Hi & thanks again to all those who posted to my intro post. My 8 1/2 yr old son is on Dexemphetamines 1 tab around 7am and 1/2 tab around lunchtime so I'm presuming by late a/noon med's completely worn off. Prior to starting med's around 5 mths ago, my son was prone to having full tantrums on rare occassions and hasn't had one for a while.
Last night we allowed kids to stay up till 9.30pm (which is late in our household) and when they go to bed, they both head for my bed and as hubby working nightshift, I said yes but they kept being silly and calling out one was touching the other wih their leg's etc etc etc........ so I asked them to go back to their own bed's and they can come in during the night if they wish. My 7 yr old daughter was very tired and I think the "behaviours" were coming from my son more so.
Anyway, my daughter got straight up and headed for her bed but my son was having non of it and started screaming he wasn't going to his bed etc.........At this point I decided to stand my ground and not let him stay in my bed just because he was screaming etc........ After him running around the house screaming etc for about 5 min's, he went to his room but screaming even louder, banging his door and when I went in there he slapped my on the back a few time's as I walked out. The screaming went on for a hour. I had gone in there to lay down and try to calm and talk but again, he was screaming for me to get out of his room and trying to push me off the bed. His screaming was so bad that late at night I was scared the noise would travel down the street so I had to close off all doors etc..Could I have handled this a different way to prevent this blow out?
My son has behaved liked this in the past (prior meds) on rare occassions. I'm just wondering whether this is "normal" for children to act like this on the odd occasion?
Do your children have med's given in the afternoon to last into the evening? Does it affect their sleeping (insomnia)? Exactly what is rebound and as I said, it's not a daily occurance whereas I'm presuming rebound would be something we would be seeing more often...I'm not sure.
Last night just left me feeling worn out!
Thanks guy's, Sascha
Routine is key...we've strayed from routine a few times, thinking it would be a special treat for our DS.....joke was on us! We've regretted it every single time, whether it be right away or a day or two down the road due to lack of sleep. To answer your questions the best I can, rebound is "coming down" off the meds & it can affect people in different ways. Most times (from experience) and from what I've heard from others, it is reflected with anger, frustration and being very emotional. If you let him stay up later than usual, you may have been seeing the effects of rebound, depending on when the meds truly wear out of his system & how much later he was allowed to stay up.
Our son is on a med that lasts him thru the day, he puts his Daytrana patch on in the morning and we still see the affects until bedtime (fortunately for us). So he doesn't take an afternoon booster to get thru the evening but I guess I look at it the same way, he's feeling the effects of the meds until bed time. He also takes Guanfacine to help him sleep. I wouldn't neccessarily say he struggles with sleeping due to his stim med, he has some anxiety & sensory issues so the Guanfacine is a relaxer than helps calm him to sleep. If your DS were to take an afternoon booster & had trouble sleeping, there are things out there that can counteract at bed time to help him sleep, if you are at wits end, it's something to consider. Or...maybe the routine is the best answer if your DS is getting thru the afternoon & evenings okay. Good luck!
My son actually had a similar type thing happen tonight. And, it was the