HELP! So confused and scared for my daughter

Jennifer J - posted on 12/28/2012

Jessica,
First of all my prayers go out to you and your family. I have a middle child who is ADHD and ODD, and I understand your concern. To effectively diagnose the issue with her obsessive hair pulling you will have to think back to when it first began. If it was within a few weeks of her starting Concerta then there are basis steps to consider.
1) Call the doctor immediately!! : if the doctor is not available talk to the on-call physician. It is considered an emergency when the child is having hallucinations (hair tangles, ticks).
2) Ask to take her off the medication before doing it on your own. The doctor knows best and can direct you according to the personal records he has on your daughter.
3) Try not to concern her with the issue. You may be inadvertently adding to her anxiety, causing more harm than good.
4) Make it known to the school that she is having an adverse reaction to medication. Get permission for her to wear a hat until her hair grows back. You can ask the teacher if you can make it a fun thing for just her class to be a part of. Just make sure you make them aware of your bullying concerns. You can tell kids not to bully all day long, but where our ears don't reach- it happens.

April - posted on 01/07/2011

I never thought so before either until the school psychologist suggested meds for my son and they happened to have one on hand at my place of employment. It's been so helpful in my decision on not to medicate... Another helpful tool is the DSM- IV (DSM - 4) its the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition. You don't have to buy this book you can check it out at any library for free. Its the guide that therapist and psychiatrists use to diagnose any mental disorder. If your child has say 6 or more of the 9 symptoms then that's how they consider them to be ADHD for example. I've stopped relying on Doctors to tell me what my child needs and just learned to do the "homework" myself. Not only am I educated on my son's confusing "disorder" , but I feel validated in my decisions for helping him. And no Dr or professional can make me doubt myself that I'm doing right by my child, because I know as much as they do (sometimes more) when it comes to certain meds... Good luck.. any guidance for good reading you'd like just let me know I'm glad to help :)

Jessica - posted on 01/07/2011

I never thought of getting a pill book. Maybe because I really didn't think there would be any need for it, but I am beginning to see the need to have one on hand.

April - posted on 01/06/2011

get yourself a pill book and research anything that they want you to put your daughter on... I just read that Methylphenidate (Concerta) can cause severe psychotic episodes... I am in no way a med professional I've just done my homework and found that most meds to treat children are usually more damaging than helpful :(

Beth - posted on 01/05/2011

I also say try Vyvance or Foclin

Jennifer - posted on 01/05/2011

Jessica, hang in there and know that you are in no way alone. My son is 10 and ADHD/ODD. He takes 40mg of Vyvanse. Almost a year ago we added another drug called Tenex. If you Google it you'll find that it was originally prescribed as a blood pressure medication but they are now finding great success combining with ADHD meds. It has helped tremendously with his impulsivity.
I've been fortunate to not have any issues with ticks but also have the loss of appetite issue. I would like to hear back what your doctor told you since it's been a few days. I think my first response would be to get her off the meds. We went through about 4 kinds before we landed on what works for Logan.
Good luck!

Phyllis - posted on 01/05/2011

There are all kinds of tics fot these kinds of diagnosis. My daughter picked at her bottom lip so bad that it would bleed all the time. Then it went to picking at her finger nails and they too would bleed. She had an IEP at school which was doing her no good at all. She was to have modified omework but she had at the most 4 hours of homework. I brought her home to homeschool and she is excelling by leaps and bounds. I finally took her off her meds and we did them all. adderall, concerta, etc. Good luck when yoou meet with the therapist..

MelysA - posted on 01/05/2011

Dina- when Facebook ask you if you"want to publish" just click skip that way nothing gets posted ;0)

Dina - posted on 01/05/2011

Thank you for sharing this with me. Yes my daughter now is very skinny because she hardly eats since she has been on the concerta but she looks great Thanks God. I had to remove the comment I posted since I did not know that when you post anything here it goes on your facebook board too. I was not planning to share this with everyone I know to see it especially since my daughter is also on facebook I just wanted to address what the Mom was going through with her daughter.

Nancy - posted on 01/05/2011

My son had that with Concerta, he thought bugs were crawling on his head. We stopped the medication immediately and he was fine. Wait to hear from your doctor to see what he suggests.

