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HELP!! I am so confused.....
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 227821" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Good to hear form you, Amy. I've been wondering how you were getting on.</p><p></p><p>Re the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis - while it doesn't develop at age 12, it's quite possible for the problem to have been Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) all along, just getting misdiagnosed. Getting it mistaken for BiPolar (BP) is not uncommon. Certainly it would explain a lot of the problems you describe, especially the anxiety and the social problems.</p><p></p><p>I agree with taking him off all medications. I also agree with pulling him out of school while you do this, so YOU can get a picture of how he is at home, without the risk of possible violence being aggravated by social issues plus rebound from coming off the medications.</p><p></p><p>If his problem is Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), but without the ADHD, then chances are the medications for ADHD won't work. Sadly, that is the case for a lot of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kids. We've been lucky in our family that ADHD medications DO work for our Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kids. But not all, and we have had problems.</p><p></p><p>Some kids will respond to some medications but not others. it's very variable. For example, our kids do well on dexamphetamine but not ritalin or Concerta. We recently tried difficult child 3 on Strattera, with ghastly results. We've found in the past that just about any antidepressants cause weird reactions from him. I'm much the same, maybe it's a hereditary sensitivity. But difficult child 1 has been taking Zoloft for nearly 10 years and it really helps him.</p><p></p><p>If your child is Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), then trying to cope with the world is difficult, because it's unpredictable and doesn't seem to follow any rules he can understand. However, once he is in a routine and knows a bit better what to expect and how he can cope, then he will be managing at his best. Going off medications will confuse him, even if the medications aren't working too well. It is still a change that he can't apply any rules to, and he will find it frustrating, confusing and upsetting. Therefore if he is home, he will be safer and so will others. ADHD medications should wash out of his system fairly quickly. </p><p></p><p>Take notes on what you observe and anything he says. Ask him how he feels. Explain to him that it's not his fault tat he feels confused, anxious and upset. It's because of his Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and it's a matter of finding the best way for him to cope. There are many things that can be tried, every kid is different. When you ask him how he feels and how well he thinks he is able to focus, that is worth noting. We are doing this right now with difficult child 3, asking him to actually measure his ability to concentrate by doing some Maths and some computer gaming (Brain Training stuff) for fifteen minutes each day, then assessing how well he can perform.</p><p></p><p>In this way you engage him in his own treatment choices and simply feeling that he has more control, can ease his anxiety.</p><p></p><p>In the meantime, try to teach him deep slow breathing to calm his anxiety. I'm also looking around for a relaxation tape that I can put on the iPod, so difficult child 3 can practice relaxation more regularly. The deep breathing - he has to listen to his body and learn to feel his diaphragm. When he breathes in, he needs to have his hand on his waist so he can feel his chest moving out at that level. Then he breathes in for six seconds and breathes out for six seconds. Practising this every night for five minutes is good routine, to help ease anxiety. It's something you can do that's medication-free and cost-free. Obviously it's not the only treatment, it's just a fragment. But every little bit counts.</p><p></p><p>I hope you can sort out the medication problems. If the ritalin was working, I'm surprised that Concerta wasn't. However, we had problems due to the dose not having been calculated right. Also as your child reaches puberty, they suddenly start chewing through the stimulants much faster, you would have probably had to tweak medications anyway. That's why we've been having such fun & games with medications this year - difficult child 3 hitting puberty plus growth spurts.</p><p></p><p>Let us know how you get on.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 227821, member: 1991"] Good to hear form you, Amy. I've been wondering how you were getting on. Re the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis - while it doesn't develop at age 12, it's quite possible for the problem to have been Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) all along, just getting misdiagnosed. Getting it mistaken for BiPolar (BP) is not uncommon. Certainly it would explain a lot of the problems you describe, especially the anxiety and the social problems. I agree with taking him off all medications. I also agree with pulling him out of school while you do this, so YOU can get a picture of how he is at home, without the risk of possible violence being aggravated by social issues plus rebound from coming off the medications. If his problem is Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), but without the ADHD, then chances are the medications for ADHD won't work. Sadly, that is the case for a lot of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kids. We've been lucky in our family that ADHD medications DO work for our Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kids. But not all, and we have had problems. Some kids will respond to some medications but not others. it's very variable. For example, our kids do well on dexamphetamine but not ritalin or Concerta. We recently tried difficult child 3 on Strattera, with ghastly results. We've found in the past that just about any antidepressants cause weird reactions from him. I'm much the same, maybe it's a hereditary sensitivity. But difficult child 1 has been taking Zoloft for nearly 10 years and it really helps him. If your child is Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), then trying to cope with the world is difficult, because it's unpredictable and doesn't seem to follow any rules he can understand. However, once he is in a routine and knows a bit better what to expect and how he can cope, then he will be managing at his best. Going off medications will confuse him, even if the medications aren't working too well. It is still a change that he can't apply any rules to, and he will find it frustrating, confusing and upsetting. Therefore if he is home, he will be safer and so will others. ADHD medications should wash out of his system fairly quickly. Take notes on what you observe and anything he says. Ask him how he feels. Explain to him that it's not his fault tat he feels confused, anxious and upset. It's because of his Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and it's a matter of finding the best way for him to cope. There are many things that can be tried, every kid is different. When you ask him how he feels and how well he thinks he is able to focus, that is worth noting. We are doing this right now with difficult child 3, asking him to actually measure his ability to concentrate by doing some Maths and some computer gaming (Brain Training stuff) for fifteen minutes each day, then assessing how well he can perform. In this way you engage him in his own treatment choices and simply feeling that he has more control, can ease his anxiety. In the meantime, try to teach him deep slow breathing to calm his anxiety. I'm also looking around for a relaxation tape that I can put on the iPod, so difficult child 3 can practice relaxation more regularly. The deep breathing - he has to listen to his body and learn to feel his diaphragm. When he breathes in, he needs to have his hand on his waist so he can feel his chest moving out at that level. Then he breathes in for six seconds and breathes out for six seconds. Practising this every night for five minutes is good routine, to help ease anxiety. It's something you can do that's medication-free and cost-free. Obviously it's not the only treatment, it's just a fragment. But every little bit counts. I hope you can sort out the medication problems. If the ritalin was working, I'm surprised that Concerta wasn't. However, we had problems due to the dose not having been calculated right. Also as your child reaches puberty, they suddenly start chewing through the stimulants much faster, you would have probably had to tweak medications anyway. That's why we've been having such fun & games with medications this year - difficult child 3 hitting puberty plus growth spurts. Let us know how you get on. Marg [/QUOTE]
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