My son's story is complicated and started five years ago. It's been a long and tiresome one. Let me first tell you that I do not have full custody of my son, he lives with his father, so the battle for me was that much harder. This aspect of my life, I hope, will help you understand his story.
Five years ago T-bone was diagnosed with ADHD, the day that i found out it turned my world upside down. I picked him up for our mid-week visitation on a wednsday, when he got into my car and we drove away for the afternoon, he kept talking, fidgeting, licking his lips, couldn't stay on one subject of conversation. So i kept watching him and then finally asked him what was going on. He proceded to tell me that he was on this medication that is supposed to help him. Now you have to picture this- my son was showing signs of being HIGH!! If you have never lead a wild past then God bless you for never walking that path. As me, my teenage years and into my early twenties before i had children, there was probably not anything that i came across that i would refuse. So for me to see my 6yr old HIGH i flipped!! The trouble with this situation was because me and his father did not have any good communication at the time. There was really nothing i could do, by law his father had the medical say so, and by law i didnt have the right to not give him this "medication" when he was with me, as well as that it would put his brain on a rollercoaster.
I tried to speak to his father and stepmother about this situation, it only turned into a big fight.
As time went on i could tell it was a doomed situation, i had no rights, no say so, and no one wanted to listen to my concerns or opinions about what might be making our child act this way. So for a while i let it be, trying not to cause conflict. His father and stepmother tried to assure me that they had tried everything they knew to try before putting him on this medication, Concerta. I had to pray, hope, and believe that they had. While on this medication, T-bone would have nightmares, almost no appetite, no signs of remorse for any wrong action, not much sign of any emotion.
As time went on, i decided to research this monster, ADHD, and find out why, why my son, there is no way my son has any aligment. He was born perfect and i knew this, God had given me this child and i knew He would care for him. As my research continued, i didnt focus on researching the medications, i focused on researching diet, foods, shampoos, deodrants, laundry soap, anything and everything that my child would come in contact with. During this time T-bone's behavior was not really much better but his grades were better, so the doctor decided that his Concerta was just not doing the trick anymore. He was then put on Adderall XR. This is when things got really bad. He ended up hurting a kid on the playground at school, he was caught on video kicking him while he was on the ground. He wouldn't even take responsiblity for it. Not long after this incedent, T-bone shoved a peanut butter sandwich in a girls face, doesn't sound too bad huh?, well the aweful part is that he knew this girl was highly allergic to peanuts. At this point his father and stepmother addmitted him to a behavioral hospital. Not only was i flabbergasted, but the principal and counselor at his school was too. Not to say that what he did could have had a really terrible ending for this young girl, but a behavioral hospital???!! The hospital immediately took him off the adderall xr, hhhmmm wonder why, but it didnt end there. They put him on more "medications". He was there only a week, but the week he spent away from his families was detrimental to him. Not to mention the hospital had him so sedated that he was an emotional mess, out of it, and just begging to come home. The hospital had him on Resperdone. This was supposed to "calm him" so that he wouldn't be so aggressive. When T-bone got out of the hospital, he was to go see his pediatrician, well he had retired. So his father and stepmother found a psycologist/counseling center. He attended this place as outpaitent for about a year. With not alot of improvements in his behavior or aggression. He was constantly in trouble at school and both homes. His outbursts and attitude were unimaginable. He would purposely hurt his brothers and when asked why, his answer would be "i dont know" or "i wanted to see what would happen" . His definace was in everything, you couldn't even ask him to come eat dinner without a blow up. After the year at the first counseling place, his father and stepmother found a different one. When he began at this center he was doing the same, i think they switched places because they found that the last psycologist really just wasn't paying attention to them, T-bone, or any of their concerns. (remember through almost this whole battle we were not on good speaking terms, so there is alot i dont know, i only know what i saw with our son). T-bone went through counseling and still was getting in trouble. Some weeks would be ok and some weeks your really didnt even want to talk about what happened. While attending this center they changed his medication again, to Focalin and also Celexa. Not a good choice, he was only on it for less than two weeks and in that time he was with me for most of it. He complained the whole time of stomach aches to the point he would lay in his bed for hours in the fetal position because of the pain and he would wake up with nightmares. I took him for a check up appointment and told them and they quickly switched him to Vyvanse. At least with this one his didn't complain about his stomach. Mind you through all of these medication changes there was never a period of time that any of these doctors, psychologists, counselors, anyone ever suggested a "detoxifing time". A period of time in between switching medicines that is needed to completely drain the system of one medication so there is no counter-action of two in the body.
