concerned about meds

[kellyrick]

our son is now 16, and has been taking meds for ADHD, ODD and (as of last year) bipolar disorder. He is taking Risperidone, 1mg am, 1mg pm. Lithium 450mg am, 300 mg pm. and now, thanks to the lithium use, his is taking levothroid 25mcg once a day for his thyroid? I would like to know if this is too much meds and the length of time he's been on them. He is STILL aggressive, mean, abusive, loud and raging.. I would like to know if this combo of meds is making him worse? he also has a speech problem, as to where he tries to tell us about his day at school, and he cant get the first word out,, he gets stuck on it with his mouth open, but nothing comes out.. this is happening more and more lately as well as his aggression. His father and I are at the end of our ropes. He is 6"4 in. has not gained weight because of the meds, but he isn't getting any better. he has been on concerta, intuniv, Depakote in the past, none of which helped. any one else out there notice if they're child has gotten worse while on the meds. I can't find any drug interactions website to help me out with this..

[Sandman2]

    I have seen where kids when coming down off of their stim Meds have what Dr. Parker calls the "Mad Drop" in the afternoon or early evening.  See this link - http://www.corepsych.com/2014/02/adhd-medications-fix-pm-drop-4-mad-drop/
   However, when they stopped the stim meds his grades and school work should have gotten worse - not better.  Which would make one think that possibly he does not have ADHD (maybe SPD which gets confused for ADHD a lot and is not treated with meds?)  Unless, of course, he was over medicated and in a zombie, trance like state.  So it really is important to know exactly what is going on.
   This really is a situation where, as Mark said, you need a real qualified Pysc. who specializes in this to help you.
   As far as getting online help.  The best place is from the Dr. I mentioned above - Dr. Charles Parker of CorePsyc.  He deals a lot with getting the medication correct.  This is a link to his web site -
                http://www.corepsych.com/
   This is a link to a very good article on "Anger Overload" that may also apply to what is going on with him.    http://www.chadd.org/Portals/0/AM/Images/Understading/AUG01AngerOverloadinChildren-DiagnosticandTreatmentIssues.pdf
    My final thought would be that if none of his behavior is noticed at school, then it sounds like his meds are wearing off at home and their schedule needs to be tweaked.  But this is something that his doc would have easily figured out.
     If you could be more specific about his behavior at home I may be able to point to some ADHD links on working with your kids that might prove helpful (if he has ADHD).
    I really hope that some of these links will help you!  How long have you been seeing your current doctor and is he a psychiatrist?
    

[kellyrick]

he was on meds for ADHD, but everything they put him on, made him more aggressive. so they stopped it.. when they did, his school and grades improved GREATLY.. its the home time that we have a problem with..

[kellyrick]

My husband is 6'3".. my other son is 6'1".. so being tall is not surprising, I only mentioned it, because he uses his height to intimidate me, as I am only 5'3".. he is my stepson, but I have been his mom since the age of 2.. and his birth mother has not been in the picture. (her choice)

[allmymarbles]

You mention that he is 6'4." Is yours a very tall family, or is his height unusual?

[Sandman2]

Is he also on a med for his ADHD.   I know of a site that does deal with that kind of a combination.

[MarkLakewood3367]

I think that the only one who could competently answer your question is an MD.  Hopefully, these psychotropic medications are being prescribed by a psychiatrist and not a family MD.  If a psychiatrist hasn't prescribed these meds, then I would highly recommend that you have your son evaluated by a psychiatrist ASAP.