gcvmom
Here we go again!
Just wanted to post a brief update on difficult child 2 and his medication situation for anyone else wondering about how well this drug works.
He's taking 700mg Seroquel XR at bedtime, 5mg Daytrana patch in the morning (yeah, we trim it and it works just fine this way), and 400mg Seroquel XR at lunchtime.
The worst side-effect now is sedation. It's not as bad as it was when he first started this medication, but it's still there a bit. Also, he gained about 25 pounds in total since starting this medication. He was a hair underweight before, but now could stand to lose about 5 to 10 pounds.
He tells me that he doesn't get so angry or frustrated like he did before (which resulted in a lot of behaviorial problems in the past). The number of days where his head is "buzzing" (hypomania -- can't sit still, can't stop talking, can't concentrate, thoughts are racing, etc.) are now maybe one a month, if at all.
I have noticed that when the weather is cloudy or rainy here, he tends to get a little depressed -- more emotional, more irritable, more negative. It's been sunny lately and his mood seems much improved.
We're also finding that vigorous exercise before homework helps his concentration and focus tremendously. While this isn't always possible, it's nice to know we can use it as a tool!
It's been a long road since preschool -- 16 different psychiatric medications and three diagnoses in 8 years to finally get to this point. I don't know if this is as good as it gets for him. He still has issues with organization, focus, attention -- some days are better than others, but I will continue to try to find ways to help him with this.
He's taking 700mg Seroquel XR at bedtime, 5mg Daytrana patch in the morning (yeah, we trim it and it works just fine this way), and 400mg Seroquel XR at lunchtime.
The worst side-effect now is sedation. It's not as bad as it was when he first started this medication, but it's still there a bit. Also, he gained about 25 pounds in total since starting this medication. He was a hair underweight before, but now could stand to lose about 5 to 10 pounds.
He tells me that he doesn't get so angry or frustrated like he did before (which resulted in a lot of behaviorial problems in the past). The number of days where his head is "buzzing" (hypomania -- can't sit still, can't stop talking, can't concentrate, thoughts are racing, etc.) are now maybe one a month, if at all.
I have noticed that when the weather is cloudy or rainy here, he tends to get a little depressed -- more emotional, more irritable, more negative. It's been sunny lately and his mood seems much improved.
We're also finding that vigorous exercise before homework helps his concentration and focus tremendously. While this isn't always possible, it's nice to know we can use it as a tool!
It's been a long road since preschool -- 16 different psychiatric medications and three diagnoses in 8 years to finally get to this point. I don't know if this is as good as it gets for him. He still has issues with organization, focus, attention -- some days are better than others, but I will continue to try to find ways to help him with this.
