Final results of difficult child's multidisc evaluation

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
Got a call from the psychiatrist today. She and her team (including the education specialist who was very impressed with the iep the school wrote {well I helped}) had reviewed all the testing done by the school and their notes and tests as well.

She recommended he stay on the adderall since we were/are having such success on that (as oppossed to the concerta). He is totally off the remeron and only taking 12.5 mg of the seroquel. She asked how he was doing, side effects, etc. I told her he and I had noticed two. The first being his now "typical" appetite. He doesn't seem to be as hungry in the evenings and is eating much healthier these last several weeks. The other thing we've noticed is that he is having a harder (longer) time going to sleep in the evenings. His regular psychiatrist actually warned us of this.

She told me that she sees no signs of BiPolar (BP) or mood disorder with difficult child. She does understand that he does have a shorter than average fuse, but says that there are some that behave this way with no mental illness indications. He could benefit from quality mentoring and should continue with his regular therapist regarding solutions and alternatives to anger and closing down.

She feels his maturity level has improved greatly from all the "current level of performace" pages she read on his ieps (I supplied copies of all of those pages in the pack I presented her upon our first visit).

She had a suggestion and will be sending that along with her results to his psychiatrist. She felt that he would probably benefit from wellbutrin (which oddly enough I got an rx for today from my doctor to help me quit smoking) as it is a second line adhd medication that she often uses with adhd kids, especially boys with the ahdh/highly impulsive combined type diagnosis that difficult child has.

She does not feel that he is currently depressed but has seen much success in overal temprement with low doses in other cases.

So, I will go by tomorrow and pick up the report to hand deliver to regular psychiatrist with whom we have an appointment next monday. I felt really good about the overall results and her competence. She is the head of the pysc dept at our local teaching university and specializes in children.

We'll see how his regular psychiatrist feels about her recomendations especially in light of the fact that we have just finished trialing him off the remeron.

Thanks for reading this novel!

Sharon
 

smallworld

Moderator
Sharon, you must feel reassured that you received both a thorough evaluation and good news about difficult child's lack of mood issues. Our kids are moving targets, and I always think it's wise to revisit dxes every few years or so.

Wellbutrin may be a good option in your difficult child's case. Good luck if you go that route.
 

Ephchap

Active Member
:bravo:Sharon, sounds like a very thorough evaluation, and that things are going pretty well with difficult child.

As a sidenote, my difficult child was on wellbutrin, and did very well on it. He was initially put on ritalin, but when the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) surfaced when he hit 13, they took him off ritalin and started him on prozac and kept increasing the dosage until it reached 80 mg (recommended dosage for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) from everything I read).

Each time they tried to add ritalin in very small amounts, the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) tendencies resurfaced. The psychiatrist felt that wellbutrin would help with the ADHD, so tried adding that in, and it worked very well. difficult child had no side effects that I noticed from it.

Glad to hear things are going well!

Hugs,
Deb

PS - Good luck with the quitting smoking! Let me know how it goes.
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
Sounds like a great evaluation process. Much more controlled and thorough than anything I ever got here. The summary sounds very reasonable to me.

I started Wellbutrin a month or so ago for anxiety and it is helpful. It actually helps me focus a bit better, too. I have been pondering talking to difficult children doctor about it for her as well.

Good luck with the quitting smoking!
 

timer lady

Queen of Hearts
Sharon,

Sounds like an exceptional evaluation was completed on difficult child & that the results are promising.

wm did well for a long while on the wellbutrin.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Now......you can exhale! LOL! Isn't it wonderful to feel that
you have competent partners evaluating your childs needs?? It
is a time to enjoy and be hopeful. Smiling with you, DDD
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Sharon,
Way To Go Warrior Mom in getting such a thorough evaluation! Sounds like he is doing well!
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys!!!

I may go ahead and talk to regular psychiatrist about it. Perhaps it would be good to get it in place and effective (or ineffective) before starting middle school in September.

I just took my first wellbutrin - I'll let you know how it goes.

Sharon
 
Top