Well at this point through our adult battles, we found ourselves in family counseling. All four of us "adults" had to get it together. We only ended up with about three months of this counseling, but i swear it was one of the miracles we all needed, especially our son. With us now communicating on a better level we were able to make some head way on this whole situation. Me and T-bone's stepmother really began communicating really well. So between me and her, we were able to decide a few things. We talked about retesting him, diet changes, keeping our two households on the same page with his behavior so that he could not manipulate any of us, among lots of other issues. During our progress, T-bone's original pediatrician came out of retirement and started another practice. So stepmom asked me if we thought it was a good idea to go back to him, we agreed. :) When T-bone returned to the original doctor he decided to alter alittle of his medications, because there were still issues with his behavior. He changed his Celexa to Abilify. The reason for this was "Celexa is acting as more stimulants, just as the Vyvanse, so T-bone is getting too many stimulants. With the abilify, it will act as a blocker. It will allow the Vyvanse to release the stimulants without it going overboard." Ok, i can handle that. I was worried about the abilify because what i could find out about it i didnt like. We made the switch to abilify. So now he was on Vyvanse and Abilify. This continued for a while, as did our good communication. T-bone seemed to improve on a daily basis, we both made diet changes in our home. I think i made more than they did, but it was because i dove into it. I took out all gmo's, additives, chemicals, dyes, preservatives, and lots of other things. We decided to get him tested again, this time from somewhere he had never been, the appointment was months in the waiting. This last October we finally had those appointments. I took T-bone to his two different appointments and the last appointment was for the decision. I was so happy when i walked out of there, he told me that there were no signs what so ever of the stupid monster that had ruled our lives for so long. He did say he thought there were signs of ODD. But you know what, evey child i know has a little ODD in them, and the doctor told me that if we, us four parents, would do more counseling or just make sure we stay on the same page, it would get better. Imagine that a doctor that suggested no medicine for a diagnosis!!!
It took a month to get the diagnostic letter from the doctor in the mail. When we finally recieved it his stepmom took a copy to his pediatrician. We were in hopes he would be off his meds by christmas. I think his father was excited too, he had kinda taken him off of the Vyvanse himself :). T-bone came up the weekend before his appointment with his pediatrician, I went to give his medicine and he was like "na, i don't want too. Daddy hasn't made me take it since thursday" i was so happy, i was like ok. Shoot, i wasn't gonna shove it down his throat. lol. We went to the doctor on december 11th, i remember this day well. While sitting in the waiting room forever, me and his dad chatted. He mentioned he had watched the "medicated child" i was impressed. We get in the room , finally, and the doctor tries to put T-bone back on the medicine he hadnt had in five days. Ok, so you understand, when you take stimulants, they wear off, once they wear off they are basically out of your system. So since T-bone had been off of them for five days i couldnt understand why he would want to put him back on them to then ween him off. I got the doctor to agree with me that it was unessacery. (YAY!)
At this point T-bone was still on the abilify, we didnt want to jump his body off of everything all at once. But recently, his father and stepmother told me that they were done with the abilify!!! Praise God my son is drug free!!
