Things that make you go ... WTH?

[sosotired]

I did a bad thing. I decided to try the summer with no medications on board. DS is 12 and hasn't had a change in medications, other then the addition of Abilify about 5 months ago, in the last three years. I thought I'd regret it terribly, would have to slowly ramp up the dosages to where they were again and suffer for the stupid choice.

I weaned him off of everything almost 2 months ago now (slowly over about 4 weeks). I know, I know, I'm not a doctor, I should have consulted him, it could have been really bad for DS but this is a NEW KID! He's MUCH more pleasant to be around. He's sleeping regularly FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE. He's eating. He's handling things I thought he'd never be able to handle.

I really don't know what to think. Obviously, a lot of it could be change in environment. He's not in school but he is in all day summer camp, still having to deal with other kids but not the pressures of homework. Maybe some of it is the fact that he's grown a ton in the last 6 months and other areas are developing as well. I don't know. What I do know, is I wish there were an easier way to play this medication roulette.

I will be keeping him off until school starts then very closely monitoring him. If his teachers communicate even an inkling of previous issues, I'll get him started on ramping up his medications again.

I love summer. I hate school!!

 

[susiestar]

It is never recommended to make medication changes without the guidance of the prescribing doctor. With some medications you can have serious problems, even death, if the medication is not stopped correctly. It is generally thought to be just as dangerous to stop medications with-o the advice of a doctor as it is to start medications with-o same advice (for prescription medications, of course).

That being said, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Is there a reason you didn't talk about this with the doctor, at least over the phone? If your sig is right, your son was on concerta and abilify. I know very little about abilify, but concerta is a stimulant. Stimulants are fast in, fast out medications. Many of them are now time release because they wear off very quickly, but even the time release versions clear the system quickly and generally do not need to be stopped gradually.

Have you spoken to your difficult child about how he feels on and off of medications? If it is easier to think, to enjoy life, to behave well? While children should NOT (in my opinion) have the power to decide whether or not they need or will take medications, it is imperative to have regular discussions about their medications with them so you know how the medications make them feel.

Some kids do fine without medications as long as there are no real demands placed on them. Others do not. Some outgrow their need for some or all of their medications, others do not. There are no medications to treat or "cure" Aspergers or any form of autism at this time. medications are used to help manage they symptoms so that a person can function better within society and the family. The adhd component of Aspergers is often hard to handle with-o medications. Some docs regularly recommend "medication holidays" from stimulants over the summer, though I don't know if it has any long term benefits or not (some say yes, some no).

It is awesome that your son is doing so well with-o medications, esp around other kids. You may want to start some reading and other academic activities between now and the start of school to help you decide if you need to see the doctor and start medications before school starts. If he has a real problem with some light academic tasks then you might want to go ahead and call his doctor now to get an appointment to start him back on his medications.

 

[TerryJ2]

That's great that he's doing so well.

However, I agree that it may be because he has no real demands placed on him.

Maybe try a workbook from B&N and have him do one page every day, just to give him a taste of schoolwork and see how it goes ...