Jodie - posted on 01/05/2011

hello,
i too have a 6 year old daughter who was diganosed with adhd and ocd and behaviorl issues. She also has very bad anxiety, sucks her thumb, pcks at her belly button and pulls out her hair. she was diagnosed with what is called tricitillomania. which is a hair pulling mental disorder. My daughter twirls her hair and knots it up then eventually pulls it out. she too has gone bald in some areas. Also children are very cruel to her not understanding her situation and needs. its very tough on us as parents but we need to be strong for them. i am a young 28 yr old mother of 1 and she is very special to me. ill be more than happy to talk more with you. she sees a therapist once a week and a pysc. once every 2 weeks. my name is jodie and im from orange county ca. ill be happy to keep updates with you

MelysA - posted on 01/05/2011

Hi Dina- I have noticed this in my 8 year old daughter who is on 54mg of Concerta as well. She wants to eat constantly until she is on her meds. She wakes up in the morning so ravenous she will often sneak food or ask to eat directly after eating. And then like clockwork once shes on her meds she doesnt want to eat. she is very healthy, it is just the compulsion that worries me. I worry that the meds are keeping her from naturally regulating herself and her appetite physically. I guess I am lucky in that it is the only side issue she seems to have andis incredible happy and adjusted with friends, school etc...
She does chew her lips which seems to be a little akin to some of the "picking behaviour" other moms have talked about. What do you think is a good option to help with our childrens Crazy on/off appatites?

Teresa - posted on 01/05/2011

Dina, my son wasn't eating when he was taking Adderall and that is one of many reasons why I took him off but when I stopped giving him the meds, he ate up everything. He gained 80 pounds in a year which made him 160 pounds at the age of 9. He finally started growing upward and now he is a 6'2" 200 pound 16 year old boy. He actually looks great, he is always working out because he is afraid he will gain his weight back. I think the medicine made him gain the weight because he wasn't eating when he was on it and when I took him off, it was like he was eating to catch up for all of the times he didn't eat. He also has OCD, even though he has never been diagnosed with it, I know he does b/c he turns lights on and off repeatly, he blinks his eyes alot, he spits all of the time, and he has to rub the hallway walls when he walks down it. He also slams the toliet seat up hitting the tank several times before and after he uses it, we have had to replace five seats in the last eight years. I have taken him to a doctor and she told me that it isn't bad enough to prescribe him any medicine. I just hope he grows out of it. When he was on Adderall he had very severe tics, he would crack his knuckles, sniff and clear his throat. He had to do all of these things in order and if he couldn't do "his noise" (that is what he called them) then he would get so angry. He couldn't have any noise like the sound of the radio, conversation or loud cars because then he would get mad and yell. There was this one time, where he couldn't do his noise when my husband, and my son and I were in the car so we had to shut off the radio, roll up the windows and be quiet for him to do his noise. It got really bad so that is one reason why I took him off of the meds. He hasn't been on anything since he was 8 and he is doing alright.

Teresa - posted on 01/05/2011

Well my niece used to pull her hair out to the point she was bald in several spots. She got a note from the doctor to wear a hat in school because it was embarrassing to her. She finally stopped. She is also ADHD, I am not sure what med she was taking but my mom took her to get her hair cut short at a beauty salon and she hasn't pulled her hair out since. My niece would always complain that the teacher and the kids at school were mean to her. I think she wasn't happy going to school nor being at home. I believe it was a nervous habit but something changed in her home life that made her happy and she stopped pulling her hair. I hope the doctor gives you some good advice. Have u tried researching this kind of behavior online? What are the side effects of the med? I don't know if I helped u at all. My son is ADHD and he is 16, he hasn't been on meds since he was 8 years old. I took him off of Adderall XR because he wasn't eating, sleeping and he became very angry. He has grown out of the hyper stage but he still has a hard time paying attention in school. He is envolved in many sports and that is what motivates him to get good grades. He doesn't want to get kick off of the team so he works hard to get passing grades to play football, wrestle and to be on the track team. Good Luck and let us know what the doctor says, I am interested. Thanks

Maureen - posted on 01/05/2011

Sounds like you might want to discuss trichotillomania with her doctor. The hair pulling might be a reaction to the meds or it may be its own issue (trich). My friends daughter has this; it's an anxiety based issue. Good luck.

Amanda - posted on 01/05/2011

I had this very exact problem in a less extreme amount....my daughter pulled out a huge clump of hair o nthe smallest dose due to a small emotional reaction to personal issues, but with the medication it was scary.....Call your doctor, all the positives do not add up for something like this, and it only will get worse. My daughter went from the hair to scratching open her skin....please do not hesitate getting her taken off the meds....or at least see if an adjustment is necessary

Amy - posted on 01/05/2011

Hi Jessica,

I'm not sure I can be that helpful, but I empathize with your situation; my son is five and diagnosed ADHD, waiting on a possible ODD diagnosis and taking things as they come. He doesn't hair pull, but has other compulsive behaviors that are difficult to keep in check. He takes Adderall (15 mg extended release) and that has helped tremendously with his ADHD. We tried Ritalin and that was a disaster. He sees a "talking Doctor" every two weeks, which helps (he helps us also!) Each kid is different of course, and while Doctors are the undisputed experts I respect your decision to seek help from others coping with the same. Love her with all you've got and know that you and your daughter are not alone.

Amy

Sandy - posted on 01/05/2011

My daughter use to pull her hair out when she was younger. She would do it while sucking her thumb, it was more of a sensory thing for her. She is now 18 and is not diagnosed with anything. It was a habit she grew out of.