My son was diagnosed with ADHD/ODD

[clee0126]

I have 5 year old a child who has always had behavior problems since he was 2.  He has been put out of several daycares and the behavior started out with hitting and biting other kids, then it went to not listening to adults and running and hiding from them. When he started Pre-K last year, he did fine for the 1st semester with no problems, then things went downhill from there.  he would thow things in the classroom and have tantrums frequently.  He is very smart and academically, his grades were ok, it was just his behavior wasn't and him not being able to sit down.  During the summer, we took him to a therapist who diagonsed him with with the ADHD with ODD.  She prescribed Adderall which worked for two months, then the same behavior started to come back so we increased the aAdderal from 5mg to 10 mg.  When he started Kindergarten, he once again did well for the 1st semester, then back to the same behavior of not listening, getting up out of his seat, etc.  He had kicked the teacher and kicked over chairs in the classroom and this starated to happen frequently.  Once he got his anger out(lasting from 5-10 mins), he was fine.  We then increased the Adderall XR to 20mg and we seen nothing.  We did notice while taking the Addrerall that he was stealing things out of the classroom like dry erase markers, pencils, glue, etc and said he didn't mean to and would return them the next day, but the stealing would continue everyday.  He had never done this before the medication so I don't know if it is the meds or he has OCD.  When I talked to the therapist, she said he could also have OCD or bipolar.  I am thinking how can my son have 4 different disorders or could the Adderall be causing some of this like the mood swings and OCD behavior.  She couldn't tell me the answer.  We switched to Vyvanse 30mg for a week and it didn't work for him so now he is starting the Concerta 18mg with 0.25 Respidol twice a day for the mood swings.  Can some of these meds get rid of one disorder and cause another.  I don't want my child to be on more meds than what he needs.  HELP, please...

[mom2879]

My son has both ODD bipolar and slight ADHD. He has been stable for a year on metadate 40mg and ritilan 5mg for a year.  But now his defiance has increased and his behavior is starting to get out of control again. We are talking about changing his meds. I know his ODD can be controlled so dont lose hope.  I myself have had medications control my anxiety and then out of the blue depression pops up.  Now I am not a doctor but it has been my experience (w/myself anf my son) that once you get on diagnosis under control it is normal to see another diagnosis pop up that you weren't even aware about.

[clee0126]

My son started the Concerta 18mg on Saturday and we haven't seen much of a difference, the teacher said he will not focus and he was throwing things in the class.  He did complain of a headache, but that was it.  Does it take time for the meds to work or how long should I wait it out? They put him out of school twice because of his behavior and I am not able to keep getting off work to get him since I am a single parent.  I don't know what to do.  I really hate him taking these meds, but noone will tolerate him doing those things.  I just feel like at 5 years old, he may be too young and I read that these meds have not been tested in children under 6.  Does anyone else feel the same? I am confused.

[RStern]

You might be surprised to know that many childhood behaviors / symptoms are common among the diagnoses you listed in your post.  It can be very difficult to differentiate one disorder from the other in very young children.

That doesn't necessarily mean your child might have one or none, or all, but it is important to consider.

One of the first things I would ask is, did your child have a complete medical evaluation prior to being diagnosed and treated with medication?  There are a number of disorders, illnesses, and life stressors that can mimic these symptoms.

Also - you might want to ask yourself if there are any major events that trigger these behaviors?  With a pattern like this existing - I might wonder what else is going on in your life - your child's life - and those people around him?

Just my thoughts.

Rory

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Psychostimulant medications do have the possibility of activating some children and making them more aggressive, grouchy, irritable, etc. But when this occurs it is a pretty stable state, not the sort of situation when you don't see it for months and then do see it for months. Your note indicates that the diagnosis with your son is really not clear. The most likely explanation, though not the only possibility, is that he displays both Bipolar Disorder and ADHD. If so, the combination of Cencerta and Risperdal would be effective (contingent on dose).

[Captain_Rit]

well in my expierience concerta is the best medicine there is for adhd.     i must admit that i do not know much about ODD.    but i would say it is possible for one med to fix one problem but make another worse how ever for these type of psychiatric problems i highly doubt it.    i would talk to your childs therapist.    also make sure he is on the correct amount of meds.    if you wouldn't mind giving more information on your child i will do research for you.+