I have finally found a few minutes to sit down and be more specific. So here goes.
My son, Gavyn, is three. The suspicion started somewhere around June of last year, after I had my daughter. At first I thought it was just him being jealous because of the new baby. Then things got progressivly worse. There were many times that I had to beg a family member to take him so I could rest. My daughter had colic and a lot of other health problems including jaundice. I was already stressed out over that. Then somewhere around 3 months after I had her, He started getting physically sick at night. We spent two months going back and forth between doctors to find out why he was throwing up every night. We finally got that diagnosed (he started producing to much acid). Things seemed to calm down a lot for a while. He was doing great with potty training, helping me around the house, playing with his sister, and just being a great all-around kid. Then towards the middle of February or March of this year, things started going down hill real fast. He would go off at the drop of a hat. Tantrums that were out of this world. Hitting himself, beating himself in the chest, leaving brusies on himself, banging his head against the wall until he knocked something off. Slamming doors, punching inaminate objects, knocking his sister down (who was a late walker), hitting her, literally beating me....and the list goes on. All these things were so out of the norm for him. He's never been violent. Then a few months ago, he got mad at his great-grandmothers cat. He ran it over with his bike, breaking most of its ribs. Yes, it died. After that, I knew something wasn't right. I had to convince my husband that we needed to get him checked out by his pediatirican. My husband was skeptical about it since he and I both know first hand what some of the side effects of medications are. (*more about that in a minute*). After a month of his irrational and random behavior, he agreed to get him looked at. I called his pediatrican and scheduled an appointment. His doctor called me back in minutes and said that this is something out of his practice and that he needed to see a counselor. They refered me to a local child/family psychologist. I made an emergency appointment. with her and went in last Tuesday. We went to one appointment. By the end, I was in tears. She watched his behavior in a room to see how he reacted. The room was full of age-appropreate toys and books. he spent 10 minutes yelling and screaming that he wanted something to eat or something to drink or he wanted his games or something like that (keep in mind-he's had lunch so I knew he wasn't hungry or thirsty). She tried to talk to him and all he did was argue with her. Loud and angry. After 30 minutes, she said that we should continue next week (this week) but as a prelem diagnosis, she strongly feels that he has ADHD with ODD. Now-our family hisory comes in play. My husband has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) type 2 and I have ADHD. We were both diagnosed when we were small children (him when he was 5 and me when I was 6). We both have MI on our respective sides of our family. Both of us have been on medications galore. I had once been diagnosed as bipolar but then that was recanted by another doctor.
I am at a total loss at what to do. They told me that 3 is to young to medicate, but I really don't want to do that unless it's a last ditch effort. I need something that will help us both at home and in public. My realationship with my husband is strained as is because we can't find a sitter who will watch him. I am 26 yrs old, stay at home mom, and feel like I'm locked in a cage because I can't help my son. I so need some help. Thanks.