Evan has ADHD. You can spend 10 minutes with him and tell. We tried everything before we go the diagnosis because I believed, and still do, that the diagnosis is completely misused. Is your kid creative and bright and maybe a little bored? Medicate him. Does he not fit into the cookie-cutter image of other kids? Medicate him. It is so frustrating as a parent.
We tried everything. We met with a private psychologist, had meetings with the teacher and the guidance counselor of his school. We were told he was just really gifted and bored. And so we relayed the info to the proper people, and still received the same treatment. Pressure to put him on medication.
And then it got worse. And we took him to our family doctor, who could tell within a few minutes that he did have ADHD. We left that day with a script for ritalin. And it did nothing. Change it to Adderall and it worked. But it worked too well. You can look at the pictures of Evan over the years and tell the exact point where he started the medicine because it is like someone dimmed the light in his face, the spark in his eyes. It breaks my heart. He wouldn't eat, either. And at 8 years old, he lost so much that he dropped 25% of his weight in 3 months. And the Adderall was stopped immediately. We tried not medicating him and that lasted for about 2 weeks before we were back in the doctor's office, begging them to find something, anything to help him. The answer was Straterra, which lasted all of 2 days. Enter Concerta, and the kiddo was doin g better in class, but started to have more problems: manipulative, conniving, angry. After a couple of months of this, we said "enough" and didn't refill the prescription. That lasted about a month.
2 weeks ago, the principal of his school called us in the middle of the day and told us to not bother bringing Evan back to school unless he was medicated. I understood that he was having issues, but some of it was a stretch. For example, he got a behavior notice sent home because he accidentally farted in class. I swear. I know it's gross and we teach him manners, but he is a young boy. And when I asked him about it, he said he had a belly ache that day and he accidentally farted when he bent over to pick up a dropped pencil. And he said "excuse me". And he got a behavior notice.
I was angry at being forced to medicate him. Which, if we get down to brass tacks, was really what was happening. But what do I do? So I made an appointment for him and John took him. We asked them to put him back on Adderall because that is the only thing that got him to behave in school. I figured we could avoid the nasty side effects by just adjusting his dose. That was this past Friday. He started the medicine and--Wham!--the side effects started. The last time it at least took a few days for this to start happening. He acts like a Zombie. He won't eat. He behaves alright. Because he is too depressed and tired to misbehave. Well for the past 3 nights, he has not been sleeping at all. And complaining of a headache. And either vomiting or dry-heaving. I just had to page our family doctor and they called in a prescription for Phenergan so the poor kid can at least try to sleep without vomiting. It's horrible.
Tomorrow we take him to the doctor. And they are going to do something about this or he is stopping the medicine. I will home-school the child if I have to, though I believe doing so deprives kids of the normal social experiences of childhood. But a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A-OK
We got the call Friday evening from our family doctor to tell us that Zach's bloodwork was perfect. I was so relieved that tears started rolling before I could even hang up the phone. As of right now, both boys have a clean bill of health.
Of course at the doctor's office on Friday, Evan was bouncing off the walls. My nerves were already frazzled because we had taken Zach to the lab first to have his blood drawn. They did that by heel stick, which is the least of the possible evils, but they wanted 3 vials of blood from that one little heel stick, and so I had to hold my sweet angel while he screamed and screamed. My patience was shot.
So the doctor comes in the room and takes one look at me and knows. Evan had lost 11 pounds since January, which had prompted them to stop his meds 2 weeks ago. In those two weeks, he has managed to gain back 5 of those pounds. So after seeing his behavior in the office, and after hearing the tales of his misadventures at home the past two weeks, we ending up leaving the office with a fresh new script for Straterra. I'm pretty excited about this combined with the start of behavioral therapy. I'm hoping we can get a grip on these issues my oldest angel is having way before school starts.
In the meantime, I have been gearing up for my big return to work. I have been counting down the days since that dreadful day in January when I started with my preterm labor shenanigans. But now that the day is approaching? I am so sad to be losing this time with my boys. Granted my full-time schedule is only 36 hours per week, spread out over only 3 days. But still...
So what does gearing up for my return to work involve? Washing and organizing scrubs. And since I am constantly on the prowl for cute scrubs, I have such an enormous quantity that I could go about 6 months without ever wearing the same pair twice. But they have all been collecting dust. So they have all been laundered. I sorted through what were originally intended to be pregnancy scrubs that are now too big, older scrubs that are faded or in ill repair, my skinny scrubs that were initially packed away when I first heard the word "pregnant"....I managed to come up with a huge box to donate to charity. Next on my list was to find comfy nursing bras, which was no small task considering my cup size is a little further along in the alphabet than should ever be natural. I was just about to be custom-fitted for some (waaaaay expensive--about $300 for 4 bras) when I discovered the vast array at Motherhood---sports bras, standard bras, sleep bras. I was as giddy as a kid in a candy store. And the most expensive one was $25! Yippee! Of course I haven't bought them yet. Evan was acting a fool and Zach was starting to fuss, so we fled the mall with the intention of me returning alone to try them on before I buy the entire stock they have in my size. Which leaves only 2 tasks before my return: childcare (check! John !) and building up a frozen supply of breast milk (in progress!).