During all of this and watching my son and his behavior i kept asking, where is my son. I thought i had lost him, i thought that this monster had taken him away. My sweet little baby boy had turned and became his monster. It was heartbreaking, to see your little baby eaten up. I have come to the understanding that it was not a monster that made him act this way, it was his parents and his environment that made him act out, and then it was these "medications" that turned him evil. If these medications had never been given to him and his parents would of straightened up he would have been fine. I know me and my son's story is slightly confusing, but there is no way to put five years of battle on here. I would have to write a book!! lol
The side effects that these medications have are life changing, life threatening, and unnessacery. Please through our stories and information on this blog do your research, not all doctors are out for the almighty dollar, and some actually care about their paitients, but it is our job to know our children, to protect them and to make every effort possible to make sure they are able to make it to adulthood without labels. If you have any questions about anything, we will be glad to help and answer them. Some children truly do need the guidance of medicine, but we have to be careful on where to draw the line.
Showing posts with label real stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label real stories. Show all posts
Monday, January 14, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Little Boy Lost.......BUT FOUND!
ADHD, A FOUR LETTER WORD
Those dreaded letters scrolled upon a tablet first in the school, then upon the medical chart of your child. Solution, medicine, medicine, and more medicine. My son was only 4 when these issues began. I was a young mother, I did not know. No one told me.
My son, full of life, lots of energy, a beautiful smile, big blue eyes, my baby. It was only a short time of attending the pre-school before the "diagnoses" started. The teachers were lovely, the director (dictator) however, had plans. She knew better right? After all, she was the "specialist". What did I know, I was only the mother of this child. He was my first, I was young, and very much deceived. I believed the lies they told.
I was called frequently into her office. Sadly it did not take much to convince me that my son had this disorder. After all, he was active, he could not concentrate on his work, he would get up during class. The day I walked into the doctors office to have this confirmed was the beginning of our sorrows and grief. It took only 3 minutes of asking about 6 questions before the prescription pad came out of his pocket. And there it was, I chose to drug my child. I wish I had known, I wish someone had told me.
THE SIDE EFFECTS
I was told his appetite might decrease and that he would get a dry mouth, that was it. So here is what he went through:
1. Mood swings
2. Aggressive tendencies
3. Night terrors, woke up nightly screaming
4. Complained of "bugs" crawling on his skin
5. Smeared his own feces on his bedroom wall
6. Weight loss, extreme......his clothes no longer fit, they were too big
7. Dark circles under his eyes
8. Began chewing on his fingers until they would bleed
9. Worst of all..........quote from him, "I wish I was dead I want to kill myself!"
He would sleep for maybe two to three hours a night. I went back to the doctor to complain about all of this and here is what I was told about his behaviors:
"More than likely your son has other disorders that we could not see until he was given the medicine. We see this quite often in our patients. We treat for one disorder, but the medicine reveals what the "real" problems are."
MORE TREATMENT
During this visit he said my son had ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) and needed more medicine for that AND to help him sleep. In other words he wanted to medicate him for the new "disease" that cropped up as well as medicate him to treat the side effects caused from the first drug. I said no. I refused to give him more drugs so I went home and chose to give him a lower dose.
I cannot remember everything that was said, nor do I know what was written in his charts. I have requested my sons medical records as of yesterday and once those arrive I plan on posting my findings.
KINDERGARTEN IS SUPPOSED TO BE A HAPPY TIME
It was the first day of school. He was thrilled, I was nervous. For different reasons than most moms though. I knew what would happen before he ever began, and I was right. Within a couple of weeks of starting school the notes began coming home...."Can't sit still, squirms in seat, talks excessively, ect." Coincidentally, every report card I received as a child said that I "talked excessively". I was NOT medicated for talking, and at that time it was not considered a disorder.
The teacher and principle continued to give their personal diagnoses of my son and continued to press me about increasing his dose, maybe even give another dose at lunch. I had a very heated argument with his teacher when I walked into class for a meeting and saw that they had placed a partition around my sons desk at the far back corner of the room. It took every ounce of patience I had not to destroy it then and there. I demanded it be removed, this was abuse. Meanwhile at home things were just getting much worse. I was losing my son, he was dying and I did not know. Now typing these words I weep and cry, he needed me to speak out for him. I took too long, but I finally fought back.
