do meds help impulsive & opposition? | ADHD Information
She took the 27 mg. for a day and I thought it made things worse. I am tempted to try the 27 mg. after a weekend off and see what that does. Before the day off though we were spiralling downward very quickly. I'm reading The Explosive Child and it really sounds a lot like my daughter. And I think I've heard or read that ADHD kids can be 1-2 years behind in social development. Hi Everyone. My son is 7 years old and after much testing when he was almost 6 he was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. I was scared, concerned and relieved. At least I knew it wasn't just me and bad parenting. We put our son on 18mg. Concerta. After about a month he wasn't sleeping at night at all. He was up until 2 or 3 in the morning. The doctor then added .05mg. of Clonodine. This is a heart medication and also for treatment of ADHD. Went through about another month and he started acting up again, mostly at daycare after school. The doctor then switched the Concerta to 27 mg. At the end of the first week he flipped out. He was banging his head repeatedly on a concrete wall at daycare and even his older sister couldn't calm him down. I immediately rushed him to the doctor who took him off his medication and wanted to try Ritalin. I did not. My husband talked me into trying it. He started the Ritalin on the following Monday. That lasted 1 week. My son told me he hated it. It made him feel angry and he was getting into fights and he is usually a very loving little boy and maybe a little to kind with kids his age. So we decided to go back to the Concerta 18 mg. and stick with the Clonodine at night. He also takes Singulair and Clariton for allergies. One in the morning and one at night. All was well for about a year and just recently the Clonodine at night wasn't working. He was staying up later and later. The doctor upped the dosage to .1 mg. of Clonodine and he is back to sleeping normal. I think that this combination is working wonders for my son. On the days he forgets his medication in the morning he comes home and tells me he can feel a difference. He says it feels like everything is on full speed ahead and he can't keep still. I think that the combination of the low dosage of Concerta together with his allergy medication (which actually helps to keep him calm) and the Clonodine at night is doing great things for my son. I hope this helps. Also keeping a daily log of how he is feeling and asking him when he is angry, sad, confused, lonely, or just plain out miserable helps. Teaching him to recognize his different feelings and how to appropriately express them is great. I hope this helps someone.My son was diagnosed with ODD and slight ADHD because of his impulsivness. After several months of therapy I took the Dr.'s advise to put him on meds to control the impulsivness. He is now taking Ritalin LA. I must say that it has been terrific!! It helps with the impulsivness and therefore helps him better control the defiancy. So my answer would be yes medication can help the ODD side of things. He was always good everywhere but at home. Now I can enjoy my home life most of the time as well. He also fights less with his brother and sisters. It's well worth talking to your doctor about.
My teenage daughter was diagnosed with ADHD 6 years ago, and we tried for some of the time to manage without medication. However she is now back on Concerta, 36 mg in the morning, and I think the dosage might be increased a bit more next time we see her psychiatrist.
When she was little it wasn't such a problem, but as she has got older impulse control is more important, and the medication helps that a lot. Without the meds she was skipping classes, smoking, displaying defiant behaviour, and having great difficulty keeping friends. She was removed from three schools in a row. With the meds she is cooperative, sweet, and popular with her peers. I think at least some of the defiant behaviour was a result of being forced to be "good" all the time without any hope of actually doing so. Defiance is a way to fight back.
My daughter has been diagnosed ADHD-inattentive. She has a strong impulsive and oppositional streak. I've been led to believe that the Concerta she is taking is helping with the inattentive issues but does not help with the impulsive or oppositional behavior. She is on 18 mg. We tried one day of the 27 but it seemed to intensify the emotional problems (which we were told it would). The thing I don't understand is the first 8 days on the Concerta were heaven. There was no impulsive or oppositional behavior difficulty. Now I wonder why I should give her meds at all if they aren't going to help with these problems. The inattentive problems are minor compared to the impulsive/oppositional/over emotional problems.
I've done some research and it seems to suggest that any med will not help with these types of behaviors. Can anyone offer insight with their own experiences? I'm hoping my research is incorrect.
