Fustrated on meds ... what works for kids

[Tami]

Hi, Im new here. I have a son who has been on medications for several years for adhd, since 1st grade and now he is in 7th.
We are having a real hard time finding the correct meds again. He was on adderall 30mg. Last spring he was getting more and more agigitated then then addeded strattera pm + to help sleep. The summer went ok, I had him off of adderall so he can have a break and add some lbs to his little body.
Well school started pretty good, then I noticed the agression and agigitation was coming back especially around the neighbor hood. Then one night after a shower I noticed a bald spot on his head, size of a quarter. I made an appointment with dr, he took him off of adderall and replaced it with PROVIGIL. What a joke, he did eat better and has in a better mood. But he was supper hyper and could go to sleep. Then we switched him to straterra am and pm. But all he wanted to do was sleep, not work in school or at home.
Well we have him back on adderall 20 mg, he still having alot of problems at school, you know like staying on task. He does see a counselor for his agression since he gets picked on at school alot and he yells back and then gets sent to the office.

I am just really fustrated to find the right combination that will help him.
What has worked for others.......

[eaccae]

Tami,

Have you tried Concerta, Metadate CD or Ritalin LA? I don't know much about Adderall but from reading the posts it seems that it can increase aggression and moodiness. Also how long was he on the Strattera? Again - I don't have much experience with it but I have read from the other posts that there is a significant ramp up period. I have attached a link to a "sister" board that has some good info on Strattera.
"Everything You Wanted to Know About Strattera - Millermom's Site

I don't know if I have been any help at all.

[Linda]

Hi Tami...I am sorry you are having so many problems with the meds.....you may just have to consider a different type.

Your son may be nearing puberty,if he isn't already and what had worked for him before may not work now.

We had tremendous success with concerta but every child is different and reacts differently.

My advice to you would be....call your Doc.and set up an appointment.

[vickilyn32]

My DS is 14 and in 8th grade. When he started 6th grade at 12 yrs, we went thru some major problems with anger, mood swings, depression, etc. I switched him to several meds during that year and the start of 7th grade. Finally 1/2 way thru 7th we went back to adderall XR and it has been great again for the last year. I believe that DS was starting puberty, and all the emotions he was expirencing were too much for him to handle. It did not help that all the boys were hitting the same stage, and were all little "monsters" for a while. Now that he has gotten a little older, he has matured a great deal, and I seem to have a brand new young man living in my house. If it is puberty, there is not much you can do, but help as much as possible, and hang on for a bumpy ride. Have you tried using some of the vitamins and supliments to help him. I have noticed that lots of people have had much help with omega 3's and magnisium. I would look into trying that for a while, if you have already tried the various meds. We tried several meds, and nothing worked as well as the adderall. Strattera was great for his depression and anger, but terrible for focusing in school. For a while we used Strattera and Adderall, then it was too expensive to pay for 2 co-pays each month and we dropped the strattera. It must have been enough to get him past the worst of the puberty stage though, because he was back to "normal" after that.

[HooDunnit]

Hi Tami and welcome to the forums. My severely ADHD son is 18 now, and the only thing I found helpful for him was tons of exercise. A strenuous physical workout of 45 mins, would settle him out for three to four hours so that he could focus on things. I think that a healthy diet (perhaps with natural supplements) is also important. As a teenager, he became quite interested in hygiene and clothes. Now it is motorcycles and girls. lol

The only time we took him to a pediatrician, it was because of a bald spot. He had developed a nervous habit of pulling on and twisting his hair until it fell out. The ped advised us to ignore, so we did and the habit went away.

Barry

[Tami]

Thanks for all your input. I do keep close contact with his doctor. Right now we are going back ever 3-4 weeks as we have to give it time to see if their is any improvement He is also seeing a counselor to help him deal with some of the agression and teasing at school. The bad thing is that he may be 12 but emotionally he is 2-3 years behind. I just keep on hoping that it will all catch up with him.

[rosyred45]

Welcome Tami, I hope the couseling works out. It's a great addition to dealing with his frustrations. My son is only in 2nd grade, but he loves going down to see the GC. He loves her to pieces.

It's a great way for me to figure out what is going on if he won't tell me, which usually isn't the case, but since she is seeing what is going on in class, she has a good feel for what is going on inside his head.

She knows he thinks with his heart and sometimes his heart and head don't communicate when it comes to lashing out