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Post by mary2 on Sept 4, 2007 17:32:01 GMT -5
Today was my son's first session with the therapist after summer break. I was really looking forward for her view in regard to my son although I understand vacations always affect kids when they retake academic matters. But as I have been trying to retake some school subjects at home, I knew that my son still has obvious concentration issues.
After the session she called me to her office to tell me what she found. She said that my ds seems to be too disconnected although she understands he is coming from vacations. He had too much trouble focusing and following her instructions and was anxious picking at his fingernails. She still tells me that he seems quiet in regard to body movements; but concentration was almost absent during the session. I asked about her suggestion; she told me that I better see the neuro again to talk about an adjustment of meds considering that school starts in two weeks.
Now, I have been thinking a lot about his current neuroped; he very reliable in regard to adhd diagnosis, but he is a very old man, therefore I suppose that he has a very old school. I am considering trying with a different neuroped. I am a little tired about going to this dr's appointments and he kind of putting the blame to us parents. He is not very open to try new things. However, it seems the only option here for a new med would be Ritalin; but maybe there is a chance that it would work better for my son than Concerta. I know both of them are the same ingredient but I understand they are released differently in the body.
Well, I don't really know about meds, but I do think my son needs to try something different at this time.
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Post by puzzled on Sept 4, 2007 17:46:10 GMT -5
Chase absolutely LOVED the ritalin LA as opposed to the concerta. He said it worked sooo much better than the concerta ever was...of course things are so different from child to child...and what I loved about the ritalin LA is that it is dispensed in two doses, and the break allows him to be hungry at lunch time...it does wear off around 6 in the evening, so if you need him to have coverage in the evenings, you may have to use a short acting pill for that. I have some, but don't have to use them very often. I just make sure he does his homework before 6. But he is not hyperactive.....so....
I hope you can find a doctor that does not act like it is the parent's fault...that is definitely old school, I would look for another doctor.
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Post by bugsmom on Sept 4, 2007 21:11:31 GMT -5
Mary...how do YOU feel the Concerta is working? If you feel like its doing its job, maybe he was just having an off day at the Therapist. But if you think its not working that well, I would certainly give the Ritalin a try. We've been through ALL the stims...Adderall, Ritilin LA, Concerta, and Strattera. I have to say that Concerta was the best for us, but the side effects were just too much. Now, Josh doesn't take any stims, just Tenex, which seems to be much better on his little body and no side effects.
Finding the right med can take a LOOOONNNGG time, believe me we've been doing it for years, but I have faith that you will get there. As for the neurodoc, I think maybe finding a new one might be a good idea. I don't like the thought of him blaming any parent for their childs ADD. That burns me up. I'm sure he's a fine doc, but you don't need the added pressure of feeling bad about your son's disability.
Hang in there...your doing all the right things. Oh, and by the way, when Josh was on stims, he would chew his nails to the bone! Our psychiatrist wasn't alarmed because she said a lot of kids on stims did that. He's been off them since June and his nails are beautiful! I haven't seen them so nice in 4 years!
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Post by mary2 on Sept 4, 2007 21:59:04 GMT -5
When my son started Concerta he showed great progress the first days. The most relevant one was really related to his handwriting. Concentration was a little better according to what his teachers and therapist said, but he still needed a lot of supervision to be able to follow instructions. He was OK for the first two terms, but at the last term his grades went down and the comments from the teachers were all related to concentration and not being able to follow instructions without supervision. So? I don't understand why Concerta seemed to be helping at first and then results haven't been very good lately. I definitely agree with what the therapist said today; I was really looking forward to hear from her so I am not only taking my ideas.
What really makes me panic is that school starts in less than two weeks and I don't want to imagine the nightmare again. Well, I guess this is part of our lives, Lol
I think it wouldn't hurt to ask for an appointment. I have always wanted to find a new dr. The current one is very good like I said, but very old and definitely old school. I don't have too many choices here, but when I started my search I was referred to this one as very reliable for diagnosis; but I think he already did a very good job with that. Now I need another view. The therapist does not agree a lot with changing dr, but I am the mom and I feel I know best in this sense.
I will keep you posted.
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Post by puzzled on Sept 4, 2007 22:04:56 GMT -5
mary, I really wish that you could get the tenex there....I am wondering if the addition of the tenex might counteract some of the side effects of the concerta....but I think I remember you saying you could not get it there. Bummer. I think I would try another ritalin form, since the concerta helped a bit, perhaps a different formulation may be the perfect answer.
