Re: Kids with ODD...ADHD...etc...

[Guest guest]

a and Dorothy, My Randy has been having troubles with medication trials, for the mood disorder

and for ADHD, and now we have finally hit on a medication "cocktail" that works. What turned the

tide for Randy was Risperdal. They start them at .5 mg. with a meltaway tab that is easy to take,

doesn't require swallowing a pill. He takes his at 8:30 in the evening to avoid daytime drowsiness.

I have to tell you that the difference in his anger levels and improvement in impulse control are

so significant we have gone from every day battles over everything, sometimes over nothing, to

maybe one a week. It's wonderful.

ODD IS treatable, but you have to have a doctor who is willing to experiment until the right combo

is found. Then, they have to be willing to review meds every six months or so while the kid is still

growing, because their blood levels change with growth.

Just my two cents worth, ladies. Good luck. Love you both, MM

[Guest guest]

a and Dorothy, My Randy has been having troubles with medication trials, for the mood disorder

and for ADHD, and now we have finally hit on a medication "cocktail" that works. What turned the

tide for Randy was Risperdal. They start them at .5 mg. with a meltaway tab that is easy to take,

doesn't require swallowing a pill. He takes his at 8:30 in the evening to avoid daytime drowsiness.

I have to tell you that the difference in his anger levels and improvement in impulse control are

so significant we have gone from every day battles over everything, sometimes over nothing, to

maybe one a week. It's wonderful.

ODD IS treatable, but you have to have a doctor who is willing to experiment until the right combo

is found. Then, they have to be willing to review meds every six months or so while the kid is still

growing, because their blood levels change with growth.

Just my two cents worth, ladies. Good luck. Love you both, MM

[Guest guest]

a and Dorothy, My Randy has been having troubles with medication trials, for the mood disorder

and for ADHD, and now we have finally hit on a medication "cocktail" that works. What turned the

tide for Randy was Risperdal. They start them at .5 mg. with a meltaway tab that is easy to take,

doesn't require swallowing a pill. He takes his at 8:30 in the evening to avoid daytime drowsiness.

I have to tell you that the difference in his anger levels and improvement in impulse control are

so significant we have gone from every day battles over everything, sometimes over nothing, to

maybe one a week. It's wonderful.

ODD IS treatable, but you have to have a doctor who is willing to experiment until the right combo

is found. Then, they have to be willing to review meds every six months or so while the kid is still

growing, because their blood levels change with growth.

Just my two cents worth, ladies. Good luck. Love you both, MM

[Guest guest]

Oops, sorry, I accidentally hit send on that last one! Mike, Risperdol is what they started Justen on the morning after he went to the hospital. They did give it to Karl for about two years as well as Tenex, adderall, guanfeson (sp) and some others that I can't remember now. Part of the reason that they said meds don't work on him is because he had such large amounts of narcotics inutero that he reacts differently to chemicals in the meds than most people would. He responds well at first and then within a week it's like he isn't taking anything at all. When he was five he was on adult strength doses and still no improvement. I feel bad because I know that he really can't help what he is doing to some extent, his mother also drank about a quart of alcohol a day all through the pregnancy. I guess she was intoxicated when she had him. Anyway, we just keep hoping that one day things will get better for him. I think that's what shocked us so bad with Justen. We have had six years of battles with Karl and kind of expected this stuff from him, and seven years of progress with Justen and then got blind sided. I had to tell his birth brother's father about everything because he called to talk to Justen today. I felt that the father would know the best way to tell so we left it to him. He has been having a tough time with , who is a year younger than Justen, for about three years so he knows that rougher times may still lay ahead. Anyway, mental illness in anyone is sad enough, but seeing these youngsters trying to cope with it is hard.

a C

[Guest guest]

a C., Yup. I know. My was a handful from the beginning, but Randy was easy as a little

guy. Now he is blindsiding me, like Justen is you, with all this residual junk from the drug and alcohol

exposure in utero. I just pray that Reesey's troubles don't come out the same way in another year

or two. He is such a sweet boy, and wants so much to be good, I think it would really hurt him inside

if he couldn't control it. I know it hurts Randy, but it makes him angry, too, and then he acts out

even more. Right now he is complaining because we are not rich, and he has to earn the money to

take a motorcycle safety course, and to get a vehicle of his own, insurance, etc. This morning he

told ME to go get a job so we could afford more stuff! I told him, as I always do, that he will have to

get a job and pay for things for himself. That's life, and if I COULD work, I WOULD work. Kids.

You will, in time, find a comfort zone in thinking of Justen. Loving him enough to give his care over

to professionals is very hard, as I know, but in the end, it will be best for you all. I love you, MM