Thanks everyone-I will follow through with the school testing and see what comes up. I had an appointment with the psychiatric nurse practitioner today. I left the appointment feeling a little worse than when I went in! First of all, my 8 year old son didn't want to be there and clammed up and was crabby and didn't answer questions, but just shrugged his shoulders when she asked him anything.
He (as of now dxd with adhd and dysthemia) is on 15 mg Adderall xr, and 50 mg Zoloft. While it has helped some, we are still far from where we need to me. He still worries a lot, he still has major mood swings 2-4 times a day, still is oppositional and will argue til he is blue in the face, has obsessions that occupy a lot of his time (yes-I have finally admitted "obsessions" is a proper word for what I see), wants to control everything and everyone, has sensory issues, yet can be sweet and loving and funny and a total sweetheart too!
All of this and more happens every day, and I am emotionally exhausted. I try SO hard to remain calm and firm and give consequences when necessary, and compliment him when he is good (I am not as consistent as I would like to be, but I honestly try hard). I have a suspicion that there is more to the story....my gut is telling me that his diagnosis isn't accurate. I talked to the nurse about possible Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or aspergers signs that I see, and she basically said even if he was diagnosed with this, we would still be going about his treatment the same way-with therapy and medications. And she also said I need to not worry so much about a diagnosis and focus on treating the symptoms we are seeing right now. Ok-I do tend to worry too much, and I am very concerned about my child. But, I really think theres more going on than just add and dysthemia. Is it wrong to want a correct diagnosis? Is it wrong to want more answers and to learn more about what is going on inside my child's head? I am irritated-really am. She has seen my son 3 times-for a total of maybe 2 hours altogether, and she kept telling me that she felt like we are still dealing with add and anxiety-related symptoms. I spend a lot of time with my son-I KNOW my child! I like this lady-I really do. I have called her several times, and she has always returned my calls. I think she is trying to help us, and I respect her professional opinion. But, I my gut tells me I need to push further until I know exactly what is going on with him. Is it so wrong to question a diagnosis he had when he was 6?
There is so much going on with him, that I don't know where to start....and most of it he saves for ME! Neighbors, teachers and other family members see very mild symptoms. I get the full brunt of his frustrations. And this makes me feel like it is my fault.
His behavior isn't always consistent...one day he will be happy and helpful and kind and maybe have 1 meltdown. Awesome! The next day could be a disaster. One day his little brother could play with his tackle box, and he won't care, and the next day it could trigger a meltdown. He was very irritable and in a bad mood when we went to an outdoor concert the other day-finally laid his head in my lap and covered his ears because it was "too loud". But fireworks don't bother him a bit! He doesn't like people he doesn't know well talking to him-he will ignore them, or barely mumble a "hi" and then is pulling on my arm to go. He is scared to jump a very small ramp we built for his scooter, but he can go on fast carnival rides and have the time of his life! He can be so inconsistent-it throws me off. Sometimes I can predict when he will have one of his bad moods, but sometimes they seem to just happen out of the blue. I can see the look in his eyes, and I know that I am in for at least 30-60 minutes of absolutely exhausting behavior problems. before he snaps out of it.
I have anxiety and add symptoms as well and am taking medication. I know when I get worked up, it makes things with him worse. I am very patient-but my irritation always eventually shows through. I can only take so much!
I am not going to let anyone tell me that I shouldn't push for further testing. If my instincts are wrong, so be it. I have to know if all this other unusual behavior I see is "normal" , or a cause for concern. I feel like I am not helping him as much as I could be doing, and I want to learn what to do better!