Other than that, I have nothing else to report. I am loving this boring life of mine!
Of course at the doctor's office on Friday, Evan was bouncing off the walls. My nerves were already frazzled because we had taken Zach to the lab first to have his blood drawn. They did that by heel stick, which is the least of the possible evils, but they wanted 3 vials of blood from that one little heel stick, and so I had to hold my sweet angel while he screamed and screamed. My patience was shot.
So the doctor comes in the room and takes one look at me and knows. Evan had lost 11 pounds since January, which had prompted them to stop his meds 2 weeks ago. In those two weeks, he has managed to gain back 5 of those pounds. So after seeing his behavior in the office, and after hearing the tales of his misadventures at home the past two weeks, we ending up leaving the office with a fresh new script for Straterra. I'm pretty excited about this combined with the start of behavioral therapy. I'm hoping we can get a grip on these issues my oldest angel is having way before school starts.
In the meantime, I have been gearing up for my big return to work. I have been counting down the days since that dreadful day in January when I started with my preterm labor shenanigans. But now that the day is approaching? I am so sad to be losing this time with my boys. Granted my full-time schedule is only 36 hours per week, spread out over only 3 days. But still...
So what does gearing up for my return to work involve? Washing and organizing scrubs. And since I am constantly on the prowl for cute scrubs, I have such an enormous quantity that I could go about 6 months without ever wearing the same pair twice. But they have all been collecting dust. So they have all been laundered. I sorted through what were originally intended to be pregnancy scrubs that are now too big, older scrubs that are faded or in ill repair, my skinny scrubs that were initially packed away when I first heard the word "pregnant"....I managed to come up with a huge box to donate to charity. Next on my list was to find comfy nursing bras, which was no small task considering my cup size is a little further along in the alphabet than should ever be natural. I was just about to be custom-fitted for some (waaaaay expensive--about $300 for 4 bras) when I discovered the vast array at Motherhood---sports bras, standard bras, sleep bras. I was as giddy as a kid in a candy store. And the most expensive one was $25! Yippee! Of course I haven't bought them yet. Evan was acting a fool and Zach was starting to fuss, so we fled the mall with the intention of me returning alone to try them on before I buy the entire stock they have in my size. Which leaves only 2 tasks before my return: childcare (check! John !) and building up a frozen supply of breast milk (in progress!).
Other than that, I have nothing else to report. I am loving this boring life of mine!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Losing It
Evan's summer break started officially on noon this past Friday. I had all of these grandiose plans of how we were going to spend the summer, since I am still on maternity leave for another month: outings to the park with my boys, lazy afternoons in the sun, picnics. Ha!
Evan has ADHD. I know, I know. I believe it is completely overused as an excuse too. But my son truly needed medication to focus in school once we found an academic program that offered up an adequate challenge for him. In other words, we tried everything else first. So here lately, we notice he is getting more aggressive. I figure it is the changes that have taken place in his little world, from having a mom on bed rest to getting a new baby brother after almost 9 years as an only child. So I make an appointment with our doctor--incidentally on the same day Zachary was to be checked for the sacral dimple. Of course, this required some tag-teaming on mine and John's part, as both boys were scheduled at the same time, in the same office, with different doctors. Zachary's appointment resulted in a referral for an ultrasound of his spine. Evan's appointment resulted in the discontinuation of his meds due to side effects and ineffectiveness, and a referral to a child psychologist.
So today was step one: Zach's ultrasound. I was a nervous wreck, since our doc pretty much already told me it looks like some form of spina bifida. We just needed to know how severe it was. I told Evan how important the day was, and that I needed him to behave. He understood. So we all load into the car and head to the hospital for the test. Evan even brought a book along to read in the waiting area. It all started out fine. Then it hit.
"I'm bored."
"I'm starving. You never feed me."
"I'm going to dehydrate over here!"
"I want to sit next to Zach!"
"Why isn't there a kids' show on the tv?"
Constant. Complaints. But that is nothing compared to him running up and down the hallway of the pediatric wing of the hospital, jumping up and down to slap the decals of kites and clouds and suns that adorn the walls. Or him arguing with his father in front of a waiting area of tssking grandmothers. I thought for sure that John was going to kill him. Or that I would lose my cool and do something that would result in my Mommy license being revoked.