I took my son to someone who specialized in natural health remedies and treatments. For the very first time my son had blood tests done. Something the doctor never did. He had a large amount of toxins of course. Though it is recommended that persons on these meds wean off slowly, I continued for one more week while "detoxing" my sons system with vitamins, nutrients, and healthy foods. After one week I flushed the rest of the pills down the toilet.
I began giving him plant enzyme capsules with each meal to help him digest his food. I changed our whole families diet. We eliminated all artificial colors, additives, and preservatives. I started making his school lunches rather than feed him the fast food garbage the schools give little children.
Once the school discovered I stopped all meds the fight became more intense. They did not like it in the least. They refused to give him the enzymes at lunch so I had to drive to the school everyday to make sure he was taken care of. I was told that they are only allowed to give drugs to kids prescribed by doctors. My doctor refused to send us a note asking them to give the vitamins to my son at lunch.
HOMESCHOOLING BEGAN
My plans changed. I was contemplating homeschooling, something I never thought of before, and knew very little about. I did not feel "qualified", but I knew I could do better than the school, I saw things there that disturbed me. Many kids were on drugs. It was not as rare as I thought. My husband and I were going to leave him in until the end of the school year. But just before Christmas break I was called into the principles office for another meeting. She began pressuring me again to go back to the medication. After a few minutes of listening to her insult my personal decisions for MY son I made a choice on the fly. "Gather my sons records, he will not be coming back after Christmas break. I am taking him home to love him the way God made him. He is never coming back." Her response?
HER - "Well I have a friend with four kids who homeschools and I can tell you it takes a very special person to homeschool their kids."
ME - "Well I think I am pretty special. Goodbye."
WHAT I LEARNED THREE DAYS AGO
The medication prescribed to my son was Adderall.
1. It is a stimulant
2. It is an AMPHETAMINE (no one told me this)
3. It is NOT supposed to be given to children under 6...........my son was 4 at the time. There have been NO studies of this drug for children under 6 years old.
4. During the time my son was taking it, 24 CHILDREN DIED WHILE TAKING ADDERALL AND NO ONE TOLD ME
5. Due to the deaths, Canada discontinued it for a time while the U.S. DID NOT
6. It causes the following side effects that no one informed me of and it was NOT handed to me by the pharmacist:
Agitation
Death
Heart Attack
Stroke
Mania, psychosis
Hallucinations
Hostility
Suicidal thoughts, ideation
Irregular heartbeat
Nervousness
Sleeplessness
Weight loss
There are more. My son displayed ALL of these above with the exception of stroke, death and heart attack. Never was I informed or told the medication did this or could do this. Remember, the doctor told me that these were NOT from the drug but rather a revealing of other mental disorders.
Additionally, they never did an EKG nor did they "monitor him closely" as they were supposed to. The FDA recommends frequent heart checks, blood pressure watched and EKG's while taking these medicines. My son was medicated and thrown to the side. They are also supposed to ask about your family history of heart problems, they did not ask me about mine. The majority of kids who die from these medicines suffer heart attack, stroke, or commit suicide. Children as young as 6 are taking their own lives while on these "safe" drugs.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
Yes we are still homeschooling. Do I still feel special? YES I DO! My son will be graduating this year. He is an amazing young man. Have we gone through stuff?......of course. The teen years have had turbulent moments, and that's okay. We have survived and did it without drugs. Imagine that!
He spends three to four afternoons a week volunteering at a local nursing home. He is a gifted piano player and will be attending a music ministry academy in the fall of 2013. HIs dream is to preach God's Word, share God's love and become a worship leader. Currently he is "practicing" his leading skills at our church. He is hard working, kind, and loves Jesus. He still has a beautiful smile and big blue eyes. He still has lots of energy. But I view it as a gift, not a disorder. He is creative and organized, a leader in the making.
