Bec,

I felt the same way about my oldest. She was diagnosed with ADHD the summer after 3rd grade. Her pediatrician pushed for meds. We made a deal that we would have her take them meds for one year, twice a day (mornings and lunch time for school only), weekends off and then the summer off and reevaluation before the next school year would start.

I've known some people who's kids have had a really good reaction to the meds and it truly helped them. With mine, it didn't make that much difference. But we wouldn't have known that unless we tried it. I've found that teachers make more of a difference than just about anything in the classroom.

Talk to Matt after he's been on them for a while. See if it's helping his concentration or his school work. He and his teacher are really going to be the ones to know if there's a difference.

If it doesn't work, it's still your choice as him mom to take him off of the meds.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa.

I really think they have no idea what they are talking about to be honest. All the symptoms they say are ADD (not ADHD, no hyperactivity issues with him.. just his ability to focus) are the same ****ing symptoms from PTSD. He can't focus. But they haven't bothered to ask him why. He can't focus because he hears a noise. Hmmm sounds like hypervigilance to me. He paces. Why does he pace? He paces because he's anxious. etc..

I'm pulling him off the drugs come Monday. This is ridiculous.

bec

Bec,

I know that feeling very well. PTSD is like taking my ADHD symptoms and taking them to the nth degree. I guess it's no wonder that it wasn't until my symptoms got so bad that they were out of control for me to realize that this was something out of the ordinary for me.

What I don't understand (and maybe you've discussed this somewhere else) is if he's been diagnosed with PTSD why are they looking for other issues instead of dealing with this one? I mean, come on, we all know that once the PTSD symptoms get under control so many other things fall into a 'much easier to deal with' place.

Did you ask them if the meds they're putting him on are for, possibly, both sets of symptoms? I don't know if such a creature exist...but you never know.

Lisa

They told me they weren't sure what he had. He could have PTSD, ADD or both... It was what they were supposed to be looking at (the PTSD) but went on a rant about ADD as soon as I said he has difficulty focusing. Now they are just ignoring everything else.

I really don't know right now. I'm very confused about it all, I'm very angry and don't know what I should be doing, how I should be looking at this anything...

Ryan thinks I'm being unreasonable by wanting him off the drugs. The nurses keep acting like Matt has behavioral issues, which he doesn't, and telling me that my son being stoned out of his ****ing brain is normal side affects.. and I just feel like I'm some crazy person that suddenly doesn't know right from wrong.

Basically it's like a shut up and let him be drugged since I obviously know nothing because I have "issues." I feel ****ing invisible.

bec

Sounds like their taking the easy way out. Being lazy and labelling him with the more common disorder. Not bothering to evaluate him properly or consider all the issues. Laziness in my opinion. He had much therapy Bec? Might want to have a good go at that before drugging him up. Hang in there.

Jim.

Bec,

Just my opinion... How long have they known him? How many minutes of each day have they spent with him? How long have you known him?

Bec, you have issues.. so do they... they just didn't share them. Having issues does not make you incompetent to make decisions about your child.



ADD medication, at the right dose, can be wonderful for someone who truly has ADD...

Have you in my thoughts,

Zoe

You are in my thoughts too, bec. They put Devon on adderrol and clonidine. This has made an amazing difference but his dx is aspergers. I hope you find the appropriate treatment, keep fighting bec...you can do it!

From my work within the system and experiences with my 2 grandchildren and Evie, I also suspect, as my husband suggested, that they are taking the easy way out. However I will wait for more details and an update Bec, before I advise you further. Take good care.

Okay, let's see.

The guy that does all the testing decided that Matt has ADD or ADHD type I (whichever you call it) because Matt has trouble focusing. They've been doing testing for over two weeks now. All the symptoms they say are ADD are also the same symptoms that PTSD creates. However, they have asked Matt about these symptoms but not why he has them. Example: Matt can't focus. That is where the questions end. Then I ask him why. Matt tells me it's because he hears a noise and he has to check it to make sure it's safe.

Needless to say I've been a bit pissed off about this. Also he doesn't have any hyperactivity issues, other than pacing, which once again is due to safety issues.

So this weekend they put him on Ridilan. Friday he was on 5 mg at 9 am and 1 pm and Saturday they upped him to 10mg at the same times. He was stoned out of his mind. He couldn't focus, couldn't understand a simple sentence, couldn't sit still, made him impossible to deal with. Basically did everything to him that supposedly was the "problem" in the first place. On top of all this, when I complained to the nurses they told me he was "behaving" fine and that was what the drug was supposed to do. So the people working with him labeled him as having behavior issues just because he was on Ridlin! They ignored everything I had to say over the weekend.