We manage to hold it together long enough for the ultrasound, where Zach got a clean bill of health, and meandered to the Lactation Services office to get Zach weighed. But Evan's behavior just got worse. And worse. And worse. By the time the lactation consultant was ready for us, I was in tears. I'm not sure why--hormones, spina bifida threat, Evan's behavior, the stress causing a decreased milk supply that is requiring supplementing Zach's breast milk. Or a combination of any of these factors.
It's only been 11 days since Zach's birth. I think I forgot the demands of new mommyhood. He hit a growth spurt a couple of days ago, and our routine goes something like this: Nurse him anywhere from 15 to 35 minutes, followed by pumping whatever he left behind. Every 2 hours. The nursing-burping-pumping routine takes almost a full hour. So basically, I have one hour to wash pump parts, change diapers, hurry and take a shower, use the bathroom, get dressed, eat something, or any other task that needs to be completed to meet mine (or his) basic needs. And of course this goes on around the clock. Don't get me wrong--I love this baby. He is still the easiest baby I have ever met. I already cannot imagine life without him. I think I am just feeling a little overwhelmed with everything.
In the meantime, I picked up the new schedule at work. How beautiful was it to see my name scheduled for shifts starting on June 28th? Especially when, by the time my postpartum recovery is over, I will have been off of work for 20 weeks! Almost 5 months!
As for other news in my world? Zach's newborn pics came in the mail today, which got me all giddy. And I also took my first walk around the neighborhood since being put on bed rest in January. And unless you want to talk of the color/ consistency of newborn poop, that's all I have to report.
Evan has ADHD. I know, I know. I believe it is completely overused as an excuse too. But my son truly needed medication to focus in school once we found an academic program that offered up an adequate challenge for him. In other words, we tried everything else first. So here lately, we notice he is getting more aggressive. I figure it is the changes that have taken place in his little world, from having a mom on bed rest to getting a new baby brother after almost 9 years as an only child. So I make an appointment with our doctor--incidentally on the same day Zachary was to be checked for the sacral dimple. Of course, this required some tag-teaming on mine and John's part, as both boys were scheduled at the same time, in the same office, with different doctors. Zachary's appointment resulted in a referral for an ultrasound of his spine. Evan's appointment resulted in the discontinuation of his meds due to side effects and ineffectiveness, and a referral to a child psychologist.
So today was step one: Zach's ultrasound. I was a nervous wreck, since our doc pretty much already told me it looks like some form of spina bifida. We just needed to know how severe it was. I told Evan how important the day was, and that I needed him to behave. He understood. So we all load into the car and head to the hospital for the test. Evan even brought a book along to read in the waiting area. It all started out fine. Then it hit.
"I'm bored."
"I'm starving. You never feed me."
"I'm going to dehydrate over here!"
"I want to sit next to Zach!"
"Why isn't there a kids' show on the tv?"
Constant. Complaints. But that is nothing compared to him running up and down the hallway of the pediatric wing of the hospital, jumping up and down to slap the decals of kites and clouds and suns that adorn the walls. Or him arguing with his father in front of a waiting area of tssking grandmothers. I thought for sure that John was going to kill him. Or that I would lose my cool and do something that would result in my Mommy license being revoked.
We manage to hold it together long enough for the ultrasound, where Zach got a clean bill of health, and meandered to the Lactation Services office to get Zach weighed. But Evan's behavior just got worse. And worse. And worse. By the time the lactation consultant was ready for us, I was in tears. I'm not sure why--hormones, spina bifida threat, Evan's behavior, the stress causing a decreased milk supply that is requiring supplementing Zach's breast milk. Or a combination of any of these factors.
It's only been 11 days since Zach's birth. I think I forgot the demands of new mommyhood. He hit a growth spurt a couple of days ago, and our routine goes something like this: Nurse him anywhere from 15 to 35 minutes, followed by pumping whatever he left behind. Every 2 hours. The nursing-burping-pumping routine takes almost a full hour. So basically, I have one hour to wash pump parts, change diapers, hurry and take a shower, use the bathroom, get dressed, eat something, or any other task that needs to be completed to meet mine (or his) basic needs. And of course this goes on around the clock. Don't get me wrong--I love this baby. He is still the easiest baby I have ever met. I already cannot imagine life without him. I think I am just feeling a little overwhelmed with everything.
In the meantime, I picked up the new schedule at work. How beautiful was it to see my name scheduled for shifts starting on June 28th? Especially when, by the time my postpartum recovery is over, I will have been off of work for 20 weeks! Almost 5 months!
As for other news in my world? Zach's newborn pics came in the mail today, which got me all giddy. And I also took my first walk around the neighborhood since being put on bed rest in January. And unless you want to talk of the color/ consistency of newborn poop, that's all I have to report.
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