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General Parenting
Not really sure what to do...I guess I'm looking for support, ideas, and commiseratio
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<blockquote data-quote="gcvmom" data-source="post: 295289" data-attributes="member: 3444"><p>Welcome to the board!</p><p> </p><p>I can understand your frustration and the overwhelming fatigue that comes from trying to parent a child like your difficult child. </p><p> </p><p>From the sound of things, there's a lot more than just ADHD going on. The fact that his mood improved with impipramine says a lot about the likelihood that a mood disorder of some kind being present -- and whether it's anxiety or depression or some other combination will take time for you and your psychiatrist and any other professionals involved to figure it all out. Unfortunately, it's very much a trial and error process with the medications. Doctors have to go by symptoms and history and then make their best choice for treatment based on that. How the child responds to that treatment determines the next step from there.</p><p> </p><p>For us, it's taken 8 years for my difficult child 2 to get as close to stability as he's ever been. Like you, we started with what we thought was a kid with ADHD. Then the stimulant medications stopped working and we titrated higher and higher until it was just crazy that they were acting like water with him, yet he was on an incredibly high dose.</p><p> </p><p>Risperdal was helpful for my difficult child 2 for a while with his agression and impulse control to a certain extent. In his case, he developed a bad reaction to that class of medications, so he's now on Seroquel XR (a similar drug but acts a little differently than others in that class) and he's doing much, much better.</p><p> </p><p>The problem with these kids is that until you get them stabilized, all the punishments and consequences in the world aren't going to be nearly as effective as you hope. So much of their behavioral problems are beyond their control. Until you get to that point (at least in our case) having a very structured environment can go a long way to help with some of the issues. Clear rules, clear consequences, and a calm, consistent home environment help a lot.</p><p> </p><p>If he hasn't had a neuropsychologist evaluation, that may also do a lot to clarify what's going on with him and rule out any learning disabilties that might complicate the picture further.</p><p> </p><p>Risperdal might be a good choice for your difficult child, but you won't know for sure unless you give it a try. And since there are a few weeks until school starts again (at least where we are) what better time to give it a try? You should know in about a week if it's taking him in the right direction. It may take time to adjust the medication level if it does work out to be right for him. It may be the wrong medication for him, too. But don't give up. There are lots of other options out there to try. And don't be discouraged if he ends up needing more than one medication to complete the "cocktail". My difficult child 2 has gone through more than a dozen different medications to get to the two that work for him today. </p><p> </p><p>I hope he also has support at school... either a 504 plan or an IEP... others can chime in about that if it's something you want to know more about.</p><p> </p><p>We're glad you've decided not to lurk anymore! Welcome!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gcvmom, post: 295289, member: 3444"] Welcome to the board! I can understand your frustration and the overwhelming fatigue that comes from trying to parent a child like your difficult child. From the sound of things, there's a lot more than just ADHD going on. The fact that his mood improved with impipramine says a lot about the likelihood that a mood disorder of some kind being present -- and whether it's anxiety or depression or some other combination will take time for you and your psychiatrist and any other professionals involved to figure it all out. Unfortunately, it's very much a trial and error process with the medications. Doctors have to go by symptoms and history and then make their best choice for treatment based on that. How the child responds to that treatment determines the next step from there. For us, it's taken 8 years for my difficult child 2 to get as close to stability as he's ever been. Like you, we started with what we thought was a kid with ADHD. Then the stimulant medications stopped working and we titrated higher and higher until it was just crazy that they were acting like water with him, yet he was on an incredibly high dose. Risperdal was helpful for my difficult child 2 for a while with his agression and impulse control to a certain extent. In his case, he developed a bad reaction to that class of medications, so he's now on Seroquel XR (a similar drug but acts a little differently than others in that class) and he's doing much, much better. The problem with these kids is that until you get them stabilized, all the punishments and consequences in the world aren't going to be nearly as effective as you hope. So much of their behavioral problems are beyond their control. Until you get to that point (at least in our case) having a very structured environment can go a long way to help with some of the issues. Clear rules, clear consequences, and a calm, consistent home environment help a lot. If he hasn't had a neuropsychologist evaluation, that may also do a lot to clarify what's going on with him and rule out any learning disabilties that might complicate the picture further. Risperdal might be a good choice for your difficult child, but you won't know for sure unless you give it a try. And since there are a few weeks until school starts again (at least where we are) what better time to give it a try? You should know in about a week if it's taking him in the right direction. It may take time to adjust the medication level if it does work out to be right for him. It may be the wrong medication for him, too. But don't give up. There are lots of other options out there to try. And don't be discouraged if he ends up needing more than one medication to complete the "cocktail". My difficult child 2 has gone through more than a dozen different medications to get to the two that work for him today. I hope he also has support at school... either a 504 plan or an IEP... others can chime in about that if it's something you want to know more about. We're glad you've decided not to lurk anymore! Welcome! [/QUOTE]
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Not really sure what to do...I guess I'm looking for support, ideas, and commiseratio
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