One more note, the "test" they use to diagnose ADHD is VERY similar to the one used for gifted and talented students........just in case you needed to see the "specialness" of your own child.
Heather
Little Girl Lost
As a teen shortly after my mother sustained a massive head injury, my dad checked me into a mental health rehabilitation facility to be treated for depression. I was depressed due to the tragic event that happened to our family. This is not uncommon but rather a normal human response to trauma. It is by no means a mental illness, nor does it require "treatment". A loving support network of friends and family are the perfect remedy for one who experiences pain in their personal life. We all suffer tragedy at some point in our lives, but the answer is not medicine, nor do we all need to be locked away.
The facility was very dark. The staff were borderline abusive to the kids and teens. We were all labeled with a "disorder" and we were ALL prescribed drugs. The labels were the same for all of us, just a few categories. Your psychiatrist diagnosed you with depression, bi-polar disorder, or ADHD. For us teens, we all had manic-depression and were given anti-depressants to "feel" better. In fact, when new kids arrived the first thing we asked them was, "What do YOU have and which drug did they give you?" None of us were allowed to reject taking the pills, they forced us each day as we lined up at the nurses office to receive our daily dose. They watched us take the pills, checking to make sure we swallowed. If we refused, they would punish us by placing us in a small room with padded walls. No, this is not something you see only in the movies, but it is reality. Even our parents had no idea what was happening.
If any of us broke the rules, we were forced to spend a certain number of minutes in that room. I broke one of the rules, I was accused of telling a lie. We had therapy classes each day with different leaders and each leader had to initial our agenda sheet. Without the agenda sheet signed, no T.V. after dinner. I neglected to obtain one signature for the day. (not realizing it) I was called from the recreation room and confronted about "lying". I argued with the staff, trying to explain it was only a mistake. They refused a phone call to my dad because of my "disobedience". I began yelling and screaming, I wanted to call my dad, I wanted out of that place. Instead they called my psychologist. They forced me to speak with him. When I told him I just wanted to go home, he began describing my behavior using "psychological" terms. His voice sounded strange, as if he were the one with a mental disorder. It was not the same voice he had used in sessions.
Once the phone call ended, they gave me one more chance to "tell the truth". I refused. Two large male nurses dragged me kicking and screaming to the padded room. The last thing I remember after being thrown onto the floor, is crawling to a corner. It was dark and smelled of urine from the younger children who had been locked away too. I do not know how much time passed. I do not know how long I was there. The next memory I have is being in the arms of one compassionate nurse on a gurney outside of the padded room. Her name was Kay. At the end of the hall I saw other teens that I had become close to while staying in this horrible place. Through the glass of a door I saw them, crying, screaming, beating the door, pleading my cause. I was brought to my bed and do not recall falling asleep, but only waking up the next day seeing the reality of a drab room, and a window that would not open.
It was a frightening experience. The punishment was no visitation with my family that day. And it was my 16th birthday.
I watched other teens being treated the same way, drugged, occasionally given shots to "calm" them, and then the room where they would sometimes be left for a couple of hours. There was no place for human error, or human feelings/emotions. No matter what you did or said, it was a disorder that required treatment, drugs, more counseling sessions. It drove many of us to complete madness. I watched kids get worse due to the methods that were forced upon them. We were in a prison, no way out, and no one to save us.
After the medication started to "work" in my system I began having nightmares, anxiety attacks, dizziness, I no longer felt like myself. When it was time to leave (code for my dad's insurance had reached it's limit on what they would pay) , I was sent to live in a girls home. The psychiatrist convinced my dad that this would be the best choice for our family. In fact, family was always last and I watched them rip families apart over and over again. Many kids were sent to live in other facilities as well. In these state run homes, more drugs, more therapy, more trauma, and more money for the adults who made their living off of destroying kids and teens. I didn't want to live in another place. I wanted my own room, my own bed. I sat in the backseat of a car driven by social workers to my new home. Tears streaming down my face, no words. We stopped at one point at a small convenience store. As I looked out the window watching people come and go I longed to be them. A normal life. For a moment I thought about leaping from the car and running away. But they would catch me, and might give me more drugs, or worse.
