Question and Thoughts on respidol?

[Nikki88]

So today was day 5 of Clonidine. We are seeing some improvment, she seems to be a little more calm at home. Last night was a really good night for her, not alot of the fighting and talking back. Today seems to be a little more rough, both at school and at home. And I totally know that we are going to have bad days, that putting her on medications isn't going to magically fix everything. But today was a pretty rough day at school for her, she ended up tearing her classroom apart, knocking down all the chairs and throwing things all over the place. So it was sugguested that I call her Dr ( her pediatrician) and let her know. She sugguested that we go ahead and get her labs done, and try to the respidol. Her Dr is looking for a nerophyc ( think thats the right term for it) that will take our insurance, because with her being on this now, she needs to see someone else.
I am kind of back and forth on this, my step daughter was on Seriquil and was like a drugged up zombie on it, and I know that both of these are in the same drug class. On the other hand, friends of mine that work in the medical field have said, that it's a medication that we should be able to see improvement in a short amount of time, so if she's walking around like a zombie, then it's most likely not the medication that she needs anyways. So there's no harm in trying it for a few days and seeing what happens.
I am really torn on this, and feeling like I am being drug into 10 diffrent directions, and I am super stressed out with all this. I'm doing all I can for her right now, and people still feel the need to say I am not doing enough, or doing the right thing.

 

[HaoZi]

For some it's great, for others (like us) it's a nightmare, so what I'll say is that no matter what medication you try, try one thing at a time and keep a very close eye on reactions.

 

[buddy]

Well, I do personally know kids that it makes the difference for and I wish my son was one of them. My kid though, ended up jumping over the seat of my car and pulling the keys out of my ignition while I was driving... I was able to stop him and pull into a parking lot where he started to strangle me from behind... Someone must have heard him and called the cops because by the time I had wrangled my way out of the car and was just standing there waiting him out while he was kicking and throwing a fit..they were slowly driving back and forth in the parking lot past me over and over... (duh, why not get out and ask if you can help???? ) I called the doctor, this was day two on it and he was off of it.... oh sorry that was the seroquel... the risperdal was when he was 4 and I was working at a child dev. center. He was in the day program for autism and I was called to a room where FOUR adults were restraining a raging 30something pound kid on a bean bag chair.

Both times the reactions happened in just days and both times it stopped the next day off the medication... and I would be VERY hesitant to ever try that class for him again (though as I said, our new doctor is a pharmacology expert and did a lot of research and work at Mayo Clinic and she said that for some kids like mine, they start with a HIGH dose and go down to the lowest dose that works because the low dose hits the wrong brain chemicals for him... not sure it is worth the risk for us but if he is at a place where it is residential or home without a better medication...???? we may need to try it.)

SO, yes, we at least got an answer in a quick amount of time but not sure if you can fully know if it will work well that fast, we never got to that point. We did find out it would NOT work quickly though.

You can only do what you can do in a day... it is so insensitive to say you should do more. giving ideas is fine, but most people have no idea how much more you are doing for your child than the average parent has to do in a day, week, month, year, lifetime!

I always remind people at the schools, and until recently they all agreed, that no matter the medications--even when they are working GREAT--we will have terrible days. For us it is usually that I find out he is getting sick, has a rash, a canker sore, toilet paper smashed in his ear canal, there was a medication error, whatever... nearly ALWAYS find a physical/sensory cause. I dont go looking for excuses either, just that it always turns out that way.

You are doing fine. Dont listen to the haters, they have no clue.


PS if your doctor is looking for someone to do the psychiatric medications... that is a psychiatrist. (for some of us we use a neurologist or developmental pediatrician or a doctor who is comfortable and will consult with the others... a pediatrician that may take special interest in behavior kids) the neuropsychologist (neuropsychologist) is a PhD type who can't do medications. They are the ones who do the bigger evaluations to see how behavior and brain are connected.

