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Post by StrugglingAgain on May 18, 2005 14:56:03 GMT -5
I'm so totally exhausted I don't know what I'm going to do. I've not been here in awhile as ds and his antics go on and on. His ODD is now showing it's face at school and I'm so embarrassed I could die. He's ARGUING with his teachers!! OMG....what has gotten into him? We went to med doctor and all he did was increase his Clonidine. He's on 40mg Ritalin LA twice a day, Clonidine, Risperdal, and Focalin. We have a new therapist...ugh! NO therapist seems to help him and I'm soooooooooo tired of trying with all this!! I think I'm about ready to give up on behavior mods. NONE of it works!
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Post by Jorgy on May 18, 2005 16:42:54 GMT -5
Do I ever hear you! I finally got so fed up that I am switching Drs. I spoke with my ped nurse and she gave me some names so I went to a neuropsych who was WONDERFUL. She is refurring ds to a child psych closer to us and if we don't like him, I'll drive to her. I was feeling like nothing was working and all his present psych was doing was increasing meds. Very aggrivating!  Can you look into switching DRs? God bless, Sue |
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Post by StrugglingAgain on May 18, 2005 19:25:58 GMT -5
Unfortunately, this IS the new one. The psychologist we had before for behavior mods was one of these that goes, "Hmm, how does that make you feel?" So, we listened to that for 1 1/2 years. So I finally found this one who is a "family therapist". He comes up with great ideas to try for behavior mods, but NONE of it is working and even HE said that something should be working a little by now. *SIGH* DS is still, rambunctious, mouthy, a busy body, arguing with me and the teachers, etc. I'm just totally worn out with all of it. In almost six years of therapy (behavior mods AND meds) I can only think of one thing that's different......ds quit hitting me. I've even been giving lots of thought to maybe he's bipolar, but I truly don't think he fits all the extremes. I'm scared to death to ask the psychiatrist to put him on mood stablilizers. What if he doesn't have a mood disorder? What will it do to him? He's already taking FOUR meds for severe ADHD/ODD! Our child psychiatrist does NOTHING except manage meds. He leaves the behavior mods up to the therapists. I just want to wave a huge white flag!
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sportsmom
Member Emeritus
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Posts: 1,171
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Post by sportsmom on May 18, 2005 19:56:32 GMT -5
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Post by Amsmom on May 18, 2005 20:24:32 GMT -5
please ask the psychiatrist the questions you have about the mood stabilizers. although my ds is on them, i cant answer those particular questions. i can tell you they have helped him immensely. psychiatrists really are primarily there for med evaluations. some go further, but many dont. i think you could also ask him if the ritalin could be making things worse. it did for my ds. good luck, please keep us posted.  |
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Post by Linda on May 18, 2005 20:29:31 GMT -5
Correct me if i am wrong but don't the Doctors have to treat the ODD first? The ritalin could very well be making him worse.
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Post by StrugglingAgain on May 18, 2005 20:34:27 GMT -5
Thankfully, there's only one more week of school, so I can have the summer to try to make a few changes. The psychiatrist, of course, has to count on me to tell him what's going on. He's been concerned for quite some time that it takes such a high dosage of his Ritalin LA to control his attention, focus, etc. He said often if it takes high doses of a stim to control his ADHD, then ADHD may not be the primary problem. I think he'd do just about anything I would suggest, but I'm still scared. Maybe I'm scared because it would be an admission that he could have a mood disorder like bipolar? Is it normal to take FIVE medications? Jeeeez! I'm weaning him off the Risperdal now, so that he can rest from it before school starts again. The doc says if we have a break each summer it will keep it from causing him a tic. When school starts he needs it desperately...for aggression. I feel like I'm playing doctor............................................
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Post by Amsmom on May 18, 2005 20:41:55 GMT -5
youre right linda, mood disorders need to be treated first.
s/a, i know it isnt easy to hear a bipolar dx (been there) but the proper dx does help to provide accurate, effective treatment. please at least ask the psychiatrist your questions.
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Post by mskris on May 19, 2005 13:05:43 GMT -5
S/A:
I would definitely be concerned about him taking 5 meds, especially because the ritalin and focalin are both stimulants (albeit with slightly different chemical properties). That's a lot of stimulation! I assume the clonidine is to help him sleep after all that stimulation? Risperdal is an antipsychotic...
Maybe it's time for a washout/reevaluation? At this point, he's taking all those meds with little to no benefit, right?
As for behavior modification, I gave up on that quite a while ago. That said, I have to say my ds is on the mild/moderate end of the ADHD spectrum, and we have fewer problems as he ages (he's now 10). However, we are seeing a new doc (developmental pediatrician) on 6/6, who is going to start from scratch evaluating him. It's been 4 yrs, so I guess it's worth it. Behavior mods never worked for Taylor (he was never enthused about star charts, etc.); nothing lasted long.
Kris
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