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Post by blaynesmama on Nov 16, 2003 10:22:15 GMT -5
Hello, my son is 4.5 and has extreme ADHD/ODD. He was in to see a psychologist for this over the past month and the pediatrician. Through research on the internet we assumed that this is what he had but got an official diagnosis. He tried Adderall that was a nightmare! So the Dr started him on strattera. We have tried absolutely EVERYTHING that we could to get him to take the pills even forcing him down and holding his nose and putting it in his mouth via the Dr's advice. it worked for a few days but now that my dh is back at work I could not get it down him today. he fought me literally kicking and screaming I can't do it alone (39 weeks preg)and am at a loss of how to get him to take it. we were breaking it apart but now he just spits that out too. We really did not like the idea of forcing it down his throat because he goes through enough daily with out having us forcefully holding him down and shoving this pill down his throat. So I guess my question is if others out there have children that have ADHD/ODD then what meds have you had luck with? Thanks
April
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Post by StrugglingAgain on Nov 16, 2003 10:56:19 GMT -5
Oh Man, I could write you a book. My son was dx severe ADHD at age four...we knew it looong before that. Recently he had extensive testing by a child psychologist, dx severe ADHD/ODD. Finally, a doctor put the "label" on him. We've been at each other's throats for years. This ODD has been primarily directed at me (his mom). Anyway, we were then sent to a child psychiatrist for meds. He's already been on nine different meds. Most recently he was on Concerta and it was as if he had nothing whatsoever. The first med he ever took was Adderall...it worked for awhile then WATCH OUT!! It turned on us and was a nightmare. For a month he's been on a combination that has him behaving better than he has in years......but that's not to say it will stay that way. He's on Ritalin LA, Focalin, Clonidine, and Risperdal. Now all of these aren't taken at the same time of day, but for now it's working. I was SO tired of the aggression. Hope this helps!
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Post by blaynesmama on Nov 16, 2003 11:12:06 GMT -5
sounds alot like my son. we knew from the time he was 2.5 that something was different that he shouldn't be acting the way he was. he is so violent with us sometimes. some days are better than others but for the most part it is a nightmare. it does really effect your marriage and family life! I am 39 weeks preg and we are just worried now how he will react with the new one although he LOVES babies and is great with them. Anyway we are reluctant to try more than one med at a time we are afraid of the rebound. We were really hopeing that we could get him to take this strattera in hopes that we would start seeing results but nevertheless he isnt' taking them just spitting them out. so thank you for your post. I hope all continues to work for you....
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Post by AnneM on Nov 16, 2003 16:02:21 GMT -5
Hmmm .... I would say that at 4.5 years old do not force your son to take a med that he finds so difficult to swallow etc. It could make your son absolutely hate and resent medication for years to come ... and as he gets older the meds could become more important to him.
This is such a young age to be expected to "swallow" a pill ... my own son (now 15) couldn't swallow a pill until he was around 10+ .... I would definitely try and go for something which can be crushed into food right now .... but this might limit your medication choices ... especially as you say that Adderall was a disaster...
Alternatively maybe encourage your son to "practice" swallowing pills with tic tacs or others say it works by disguising the pill in apple sauce .... ? But my advice is above all to prevent your son from resenting/hating his medication .... as this could be really detrimental in the long-run....
Please keep us posted ..... and GOOD LUCK!
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Post by blaynesmama on Nov 16, 2003 17:49:12 GMT -5
yes that is exactly what I thought too. I dont' want to ruin him for life about taking meds. believe me we do not like doing this at all is was heartbreaking. we did not force it on him today it just seems too terrible. thank you for your support
april
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Post by AnneM on Nov 17, 2003 13:43:22 GMT -5
Hi April .... Oh I can so well understand how heartbreaking this would be for you !... medication (my opinion) should be a "no big deal" thing .... and as long as it isn't a struggle or a problem then it can slip into their daily routine quite seamlessly .... but your little guy is so young and one day he will certainly learn to swallow those pills without a second thought ... but right now it's just too soon ....
Keep us posted!!
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Post by blaynesmama on Nov 17, 2003 14:30:29 GMT -5
he does in the morning to talk about a new med. i'll keep ya posted on what we are trying next!!!