 

[Bunny]

For us, risperdal has worked really well. difficult child has been on it since December, 2010. He is definately calmer, slower to anger, and when he does go off the deep end, it's not quite as deep and he's much eaiser to reign in. I know for some people risperdal was a nightmare, but for us it's made a big difference. It's not perfect. I know that it's never going to be, but it's better, and there are some days when better is all that I'm looking for.

 

[TeDo]

For us it cause huge aggression issues. Everyone is different. It seems to either REALLY work well or cause huge disasters. It might be worth a shot but be very vigilant of changes. I wish I'd have paid closer attention...... things might not have gotten so bad before we stopped it.

 

[hearts and roses]

Risperdal helped A LOT with my difficult child during her early-mid teen years. However, long term use caused her breasts to lactate so we had to discontinue it. Prior to the risperdal she was in the chlonodine, which was also helpful but because she already had low blood pressure, she would often get dizzy and was tired a lot...turns out she's a sleeper anyway.

I see no harm in trying one over another, just be certain to do it under the doctors close watch and give it more than three days. I'd say at least three-four weeks should give you a better picture as to whether or not it's the right medication for her. After the two week mark, most of the initial side effects pass and you get a better idea of how effective (or not) the medication is. Good luck!

 

[Nikki88]

Thanks everyone, on one hand I'm like what's the worse that's going to happen by trying it for a few days, if it's bad then we take her right off it. On the other hand, I don't want to do the we have to try 15 different combo's of medications and put her through all that either.
And I'm still a strong believer of behavior mod, and can see some of the changes we are making are helping. I don't mean to come across like I don't want her on medications, if that's what she needs, I am all for it. But I am just very frustrated with the school, and the things that they have allowed her to get used to doing, and they want it fixed now when they have enabled her behavior ALOT also. I just feel like I am beat down and worn out with all this. I really want to have a day where I am not sitting at work, completely stressed out, worrying about how things are going at the school. And now getting in trouble at work because of getting called away for all of this- even though I am on fmla.

 

[TeDo]

Is she on an IEP? Have you formally requested one yet? THAT will get the school to do things differently than they are right now.

 

[Nikki88]

She doesn't have one, yet, we are starting the process right now. Alot of it has been trail and error with the school and what we are finding what works, and what doesn't. They have been really great, but at the same time now she's spending more time out of class then in class.

 

[Bunny]

And I'm still a strong believer of behavior mod, and can see some of the changes we are making are helping

I totally agree with you on this one, but I also think that once you find the right medication, or combination of medications, that work for her I think that behavior mod can work better because they are able to see things a little more clearly. At least, that is what I have seen with my difficult child. Like I said, it's not perfect and never will be, but it's better.

Good luck with whatever you try for her.

 

[InsaneCdn]

medications alone will never solve the problem.
But sometimes... the problem can't be solved without medications... it may take medications to "break the cycle" enough to begin to work on stuff.

medications are tricky. The only "right" answer is... what works for this particular individual.
Just whipping through a back-to-back trial of medications isn't the best option either - psychiatrists can make better "educated guesses" as to what to try, if the diagnosis list is accurate and complete. But sometimes... things ARE desperate, and you do whatever you have to do.

 

[Nikki88]

medications alone will never solve the problem.
But sometimes... the problem can't be solved without medications... it may take medications to "break the cycle" enough to begin to work on stuff.

medications are tricky. The only "right" answer is... what works for this particular individual.
Just whipping through a back-to-back trial of medications isn't the best option either - psychiatrists can make better "educated guesses" as to what to try, if the diagnosis list is accurate and complete. But sometimes... things ARE desperate, and you do whatever you have to do.

I am huge believer that medications alone won't fix the problem. She just needs something right now to calm her down as we are doing behavior mod, and doing assessments, because the issue that we are running into now at school is that she's 100% capable of doing the work, she just doesn't want to do it. So now it's almost March, and none of us feel it would be best for her to repeat the 1st grade, so we are doing everything we can do to get her to focus, and calm down enough to get her caught up.

 

[InsaneCdn]

because the issue that we are running into now at school is that she's 100% capable of doing the work, she just doesn't want to do it. So

Mind if I challenge your thinking a bit?
This is because of our family's direct experience.

