Hi everyone,
Sorry about taking a month to respond to what everyone has said. We had a couple of hurricanes down here (Louisiana) and everything has been a little crazy.
First of all, I would like to say that I appreciate ALL of your comments (good/bad). That is why I like to post questions online cause you are sure to get answers from every angle.
I have good news and some not so good news about my son.
The good: He doesn't seem as angry.
The not so good: He does seem a little more depressed.
I am all for alternative/healthy/drug-free ways of surviving but unfortunately my son's ADHD is very severe. If he does not take his medicine he loses almost any ability to concentrate or focus. He would not be able to sit still for any amount of time. He literally climbs the door frames as if he were Spiderman. He would not be able to hear me or his teachers calling his name because he goes into this wild busy world where if we don't repeat his name ten or fifteen times he just won't hear us. In the first two years of his diagnosis I, as his mother, would sort of 'play around' with his dosages cause I really didn't want him on any medication. I thought maybe he would just grow out of this and maybe it was just a 'hyper' phase or something. His grades suffered unfortunately. I soon learned that he did much better on the meds. His grades went literally from almost all F's to B's like overnight. So, that is the main reason why I have kept him on them and also because he began asking for his meds when he started noticing them wearing off. He says he feels much calmer and focused. All sounds good but now he is dealing with some emotional problems that we are going to overcome. I just want for him to be happy. He is our only child & love him very much.
Again, thank you everyone for your feedback.
God Bless Everyone...
...especially the children. ;)
Just to give you a little background...I WAS your son when I was his age. I'm 21 now, and just got off Vyvanse. I don't know how he is stable at 70mg, I was on 50 and had every negative side affect in the book.
the posts above about how you are a bad parent are misguided. my mom was in your position and it was hard for both of us, but we have resolved our issues over the years, or at least are still working on them.
my advice is to try and stay away from the amphetamine drugs. they can indeed be damaging to the brain at such a young age, and there are alternative ways of helping him to focus. if medication seems to be the way you want to go for now, that's fine, but the minute you brought up his anger issues, a red flag went up for me. any sort of change in his behavior that involves anger is the vyvanse, and I reccommend you talk to your doctor immediately. As for the touching of the face and the swallowing (that one made me laugh because I did that) it can be related to tics, or a form of muscular turrets, but it could also be an issue with OCD. has any docotor ever brought that up about your son? please look into that.
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I used to have to take a sustaineed release ritalin capsule in the afternoons to ease the comedown, and clonodine to sleep at night, so I know what you both are going through. Eating at night isn't good either, but when you have no appetite all day long, when are you supposed to get hungry?
All in all, just keep trying and being patient. I know it's a rough process, but it's a rewarding one if you look at it on the other side. As for the medication situation, just try and suggest to your docotor wellbutron, and see what he says about that. Good luck with everything, hang in there, and try to be as understanding as you can. Just posting on this site shows me you're trying to begin with. Best of luck.
-CG
Definatly do not do 'cold turkey' I dont believe we recommended you do that,in the Post, and it is obvious your Doctor is going to tell you to keep him on them he would not have prescribed them in the first place.You are the parent of this child and you make the decision how you deal with it first and formost.Incidently the information I put in my Post comes from reliable Doctors .
Sorry, but I respectfully disagree with the above posts, especially regarding their tone.
While it does sound like your son is taking a lot of meds, I think there was a reason why he started on those and that it is unfair to fuss at you for following your doctors' recommendations.
Some people can get through school without meds and still succeed. I did OK (but had depression aggravated by untreated ADD). Others don't do well at all. My best friend in college self-medicated with caffeine, alcohol and pot. He passed in 4 years even with a double major, but then ended up hospitalized for detox within 2 years after graduation. He finally got treatment for the ADD and is doing much better now.
Talk to your doctor about the anger issues and the night waking for food. Those are red flags all right. Get a second opinion if you need to. Maybe he is over-medicated, but if you need to stop some of the meds cold turkey would be the worst way to do it.
You didn't say whether he gets a lot of exercise or mention what he does eat. Those things, combined with a good 8 hours straight of sleep, could make a huge difference. They do for my son and for me. So I do agree with the above posts as far as that goes. But just switching to vitamin supplements and throwing out the meds isn't likely to help. For more information about natural AND medical treatments check out Dr. Daniel Amen's website.
Most of all....Keep trying.
Well I would'nt put it quite that specific way ,but the above Post has the gist of it, put into your search Engine, Breggin.com he is a child psychiatrist and a Medical Doctor.
Quit drugging your children and find a way to work his problems without using meds. When he grows up he can decide on his own if he wants to jeopardize his mental and physical health using all those drugs you are giving him.
I had severe ADHD when I was your son's age but I managed to get good grades once in High School. Consider getting your children off those drugs and a good diet before you make his symptoms permanent.
I am sorry your son is going through this, please read the other Post I have read that the Drugs you mention do have the side effects you describe, to find out for your self you could put it into the search Engine and check each Drug out , read the other thread on this site just before yours . Recently I came across this information , The FDA has come out with very strong Warnings regarding amphetamine containing Drugs and also methylphenidates, ie Adderall, Dexedrine, Cocerta and Ritalin, also Prozac ,put in 'The Health research Group and the Physician doing the Research is Sidney M. Wolfe.A recent study suggests " Food supplement Treatment of ADHD may be of equal effiacy to Ritalin treatment, All Children and especially those with Learning difficulties , benefit from a Multi Vitamin-mineral supplement with antioxidants, BComplex and VitaminC,other useful supplements to consider are the Amino acids that support production of nerotransmitters necessary for optimal Brain Funtion.and reduce aggressive and Impulsive behavior.Put Vyvanse in the search engine to see what comes up.