Prescription Meds

I couldn’t help it. This morning I posted a status on my face book page that said, “Did I mention I how much I dread the mornings? Ugh!” This also isn’t the first time I post the same status.

I would like to hear from any parents that are administering medications to their children as a means of treatment for a condition they have, such as ADHD, etc. I want to hear different stories and reasons you decided to go this route. What are the medications for and how long has your child been taking them.

Puppy is diagnosed as having PDD-NOS with ADHD. When he turned eight (8) years old he was having numerous tantrums and meltdowns. He was having the worst time in the classroom and was becoming virtually uncontrollable. I remember a family member telling me to discuss it with his pediatrician. I realized later that the pediatrician never did a complete exam to identify his delays and I didn’t recognize he was not reaching the normal developmental milestones. I only knew his speech was delayed and this had caused him to fall behind. But because Puppy wasn’t given a diagnosis until the end of the school year, I still didn’t understand what was going on with him.

Anyway, his pediatrician listened to my concerns and prescribed Puppy’s first Rx for the ADHD. His teacher and I noticed he wasn’t improving and instead had a negative reaction to the medicine. We tried a different one, and the result was practically night and day.

In the following weeks he improved and we saw a calmer child with ability to function and focus. This is something we had not seen in Puppy before.

That was then, and this is now. I wrote in Already Week Four how we reached our goal to remove one of Puppy’s medications and replaced it with a new one. He has been so different. He’s definitely more alert, but with it comes his lack of sleep. But he doesn’t need it any more. He’s going to bed much later and waking up much earlier. I do not like this at all. In fact, I asked his pediatrician about it and he replied with telling me to wait until he starts classes again and if he is still having trouble sleeping then call him. He is more talkative, vocal and using sentences with references to emotions.

Bottom line is that he is showing progress and the switch in medications has been for the better to date. So let me know how it works out in your homes.

So why the status posting? The mornings are the hardest part of the day. Its when his meds have worn off overnight and he is bouncing off the walls. Even though he is a morning person in that Puppy has never given me trouble with waking up, he wakes up in grumpy moods. At least up until he takes his meds. Then we see the person transformed. I feel as though the meds prepare him to face a new day. He gives me that impression himself. I may always dread the mornings, but I'm am always thankful for another morning with Puppy.