My son's gone completely wacko

[TrogL]

For background see this thread.

OK, yesterday things went from bad to impossible. In the morning he seemed not to bad when he first woke up. He promised to be good and go to school. I went to work. Then I got the predictable phone call saying he didn't feel well and didn't want to go. He described symptoms of a sore throat. I've got an ear infection so I can sympathize and I did hear through the grapevine that something was going around.

Nevertheless, I asked his sister how he looked and she said he looked fine and he had certainly looked fine when I left. I told her to send him along to school. Moments later I got a phone call - it was him screaming that I didn't care and nobody cared and he hung up. Then he phoned back with more of the same. I told my daughter to call his mother (she lives next door) to come over and help out. More phone calls, then suddenly everything settled down.

Then I got a phone call from my daughter saying that James had emailed a suicide note to all his friends. My partner reported that James had shown him where he was cutting himself.

I phoned Emergency Children's services to arrange for an appointment and got everything all set up. James refused to go. They said there was no point in bringing him in (to that particular clinic) if he didn't want to come. I booked another appointment for the next day (ie. today) for them to come out and talk to him.

Thinks settled down a bit and he agreed to go to cadets and had a good time. When we came home he played computers for a bit but then gave an argument (as usual) about going to bed. My ear infection had been acting up all day so by 1 a.m. I gave up and told my daughter and her boyfriend to get him in to bed and I went to sleep.

Then, from what I've been told, the real chaos started. He woudn't go to bed. He couldn't cooperate with anything. He got outside and tried to run away. He got ahold of a knife somehow and started cutting things. He broke a window. He threw the lawn furniture around. He threw some firewood around. From the looks of it, he tried to start a fire in the firepit.

Finally, somehow or other, they got him into bed.

I booked off the day, called him in sick, sent his mother to bed (she works night shift) and I've been cleaning house in preparation for the home visit from Children's Emergency Services. They were supposed to phone an hour ago for an update, but haven't, so I thought I'd write this out primarily to organize my thinking.

Wish me luck.

[mzmolly]

1. Please keep us posted.

I'm praying and pulling for you.

I am going to research the meds he's on also.

Hope you don't mind.

I'll check back.

[mzmolly]

2. OH my look at this!

Potential Side effects of Dexedrine:

The following, though rare, have also been reported as Dexedrine side effects:

- Phonetic tics

- high blood pressure

- elevated blood pressure

- increased heart rate

- hallucinations


http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com/dexedrine_medication.htm

And ....

Less Common, but Serious Dexedrine Side Effects include : Abdominal pain, headache, loss of appetite and weight loss, mood changes, increased temper outbursts, lack of coordination, tics or other unusual movements, Tourette's Syndrome, irritability, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, nervousness, skin rash, hives, blurred vision, sexual problems, or paranoia. If any of these start, SEE YOUR PHYSICIAN ASAP.

http://www.newideas.net/dexedrine_side_effects.htm

More:

Central Nervous System: Psychotic episodes at recommended doses (rare), overstimulation, restlessness, dizziness, insomnia, euphoria, dyskinesia, dysphoria, tremor, headache, exacerbation of motor and phonic tics and Tourette's syndrome.

http://www.healthoptions.com/dexedrine.html

I would take him off this shit asap, but that's just me.

I'm gonna look into more. Almost everyone I speak to says the meds are worse then the disorder.

Please keep us posted.

[mzmolly]

4. Clarification to my previous statement.

"Almost everyone I speak to says the meds are worse then the disorder."

I'm talking when it comes to TS, and ADHD.

Again, not making assumptions about your kiddo, he may NEED medication of some kind depending on his circumstances.

Waiting to hear, and hoping all is turning around for you guys.

[TrogL]

8. We notice a difference

His teacher can tell when he's not on the dexedrine.

We found out that he'd gone completely off his meds. He'd been lying and palming them.

He's been back on them over the weekend and slowly improving. Doctor's apptment tomorrow morning to see if anything else can be done.