The group home was required by the state to continue giving me medicine. After a few days of pretending to take it, they caught me trying to get rid of my morning dose. I was punished for my crime. No privileges and no visitation with my family. It was obvious that every adult in the field of "mental health" was trained to use our family as a way to punish us. This was the tool used to force us into submission. From that moment forward, I was monitored to insure I was in fact taking the medicine. A couple of weeks later I overdosed on purpose and almost died. The ER medical staff pumped my stomach and I spent three days in ICU, another week in a room. One of the nurses at the hospital (red hair green eyes) told me she had no sympathy for anyone who tried to kill themselves and asked me if I realized that attempted suicide was illegal. It was a very low point for me. No one heard me. I did not have a voice. No one cared. And no one knew that the medicine had affected my mind and caused me to go over the edge.
That is only the first half of my experience with psychotropic drugs. I should have remembered what happened to me. Three days ago I shed bitter tears. I discovered truth and I want others to know...............
Heather
Psychiatric Drugs - Side Effects Are Real
This is a very SHORT list of what parents are saying these drugs have done to their children. It would take hundreds of posts to list them all. This is what is happening to our children.
michiganin
says:
I gave my 7-year-old Adderrall XR for the
first time yesterday. He was a little more focused and less
frustrated during the day, but he refused to eat dinner and was up
all night HALLUCINATING! "Mom! Mosquitos! Moths! Big moths!
Look at all of the flies! Turn on the light!" When I turned on
the light, he said, "Why do I see tiny black specks
everywhere?" Literally, this went on all night, even though I
tried to comfort him and coax him to sleep in my bed- to no avail!
He was experiencing frightening things all night. "Mom! I just
saw a door roll up on the floor and roll away! It had wheels!"
"Mom! Daddy is outside the door. I see his hands! But he
disappears when I open the door! He is playing tricks on me!"
When we first went to bed he was speaking negatively about himself:
"Everybody does everything better than me. I don't do anything
well. I should just kill myself. Nobody cares about me. Nobody likes
me. April is so boring! Everybody's Easter eggs are better than
mine. When is it going to be the day? I hate this night! I hate the
dog. We should put her in a shelter. I wish I was homeless. I hate
this life. I hate myself. I wish I was dead." THIS WAS VERY
SHOCKING TO HEAR!!! I have not seen this black side before! We will
certainly FLUSH the Adderall! Never again!
My son is just turned 18 and has been on Focalin for almost two years. I understand that it may seem like a miracle drug to many but BEWARE, it can be very dangerous. The problem occures when the drug is wearing off in the late afternoon. They become VERY depressed, angry and unreasonable to the point that they can become dangerous to themselves and others. They will often turn to illegal drugs to combat these emotional swings. They also begin to feel that drugs, either legal or illegal are the answer to all of social stresses they face. I do not know the answer yet but Focalin is not it
posted by Deann on 28 Apr 2010 at 4:19 pm
My son just turned 10 and has been taking Focalin since early February, about 3 months. This is the first ADHD medication he has been on. Things seemed good at first but in the past couple weeks I have noticed huge mood swings and lots of agitation. If he sets something on the table and it falls off, he will fly into a rage, kicking and screaming frantically because it fell. I am calling my doctor tomorrow but I am very concerned about continuing the use of focalin.
posted by Paul on 05 Oct 2010 at 4:21 pm
I use to take focalin but I stopped because it was making me feel depressed and I was acting weird like with your son Deann. My friends were saying I was different and I would have a loss of appetite. I suggest you stay away from this drug, and all other psychological drugs. The pharmaceutical industry is screwing the American public over with drugs for things that don't exist such as ADHD and ADD. They only want your money! Focalin XR side effects- beware!
