For those with agressive littles on medsWe have her on 2 mg a day of Abilify. Her behaviors have turned around and she is so much more productive and social at school and home now. I am only worried about weight gain. She has gone from 41 to 47 pounds since October. That to me is too much in such a small amount of time. She is obviously more hungry on the medication. Okay I was not throw out ADHD meds, but Sam has Oppositional Defiant Disorder with ADHD and it has been a huge help. T is not so impulsive in her oppositional moments, on it ... but is still somewhat (and irrationally) oppositional at times. I keep saying, "worth a try," if it is that, you should know fairly fast if the meds help. See Roman is only 5 1/2 and probably weighs about 45lbs. I'm worried about trying it I am new to this forum. My DS was just diagnosed PDD-NOS last week. Do you mind if I ask why you chose the medication route as opposed to cognitive behavioral therapy? Are there any advantages to medication that therapy cannot provide? Any side effects?Just curious and wanted to find out some info for the future. Thanks! My son is not on medication, but that day might come. The problem with behavioral therapy for us is that it is not so easy to find the right professionals to design a plan and then help you implement it at school or at home. Honestly, I have never found a great deal of help from anyone on the most difficult behaviors. I might just not be looking in the right places--I don't know. All medication has potential side effects. I think most people weigh up pros and cons and go with medication if it seems to offer more potential benefit than potential negative risk. Today is not a great day to ask me if my son needs medication because today I would say YES! But overall, I guess I think his behavior is not at the point that I'm willing to go the medication route yet. I don't think doctors have clear criteria for medicating--it's really up to the parent which I find even more scary because I would want some sort of guidance, but I think the docs usually just have the parent decide whether the behavior is out of control or not and I think that is pretty subjective--so you probably have some children who are being medicated who don't really need it and others who are not who could really benefit...not an easy decision for us, but I'm probably more scared of medication than is warranted... Nowwhat My ds has been medicated for ADHD symptoms for the last 2 yrs ( Daytrana patch ) and has been on Risperdal for the last 3 months. I can honestly say that if it weren't for the Daytrana, there would be no living with him. He's like a top that's been wound too tight and there is no stopping him or keeping up with him. The Risperdal was prescribed for his mood disorder ( anger/aggression ). I've noticed some difference since he's been on it, but am not sure it's enough. BUT...I am not going to have the dosage upped because of weight gain issues ( he's put on close to 20 lbs in 3 months ). For us, medication was the best route to take. Tzoya, I just read in an ADHD book (Understanding Girls With ADHD), that EARLIER treatment is now more the rule. Including preschoolers, which surprised me. The rationale is that kids treated earlier do not suffer as much from adults' resentment of their difficult behaviors, and therefore are mentally healthier as they grow up. I thought this reflected my peds' and psych's attitudes, and it also reflects my experience with S. He is so much happier, medicated -- but we waited till Kg to get a diagnosis, because I held that same belief that it is better to wait. Now I regret not having gotten help and meds, earlier. Well said tzoya! You have always kept me grounded with your posts. We started our son on ADHD at age 7. He was about 70 lbs. At about 8.5, we took him off ADHD meds due to tics and started him on Risperdal for tics. He's now 18 and is still on Risperdal as well as Buspar and Tenex to take care of some of his other issues (anxiety, impulsivity) without having to increase the Risperdal, which is the most serious of these meds. The ONLY bad side effect we've ever seen is the weight gain caused by Risperdal. Everything else has be entirely positive. I doubt my son would be functional without his meds. Good luck.My son tried two different stimulants at age 6 for hyperactivity and did very badly on them - we stopped each after one week. His anxiety has been getting steadily worse over the last two years and and with that came increased meltdowns and aggression in school. We tried 10mg prozac (he is almost 9 & 75 pounds). It has made a great positive difference - meltdowns and aggression and much of anxiety is gone and we have our old plain aspie kid back. He did eat a bit more in the beginning but that stopped after a few weeks. The doc said that most kids will need an increase in dosage after a while.My daughter also takes Risperdal.....since she was 7 ( and barely 25 punds). I was VERY concerned about medicating a child that small.....but....for us.....it has been a Godsend...... she was and still is on a VERY small dose.... 1 MG a day....started @ 1/4 MG......and got larger as she herself has grown ( almost 12 punds over 18 months)....she could handle the weight gain as she has always been tiny....still as at less than 40 pounds and 8 years old.....
