptoms when the child does not act that way around the drs and teachers. I am at the end of my rope and about to lose my own sanity.
What are the symptoms without the meds?W/o meds she's very flighty, bounces from one thing to another. She also is very mouthy, though I'm not sure if that isn't in part due to puberty. The attacks she has are usually out in public, and the last one I remember was during the evening, so her meds would have worn off by then. She's very easily distracted.If you look up the side effects of vyanse it can cause sweats, anxiety, paranoia etc etc. Maybe she is on too much? Sometimes we try so hard to help with the symtoms they have that we unknowingly create more. We are using Daytrana. It is supposed to be effective in lower doses because it is given steadily through the skin. He wears it 8 hours at school and that's all. No weekends, no holidays. This is allowing him to eat and keep his weight on. Taking it off right after school gives him a little time to do his homework then it is out of his system so he sleeps ok. No rebound so far since it wears out gradually. We did concerta and the natural thing and we have had some ups and downs so I know how you feel. There isn't an easy answer. I am sure we'll move on to something else when this stops working. YOu are not alone feeling at the end of your rope. We are all still waiting for a miracle cure. Whatever you do I would certainly talk to a doctor and consider changing med.During the stages of puberty, there are serious hormonal changes going on and puberty is the time when med changes or dose adjustments may need to be made. With the exception of Straterra which is a non stimulant, the correct med and dose is not determined by weight or age. Because bipolar disorder runs in the family,your concerns are very valid as stimulant med's can exacerbate symptoms of bipolar disorder. Your daughters symptoms are indicative of many things, including extreme anxiety which can happen as a result of stimulant med's when the child has a separate anxiety disorder. The med's not given at the correct dose or the wrong med could produce more anxiety. In any event, only a professional can make this determination.
leokat, I suggest that you have your daughter retested to either validate a diagnosis of ADHD, determine why she is getting such side effects and also to determine if there is something more going on. Its critical that you get a definitive diagnosis before going further with either a child psychiatrist or a neuro psych. Your doing the best you can under the circumstances so don't second guess yourself. Your a caring, loving parent who will eventually get the answers and the right treatment for your child. Hang in there and keep us posted.
I also posted the below link on our message board for parents and those who want to get a better understanding of ADHD and the symptoms.
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33894& PN=1
Thanks so much for your support! I'm the only one in my family with an ADHD child, so my family does not really understand. My sister tells me that she's fine when she's over there with no meds, but my sister also has 2 kids that are quite a bit older, so they're there to help intervene.
I have an appointment, but could not get it for another 2weeks. It's really hard trying to schedule around school. The dr that we see is a specialist in behavioral medication, but his office is almost an hour away from the school. The one day they could get her in sooner would mean us missing an entire day. Time is too critical at this point for her to be missing so much school! This is one of those times when the mother in me wars with the educator. I get so stressed trying to juggle both worlds sometimes. I can see things from her viewpoint and I want to go to bat for her, but at the same time as an educator I know how frustrating it is when you have a child that is constantly without what they need and is constantly losing their homework.
I hope I am not offending anyone when I ask for prayers. This has been an extremely difficult year with her, and I love her but I want to kill her sometimes!
You will get through this. Don't worry about offending anyone. We all might have different beliefs but we're all parents who love our kids or people struggling ourselves. In the end we are all here for help or because we care. I will say a prayer for you tonight for sure.