posted by Miriam Whitehouse on 23 Jan 2006 at 12:32 pm
My 14 yr. old son, who has ADHD, was on Focalin XR for over 1 month. We recently had to stop it, because he developed muscle spasms, joint pain, had severe insomnia, anxiety, irritability, and worst of all, became severely depressed. We were about to consider anti-depressants when he told us that he suspeced the Focalin. Once he stopped taking it, all symptoms disappeared. Watch your child carefully!
posted by Matt on 15 Oct 2006 at 6:01 pm
My son has been prescribed just about every ADHD medicine on the market, including short-acting Focalin, only to have each of them stop working after a few months. One unfortunate result is that he is almost 10 years old and weights 52 pounds, you can see his ribs but he eats pretty well. He has been on Focalin XR for about a month -- and I am writing because I am really frightened. He is experiencing hallucinations such as people coming at him with swords and guns, and hearing people say, "Come here" and "We're going to kill you." This is constant. He is terrified and hasn't slept much all weekend. Is this a side effect of the drug or something else?
posted by Mom of Teen on 14 Feb 2007 at 4:15 pm
By the way, my daughter has been on ADHD meds since 3rd grade, last one was Concerta, which worked well except she constantly cleared her throat (tic) while on it. The Focalin did stop the throat clearing, but I'd rather have the throat clearing thing than have my daughter kill herself or someone else in the rages that Focalin has caused her to have. She has always been the most joyful loving child until the switch from Concerta to Focalin. We will try a lower dose of Concerta to try to avoid the throat thing coming back. She has always been put on freakishly high doses of meds by the so called expert doctor. Mothers, we have to listen to our gut instinct. I didn't listen to mine for tooooo long, and deeply regret it now. I have lost the loving closeness I always had with my girl. I can only pray we can get it back with counseling. I know my sweet girl is still in there somewhere. I still see her in the morning before she takes her meds. It's the nighttime that makes her crazy, so it must be when the meds are wearing off that kicks in the defiance and meanness. She is always sorry for it in the morning. :) I just wish I had realized it was the medication sooner.
posted by Rashael Shofner on 18 Feb 2007 at 7:34 pm
My 5 year old has been on Focalin XR since the beginning of the school year. It worked miracles for him in the beginning, but started to wear off more quickly than it should, so we increased his meds to 15 mg XR in the morning and 10 mg quick release at 2:30. He has recently started these crying fits, and saying he wants to kill himself and others. Has anyone else experienced these side effects with this drug? What other ADHD meds are out there. He definitely needs something. I'm just not sure this is it. Surely there is something out there that can help the ADHD without the crying and death threats.
posted by alicia on 23 Feb 2007 at 6:09 pm
I just started my 6 year old daughter on Focalin xr a week ago. She does great in the morning, but has lost her appetite. But when she comes home from school around 3:00 she is very hyper. It's as if the med. has stopped working. She is jumping on the cough, running around and climbing like crazy and at night she is very, very, very whinny and cries over everything! This is really worrying me and my husband. We have noticed this is happening every night and we don't know what to do about it. I think I am not going to give it to her over the weekend and see if her behavior at night stops. Does anyone know much about stopping the medication so abruptly. I feel as if I'm doing more harm to her than good. I feel so sorry for her at night. She just cries and cries.
posted by Melanie on 06 Mar 2007 at 7:04 am
My son is 10 years old and has been on Focalin XR 20 mg for about a year. Although his grades did improve initially, he has terrible night terrors! He also recently woke up having a severe panic attack and said that everything around him seemed "really loud" I was so scared that I immediately took him off the medication. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before he was bringing home notes that he wasn't able to focus and his grades were falling. I am speaking with his dr this week to see what our options are.
posted by monica hale on 31 Mar 2007 at 6:15 am
My daughter is being released from the hospital today from taking focalin xr 5mg for one day. She started hearing voices that were telling her to harm other people. Very scary!!! when you start talking about a lost sense of reality watch your child very carefully. This side effect is not as uncommon as the dr.s think. Make sure the school has a complete list of side effects.