[mzmolly]

9. Glad to hear he's improving.

:hug:

[yardwork]

10. I'm glad that he's doing better

How old is he? It sounds like he is old enough to understand that he has to be responsible for taking his meds. It's never ever a good idea to go off one's meds without discussing it with the doc first.

I have an eleven year old son with ADHD and some other issues and I'm holding my breath waiting for him to reach adolescence. Things are tough enough now....

[mzmolly]

3. Risperdal

Can cause:

Agitation
Aggression
Anxiety

This source is an attorney but it sounds like the meds could be an issue once again:

http://www.risperdalsideeffects.com/

How was your son before meds? Was it the school that insisted he be drugged? If so, I'd consider homeschooling. My husband was on Ritalin as a child and hated it.

But, I don't have all the info on your son, so I am not forming an opinion on the matter, just here to support you.

[FourStarDemocrat]

6. The side effects of ADHD medication can be more troublesome than

Risperidal. Especially on low doses;less than 1 mg, Risperidal has few negative side effects. Risperidol is not in the same class as ritalin, which is a stimulant. When used in low doses it has a relaxing effect and limits stress and aggression. My son, who suffers from a mild case of tourettes, ADD, and some anxiety is doing *great* on Risperidal. However, he had to go off of all ADD medication (stimulants) because it heightened his tics and anxiety. Good luck to you TrogL. I'm sure a visit to the children's emergency sevices is a good step.

[mzmolly]

7. It didn't sound nearly as bad as the Dexedrine. Although some believe

that ADHD is just another label assigned to a specific personality type and not a disorder.

I don't have a child with ADHD per se, but she is, I'd say, "borderline" at least according to the standard definition. She also has a moderate case of TS. We don't need to medicate but do pop a vitamin or two when tics get bad.

Here's more info on what I mentioned above:

http://keirsey.com/addhoax.html

More about the author:

http://keirsey.com/DWK.html

I don't have a solid opinion on this, but my leanings are with Mr. Keirsy. I honestly think teachers (though well intended) want an obedient classroom, and that's understandable with 30 kids a pop, but I feel that medicating is not always about the kid. (NOT TO SAY THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH ANYONE HERE .. MMMK?)

Sorry to ramble.

:hi:

[SCDem]

5. I was like this when I was his age

and I hated my parents for it but my mom put me in a psychiatric hospital (for 4 months). I didn't and kind of still don't think it did anything for me. I wouldn't take the drugs they were giving me though they thought I was. Anywho all this to say it did keep me from causing more destruction to myself and then through high school when I did have self destructive thoughts in the back of my mind was I could always be sent back. Now you should teach children to not be destructive to themselves well just because they shouldn't but having this other exterior reason/threat also helped me deal with my stress and frustrations another way.

Life is normal now many decades later but my mother putting me in the hospital probably has some reason (not because of any drugs or psychoterapy because I resisted both)for my success today.

I wish you the best.

[TrogL]

11. No longer (exclusively) my problem

He's decided to move (across the back alley) back to his mother's place, at least for the moment.

Things have calmed down somewhat now that he's back on his meds so we're back to "asshole" instead of "wacko".

[TrogL]

12. He agreed to go back on respiridol

One good thing, the startup symptoms made him so out of it he didn't feel up to causing any problems at school.

[TrogL]

13. He was actually civil yesterday

and laughed a couple of times.

Today he's off to boot camp for the weekend, then Monday/Tuesday we have a field trip (they decided he could go if I did too).

[abelenkpe]

14. good luck!

Holy Cow, your posts send shivers up my spine. I hope everything works out for you and your son.

[TrogL]

15. Field trip went perfectly

He was a little angel compared to many of the other kids. I spent most of my time dealing with several of them as there weren't enough supervisors.

He was polite, helped out, cleaned up, took his meds, went to bed easily and there were no fights or arguments.

Child Psychiatrist appointment Friday morning.