So Monday, I brought him to the school for a tour (that was fun with him all drugged up) and then when we returned to the hospital, I spoke the the SW there. Told her what was going on, what I seen, how Matt is reacting ect. Matt has been pulled off the meds as of today. They do admit it could just be PTSD (they don't know, they don't seem to care, they are completely ignoring his anxiety and trauma up to this point.) The SW is going to push that they treat his symptoms of anxiety, so I will hear more tomorrow.

He probably won't be medicated on anything because we don't have a doctor that can follow up for meds. On top of the fact that they haven't got a freaking clue of what they are doing.

Kathy, do you need any other details? I probably missed something somewhere here.

All right. Thank you Bec for all of that information. You may share more if you desire, however I believe I now get the "jist" of the situation. Quite shoddy treatment, in my opinion! Putting him on a drug haphazardly and then taking him off of it just as quickly. Bad enough to do this to an adult, but a child? As a mother, I well understand your upset over this!

I was going to ask you if they had prescribed Ritalin, and to be frank, I was hoping not. Not saying Ritalin in itself is a bad medication, it works very well for its intended purpose, which is to help those who truly have ADD/ADHD not helped by other means, such as behaviour therapy. However, it is prescribed far too often. It is not a panacea for all the ills of childhood. I believe now Jim was correct in saying they were lazy. Frankly I am disgusted that they gave him this drug, knowing that he has anxiety issues.

Why do I say this? Well, as you likely know, Ritalin is a stimulant. I needn't tell you what a mild stimulant such as caffeine does to someone with anxiety issues. Well, Ritalin is a much more powerful stimulant than caffeine, and it is known to make anxiety worse in someone who already has anxiety. Ritalin is absolutely not recommended for Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety, and so on. So, if there is any suspicion that Matt has PTSD, this is definitely not the drug for him. Additionally, if Matt has any underlying depression, common in PTSD, Ritalin will actually make the situation worse for him. Years ago, Ritalin was prescribed for depression, however it was found that, when tapering off, depressed patients experienced extreme relapses of depression, many to the point of suicide. As a result, Ritalin is no longer prescribed for depression. You also mentioned previously that you suspect Matt may have an eating disorder? Is he as thin as you are Bec? Once again, one common side effect of Ritalin is appetite loss and resulting weight loss! Overall, a very poor choice for Matt, in several respects! Had I been the caseworker, I would have made certain the assessment ruled out any anxiety issues prior to prescribing any drug, especially in a child of 12.

Now, regarding assessment, what exactly have they done? Have they taken a case history including his background and previous experiences in life? Has he received any official psychological testing, or are they simply talking to him and taking him on his word? A certain amount of assessment can be achieved simply by talking to a person and observing their behaviour. However, as you are aware, some behaviours (such the pacing) can point to more than one condition, depending on the patient's history. In Matt's case, it does sound as if his pacing is trauma related.

When trauma is suspected, a good assessment will include written psychological testing as part of the assessment. A person with trauma may not always tell the truth about their situation, not to be deceiving, however simply because they are frightened and have been conditioned to not give away too much information. This is where a written psychological test can be helpful. Now, whilst there is some controversy surrounding it, the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is quite an accurate indicator of various personality problems. Evie took this test early on in her treatment, during a period when she was being very "dishonest" with health care professionals. In spite of her not wanting to reveal certain aspects, the results of the test indicated very severe trauma. She was extremely high on the trauma scale portion of the test, yet low in every other aspect. There is a version of the MMPI, called the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) designed specifically for adolescents. Officially it to be administered to those 14-18 years of age, however, I have administered it to 13 year olds on more than one occasion. Matt is 12, so perhaps slightly too young for the test, but perhaps not? You would simply need to find someone willing to administer the test, usually a clinical psychologist. I can assure you, if Matt indeed has trauma, it will show up on that test!

What were the results of Matt's MRI, or do you not know yet? I believe that is an important piece of the puzzle as well.

Now. What to do from here. Honestly, Matt needs to be properly asssessed and diagnosed. That is the first step. Then, if he is to be on any medication, he must have a doctor who can regularly assess and adjust the medication. And most preferably, counseling. I am a proponent of behaviour therapy and cognitive restructuring, I believe it works very well for anxiety issues. Perhaps not for healing full blown PTSD so much, but when administered correctly, it can reduce the symptoms of anxiety dramatically. I believe this may be good for Matt especially as he does need to attend school, interact with others socially and so on. I could advise you on finding a decent therapist, however I am not certain - perhaps you already have one lined up? In any event I don't wish to overwhelm you with too much information all at once. In a future post however, I certainly can advise you as to working within "the system" to your advantage.

I do hope I have not overwhelmed you Bec! This is quite a long post. However I did want to explain why I feel the way I do. I assure you, other health care professionals may not agree with me. One nice thing about being retired however - I get to say what I like!