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Post by AnneM on Nov 17, 2003 15:18:55 GMT -5
he does in the morning to talk about a new med. i'll keep ya posted on what we are trying next!!! GOOD LUCK!!! ... will keep my fingers crossed ! |
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Post by singnmommy on Nov 17, 2003 18:59:36 GMT -5
My step son is five (ADHD/ODD) and we had major problems with the pills the first day. Take a little bit of applesauce in a spoon, break the pill and pour the contents on to the applesauce, then dump just a little bit more on top. This takes the taste away (according to my son) and he gets a bite of regular for a treat. This will work for pudding or yogurt too. Good Luck!
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Post by StrugglingAgain on Nov 18, 2003 17:09:40 GMT -5
Blaynesmama, my son is now eight. He's recently had extensive testing for a diagnosis. Prior to that, he had a diagnosis of ADHD, but had not been extensively tested. After the testing his dx was severe ADHD/ODD. We have recently moved to the Houston area and naturally, had to change doctors. Our child psychiatrist added a med called Risperdal to the meds he was already taking: Ritalin LA, Focalin, Clonidine. FINALLY, the combination of the four works! I told the doctor yesterday when we went for a med check that this is the best we've gotten along since his birth. Believe me, we've tried TEN meds, but the combination is lots of trial and error....don't get discouraged!
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Post by Honeysmom on Nov 20, 2003 10:13:26 GMT -5
Blaynesmama, that is really too bad that the Adderall did not work out. I remember the first day we tried to give it to Honey we had to hold him down too. We both felt awful. We were trying to do what we thought was best, but it felt like we were being abusive. Like I told you before, the Adderall works great for us, so we have been extremely fortunate since it was the first thing we tried.
I know one thing that does work to help kids swallow is to put the pill, or anything that you are going to practice with in the mouth, take a huge gulp of water, and then gently massage their throat. This will stimulate him to swallow. It also may help if he sees you or your Hubby taking pills. Maybe show him how easy it is to take your prenatals. If he is like Honey though, it is a lost cause b/c he just cannot do it...he is just too little. Good luck with this and good luck with the new baby. It probably will help him cope with the new baby if he feel like he is mom's little helper and a really big boy. Don't you just wish someimtes they made meds taste like candy, then my kids wouldn't be able to get enough! ;D
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Post by milesofsmiles on Nov 20, 2003 14:44:31 GMT -5
ADHD/ODD are one of those common go together diagnosis. Sometimes it is difficult to determine when they can't do something an when they won't do something. Nater (as we affectionately call him) is 6 and was diagnosed at the end of the school year. The combination diagnosis was right on track. Our psychologist and Dr. recommended medicine. Started with Stratterra, but he woke up in the middle of the night screaming he head hurt (for hours). It worked to help him focus, but YIKES, no one should feel like their head will explode. So we switched to Adderal XR. He refused to take any medicine, so we started sprinkling it in pudding, yogert, etc.. His anger was terrible during this time and the evenings were falling apart too. After 3 weeks of this he asked if the medicine was in the food. I told him it was and he refused to take it anymore. We talked to the Dr. again and switched to Concerta. We practiced with tic-tacs and watched him swallow 5 or 6 in a row. Give him the medicine, and he refused to take it. It was at this point that I realized that he could swallow the medicine if he wanted to, and he was trying to control me and make me give up, like I had so many times before. He knew if he could just hold out I would get so frustrated that I would walk away. About this time I was attending some behavior modification classes and was changing my parenting techniques. I gave him a choice, he could take the medicine, or I would give it to him. For 14 days I held held him close to me and put the medicine to the back of his mouth. Some mornings he would bite me, On day 15 he said that he would take it. He realized that there was a better way of doing it. And for the past 3 months he has been doing it on his own every morning. He is pretty proud of himself, and so am I. If the medicine did not make a difference, I would not have put in the effort to give it to him. But his reports from school have been outstanding. Confidence, completing work, not breaking down crying, starting work instead of refusing to try....Socially and acedimically he is a thousand times better. That is my little story of medicine and my son. Other things I have seen for medicine are putting it in ice cream, chocolate syrup, pudding, yogert, jello, putting the pill in their mouth and having a big glass with one swallow of water, juice, liquid. Big rewards, small rewards.. I am sure there are a few more out there. Miles  |
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