My 9 year old?

Question

I need help..please.
My 9 year old son is on Straterra for ADHD. It helps but, I am not clear in what way, he just seems different. He is still very..very angry..lashes out..has a hard time concentrating and making and keeping friends.
While I helped him with his homework, I watched him and he seems so frantic, his little brother was bothering him(he is 2) and he became even more frantic and started to cry saying "I can't take this anymore". After he finally calmed down and got his homework done he went to sleep..I still watched him, without him knowing it of course and he was twitching and jerking as he was drifting off to sleep.
He also shakes..like tremors..when I ask him to hold his hand steady, he can't. He also wets the bed every night. I am scared. I don't know what is wrong. I have searched the internet over and over and have found nothing. Does anyone have any idea. Sorry I know this is like super long.

He is very loving too.

He was on zoloft for a little while..it made him sooooo happy(in a bad way, he didn't care about anything). I told the doctor to either take him off or put me on it.
You all are great..I really thought I would get "whoop him" or something negative like that. Thanks..I feel much better!

I remember when he was smaller..getting a bad lick to the front of his head, so bad in fact that I wrote it in his baby book. I worry that he has damaged his frontal lobe or something.

I am seriously thinking about calling the doctor in the moring and asking for a brain scan..I am scared that no one in my area could accuratly read it!

Answer 1

I have an eleven year old grandson with the same problem, along with some other problems. He does the same thing when he sleeps. He has the same anger problems, and he just gets beside himself when he can't get something done. He is on concerta and geodon. I don't know what to tell you. Straterra may not be the right medicine for him. My grandson has been on several different things, trying to find the right medication. He still doesn't have the right thing. Talk with your doctor and explain what he is doing. My precious grandson has been on meds since he was 4. What we are going to have to end up doing, and it's also something you could think about, is getting him somewhere where they can observe him and regulate his medications. Because it will not go away. I will pray for you and your family.

Answer 2

My, my, my...what did you think would happen when you drugged a small child. Of course he does all those things - he's stoned! Poor little guy!

First of all, there is no such thing as ADHD. It is a made-up remedy by the medical profession to deal with the increasing number of parents who cannot properly discipline and/or instruct their children.

Perhaps he is simply hyperactive. There is nothing wrong with hyperactivity. Perhaps his IQ is higher than average. Perhaps he feel threatened by the arrival of his little brother. Perhaps he does not understand why all the attention he used to get is now cut short by the arrival of his little brother.

Stop giving him the drugs. Just stop. Let him be himself for a few months and then, if he is still way out of line, you might consider seeking "professional" help. Give him some time to rid his system of the filth you're putting in him and watch him - you already do that so keep doing it. Watch him, love him, challenge him with chores and fun exercises, get him involved in team sports, keep him busy and feed him well. He needs lots of vitamins to assist in restoring his immune system and other defenses that the filth you give him tears down.

Bottom line - allow him to be a little boy - not a little drug addict.

Answer 3

Have you thought about getting him a brain scan? I have only briefly heard of these but they are said to be more able to accurately find out if one is truly ADD or ADHD. A lot of the ADD and ADHD diagnosis are false diagnosis. There are also clinics that specialize in treating ADD and ADHD children without medication and they work more on therapy and getting your child to work out their problems and aggressions. My little brother was also was said to have ADD by one therapist and another said he was perfectly normal. But to me it does sound like he has a problem that has nothing to do with ADHD, I would ask about Borderline personality disorder( having a hard time with emotions like controlling them) BPD sounds worse than it actually is, and can be treated with low doses of medication, therapy and group therapy . And the twitching in his sleep and trembling hands, I do that to when i was first put on meds. But it is worth asking a doctor about.. it may be the med's. Good luck! You are doing the right thing and it sound like you really love your son and only want for him to feel better. God bless!

Answer 4

Go back to the doctor. That isn't typical ADHD. It could be an odd reaction to the medication or the ADHD could be misdiagnosed completely.

If this is new behavior, I'd say it's a problem with the meds. If the overreaction, tremors, etc. are part of the original problem, he could have something in the realm of asperger's.

Answer 5

The ADHD diagnosis has become vogue lately... I wonder how true it is. This sounds like a little boy under a lot of stress to me. A little brother, a diagnosis that is big and scary, back to school, homework. I wonder if your house is chaotic... mine is sometimes. Maybe quiet things down for him. Tell him it is all ok and going to be ok. Tell him your not worried about the ADHD. Tell him he's fine and normal. Tell him when things start to upset him to tell you and you will calm things going on. Maybe some peace, love and calm will help...Good Luck.

Answer 6

Honestly, I'd have an evaluation done by a child developmental and psychologiacl specialist. It may be entirely possible that the problem is not ADHD at all (doctors misdiagnos kids with this all the time because it's easy).

Answer 7

Take him off the meds. Let me guess, his teacher and the school nurse suggested it, right? Everyone has ADD or ADHD to some degree and it is better to learn to deal with it without drugs. I watched in horror as the same things you describe happened to my then step-son (his mom said the drugs would make him an A student). We took him off the meds (knowing there would be major flack from the school) but he eventually learned to deal. Trust your gut; the drugs do more harm than good.

Answer 8

I would suggest you take him to the doctors or call your pharmacist and describe the things you mentioned in this letter, your son may be experiencing an adverse reaction to that medication, some disorders take many tries with different meds and combinations of meds before you get the proper "cocktail" for you.

Answer 9

parents and doctors are too quick to put kids on medication.

it's unnatural.


sounds like he needs some discipline and guidance in his life.

just loving him is not going to help him.


kids need STRUCTURE and they need to learn a sense of work ethic from early on in life.

without it, they will always feel lost and angry.

give your son some physical as well as mental homework.

just working him mentally by doing math problems can be very frustrating for a child his age. give him physical work to do as well and make him work for things he wants. small things.

once he learns to appreciate those small things, he will stop lashing out because of every little thing that "bothers" him now.

Answer 10

Have you checked the side effects of this Stratterra that your son is taking. There are other medications that they could put him on. And if he is having violent outbursts of energy and frustration, maybe he needs to be put on some kind of depressant just to see if it helps.

I guess all I can really say is tell your doctor what is going on with your son.