After using meds for years with my older son, we are now using amino acids and pulling him off of antidepressants and antipsychotics. I'm sorry I EVER put him on rx antidepressants/psychotics/anxiety meds. I'm also using amino acids for my younger son and myself for anxiety. I was able to come off of a very high dose of Zoloft without a hitch... My son is 8 - prozac, risperdal, lamictal, clonidine...he's been on those since he was 5. My son is nearly 6 and has been on Risperdal for almost a year. We started at a very low dose and it has just kept going up and up. He now is taking 1mL twice a day. He really hasn't had any side effects, not even the weight gain. The Risperdal does work in decreasing the tantrums and aggression, but as I said we just keep increasing and increasing and that worries me. I also don't know where we are going to go from here, once this does of Risperdal no longer does the trick. Oh, and we are finally getting a full night of sleep with the latest increase - as compared to 4 to 5 hours max before. Daytime hyperactivity is still very high though - he hasn't done too well with adhd meds.The neurologist is considering adding Prozac or Lexapro in a couple of weeks. He has been showing signs of anxiety lately in grinding his teeth, biting his lip, chewing on his shirt sleeeves etc. I'm supposed to call for a telephone consult once we get the newest dose of Risperdal stabilized. What ages are your kids and what medications are you using? My son is 5 1/2 and the dev ped asked us to consider Prozac I've worked in mental health for many years. I know the pros, cons and concerns. Looking for your experiences. my son 5yrs old is on ritalin 30mg a day but we go back to paed on 14th jan and he is going to change his meds as he has just been diagnosed with autsim he was being treated before for adhd, odd and cd not sure what medication will be changed to yet The truth is that ADHD symptoms area also age-appropriate symptoms for very young kids. Especially boys. Human beings were not born with kindergarten and grade-level expectations in mind. It's truly unnatural for very young chlildren (under the age of 7) to sit still in a classroom. Unfortunately, today's world requires that kids get "book learnin'" at increasingly younger ages. Also, the sorts of side effects common in medications have a larger negative effect the smaller the body is, not to mention the less developed the brain is. Certain meds can also cause lack of appetite and the associated lack of proper growth. Frankly, I have not heard anything about the current thinking being medicate earlier. If the place you got this information is from a book, I'd try to get a second opinon froma doctor who works with ASD kids. Most here know that I am not at all against meds. My own son has been on several (and is) and these medications have served to give him a fair chance in life. But I also know that meds are not the entire answer and that the younger and smaller the patient is, the more cautious we need to be. I'm glad the meds have worked for your child. But if a doctor recommends serious medication for a very young child, I'd seek a second opinion. ONce a couple of pros agree, then I'd feel far more comfortable about medicating. Clearly a physician's guidance is important in deciding whether or not to medicate. My point is, it is up to us as parents to advocate for our kids. And I do not feel that the majority of parents could be criticized (as they often are) for 'taking the easy way out.' That means it is up to us to ask the physician whether a particular med is appropriate to try on our kids. I felt deterred by naysayers so did not ask until things came to a real crisis. And Tzoya, while in our case my son's behavior was exacerbated by being exposed to the demands of Kindergarten, I have to say the majority of his PRE-K critical incidents occurred at home, with a parent, or on the playground. Both "normal" milieus for preschoolers. In his case I suspect had we taken him to the ped, described his behavior, and requested ADHD meds earlier, he would indeed have benefitted. At a minimum, it would have been worth trying. Meds were first suggested for Brandon 2yrs ago and I was appalled, but I finally decided to give it a try because his tantrums were not getting better. He has put on some weight (he's 6 and weighs 75lbs at 4'1") so we've decreased his dose but other than that he just seems happier and is doing better in school.
I forgot to mention he's on Risperdal .75mg. I wish you all the best!!! prozac, risperdal, tarazadon, clonidine in addition to suppliments -pro-biotics ,omegas, enzimes, vitamins. My little one started sleeping meds at 20 months, risporal at 28 months and prozac at 30 months. With out meds she could not be in our world :( Crystal- I would recommend behavior therapies first especially as young as your son is. I think my son is getting to the point we may need to consider Rx, but we have been trying behavior therapies for about 2 years now. I think together they can possibly work well- but I would try the ABA route first- PM if you need any advice or support!Hi! My son is 21. Became aggressive around age 10 -- chasing me thru the house & outside with intent to kick me or pull my hair. He has been on Risperdal ever since. (Hospitalized twice (psych ward) when it lost effectiveness, but always went back on Risperdal (nothing else worked). Last hospital stay added Depakote. Current dosage 3mg Risperdal 2x/day & 1500 mg Depakote total per day. Some weight gain, but no other side effects. Good luck & don't be afraid to put son on meds if you need to. We couldn't survive without it. |
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