Re: New member, unknown situation

[Guest guest]

...because I feel like everyone is just

throwing all of these diagnoses at us, and no one really seems to

know WHAT is going on!

Hi Antoniette,

This really is one of the hard things, trying to pin down a diagnosis

as to what is causing behavior problems or attention problems, etc.

And then trying to find the best medications too. I'm glad you have

some resources to help (social services, special pre-K). Early

intervention can be a HUGE help with kids, so the pre-K is great.

With all the diagnoses that have been thrown about, it's that so many

disorders can cause similar behaviors and that many children actually

have more than one " thing " going on with them. Sometimes if you can

pinpoint a pattern to behaviors and the cause, that can lead you

towards a particular diagnosis. Or even a particular medication that

seems to help or even " not " help can guide a prescriber.

It's just that it takes soooo much time to sort it all out, and in

the meantime everything (problems) are still going on!

However, things will get better! Once you all get a little more

information as to what is causing his behavior, you'll be able to

know the correct way to respond to him and all will get better

(although that still takes some time too!). For instance if you can

pinpoint certain behaviors due to OCD, then you'll need to find an

experienced therapist who treats kids/OCD and who will use Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy and also Exposure & Response Prevention (CBT and

ERP) to help treat your son; meds can also be a help at times. If

Aspergers is thought to be a cause, then those children generally

need a LOT of structure/routine to their day; no structure or an

unplanned change to their day can set off bad behaviors. (However,

one Aspergers kid is not the same as another necessarily; my

Aspergers son (15) has never minded change and our REALLY

unstructured lifestyle; but he does need to know what is expected of

him and how/when to do things, needs some routine.)

Well, I wanted to quickly reply to you (so hope something made sense)

but have to get back to work. This is a terrific group that has been

my best support these past few years! Please keep us updated on how

things are going with your sons and you!!

single mom, 3 sons

, 15, with OCD, dysgraphia and more recently HFA/Aspergers

, 15, nonidentical twin

Randall, 18.5

> Hello all ....

>

> Just wanted to introduce myself properly and share my situation,

and

> the reason I joined the group. I am a single mom, living with my 2

> boys, 5 and 10. While my 10 year old has ADD, (as do I), my 5 year

> old has been very difficult since birth. Very high strung,

> everything sets him off. He has had problems in preschool/daycare

> for the past 2 years, this year much worse. I had a neuro check

him

> out 9 months ago, she diagnosed probable ADHD. In September, he

got

> much worse, getting dressed is a chore, every little thing is

> problematic and very difficult. I started taking him to a

> psychologist, and she saw OCD tendencies, very strong ones, in

> addition to the ADHD. He can be the most happy, loving child,

> although very active, and his impulses have ended up with ER visits

> a few times for him. Now he is taking ritalin 10mg. BID, and seems

> a bit better, although weepy. Social Services sent us to several

> specialists including a psychiatrist who thinks he has signs of

>

[Guest guest]

Hi there, and welcome!

I wonder whether you have access to a child psychiatrist? Or even an

experienced adult psychiatrist who works with children? The reason I ask is that

it would be better to have a solid diagnosis before starting a new medication

on your son. Quite a few young children who are first diagnosed with ADHD, then

OCD, turn out to have bipolar disorder, particularly if the problems include

lots of anger and ER visits. It's very important to rule this out before

starting him on a medication such as Zoloft or Ritalin, since they can make

things

worse.

I bring this up because I have watched a friend struggle with her younger

son for years. He had more and more trouble in school and at home, and has

since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He is now an Risperdal and doing

beautifully. The first diagnoses she was given by several doctors were ADHD and

then OCD, but because she has bipolar herself, she didn't want to medicate him

for those before ruling out bipolar.

I'm not trying to second guess your docs, or worry you unnecessarily, but

I'd want a firm diagnosis from someone before jumping into a medication. You

could ask the doc to " justify " his diagnosis to you. I did this when my

daughter was first diagnosed, just to convince myself that the doctor wasn't

jumping

to any conclusions.

Let us know how things go!

Best wishes,

in NV

[Guest guest]

Hi! Welcome to the group. I don't have much time but I wanted to say that

while I don't have experience with giving Zoloft to a very young child (my

oldest daughter was ten when she started taking it) I do have experience with

giving Paxil to a seven year old. My youngest daughter, , took Paxil at

seven and the change was amazing. She went from not being able to function to

actually looking like a normal child to the naked eye. The Paxil pooped out

after several months and she has taken Luvox ever since, with the same results.

Had I known at five that it was an option, I would have done it in a heartbeat.

I'm sorry this is so short but I'm dashing out the door. Kelley in Nv

[Guest guest]

Hi Antoniette:

Welcome to the group! Thanks for sharing about your son.

Most kids seem to have more than one diagnosis to deal with. This

makes diagnosis difficult and this is important to ensure they get

the best treatment. If you feel the diagnoses don't make sense you

might want to check out the DSM-IV and read up on the symptoms which

fit with the diagnoses. Diagnosis is more of an art than a science

and sometimes a skilled differential diagnostician is needed to make

a good determination.

Many of us have had our kids take medications off label, that is

medications which may be used in adults with FDA approval but are not

yet approved for use in children. My son has not taken Zoloft but he

was on other antidepressants/antiobsessionals. He is now on Effexor

XR 100 mg. daily.

I look forward to reading more of your posts about your son's

progress. Take car, aloha, Kathy (h)

kathy.hi@...

> Hello all ....

>

> Just wanted to introduce myself properly and share my situation,

and

> the reason I joined the group. I am a single mom, living with my 2

> boys, 5 and 10. While my 10 year old has ADD, (as do I), my 5 year

> old has been very difficult since birth. Very high strung,

> everything sets him off. He has had problems in preschool/daycare

> for the past 2 years, this year much worse. I had a neuro check

him

> out 9 months ago, she diagnosed probable ADHD. In September, he

got

> much worse, getting dressed is a chore, every little thing is

> problematic and very difficult. I started taking him to a

> psychologist, and she saw OCD tendencies, very strong ones, in

> addition to the ADHD. He can be the most happy, loving child,

> although very active, and his impulses have ended up with ER visits

> a few times for him. Now he is taking ritalin 10mg. BID, and seems

> a bit better, although weepy. Social Services sent us to several

> specialists including a psychiatrist who thinks he has signs of

> Asperger's. He finally got into the special services program for

> pre-k yesterday, and will start next week. In the meantime, we

> went back to the neuro, and now she will be trying him on Zoloft,

> 1/2 of a 25mg tab. She thinks he has some depression and low self

> esteem, although we don't know if that is a result of the OCD and

> ADHD, or a separate issue. She is not sure about the Asperger's,

> which concerns me, because I feel like everyone is just throwing

all

> of these diagnoses at us, and no one really seems to know WHAT is

> going on!

>

> Does anyone have experience with Zoloft for small children? My son

> has always had a bad temper, and tantrums, and is very physical,

> hitting other children a lot, but its gotten a bit better. He

seems

> a little calmer since the ritalin, but now I have to take him off

of

> it.

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

Been a little crazed, so I'm behind on my reading!

Thank you for all the advice and information. I will try to pick up

that book next chance at the bookstore or library...seems like all I

do is read self-help books these days! lol...

Antoniette