Behavior issues

Katie - posted on 11/29/2011

My son is 7 and does the same thing ! We cant find a med. that works more than a couple weeks! Its so hard because my son is out of control and get angry so easy ! He also seems to hate me and has the biggest fits when i try and tell him no or take something away ! i just dont know what to do anymore!

Leah - posted on 03/14/2011

Kim,
Your pediatrician should not be one the giving your child their medication because they are not licensed in that field. You need to get a psychiatrist who know more of the field than the pediatrician.

Lanny - posted on 03/06/2009

Julie, if you contact your psychologist and they don't seem to care what you say then you need to find a new one. I understand not easy but essential. We have no control over the disabilities that our children have but you must feel you have a voice in advocating for them. I remember with my son 6th grade was absolutly the worst. He was horrible and sad, he talked of wanting to just die on more than one occasion, I was terrified for seventh grade (it was the roughest one for me!) but seventh grade was a good year for Cole. In eigth grade he was so disgusted with his social status (no real friends, no invited anywhere) that we actually considered moving so he could attend a larger school! Long story short, he is doing well again but the anger thing is always there. I don't see him act out at school, he is very worried about what people will think, but I do have a hole in his bedroom wall from an outburst, I have yet to fix it as kind of a reminder to him. I don't have the answers, and I am sorry. Just know you are not alone out here and I struggle quite often when his mouth gets going with loving, but not liking, my son. I thought, and all kids are different, I always have tried to offer an appropriate place for the anger- go to your room and yell and rant if you will, just don't break anything or be destructive. It doesn't always work hence the hole in the wall, but it takes it out of the center stage and also makes them feel that they can express themselves. Sorry so long, and sorry no ureka answers but hang in there, we're all in this together!

Julie - posted on 03/06/2009

We were not given a name for the mood disorder they just said a mood disorder. And he does see a child psychologist. We go to him about every 3 months to monitor his staus and medication. I have thought about asking them again about the bi-polar again mainly because my sister was just diagnosed and I see alot of similarities in their behavior. i just don't know if they will care what I have to say. I would think they should if they are trully as good as they claim to be.

Kym - posted on 03/04/2009

Hello Julie, My name is Kym and I just read your story. My youngest son is 8 and was diagnosed @ 6 with ADHD. He has been on meds ever since then and they seem to help him focusing but over the past yr his temper and mood has begun to get out of control. Like your son, mine can't seem to control himself either and he just gets so angry he makes fists and just shivers and turns red with anger. It doesn't help when our 12 yr old son is ADD and they seem to FEED off of each other which just makes matters worse. I can't stand it anymore and am looking for help since I am hitting a brick wall with the Pediatrician who just wants to keep changing the meds. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad to know I'm NOT alone...

Kristie - posted on 03/04/2009

My son has been thru so much and he just turned 7. All the different types of doctors we have taken him to told us he was ADHD & has a mood disorder. After putting him on meds for ADHD those made him extremely aggressive. Our doctor finally decided he wasn't ADHD because the meds he took should not cause that extreme of anger. So we are focusing more on the mood disorder part. I know this isn't really helping, but I feel your pain about always getting onto him and know the stress you are feeling. I also understand about the mean things he can say. We are still in the process of trying to figure out what is best for him and it is a long road. Hang in there and once again I know I didn't give you any answers just know you are not alone when it comes to figuring this all out.

Christina - posted on 03/04/2009

I  am so sorry that you are having to deal with all of this.  You are not alone, my son is 11 and was diagnosed ADHD, ODD, and depression, at this time he takes a combination of meds to control everything.  We are contantly walking on eggshells around him trying not to set him off.  Some of the ADHD meds have that side effect.  Talk with your doctor they can help, but don't listen to the "it's a side effect, there's nothing we can do about it".  We see a psychiatrist, and a psycologist to help with the issue we have.  

I hope that this help, If you need someone to vent, I am here.  Take care 

Tina - posted on 03/04/2009

My 8 yr old daughter is ADHD and BiPolar. When we first put her on the meds for her ADHD we didnt put her on anything else. She did better but not well. Sometime she would just lose it. SHe would be crying and then all the sudden be angry. She did hateful things and then the next minute she would be happy as all. We took her back to the doctor and told him everything that was going on. They tested her and she did have ADHD but also had Bi Polar. She is now on meds for both BiPolar and ADHD and is doing wonderfully.