My son has 9 yrs old, he has been taking Focalin XR for almost a year, lately he have been showing anger, he says that he doesn't know why he feels so angry, he can not control it and he can feel that way all day. I will want to know if someone has experience something like this before.
My 10 y/o son has been on adhd meds since he was 5. He started Focalin XR about a year ago. He has been 'hearing voices' in his head lately and been somewhat belligerant. I took him off the Focalin and he has no more voices and is in a great mood, although he definitely is adhd. Between the heart racing of 106bpm to 137bpm while on the meds, and the voices, etc. I am afraid to put him on anything else. We've tried them all. The school will have a fit if he's not on the meds because he is so very adhd. I understand their point but it's not worth it to have him calm and attentive only to suffer all these other symptoms. Can the public schools kick him out? What do I do with their endless calls about his behavior????
I have a 10 yr old son on Focalin who has recently been referred to a pediatric cardiologist due to irregular heartbeat. He still has a stress test to undergo before determining the cause. The cardiologist does believe that the Focalin could be a cause. My son is on a high doseage. 30mg in the AM and 30mg at noon. The ecocardiogram and chest x-ray came out normal.....but the EKG still shows the additional beat. He had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hrs Thurs. I am still awaiting the results from that testing. Still a little to early. We will have the stress test done on 9/17/07 and I will let you know after I get the results what my cardiologist says.
posted by Irene on 08 Dec 2007 at 2:31 pm
My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and though we knew it for years without an official diagnosis, we took the last and final step of using medications to help with his inattentiveness, behavioral outbursts and other unpopular in-school behaviors. We've tried Concerta, Adderall, and today switched to Focalin. My son has had behavioral explosions before, but today was different. He told me he wanted to put a bullet in my throat, and he wanted me, my husband and my brother dead. He held his fist up to me and asked me if I wanted some of "this", and then said he's flush me like a dead fish. Today was the first day, and the last day for the Focalin. God bless all you parents out there who are dealing with this.....it's taking a toll on our entire family. Godspeed.
I have a 9 year old as well. He has been on 10mg of Focalin XR in AM and then takes 5mg 4-5 hrs later. When we first started Focalin in September, or should I say finally got the dosage correct, we have had a wonderful 6 months. Over the last month though, we have seen him get more defiant, have crying spells, fits of rage, and getting into trouble again at school. The doctor has since upped his dosage to 20mg in AM and 5mg at lunch. I tend to think this is a bit much of a dosage increase. Does anyone else have any opinion on this matter?
posted by Dinky on 27 Apr 2008 at 4:23 pm
My son who is 6 has been taking Focalin for about 4 months, he started with the 5mg tabs and 2 months ago it was increased to 10 and everything has been going fine, his teacher noted a 360 degree turn around in listening and attentiveness. Unfortunately just recently he has started seeing things and claiming bugs are crawling on him and inside of his clothing. It got to the point where he wouldn't get dressed. I called his neurologist immediately, and he stated without hesitation discontinue meds immediately.
posted by Jessica Dykes on 20 Sept 2008 at 9:20 pm
My 10 year old daughter has an ADHD diagnosis. She was on Strattera for three years but it made her fall asleep in school every day. We tried focalin 5 mg. twice a day. She has completely changed. The focus part has been very good, she is doing her work without so much fighting. The terrible part is her defiance and bizarre behaviors. She just got three days of in-shool suspension for refusing to get up off the classroom floor, using foul language and trying to bite the teacher when physically removed. We have noticed that the defiance and crying are very bad. I have a call into her pediatrician but haven't heard back yet. After reading some of these posts I am ready to wean her off of the meds. Help!
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