Adhhhhhd and ODD | ADHD Information

My 11.5 year old son was diagnosed with adhhhhd and anxiety disoreder along with adjustment disorder and depression at age 8. he has been on meds, Concerta for the adhd, zoloft for the anxiety and recently Intuniv (guafacine) for the adhd as well. well last night he was dx'd with ODD as things have been getting much worse around here. To day he attacked me while driving and was sreaming F you , F you like a lunatic. I am so upset this is killing me! he now says he will not eat again and will starve himself and he does have an eating disorder

His therapist has not returned my 3 emergency calls and is too laid back to care

I am so upset I am sick

 

My son was doing similar things before he was medicated. (Yes, I know, I
let it go too far.) His school said he had ODD, but his neuropsychologist
insisted it was just ADHD that was not being treated correctly. When we
got everything aligned the ODD type symptoms went away.

When's the last time you adjusted his meds? I'd definitely look into it.
How about environmental changes? Does he have an ed tech at school so
he can get individual attention when he needs it? What program are you
using to help him try to regain control?

One day without eating is not going to harm him. That sucks about his
therapist, but if you can get him in tomorrow it will be okay. Unless he's
attacking you physically. Make sure you and he are safe.

Remember - if it gets impossible you can bring him to an ER for
emergency treatment. Knowing that might help you hold on another 12
hours - there is that lifeline out there.

I wish I could call you so you could vent to someone who understands. :(
Hang in there, and keep posting. It sounds like you're nearing a bottom if
you haven't already hit it. It's going to turn around soon.

Things have hit rock bottom. The psychologist says to leave him alone he just wants attention. He is and has been on a mix of meds for years now with things on the better side of late. then out of the blue he just freaked out. I am very frustrated because they told me not to tell him I love him or coddle him at all. this is against my nature completely

The therapist finally called  and said step back. I am completely sick. he is sobbing and sobbing.

 

Your therapist said he just wants attention? Okay, maybe he's
manipulating you, but why? There has to be a reason for it, even if he
can't articulate it. Could be puberty hell, poor guy. The crying could be
good - he could cry himself to sleep. But if it was me, I wouldn't sleep, in
case he woke up in the middle of the night and still felt out of control.
I'm sorry, I know you don't need to hear that.

Can you try a little tough love but let him know what's going on? Tell him
you're going to be in the room with him, but you're not going to talk to
him so long as he's freaking out. Get a book or something and keep him
in sight but don't look at him. The part of him that's freaking out is
going to want to keep freaking out. But the part of him who is desperate
for you to help him find a way out of his hole is going to be so relieved
that you're there.

Hang in there - 12 hours, less even, and then you can get some help.Hey - how'd you make it through the night? What's the plan for the day?
Thinking of you!Well last night he finally mellowed out after getting his tv ripped out of the wall. He snapped back into it and we all went swimming after he apologized. things were fine after that. This morning he was his usual defiant self and we had to remove the dogs from the house so he could get dressed and get himself together. another bad morning. I gave him the 3 mg on Intuniv again this am but if he has another episode tonight I will be dropping it back down to 2 mg. he might be having a reaction to coming off the meds. I am so frustrated as so is my husband we are in a tizzy right now. thank you for caring and being there for me I will let you know what happens later today.I have read about tenex and intuniv causing irritability in individuals
prone to it. Is he stable on the smaller intuniv dose? I wonder, with
the new ODD dx if it's the time to look at revamping his meds? He is stable and said that he feels calm on the 2mg dose. He just called from school where he has homework club, and was hysterical we would not bring him money for an Ice cream. We live about 30-40 min from the school. he has no context of time and distance., so, I had my husband go and pick him up and he will do his homework at home today which is bad for him because neither his father nor I is as advanced at math than he is and his dad is an engineer. He is a smart cookie this morning he was memorizing car licsense plate numbers then telling my DH when they got up to them what they were before he saw them and was right every time. so he has no help here at home but must complete his homework here today so we can watch him for the med reaction. The doc says there is no med for the ODD and he just needs to work through it in therapy where he goes 1x a week. If I see another reaction today I will step back down to the 2 mg of Intuniv tommorrow for sure. In addition to this he is now going through puberty and has no idea of what is going on. Although they teach this in school I do not think he got enough info for himself to feel comfortable. DH needs to have a talk with him. spamula40276.6605208333So how's it going now? Are things evening out or is it still the crazy roller
coaster?

