severe behavior issues add, ocd touretts

[jennibell16]

I have a ten year old son. He had sever behavior isues in kindergarten and was almost kicked out of school then he was diagnosed with ADD. He started on meds and they made it worse....they uped the dosage and it got better for a bit but he always complained his stomache hurt and would actually fall asleep in class all the time. he has always stolen little things..in first second grade he started having ticks. was taken to specialist and diagnosed with ocd TSD and add combo. they said it explained his comlusion to steal. now i think he is old enough to understand. he is not on meds right now because first off its so expensive to take him to the specialist every month she drugs him and doesnt even talk to him but i pay for an hour consdultation for 5 minutes of her time....then i have to fight with him to get him to take the meds then he whines ll day about his stomach hurting and says it messes with his head abd falls asleep in class. he has to be on non stimulant add meds because of the tics from the tourretts. he still stole things when he was on them and his teacher and i didnt really see any inprovement in his ability to focus ..which leads me to think he doesnt want to try.

The stealing and lying has gotten off the charts. he steals everything he touches and with 3 other children its im possible for me to catch him all the time. I discovered he had made hidding places under his matress and found over 12 decks of stolen pokenmon cards along with outrageous number of candy wrappers. the talking back to me is out of control. i dont know if any of it is related to the meddical diagnoses or if i have severly failed as a parent. i feel like i cant help him. no matter what i do or say nothing gets better. tried everything! I need help

[Sandman2]

   I would assume your doc was a psychiatrist and not a psychologist as a psychologist cannot prescribe drugs (?).
   Probably a good thing you quite seeing her as her info was WRONG.  I quote, "4.1  Typical Side Effects
The usual for anything that does norepinephrine-selective reuptake inhibition - headache, dry mouth, urinary hesitance, constipation, somnolence (wanting to sleep all the time) and/or early awakening. For most people the headache tends to go away and will only reappear, if at all, with a dosage increase. The urinary hesitance, constipation, and dry mouth can go away or stay forever. The somnolence/fatigue/constantly being tired is dosage-dependent and often an indicator that you’re taking too much."   -  http://www.crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Meds/Strattera
   Sounds like it was an overdose.  How much was he on?   Also, there is a high recommendation to take the medicine with food because another side effect is Nausea  and taking it with food usually helps.
   The point being that what your son was telling you could have been the truth.  What your doc was telling you was not.
    If he is not on any meds now, then you certainly can not expect his behavior to change very much at his age.  Good behavioral modification will help, but it takes time.   This is not about him not wanting to try.  Its about him not being given the tools to help him try.
    I am really sorry that your insurance plan only has one specialist to see kids.  I would be tempted to question that.  You need professional help and you should be able to find someone competent enough to help you.  This will be tough to solve without professional help.  And yes, when you are seeing a good doc and they are beginning treatment - the standard is to start the med dose low and to see the child often until the situation stabilizes.  That is the only safe way to go.  So seeing the specialist once a month is normal.  I would highly suggest either going back to a specialist (but now armed with better information) or talking to your insurance company and telling them that if you don't pay for more help now - you sure as heck are going to be paying a lot more later on.  As you said, "no matter what i do or say nothing gets better. tried everything! I need help"
      Which brings me to my final point.  You said, " tried everything".  You haven't.  You really don't understand ADHD and how it works.  No fault of yours.  That is something that your doc should also have been explaining to you.  Until you become the expert on ADHD, you can't help your child.  
You definitely want to get the book I mentioned and also use it to get your school on board. I can also send you more web sites with additional information if you wish.  Hope this helps.  Best wishes.
    

[jennibell16]

we tried several add drugs before she put in on intuniv which made him sick then stratterra. he was on straterra for 2 months with no changes in behavior excet he was really tired. but still was bad at school still stealing. she then uped his dose and told me that the medicine wouldnt make him tired and he was either just saying that so he wouldnt have to take it or that he was making it up. she was the only specialist on my insurance plan that would see children so we stoped going. she was a pshchologist

[Sandman2]

   Oh, I should also mention that we have a separate ADHD forum found here  http://www.medhelp.org/forums/ADD---ADHD/show/175  which I am also the CL for.
   If you start a post there, I will be able to find it and respond fairly quickly.  This site can get kind of busy and sometimes I miss things.

[Sandman2]

      No, you have not failed him as a parent.  The fact that you have taken the time to post here (not to mention all the other things you have tried), show that you care very much.  And that alone means a great deal.  If anybody has failed - it is the system or perhaps the specialist you went to see.  So lets start there.
   What kind of a doc was the specialist that you went to see?
Tics are a common side effect of stims that do go away and are not always a sign of TSD.  So is he now on a non-stim like tenex, intuniv, or strattera now? Some of these may take up to 4 weeks before they become effective - so how long has he been on these?
     He is not yet really old enough to stop the stealing.  Its an impulse caused by lack of filters.  In a few more years, he will have a better chance of controlling those impulses.  Right now its very difficult.  Which really leads me to the next point.  Instead of blaming yourself or him - what you need to do is to really understand what is going on with him.  What you can control and can't.  How you can shape his behavior. How the school system can help him (through a 504 plan).  I could go on and on.  The point being is that I highly recommend you buy the book - "The ADD/ ADHD Answer book," by Susan Ashley.   Its about 10 bucks through amazon.   It will help in many, many areas.
    I would also see if there are any other specialists in your area.  One reason is that if your child is getting sleepy on a stimulant medicine (which would drive most of us up the wall) - then he was on a overdose.  That should have been picked up immediately by his doc and the dose changed.
   I hope some of this helps.  I know the book will.  Please post if you have any more questions or if I have triggered any more areas of concern for you.   Best wishes.