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Post by mary2 on Sept 4, 2007 22:07:57 GMT -5
One of the things that's inviting me more for a change is the appetite issue. My son eats too little, and I guess this is related to the long release thing. So maybe, he will be improving not only in one thing but in others too. At least I wish...
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Post by charliegirl on Sept 4, 2007 22:42:20 GMT -5
Its really strange that kids react differently to meds. Some kids even start out well on one and then it doesn't continue. An increase in the dosage or a different med is called for then. From what you have said, it does sound like he may need a different one.
By all means, see if you can locate a neuro or ped who is experienced in treating ADHD. It may be hard where you are but you don't necessarily need a neuro after the diagnosis.
Something that jumped out at me was that the teachers said his concentration seemed better at first, then went downhill. Did you tell them he had been put on meds? I've seen people post that they told their child's teachers the kid had started meds when they hadn't but the teachers attitudes changed towards their kids since they figured any behavior still evident just couldn't be controlled by meds, so the kid couldn't help it.
They saw what they expected and were willing to help with the rest since they thought the parent had done all they could. Did you see any noticeable change when he started concerta, or was it the teachers who pointed it out? It may not have ever really been the right one for him.
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Post by mary2 on Sept 5, 2007 7:01:01 GMT -5
Puzzled: I don't really know about the Tenex here, I think I remember there was something similar just don't remember the name, it was long ago. I think my son is hyper but not so often. Now, on the other hand, it seems to me that he is too impulsive For example, he is very sensitive to touch and he kinds of jumps or just takes a step away from the person who is touching him, his responses to tickling are way too exaggerated. I don't know if I am being clear here, but I think there is a difference between hyperactivity and impulsiveness. My son can spend a day quietly if he is not stimulated by something to become hyper. What is Tenex really helpful for in this case? I have heard it is not helpful for concentration, and definitely concentration is being his main issue right now.
Charliegirl: I have always informed not only teachers but also school psychologist about my son's treatment. They knew when he was on Strattera and then switched to Concerta. Strattera was a nightmare for him; he developed terrible bad temper and became a little aggressive; it didn't help with concentration either. Concerta was working at the beginning and teachers told me they could feel it. They didn't call me again from school during the last term, but the last report card went down; unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to speak to teachers because I traveled the very next day school ended. I went to a public class the last day of school and my husband and I became too depressed with it. It is evident my son was having a VERY hard time compared to the other kids. Anyway, as I tend to be too nervous, I just kept him on treatment during the vacations thinking that adhd is something very hard to deal with and the progress is too slow; this is actually what his dr always tells me, he tells me that I will NEVER feel completely happy about the outcome. But at this time I am not really sure this has to be way so slow or that I have to let him deal so badly with all demands. I think he has been taking a med that did something at the beginning but then just stopped working for him.
I got an appointment for Friday with another neuroped. I called yesterday dd's ped and he gave me this name; so Friday afternoon I am taking him.
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Post by newfnewman on Jan 8, 2008 13:43:11 GMT -5
I am new to this site so bear with me. My daughter has been on Concerta for 2 years and although at first we had to adjust the dosage several times, she is doing wonderfully on it now. The appetite issues went away after about 2 months with my daughter. I wish you all the best.
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Post by mary2 on Jan 8, 2008 18:46:36 GMT -5
Well, I decided to retake this thread I had started. After some time in school and two vacation periods in between it is very evident that vacations or changes in routine affect my kid's performance a big deal. I have noticed that every start is difficult to face for him, but after some days of being back to his routine, he starts coping better with it. The problem is based on predicting what's going to happen; if my son gets used to a routine and can predict (with my help many times) what's going to happen, his progress is much better than if he is suddenly surprised with vacations, when routines change completely; the back to school thing is very hard for him.
Currently I can talk differently than when I started this thread. I think Concerta is helping a lot; it is just the change in routine that spoils everything for a little while; and that is pretty understandable. My son came yesterday from school and the few things he wrote where a total mess in regard to his handwriting; I know he is coming from Christmas break, so I am not taking the issue too bad; hopefully in a few days he will be doing much better.
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I was about to conquer the world but then I got distracted by something shiny.
