Please help! My 4 y/o was put on meds.?

Question

I have a 4 y/o son that was diagnosed as ADHD. That I will not deny b/c he is definitely intolerable. Just last night, he took my daughters goldfish bowel and dumped it out on the counter, then proceeded to cut up the poor little fish with a pizza cutter! He used to go upstairs and opens windows, knocks down screens and hang out the windows. He does all sorts of crazy things like this and that is why I wont deny he is ADHD. I adopted him so I dint really know what bio mom did when she was pregnant from him. I took him in at 4 months old. Well anyways, his doctor put him on focalin and seroquel for his behaviors but everytime I give him his meds, I feel so bad b/c he is just there like a zombie. He wont even move from our couch. I guess thats better than all the other things he does but he complains it makes him feel bed and his heart is racing a thousand mph. Would I be a bad mom to take hime off his meds and stop seeing this doctor?

Sorry for all the typos....I was in a hurry but I forgot to mention that his doctor told me if I take him off, I will be charged with child neglect!!

Answer 1

Parents can be charged with neglect if they don't give a child the medications that he or she needs. I would say that the medications need to be adjusted though. He sounds overmedicated. My son who is also four has Early Onset Bipolar Disorder. Your son sounds a little like mine. Mine was misdiagnosed with ADHD from his first psychologist. Then because of circumstances we switched therapists and he got the correct diagnosis of Bipolar. Risperdal has really helped us and it is like our miracle medicine. My son is on Risperdal and Clonidine. I used to feel bad sometimes for putting him on it, especially in the beginning. I was so scared that something bad was going to happen to him from the medications. I used to check on him several times in the night, and worried about him all day when he was at school. The changes that we have seen in him are amazing. He is like a whole different child most of the time. I know what it is like to have a child with behavioral problems. I would talk to his therapist about adjusting his medications a little though because it is not good for him to be a zombee. I would not just take him off of these meds because it could harm him to just stop them...and cause serious health problems. These medications need to be weened off with a doctor's supervision.

Answer 2

???

How the hell can he charge you with child neglect?

First off, pretty much any hyper active kid can be diagnosed with ADHD, or ADD or anything like that. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was young. Here I am, years later, fine, WITHOUT meds. I currently pursue Web Programming. That sound like a ADD person? No. Do you hear about a lot of adults with ADD? No.

First off, cut the sugar. Just from what your telling me I absolutely know that your letting that kid eat a lot of things with sugar in them. Don't. Now is a good time to be teaching your kids to eat healthy. Don't bring them to fast food places either. It's a well known fact that a lot of them are bad (for example, you probably didn't know that there is POISION in Chicken McNuggets. Read the book Fast Food Nation. Next thing.

Just because he is adopted you probably feel bad telling him to do this or that, or whipping him when he dis-obey's you. Guess what. You said his Mom put him up for adoption right..... most people who put their kids up for adoption either

A. Don't know what their doing or

B. Can't deal with the beast they created

so just because previous adults let him do this kind of behavior doesn't make it acceptable. You can still be a loving, caring parent, but not put up with bullshit. Don't forget that.

I don't think it has anything to do with meds. I think it has to do with upbringing, and the fact that little boys are already hyperactive as it is. Go to a kindergarten/pre-school and see the little boys in action. This is NATURAL. You probably dealt with annoying, over-active boys when you were 5 or so, you may or may not remember it.

The first step is to do all that I just said, and consult another doctor (or a lawyer if need be) and see if this guy's "give him meds or I'll call ChildCare Protection Services threat really holds any water. I'm not familiar as much with laws, but I'm betting it doesn't hold a drop of water. If not, there is probably a loophole (because I don't think they will drug test him to see if he has been taking them).

Well, just my take.

Answer 3

This is more than ADHD.

The seroquel may help. If the diagnosis your doc gave you consisted solely of ADHD, you need a new doc. You need a child psychiatrist with a proficiency in assessing children with conduct disorders and attachment issues. This is NOT, I repeate NOT a situation where your friendly neighborhood general practitioner is going to be of much help.

Please consider another doc and keep him on his seroquel and focalin (at least for now).

Hang in there,
~M~

p.s. If you must drop a med, I'd drop the focalin. It might be cuasing the racing heart feeling. I would not, however, d/c the seroquel. Again, you need a child psychiatrist (to manage his meds) as well as a psychologist (for ongoing therapy) to conduct a thorough eval.

Answer 4

I have a few suggestions, although they are just thoughts (i'm not a mom)

1.) Switch doctors. Try to find one that is not as eager to put kids on medication. Don't take your son off the meds until you get clearance from the new doctor. That way you can't get charged with anything. I'm sure there is an alternate form of treatment.

2.) I have never heard that you can get charged w/ child neglect for something like that. If you have a lawyer, try talking to him about it.

Answer 5

I am sorry to hear that you are going through this. He definitely needs to be on medication of some sort. Please know that is only MY opinion and I am not a doctor. I would think suddenly taking him off the meds would only make things worse. Maybe talk to the doctor about how the meds make the little guy feel or get a second opinion from another doctor. Good luck.

Answer 6

Presumably, when he was first reviewed and put on meds you were told about side affects of the medication.
Most medications for ADHD and its variant are 'doped' medications, so they contain a 'calmative' to reduce the physical and mental stimulation. In theory this reduces the hyper-activity seen with ADHD.
A side affect of this is the almost instant loss of intensity you previously saw.. and therefore you feel the child is in a 'zombie mode'
Over time the child's body will adapt to the medications and will become more active/interactive.
If over time this doesn't happen (without them reverting to the extreme activities they once performed) ask for them to be reviewed for dosage via your GP/MH team contact. Also have his heart rate checked.. it shouldn't be overly high, but it will be increased till his body adapts.

Taking a child off medications ( depending on who ordered the assessment) could be called abuse, but more likely you would get into trouble under the mental health act.
If anything is worrying you about his condition, seek help via the Mental health team, they are paid and trained to help folks with these issues

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Answer 7

To keep him from harming himself, it sounds like it's best for all to use medications, yet if they are putting him into a Zombie like state - Then it sounds like the dosages should be lowered. A good Dr. would have started him on the lowest and only increased it if it wasn't helping him control himself enough. If his Dr. isn't willing to try something else (or a lower dosage), I would definitely get another opinion from a different Dr. I assume he has seen a psychologist to determine what exactly he's being treated for and the medications available. Especially for such a young boy. Usually that's what determines what would help him the best in the long run.
check into this if you haven't already.

Answer 8

I'm no doctor, and have no medical experience but I'd definatly say take him to a couple of other doctors. It's always good to get a second and third oppinion. If his heart is beating that quickly something has got to be going wrong. That just doesn't seem right. It could have been anything from a mis-diagnosis to just the wrong medication needed. It's always good to have back up.

Answer 9

I don't think any child his age should be medicated. He needs therapy and support from you.
My question to you is how well does he sleep? If he is not sleeping well, then that could be the problem. Poor sleep in children is the number one reason why many chlildren get misdiagnosed as having ADHD.
Go to another doctor. The one you're seeing now seems to be threatening and aggressive...not to mention a major prick. If he doesn't give you options or sympathy, you really need to find someone else.

Answer 10

Four yeas of age is awfully young to be put on psychotropic medication. I concur with the other responders who recommend a second opinion. Check out what others are saying.

There are many natural food or dietary remedies that might help. Cut back on sugar heavy foods and go more seasoning-less for a while.

Best of luck.