Yolanda - posted on 03/03/2009

We have a 7 yr old that has recently been diagnosed with early onset bipolar disorder with ADHd. Has your son seen anyone other than your family doc for a diagnosis? We were told for 3 years that he was ADHd and on meds for that, then all of a sudden he became very angry, fighting with us, hitting teachers and other kids, even peed on some at school. Then one day he got so violent at school that we had to go get him. His behavior did not change at home and we contacted his psychiatrist and he said we need to hospitalize him for observation.  While in the hospital they discoved that he was bipolar, he is on some pretty strong meds which are helping some but his med still aren't right, it takes awhile to adjust them. To get back to you (sorry I wondered) ask your doc if he could be bipolar. God bless you, I know exactly what you are going through.  I am 61 and my husband is 63 and we have adopted 5 grandkids, all being ADhD and more than one showing bipolar systoms.

Nicole - posted on 03/03/2009

OFTEN children with bi-polar are first diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, especially when the diagnosis comes from a pediatrician instead of a psychiatrist. I always say, if you had a heart condition would you go to you family doctor, NO, you'd go to a cardiologist.
Bi-polar and ADD/ADHD can also co-exist, making it hard to differentiate symptoms.
You mentioned a "mood disorder" but didn't specify as to which. If there is already some mood disorder recognized it wouldn't be a big reach. And there is definitely a strong hereditary link with bi-polar disorder. However, kids are often too quickly diagnosed with "extra" disorders, like bi-polar. I struggle with a similar balancing act.

Angel - posted on 03/03/2009

My son is also ADHD (and undiagnosed ODD), and the mood swings and temper outbursts are very much an issue with us, and always have been.

He is especially petty and bad tempered when he's doing badly i.t.o. his self esteem. So if he's battling with something new at school or if he's been in trouble for something he acts out a lot more than usual.

He also gets very moody when his dose is not performing optimally...

And I'm right there with you in terms of blowing up occasionally...

Amy - posted on 03/03/2009

yes- their bodies getting accustomed/resistant to the meds is so frustrating! And it is sooooo hard when they are on something new and off the old med and really they have nothing helping them to balance themselves out.



I am new to this group. Nice to have a place to vent. :-)

Shannon - posted on 03/03/2009

I am glad to know I am not the only one who has this problem and those feelings. I have the feeling, I love him but I don't like him. I would really like to like him. right now he is on Vyvanse and Zoloft and has good days and then a few bad. It has gotten better but there is a lot of work to be done. He goes to therapy twice a month and Pysch once a month. I think their bodies figure out a way around the meds cause we have tried everything.

Amy - posted on 03/03/2009

Do you have any support services such as a behavior coach? Do you have an outlet for him to get the anger out- such as a punching bag or bean bag chair to beat up? We have a small trampoline that my kids can agrily jump on and my daughter has a large doll that she bites. She goes right for the face, but it is not a real face... also we use the respite services that the state offers us. We get this through adoption subsidy, but you should be able to get something if you did not adopt since he is special needs. I felt guilty using respite at first, but we really like the lady that we take our kids to. You have to bring them somewhere that the people have training, not any "normal" babysitter can handle them! Sorry if you know all this already, but those are the ideas that came to me.



Best of luck!

Julie - posted on 03/03/2009

I noticed the same thing with my sons medicine. We would notice a difference for a few weeks then it went right back to the way it was. We talked to his Dr. about possible bi-polar but they said it is hard to diagnose children with that because the underlying symptoms are so similar to ADD/ADHD. However, we recently just discovered that my sister is bi-polar and I know they say it can be herreditary(sp?) so I guess it could be something worth looking into again.

AMY - posted on 03/03/2009

OK my son is 9 as well and He has the same problems Adhd Odd and mood Disoder Touretts and he is on welbutrin Adderall XR risperdal and Tenx for his tics we did good for a couple of wekks when we did a med change and now we are right back to the begining so We are just as stuck as you are if you get any answers please let me know b/c i am looking and open to anything and the have ruled out bipolar by a Partical Hospital he was in a program there for 2 wks

Malorie - posted on 03/03/2009

Well, I am so sorry! It almost sounds like bipolar disorder. They may need to try a different medication or start some sort of therapy with his meds. I am pretty new to the ADHD stuff because my daughter was just recently diagnosed. You may want to call his doctor and see what they say.