Thank you.
i think we need to increase the amount on the meds...his oppsitional and impulsiveness is coming back, but right up until christmas he was great!!Hello,
We had the same problem when our son was on Concerta. I finally stopped the Concerta and put him on Adderall XR and it is much better now. I also have been using the strategies from "The Explosive Child", by Dr. Ross Green. I think they have helped. We have been dealing with ADD since our son was 8 and he is now 11. I do think it is a trial and error. And as you all know the errors can be..*&%#!!!! I also know that there has to be a set routine daily or my son becomes upset or angry. Not sure if any of this has helped, but I hope so.....
My son is just like your child. He has impulsivness and is very defiant. He did well for a while on Concerta as well as Metadate. He's been on Adderall XR for a week and his appetite is back and his impulsivness has slowed. He is still defiant, but not to the extreme.
Kathleen
Mom2devmar:
Does your son qualify for the ODD diagnosis? I don't think our daughter would. I think her oppositional behavior comes more from impulsiveness then being defiant on purpose...though there is some of that...but probably within "normal" range.
Kathy
Also, my daughter only acts oppositional at home. Never in the school environment. Does anyone else find this to be true?
Kathy
Kathy,
My son has not been formally diagnosed as ODD, but he does show some signs of it. And yes my son only does this at home. He has never been in trouble at school. Sometimes it is very difficult to if the defiance is just him being a normal 11 yr old or part of his condition. If he spirals into a anger fit, where it's obvious he can't control himself, then I know. It's learnig to recognize the difference before he gets out of control, that can be difficult. I think the Concerta he was on made him VVEERRRYYY irritable, compared to normal, and just made things worse. When I would try to tell my friends or family how he would have these fits, looking for advice or just an ear, they would look at me like I was lying or something. He has never done this at a friends house or school. I cannot stress enough about reading the book "The Explosive Child". It doesn't matter if your child has this to an extreme or not. It is very good in helping you deal with this issue and how to prevent it from happening again. It explains this from the child's side. It is an easy read, not a lot of mumbo jumbo. I am very glad I found this book. If you decide to read this book, please let me know what you think. Take care and good luck! JoDeen
Dosage may be too low; we've accidentally doubled-up once - and saw a different kid. Not perfect - but manageable; and calm.
54 mg is not the limit; at age 10 - he takes 90; 72 in the am and 18 an noon time; plus Lexapro 10 mg; and Xanax XR 1 mg.
Certain kids either metabolize the meds quickly or don't absorb them; I've asked for blood tests for blood levels, but the MD said this would be of little use.
Anxiety is common with ADHD; and ODD.
When he's stubborn as a mule - we just take away certain things, like TV or his favorite cookies or a possible evening event; never give in - but discipline does not have to be harsh.
ASK your MD to add an extra 18 mg of Concerta - you'll know immediately if it works - or within 2 hours - at the most.
Anxiety can also intensify ODD - in my opinion.
Wiz_NY38377.9256828704
Thanks JoDeen. I searched "The Explosive Child" and found the explosivechild.org website which also has boards. I've been surfing those, too. I'm assuming the book has suggestions on how to deal with it. I read references to behavior modifications but I haven't seen anything specific. We've done lots of charts and reward systems and none seem to work or stick.
Thanks.
Kathy
oops. that is explosivekids.org
kathy
Kathy,
This book is by Dr. Ross Green. And he doesn't do reward chart behavioral modification, like most suggest. Actually, those types of things didn't work for us. Try looking it up on Amazon. I got my copy at Barnes and Noble. I did see it at another ADD sight, just not sure which one. I think you'll find it helpful....if anything it will help you keep a little bit of sanity....HA! 
On Saturday I met with the psychiatric nurse practitioner and had a nice hour long session with her to talk about counselling ideas and meds. I asked her, too, if the medication was supposed to help with the impulsiveness and she said yes. Then, I said, the 18 mg. the way we were giving it to her is not working. It's not working so much that I wonder why I am giving it to her.
I did give my daughter one day off from the meds and really decreased her sugar intake and thought I saw some improvement. So I gave her the weekend off and started her on the 27 mg. this morning. I'm crossing my fingers it works. I was happy that the NP was understanding and agreeable to trying different things with the meds. If the Concerta continues not to help much then I'll suggest we try something different.
Kathy