((hugs))

Thanks Corrina, Hugs back at ya! today thing were a BIG change ! He was in a great mood after school, came home early did his homework, is in a great mood and happy as can be. a totally different person. Talked with the doc just now who said it is unlikely that the reaction was from the quafacine but keep an eye on him for the next few days and see how he does at the higher dose. He earned his TV back for being so good today his dad wanted to reward him as per the therapist. so far so good.

thanks for the caring empathetic view you have I so appreciate it. We shal see what tommorow brings..... I will keep you updated.

Fantastic news! I knew if you made it through that one horrible night you'd
get some clarity - either it continued to be horrible and it was time to scrap
the whole thing and start over, or even better, exactly what happened - he
found a way out of his hole. Good for you for keeping it together for him!
I'm sure that being a calm presence who believed whole heartedly (despite
venting out of his earshot) that he could make it through, and he deserved
to, gave him exactly the support he needed.

Great job!   

Fingers crossed for you that tomorrow is another great day!Horse Mom, yes yesterday was the first day of the Intuniv 3mg. I gave it 1 more time this morning and if we have another pychotic breakdown it is definatly the med and I will reduce to 2 mg because he said that amount made him feel calmer. Thank you so much for bring this up because this was something that was ringing in the back of my head yesterday. today we will know for sure. We give it to him in the morning to get through school and the afternoon issues from the comedown from the Concerta. Now I know that this was probably the issue yesterday and we will be looking out closely today for signs,lol we may not have to look at all. thank you so much for re-inforcing what I was already thnking.My daughter is on tenex.  If her tenex dosage is too high,  she can get very irritable. 

Was yesterday the first time on 3 mg of Intuniv?   If so, then it could be that 3mg is too much and you need to back down to 2 mg.   Do you give it to him at morning or night?   If you are doing the AM,  maybe shifting the PM would help with the morning issues.


Hang in there. You've got some very recent history that's making you feel
that way - but it's history. It's in the past. You're on a new path.

And you get a night off - I'm jealous. Go see Alice in Wonderland - it
was fantastic!

Just give everyone a break and focus on learning how not to expect the other
shoe to drop. Stay on top of it, but keep looking for positive moments, and
revel in them! You've earned them! Hang in there spamula! Big hugs to ya!  When things hit the very bottom there's only one way they can go...up!   I know the uncertainty is the worst! When you never know how they're going to act you're always on edge! I feel for you, I've been there. But try to remember that things won't stay like this forever!  It WILL get better.  Just hang on by your finger tips if you have to until it passes.  You'll get relief soon! Logan'sMom40278.5465509259Well I am not sure as to the behavior my Son might pick. He is on his way up camping in the pretty cold 37Degrees, ok I like california. he will be with his father and about 50 boys and just about 3 adults maybe 4, and my sons interpersonal skills are so bad he pushes everone away. Very ungreatful, rude, disrespectful behavior, today is his 3rd or 4 day one Inutive 3 mg. yesterday he was great and today he was up ready and set to go to school with much less baby acting and not doing anything to even get dressed. I am so anxiety ridden of what tommorrow might bring me. one day he is great then alot others he is horrendous to be around. I am so overwhelmed with our lives right now I can't tell if it bring my DH and I colser or much farther away..... I am so unhappy just not knowing what the next day will bring. I am so sorry to dump this load of crap on you gals and guys who have only been good and well meaning and helpful. I just feel empty. Hugs to all thank you for being here

Thanks Corrina, today started off with my hubby getting a little stressed althou what else is new with him lol, Jake did everything he was supposed to do including taking a shower in the mix,usually they at night. He did need redirecting often and that is what pissed my hubby off, but overall he was in better mood and did all that was asked with time to spare. Hopefully this trend will continue if he wants more thing back lol. we shall see, he is going with boy scouts camping in the freezing weather so we shall see how that goes, after asking him to pack hiw long underware he did not soooooo..... today I or his father will repack for him

I hope he does well this weekend and has little problems. Thanks for being my sounding board. soooo apreciated.

Is your son still camping? How's it going?

Hi Corrina! My son is still at boy scout camp with Dad. He says That DS is doing great and he is having a great time. /hoping this will be more the normal than a fluke. We will see them tommorrow afternoon.