Well, I'm not sure if I did a good thing or a bad thing. Today we had my son's 4th pediatric an appt for his ADHD. The thing is, since he has been on the meds, his focus is better but his aggression and tantrums seem higher and more intense. I'm not 100% sure but it sure feels that way. To the point where you can recall I even wrote a few posts about the difficulty I have been having raising him, and from time to time the feelings of hopelessness, like it will never get better.
So today I went to the appt 15mins early knowing my ex wouldn't be there yet. I spoke to the receptionist in detail. I told her I was concerned about my son's aggression and advised her that "the dad" is bipolar, but denies it. My real concern is that I can't even bring it up in his presence out of fear that he will go nuts. But I had to share the information with the office, as I felt this was relevant information. I mean, bipolar disorder is known to be genetic. While I most certainly would hope that it doesn't get passed to my son, I also have to make sure I'm not hiding any information, especially from the doctor. The receptionist listened and told me that she isn't surprised, that my ex is quite a character, but that she would advise the doctor of this information.
When we went in, I think the doctor had been informed. He specifically asked me what times of day my son has temper tantrums and I told him mornings. He said that is the least likely time he should have them, usually they happen end of day when the meds are wearing off. Anyhow, he said that 1% of kids have a side effect of aggression on this drug. Plus, my son has lost 5lbs in 3 months. Our guess is that this medication may not be the most suitable for him. That and the fact that he recently increased the dosage by 50% but there was no change in our son's focus. So the teachers have described that his focus runs out by 2pm, but an increase in dosage didn't help. The doctor's solution- Take him off the meds for 2 weeks to see how he reacts. I think he wants to see if the tantrums and focus both go down. If for example the focus goes down but the tantrums remain the same, we know the meds are not causing the tantrums, but that they were helping with focus. If the tantrums stop but the focus drops, then the meds were causing the aggression, but he needs meds for focus so we will switch him to another med. Sigh. What a process.
Another fear that I have is taking the kids to Disney with my son not on any meds at all. God that will be insane. He will be crazy-hyper, which will be hellish for me. Sheesh.
But the doctor is very smart. He said that if we start the other meds and the tantrums don't go down, then we may want to introduce a mood stabilizer. The one he named is EXACTLY the one my ex is on. Now that is bloody scary.
I'm trying not to think too much about it. I'm hoping all the tantrums were exacerbated by the meds he was on. Don't get me wrong. He always had angry outbursts, but they have been much worse lately.
Maybe I am the one who will need meds to get through the next 2 weeks!
I'm just going to try to make it through, try not to worry, and try to take it all one day at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment