ADHD 4 year old - starting meds

[grohegirl]

My son was diagnosed 4 mos. ago with ADHD and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. I tried all natural and homeopathic treatments first, but none worked consistently. However, we did find that a wheat intolerance was making his symptoms much worse. We are now deciding to start him on meds. His pediatrician thought that Adderall XR was the best one to try first. He started him at 5 mg this past Saturday. That Saturday, my son was extremely "clingy", would not let me out of his sight and had to be right beside me the entire day... very unsure and needy. He had a couple of emotional meltdowns (where off meds he would have become angry) instead he cried for 15-20 min periods. I didn't like how it was affecting him, so I cut the dose in half on Sunday. He did much, much better and I could see what the medication is supposed to do. However, it is Tuesday evening now and all of his symptoms and  behaviors are back. Should I increase the dose back to 5 mg?  I am awaiting a call back from my pediatrician to discuss. I just don't know what to expect if the dose is too high... if that "neediness" will go away or come back when I increase again. Is that normal?

[Sandman2]

   Dreampxie, if you look in the To box above you will see the site.  I am asking the Medhelp people whats going on with the blocking.

[Sandman2]

   ummm,  surprised that site got blocked.  Its ************ in front of the ******* url.

[Sandman2]

   This site says that adderall, adderall XR, and dexedrine are approved for 3 and up.  http://************.com/lib/treatment-for-attention-deficit-disorder-adhd.        Perhaps the insurance company is not up to date with new regulations?   Or can his doctor petition the insurance company for an exception?
  But other things that you can do.  I highly recommend getting the book,  "The ADD/ ADHD Answer book," by Susan Ashley.  It will answer many of your questions about ADHD for the next decade or so.
   Also check out these two links from the childbehavior site.  While they are about out of control 4 year olds.  In the links are many ideas for helping your 4 year old learn how to gain some control.
   The links are.
   http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Child-Behavior/my-4-year-old-is-out-of-control-what-do-i-do/show/2023048
   http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Child-Behavior/-4-year-olds-crazy-behavior/show/1717969
    Hope these help.  Please post if you have any more questions.  Best wishes!

[Dreampxie2000]

I have a 4 year old and he has also been diagnosed with ADHD with ODD. We have had major meltdowns that can last for hours. He often has no idea why he is crying. He lacks any ability to self sooth. He has had aggressive outbursts including hitting siblings and teachers. I have has to take him to 5 different places and specialists to confirm his diagnosis. He was started on Adderall 2.5 in the morning, afternoon and dinner. The medicine at first was great. My son was able to sit and actually read a book with me! Something he has never been able to do. Then the medicine seemed to loose it's effectiveness. So his dose was raised to 5mg in the morning and afternoon with 2.5mg in the evening. Intuitiv was added at night just before bed to help him sleep since he would never sleep more than a couple hours at a time. We again saw results. Now it has been a month and the medicine has lost it's effectiveness yet again. I talked with his therapist and pediatrician and any other medicine including Adderall XR has been denied by the insurance since the medicines are not technically approved for ages under 6. I feel like my son is being tortured. He is good then not good, in trouble then not in trouble. As exhausting as it is for us as parents to deal with Jackal and Hyde. I can only imagine how he feels. What do I do now. We have been doing behavior modification therapy faithfully. My son is truly sweet and sooo lovable. I want him to be successful and be the sweet young little guy he is. HELP. I don't know what to do to help my son!

[Joy0117S]

I call Adderall The Devil's medicine! I insisted that my 5y/o be taken off it after taking it for a month he totally changed .He became morewhinney,more aggressive more withdrawn more everything awful! He quit smiling he has become something of a monster! Trevor now takes Concerta er 27 Mgs and we have our son back! it's a time release and it works really well for him and believe me when i tell you that trevor has the worse case of ADHD there is. before he started his meds he was hanging from the celings he could make No eye contact at all and he was impossible to do anything with he cried with pains in his legs because his muscles in his legs needed to rest and he couldn't be still.He also is taking Risperdal2 mgs twice a day and his is donig alot better
But he still has so many other troubles still He struggles withGlobal Developmental delays and sensory issues That are currently being tested at the marcus Inisitute in Atlanta.Trust me when i tell you that adderall isn't always whats best for our child and there are other altrnitives available .Ask your Drs about trying something else.Adderall messes with a childs emotions.