Guest guest Posted September 23, 2001 Report Share Posted September 23, 2001 is 11, he had a brief moment in his life when he didn't chew his fingers when he was about 3, then the speech therapist that he was seeing was having him finger paint in pudding and lick it off his fingers. Once the fingers were in the mouth, it was impossible to break him of it. Part of the time it's just a habit, I think, because I just say " finger " and he stops. But other times he refuses to stop. He is very good about swallowing his pills. Sometimes dry swallows them (I can't even do that) by shoving them down his throat with his finger. I'd puke... He gives me some grief about taking them occasionally, I just say, " Yea, I don't like to take my meds either (migraines), " and leave it at that like I'm ignoring him and he takes them. I had a problem with recently. He got a hold of a magazine (something like Everything you never knew existed or something like that) that had a lot of special effects stuff for Halloween, like nails through the cheek, etc. I overheard saying to him, " NO! you can't take my eyeball out. " I had to throw the magazine away. I'm so glad I have a 2 year old that talks in sentences so I know what is doing. Pretty soon he'll learn to lie for his brother. Loriann Wife to Dewight Mom to , 11 years, Down Syndrome, PDD-NOS and Celiac Disease. , 2 years and Strong Willed Both homeschooled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2001 Report Share Posted September 23, 2001 Lori: andy used to chew on his fingers and thumbs like that. I've forgotten how old is...does he have his molars? All four of Andy's molars decided to come in at the same time, which contributed, but wasn't the entire cause. Sorry, though, I don't have first-hand experience with prozac. Good luck! j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2001 Report Share Posted September 23, 2001 Loriann, Yes JJ takes Prozac. When he started it abut 18 months ago I think he was on 10 mg. Then we upped him to 20mg because he was chewing his toenails outOUCH> We now use ProzacWeekly.This is a 90mg time release Prozac. He takes it on Friday morning. By Thursday he culd use another dose. It is very differcult to get meds into him. We are always staying 1 step ahead of him. When he gets to Thursday he is hitting the other kids at school and trying o bite Timmy here. & Garry, parents of (11 ds), (9 ds), JJ (7 ds/autism/celiac), (7 ds/ADHD/Celiac), and Esther (4 ds). All adopted. ---------- >From: " Loriann " <hsmyangels@...> >< > >Subject: Prozak >Date: Sun, Sep 23, 2001, 6:29 PM > >OK, The psychiatrist just put on Prozak to help stop his chewing on >his fingers. 's fingers are almost deformed from his chewing on them, >huge calluses. I'm not talking biting the nails, I'm talking putting the >whole finger back to the second knuckle into his mouth and chewing like one >would chew a steak. He chews on both thumbs and both first fingers. He's >inching over into the 2nd finger. Doc says this will stop it. Does anyone >have any experience with Prozak? > >Loriann >Wife to Dewight >Mom to , 11 years, Down Syndrome, PDD-NOS and Celiac Disease. >, 2 years and Strong Willed >Both homeschooled. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2001 Report Share Posted September 24, 2001 Loriann, We started Gene on Zoloft this summer. Same kind of drug as Prozac I believe. It has helped nearly all of his hand flapping and head throwing ( head goes back and eyes open wide) go away. He doesn't rock as much in the car anymore either. He used to do this thing with his hands where he would bring the palms up to his mouth and push there...with fingers hyperextended. That behavior has really gone away too. So, hopefully this will help with your 's nail biting. The other great thing we have seen, is more speech. I think it was Beth who has said this area of meds may increase speech output...and I have found that to be very true with gene...so all in all, it has been a good move. Lauri...mom to Gene, age 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2001 Report Share Posted September 24, 2001 We had an OT tell us how she supposedly dealt with it with other children: They make a necklace out of surgical tubing and slowly cut it down until it's gone. Great, but won't chew on anything else but his fingers and thumbs (and the occasional toe). We tried rough surfaces for him to touch, didn't help. We tried increasing the salt intake, didn't help. I don't know what need it fills, but it's not oral, tactical or dietary. Prozak is a last ditch effort for us. I'll let you know if it works. Loriann Wife to Dewight Mom to , 11 years, Down Syndrome, PDD-NOS and Celiac Disease. , 2 years and Strong Willed Both homeschooled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2001 Report Share Posted September 24, 2001 Loriann, I am sorry I do not have any experience with Prozac, but you are the first person I have heard tell of their child chewing their fingers like that! has done it for 12 years! I liken it to a wolf trying to get out of a trap. He chews both thumbs and makes a low moaning sound when he does it. He also has huge calluses, and he has started biting his nails. We say " THUMBS! " to , and he pops them out for all of 30 seconds. Then back in they go. Sometimes he won't respond when we say thumbs, so we yell " NOISE! " and he at least quiets for a bit. I tell every doctor he sees, including the psych. because I hope someone can do something. They all shrug and move on. Once he has been on the gluten free diet for about 6 weeks, doc is going to reassess him and we may be taking him off depakote sprinkle. You can bet we will be telling her about this. Several years ago, after the dentist suggested casting both elbows, my husband taped sport socks on 's hands to keep his thumbs out of his mouth. It took 2 min. to pull off his socks and shoes and stick his big toe in there and start chewing. Bob quickly took the socks off his hands, saying the thumbs were more " socially acceptable. " :-) Good luck and keep me posted on how this works. Deb, mom to 13, DS/ASD-PDD/Celiac and , 19, an Angel > OK, The psychiatrist just put on Prozak to help stop his chewing on his fingers. 's fingers are almost deformed from his chewing on them, huge calluses. I'm not talking biting the nails, I'm talking putting the whole finger back to the second knuckle into his mouth and chewing like one would chew a steak. He chews on both thumbs and both first fingers. He's inching over into the 2nd finger. Doc says this will stop it. Does anyone have any experience with Prozak? > > Loriann > Wife to Dewight > Mom to , 11 years, Down Syndrome, PDD-NOS and Celiac Disease. > , 2 years and Strong Willed > Both homeschooled. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2001 Report Share Posted September 24, 2001 Boy, I hope you're right. It's driving me crazy, always saying " finger " or " thumb " . His speech is better than just 6 months ago, but his 2 year old brother says longer grammatically correct sentences than he does. Well, gotta get back to school. Loriann Wife to Dewight Mom to , 11 years, Down Syndrome, PDD-NOS and Celiac Disease. , 2 years and Strong Willed Both homeschooled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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