ADHD

Jessica_890

New Member
My Daughter is four years old. In March they started her on ADHD medication they started her off with the Concerta but she was crying all the time saying she was sad and scared I had to take her off then they put her on by Vyvanse still having lots of problems she would only sleep till 1am lost 8 pounds in two weeks and after a few week it would stop working so then they tried her on biphentin after every couple weeks the medication will wear off and they have to keep increasing it to the point that she ended up having very bad side effects we couldn’t have the dishwasher on we couldn’t have the microwave on we couldn’t have a shower and if you play music she would have a very bad panic attack she has been off the medication now for a week but she still has all the side effects she starting preschool her first day was last week and ended up having to leave the room because they play music and she panicked no paediatricians will answer the phones or call me back and I have no idea what to do we can’t go to any stores or go to any restaurants that play music or we have to leave and at this time of year that is everywhere
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Sensory Disorder, often seen in autism.my son has it. Look up sensory integration disorder. Sensitivity to sound, touch, flavor, change in activity etc. Who is the "they" who are right now diagnosing and treating your daughter? You may need other evaluations and fresh opinions about her behaviors.

My son is 25 now and doing well but had to go through a ton of misdiagnoses before he got the right one (at 11). I would think of getting an IEP in school. She would probably benefit from an Occupational Therapist and physical therapist and maybe wear headphones to block out the noise at school. Services in school are free.

We couldnt take my son to the fireworks until he was almost a teen and he still seems to hear noise louder than others do. Plus he feels textures and tastes things more intensely than others. He still rips the tags out of his shirts and eats selective foods.

When he was little he hated change of any sort and ADHD medications (his first wrong diagnosis) just made him worse. So did most medications...he is medication free now.

My son always liked school but he did have an aid in his early years. You need that IEP first or you risk your kid being mistreated and labeled as bad. Your normal or high IQ does not disqaualify you for an IEP slthough some schools will lie and tell you so. You may want to get a free school advocate. Call The Dept. Of Public Education in your state and ask who yours is. Your school district will not help you with advocates.

It can be a long road but end up great if you never give up and dont just listen to the school district!.I feel you will eventually figure it out and your daughter will be fine. But ADHD may not be the answer although whoever diagnosed her will probably insist that it is. Get second and third opinions and do research of your own! Remember that a diagnosis of this sort can not be proven by a blood test. It is just the opinion of the tester. The DSM is imperfect and ever changing.

I like neuropsychologists, psychologists with extra training in the brain. They do intensive testing and I feel are as accurate as possible in an inexact field. They are at University Clinics and Childrens Hospitals.

Schools suck at diagnosing. They dont want to spend for good evaluations.

Teachers can not diagnose and shouldnt try.

Enjoy your holiday. There are answers but most are not quick. Dont panic!
 
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Jessica_890

New Member
We are seeing two pediatricians and occupational therapist and we have someone to come to the house to work with her we are on a waitlist to see a child development specialist that’s an 18 month wait and we’re only on the waitlist now for five months she also has trouble touching food and will only eat brown food but when we are in the truck driving somewhere I have the music turn to the front down so low I can’t even tell what’s on and she’s in the back with a DVD player on even louder than the radio And keeps saying to turn it off
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Sensory Integration Disorder I bet. My son was not that extreme but to this day as an adult sometimes covers his ears.

I like neuropsychologists better but a developmental pediatrician could send you on the right path too. You have her getting lots of help!

Ask for an IEP!!!!

Good luck!
 

HMBgal

Well-Known Member
Just our experience, but my grandson had the cheek-swab DNA test to check for drug interactions, or lack thereof. Insurance paid for it. It showed that his body is not receptive to the typical ADHD drugs. The test also check for other medications has well. We tried them all the ADHD (label and off-label) over the years (he's all of 12 now--trying since he was 5). So, that may be a tool to consider, along with all the other great suggestions by the people that responded to your post.
 

ARoomWithAView

New Member
[QUOTE="she has been off the medication now for a week but she still has all the side effects she starting preschool her first day was last week and ended up having to leave the room because they play music and she panicked no paediatricians will answer the phones or call me back and I have no idea what to do we can’t go to any stores or go to any restaurants that play music or we have to leave and at this time of year that is everywhere[/QUOTE]

I am sorry your daughter is struggling.

If I am reading your post correctly, you are concerned about *new* issues that surfaced after being put on various medications and have continued since stopping the medications.

After more than a decade of my son taking psychotropic medications I have come to realize that the medical community is fairly ignorant about these medications. Although I realize that these medications can be life-saving and sanity-saving, doctors are far too cavalier about prescribing medications, switching medications, and they often have patients taper off medications too quickly (for example, https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...nt-withdrawal-symptoms-severe-says-new-report ). When medications cause side-effects, doctors are quick to prescribe another medication (with yet more potential side-effects) to counter the side-effect. Tapering off a medication too quickly can cause serious physical and mental issues - instead of acknowledging that the patient is suffering withdrawal symptoms, though, doctors will just chalk it up to relapse and quickly prescribe a different medication.

It took me years to realize that some of the issues my son had were a result of either medication changes or too fast tapering. Not a single doctor ever mentioned withdrawal syndrome to me. After finding websites like https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/ (where withdrawing from a range of psychotropic medications, in addition to antidepressants, is discussed https://www.survivingantidepressant...pics-about-symptoms-including-sleep-problems/), I started doing very slow tapers when taking my son off a medication and he was able to get off a medication he had previously been unable to stop (we had tried 2 times with very bad results).

You might want to look at sites like Surviving Antidepressants where, in situations where someone has recently stopped a medication and is experiencing severe withdrawal, they often recommend reinstating the medication at a reduced dose and then slowly tapering off. Ideally you would want to find a provider for your daughter who takes withdrawal syndrome seriously and can oversee her case before you make any medication changes. My son’s psychiatrist had never heard of doing a very slow taper, but he went along with it and then, when it was successful, he recommended it to other parents.

Although this link is directed at benzodiazepine withdrawal, you might find these recommendations for finding a provider to assist you helpful: http://w-bad.org/tapersupport/
 

HMBgal

Well-Known Member
Jessica, oh I feel for you and your little girl. Can you help her pick out some cute little ear covers/head phones that she might wear to help her with the sounds? She sounds very anxious. Maybe that one little thing might help. It helps with some of my students.
 

WearyMomof2

New Member
My son has anxiety and ADHD. I believe the anxiety is the bigger issue but the ADHD is what produces the visible symptoms and gets more attention. My son has a lot of the symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder but that has been ruled out by a multiple professionals. He's still a highly sensitive child, he's very affected by how things 'feel'. It's hard to describe except that things bother him that don't bother most people- food texture, loud sound, bright lights. He's easily overwhelmed by the things around him, which is very contrary to what you think an ADHD kid would be like. Instead of medication, try working on getting you daughter to communicate her feelings and why she's so upset. If you can, work with a therapist. Emotions can be so strong in kids with anxiety, they don't know how to process it. Stimulant medications can make anxiety worse. If the ADHD medications are causing too much difficulties, perhaps you can wait until she's older to start preschool. My son wasn't ready for preschool at the 'normal' age and I didn't even really consider it. He was far too immature so I held him back twice.
 
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