Update

[wintak]

OMG we haven't had a whole week like this in awhile. I saw difficult child's therapist on Tuesday and we went over when to call 911 (apparently locked in my room, although safe, is another time to call).

Saw his doctor on Wed. She got to see/hear the tics/stimms whatever they are. He is out of control with them right now. They are constant. doctor thinks it's a risperdone effect. She went into this was a listed risk on the informed consent you signed (grrrr, I'm not going to sue you, I want him better). ALTHOUGH tics are listed as a side effect, SHE PERSONALLY has not see tics develop from ripserdone in her practice and for sure to have them show up so early in treatment was unusual.

We are to wean off risperdal and get ON one that starts with a "Z". It's downstairs or I'd look it up. And if the tics go away, we'll know it's risperdone. If they don't, then we proceed from there.

She said a few days to a few weeks for them to go away. That was yesterday

Today I see his science teacher at school and she says they were worse today than ever. HOWEVER ....his literacy teacher told me in person today that he personally has NEVER heard these noises I keep talking about while difficult child is in class. Now, today that teacher was the monitor in homework club and he said in homework club they were non-stop. But in literacy class he has NEVER heard those noises (including today).

He has blown up at EVERYTHING. And I made a small step forward tonight...I has the phone in hand and had turned it on ready to call...he has a look that he gets...like he could kill you. I kid you not. So he was on his bed and mad at me and put his hands on my shoulders and had "that look" and went to knee me. Had the phone in hand a minute later as he's SCREAMING. Didn't call, but that's the closest I have ever come. Small steps.

Last night he raged cuz the cellophane of his frozen dinner (lasagna) stuck to the cheese of the lasagna and WOW did THAT send him over the edge...and then got tomatoe sauce EVERYWHERE while he flung it all over the place SCREAMING at the meal. I took him away, mirrored, reflected, empathsized...finally he calmed down, went back to the table and was fine.

But to combine another thread...after his rage and fit after fit after fit tonight (they were one after the other) he fell asleep in his bed before I even got to his room to say goodnight. So yes, fits DO wear my difficult child right out.

Oh and back to the tics...I know most of you (if not all) say this is something he can't control..but when he was throwing one of his fits today...he stomped out of the room, folded his arms across his chest, looked right at me and motioned his head towards me and (I swear) made one of those noises right at me. I swear it was like he directed it to me. Weird.

So, rages Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thursday...we call this a bad week in my household.

 

[Malika]

Sorry things are so tough at the moment, wintak.
Now, this is a silly question (but sometimes silly questions can be useful, perhaps) but what is your son like when he takes NO medications? In your gut feeling, how much of this current behaviour is due to the medications? How old was he when he started taking medications?
I am NOT the perfect person to be taking an objective view, I acknowledge (though I have no axe to grind in asking these questions) because medications and their side effects scare me. There seem to be so many and their effects so imperfectly understood.
What do you feel - you're the one on the ground?

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Wintak,

Sorry to hear that this has been such a tough week.

I'm sorry I don't recall, but what exactly is your son's diagnosis? So it sounds like the doctor is tapering the risperdal and adding a new medication because of tics and no real improvement in behavior right? But you seem to think the tics are somewhat controllable. I'm wondering if his tics are in response to anxiety or frustration. It could explain their "on and off". That doesn't mean that he didn't deliberately look you in the face and make a noise to annoy you. He knows how to push buttons for sure.

I hope today breaks the weekly trend. Hang in there.

Sharon

 

[Wiped Out]

Sorry your week was such a rough one. All that raging reminds me of my difficult child at that age. I hope you have a peaceful weekend ahead. (((hugs)))

 

[BusynMember]

Well, MY son had an instant bad reaction to Risperdal, so your doctor hasn't seen ALL kids. Then he went on Zyprexa...ditto...same bad effects.

Keep us posted. I'm so sorry.

 

[crazymama30]

I can sympathize with the meltdown over the cellophane. My difficult child son once almost threw a plate through a window because mcdonalds had put mustard on his burger.

I too am curious about your son's diagnosis, and what if any other medications he has been on and how he reacted to those?

 

[wintak]

Crazymama....McD's dared to put mustartd and catsup on difficult child';s burger once...that was a meltdown that we stood back and watched in utter amazement that something so trivial (to us) could be so monumental to him.

He's only been on medications since Dec. No, I don't see any difference for the adhd or the mood disorder with the medications. And Zyprexa is the one we are trying now.

He's in the shower now, probably not using soap or shampoo and I find myself tense in anticipation of the 45 min before I drop him at school

 

[jennd23]

Oh man, sorry you guys have had such a rough week! I hope the new medication helps.

 

[Last ♡ Hope]

The Z medication is probably Zyprexa, it's similar to Risperdal. My difficult child is on it now, but he was only on it one day before I re-admitted him so I'm not sure how it's working for him yet...

 

[Malika]

When things were really bad with my son and I was getting really angry at him all the time for his "defiant" behaviour (just making him all the more defiant, had I but realised it), I started reading and researching in my desperation. Came across something called the Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) Consultancy which promises to transform all ODD-type behaviour within a few months. Their premise is that all these problems are due to problems in the parent-child relationship and communication... They have phone consultations and, all excited, I booked one - until my brother who lives in the States told me that therapy in the US costs around 150 dollars an hour and they say in their website that their phone consultations (with unlimited email contact apparently) costs twice the going rate for therapy... Umm, alas that made it beyond my means. It might be worth just having a look at though? I don't know whether insurance in the US covers that kind of thing. The reason I thought of this is just your comment that the medications are not making any difference... if the medications are not making any difference, could there be any possibility that your son does not actually have a disorder but is just very troubled?? I've no idea, of course - just an idea that is worth mentioning.