Meds

My son is 14 years of age, abd has lived with his mother all his life. Although I have been in contact with him, and have him for short periods in the summer and holidays. He has become too much for her to handle and has been living with me full time for a short period of time now. My problem and question is in regards to his medication "Dexadrine". I spoke with a mental health professional who is very familiar with him and his situation. She suggested that I clean out his system for at least 30 days. He has been on various meds since the age of 6 for "ADHD". She seems to beleive that he may not even have ADHD. He absolutly hates the meds and it causes him to be sluggish and dopey. I have also met with all his teachers, guidance counselor, and school psychatrist who have had no problems with him, and even report how involved he is. This has all taken place while he has been off all his meds. however, I wonder if I have made a mistake by not consulting a medical professional before pulling him off his meds.  Should I put him back on, and seek professinal advise or is this the right direction until we evidence otherwise?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It would have been a wise decision to consult with a psychiatrist before disontinuing the medication. However, since you have already taken this step, do not change course now. Instead, arrange a consultation with a psychiatrist and bring along whatever records or knowledge you have of past evaluations and treatment, including medication history. The psychiatrist can then review these, examine your son's current functioning, consult with school personnel and anyone else you wish, and then offer guidance about how to proceed. It may well be that, if your son continues to do well off the medicine, he will simply stay off all medication. Dr. KDK