[missw005]

J has finally got an appointment with the specialist that does his meds. (nothing like a 2-1/2 hour one-way trip with gas at $3.95/gallon!!! )

Anyway, he's currently on Tenex for this, but everybody (teachers, sp ed staff, therapist, daycare moms, me, etc.) agrees that it's not working anymore, and the side effects (tiredness, numbness in feet/legs) are increasing.

He FINALLY weighs over 60 lbs (woo-hoo! only took 9 years!!!) and can now be on many of the "regular" ADD/ADHD meds. He is NOT bipolar, just irritating...I mean, irritable.

So.............am wondering if anyone has a kiddo with similar issues (ADD/ADHD, control issues, extremely impulsive and easily irritable) and if so, what med(s) are your kids on?

Except the Tenex, he takes Omega 3/Fish Oil in the AM and takes melatonin/magesium/calcium in the evenings to help him sleep.

Thanks,

Sandy

[momof9wantingmore]

My son has extreme irritability, rages, very impulsive behavior, I could go on and on. He has been on a number of meds but had to go off due to side effects. He has finally been diagnosed with fasd and everything that goes with that. About three weeks ago they put him on Straterra, which is drug for ADHD but seems to work very well as a crossover drug for FASD, he is doing so well, his behavior has become manageable, he is reasonable, you can actually chastise him without it turning into a huge meltdown. The side effects are minimal and we a cautiously optimistic.

[mrsred]

Our daughter with ODD is extremely impulsive, and her impulses can be quite dangerous for those around her. She has been on 72 mg Concerta in the morning and 100 mg Zoloft at night for the last two years. It has seemed to help. However, as she is nearing puberty I am noticing that she is having more problems with her impulsiveness so it is time to reevaluate her meds. We have an appointment for that in the morning.

[greenrobin]

My son didn't actually start to grow well UNTIL he had his med. Irritating, irritability, more irritating, rages, rages, rages, adhd, odd, bipolar.........we were in crisis mode. What finally got it all under control was a whopping drug cocktail of 2 antidepressants, depakote, an anti-pychotic and an adhd drug.

I noticed that a couple of people are talking about Strattera and Concerta. For N, we actually had to get him on both at the same time to control the extremely impulsive behavior. It's working, but it's not perfect. He's 20 and 6'3", so rages could be dangerous. Fortunately, I haven't seen anything other than agitation for a few years.

[stevenstwin]

Mine tried Strattera and absolutely FREAKED OUT! I've never seen such rages and irrational behaviour...wow! But then he tried Risperdal, and it was the miracle drug for him.

[Bippette]

My son just turned 10. He takes Respridol to curb aggression, irritability and impulses. He is Dx'd as BiPolar, but the meds have done a good job at curbing his tantrums and giving him back some self control during his aggressive phases.

[Robbin]

Our adopted daughter (9) has been on several, but Strattera did work for her for quite a while, but now she's on Concerta, which seems to be effective. Have to watch Concerta, though, b/c we had a foster son on it and he attempted suicide 2x while on it.

[marythemom]

My daughter, H, has ADHD and takes Concerta. By the way, we were told never to give her Zoloft at night because it would give her vivid nightmares?! She also takes Geodon, Trileptal, and DDAVP. She takes a multivitamin and Omega 3 too.

My son, D, has ADD and takes Provigil. We tried him on Vyvanse and he flipped out - mouth and body tremors, nausea, vomiting, out of control! He takes many other meds too although we've weened him off of several. Trileptal, Lamictal, Amantadine, Seroquel... and OTC - Omega 3, multivitamin, Glucosamine and we're starting him back on melatonin tonight - he's still not sleeping well.

Mary
mom to T(9), K(almost 12), H(13) and D(almost 15)
"Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies."
(Unknown)

[mrsred]

Nightmares marythemom? Funny, she is my one and only child that has never mentioned any kind of a dream at all. Even with taking Concerta she drops off to sleep in about 3 minutes. By the way, we have just switched her to Vyvance... will let ya all know how that works for her.

[szypzz]

My son was on Risperdal which worked really well for him, but he ended up with side effects that increased a female hormone in his body. We tried another med, but it made things worse, then he was switched to Zyprexa, which works just as well if not better than the Risperdal. Also his doctor has him on an iron supplement. He wasn't techically anemic, but through testing they found out that his body wasn't properly using the iron in his blood stream. He's been on it for a year and it has made things better for him too. It really reduced the amount of sweating and restlessness he had while he slept, making him somewhat more rested and calm during the day. He is also on Straterra, as stimulant meds make his behavior worse. Hope this helps.

[mrsred]

szypzz, our 8 year old son is also on iron. Like yours, E wasn't anemic, but had low iron levels. After the first 3 months on iron there was absolutely no increase in his iron levels. Then we added B1, but that didn't do it. Now we have added vitamin D... that has just been over a week, so too early to tell if this is what is going to help.
We have tried so many meds for him, but has differing side effects with everything, and none of them good. We have tried Concerta, Tenex, Straterra, Adderal, Dextroamphet, Wellbutrin, Risperdal, Abilify.... maybe that is it. His behavior on the risperdal and abilify were the best, buut the effects were the worst. Scary effects there.
Now he takes clonidine at night - or he would never go to sleep, and the iron and vitamin D. Wish I could say his behavior was improved, but it's not.

[KarynB]

Hey Sandy,

Our son is also dx'd with ADHD with the major issue being impulsivity. He takes 15mg of dexadrine once a day - and sometimes 5mgs on the weekends if he has birthday parties, etc. It seems to be working really well.

He also takes the melatonin to help him sleep!

karyn

[szypzz]

mrsred, if Risperdal worked but had bad side effects for your ds, Zyprexa or Seroquel might work. (The Seroquel caused my son to tick, but I'm sure it works for some. Every human being is a brand new chemistry experiment. ;-) ) Zyprexa has really been the best for us. My ds is also dx'ed with PDD, which is an Autism Spectrum disorder. The Zyprexa helps with that and the Straterra helps with the ADHD. The iron supplement we use is called Ferro-Sequels and is 50mg both evening and morning. It has really helped with his (previously) constant movement at night.