There are disorders and conditions that are not nearly so black-and-white as "can" and "can't". Which means... the child may be able to do something under one set of cirumstances, but not in others. And so... while the child "can", perhaps in fact they "cannot" do what is asked. Confused? So were we. So were all the teachers and psychiatrists and tdocs and anyone else we approached for help.

Now that we know what we're dealing with... it makes so much more sense, but it is many years later than it "should" have been to get dxes!

So... here are just THREE examples - and there are lots more out there.
1) Motor skills issues, especially FINE motor skills issues, may not be "obvious". The child may appear to only struggle slightly more than peers - especially at this age - but what you don't see is the effort that goes in. The child may be able to write a few letters well, but a whole page becomes a mess - or they refuse to do it. In reality, they CAN'T do it - but when they push back, they get treated as (even called) lazy, bad attitude, etc. Which results in... even worse behavior!

2) Auditory issues - could be hearing, more likely if its an auditory issue would be some form of Auditory Processing Disorders (APD)... and these can be subtle. For example, problems with "auditory figure ground" mean that the person can process spoken language normally, and works well one-on-one in a quiet environment... but cannot "hear" in a classroom setting, because they can't distinguish the teacher's voice over the background noise. APDs can look like ADHD even when there is no ADHD present. (the two can also go together)

3) Sensory issues - classroom environment is loaded, can easily push a child with sensory issues into overload... and overload results in behavior problems.

School will see NONE of this. They haven't been trained to look for these things, and if they recognize anything, they aren't trained in what to do about it.

But... if you can figure out what is really going on... you can start solving the underlying problems, and the behaviors become much easier to correct.

So... how can you find out WHY she doesn't want to do the work? Asking her MIGHT give some clues - or it might not. Things like Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) are difficult for a young child to describe...

 

[Nikki88]

I don't mind you challenging my thinking at all I am learning this as we go, and open to hearing anyone thoughts!

Her regular dr wants to look into Sensory issues- which to be honest, I know nothing about and not even really sure why she wants to do the screening.
I think her teacher just thinks shes lazy, but her principal thinks that we are missing the bigger piece of the puzzle and pretty on board with everything.

 

[InsaneCdn]

If the principal is on board... see if there is some way to try the "one-on-one" approach - off in a separate quiet room, early in the day when she is fresh, with tasks that she at least sometimes completes... and see how she does. If this produces better results than in-class, it is a red flag for auditory processing. The principal should then be able to arrange screening with Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) - or you may need to specifically request that in writing. The Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) needs to specifically test for lesser-known APDs such as auditory figure ground.

The sensory issues... an Occupational Therapist (OT) would be able to test for. And it is worth testing for... either way. Either it is a problem, or it is not a problem - which ever one it is, will help guide next steps. While you're at the Occupational Therapist (OT) - get motor skills tested too, for the same reason.

My difficult child can produce beautiful caligraphy... but still can't hand-write a paragraph. (He has Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD))

 

[BusynMember]

I have to go so I didn't read everyone's responses, but I will give my experience on Risperdal and other anti-psychotics and also something I read: Our son had many bad side effects on Risperdal and Zyprexa...dangerous ones...and if anything he became depressed, overly tired, and sick on them both. Seroquel he tolerated. I don't think it helped him one way or the other but it didn't make him sick. It did help make him very hungry, if this is something that bothers you. But he was also on Lithum, another medication that ramps up your appetite. All in all, my particular son, who is different from yours, does much better NOT on medication. He hates medications too and thinks they make him "too sleepy."

I read an article, and I wish I could recall where, on antipsychotics. This was in some psychiatric mag. Sorry again that I can't remember where. It's own deduction was that antipsychotics work for aggression in the short term, but do not last for that particular symptom. They do help long term for hallucinations, but not aggression. Whether or not this is right, I don't know. Just passing it along.

Good luck!

 

[TerryJ2]

I know what the trial-and-error bit feels like. Best of luck!
I agree with-you and the others on behavior mod as well, of course.
Can't add much ... you've discussed so much info here. I'll send hugs, for sure!