Ok, I need some suggestions on this one, maybe I'm just being a worried parent. My son just turned 7 in February and has been diagnosed with ADHD since before Kindergarten and up until last year he was on Adderall XR. So much has happened in the past year where his meds are concerned. Last summer we saw the doctor because of his increased hyperactivity and inattention and insomnia. Well his family physician switched him over to regular Adderall 15mg twice a day and added Trazodone, 100 mg an hour before bedtime. This was fine and after a couple of dosage changes this is what he has been on. The doctor noticed the Adderall wasn't totally helping so he then added Tenex (Guanfacine) to the equation. 1 1/2 mg in the A.M & at 4pm and 1/2 mg at noon, this was to boost the effectiveness of the Adderall. Well, he seemed to be doing ok, having a few problems here and there in school and was having alot of negative self-talk and talk of hurting himself and not liking himself and such. Towards the end of the year they added 25 mg of Zoloft for the depressive behavior. About a month or so ago I had noticed some aggressive outbursts here and there and mentioned it to the therapist, they suggested trying him on Abilify for the aggressive behavior. I didn't know what to do and assumed they knew what they were doing where my child was concerned and started giving him the med. It didn't have the effect on him that they were hoping for, in fact I don't really see a change in him. We tried twice to wean him off the Tenex because of them adding Abilify but both times he started having issues at school so he went back on it. In talking to his therapist and the Nurse Practitioner about Concerta we switched him yesterday to Concerta instead of Adderall. I'm hoping this will help him out, we'll have to wait and see but I'm really struggling with this. How will we know that the Concerta is working on it's own when he's stuck on all these other meds? I took it upon myself to wean him off the Trazodone and he's been off it for a week now and no problems sleeping. I hate having him on so much meds and feel as if I'm helpless and have to just grin & bear it. Since my son is on spring break this week I decided to take it upon myself to reduce his Tenex to 1 mg in AM, 1 mg in PM and taking the Abilify out of the equation. I want to give the Concerta a chance to work on it's own and see the effects.
I'm just so confused and worried for my son. They keeping adding meds to the list and it makes me wonder if they are treating actual symptoms or are they actual side effects of one of the other meds. I'm wondering if a second opinion is order. I'm switching him from a family physician to a pediatrician hoping this might be a bit better but as far as his psychiatrist and NP at the mental health center, this is the only mental health resource we have in town so that doesn't help.
Well, I suppose I have written way too much here but it's alot I had to get off my chest and hoping there are others out there that may be in the same situation. Any suggestions or thoughts you can offer me please do, I just don't know where to turn anymore.
Thank You
I would definitely suggest a second opinion. I would also trust your gut more. It is a lot of different meds for a young kid, and it seems like they are just treating the side effects of them. I empathize with your feelings of not knowing really if you can trust your doctor, and if their treatment for your son is really the best. I would try to find someone else. It's a constant battle to find the right medication, and doctor.
I don't know if this helped any. I find myself much in the same boat as you.