My son has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. I knew he had issues and and am not sure if this is the right diagnosis but after long battles have agreed to begin medication. He is taking Tenex for anger and aggression. It has only been two weeks but it seems like the agitation may be getting worse. Most people report a big decrease in aggression,but I think it has increased. Has anyone experienced anything similar to this?
Thank you everyone for your responses. Believe me, this medication WAS the last thing we could do for our son. We have been to crisis centers, had in-home intensive therapy, ran strict behavior plans at home and school, and have had multiple evaluations. I called the doctor and he won't be in until Monday, Yes, I am worried about stopping cold turkey. I have read about effects of stopping this medication too short. That definately makes me leary of stopping the medication at all without talking to the doctor. I have already considered the medication throwing him out of wack since it's only been two weeks, I'd like to give it the 4 week chance. My son was suspended from school today due to his aggressions on others. Believe me, I'll be the first one on the phone with the doctor when he gets in on Monday. I'll keep you posted.
My stepson was on meds and was zombie-like, it was awful. We now go to Elaine Hardy at www.holisticfamilyhealthcarepc.com and she helps us w/out drugs, it's great!!
Hi S.,
Is there another name for Tenex? I couldn't find the medication under that name.
Have you thought about a second opinion?
Write to Dr. Laurie Dietzel about your son's problems.
Hope this help.
D.
My oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD years ago and later with ODD. They treated the ADHD since the ODD spawns from that. He didn't have aggression, just opposition, which he still has at age 21! The sky is blue, no it's not, it's more turquoise. We actually argued about this when he was a pre-teen, lol. If the meds aren't working as they should be, contact your doctor immediately. If you want to discontinue the meds until he's seen again, be sure you ask if he should be weened down first or if it's ok to just take him off cold turkey cuz cold turkey with some meds make it worse. If you're not sure with the diagnosis, take him to another doctor for a second opinion. You always have that right!
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
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I have no experience with this med, but I have a daughter with anxiety/depression and she has had adverse effects with meds. If the med is not doing what they say it should do, it needs to be changed. Don't wait! My daughter nearly went completely psychotic on a med. I also wanted to recommend the book "The Power of Positive Parenting" by Latham. He is pretty anti-med, but his advice is sound and very affective.
S.,
Sounds like you really have your hands full. My son is 5 and has a whole mess of "alphabet soup" diagnosis - ASD, OCD, PTSD. Less than a year ago he was extremely aggressive. Today he is NOT. He is a joy. We chose to avoid medications as they will not heal the imbalances creating the behaviors.
I highly recommend this book
"Healing the New Childhood Epidemics" by Kenneth Bock, MD.
You can get it from Amazon for around $10. Changed our lives, and in my opinion, saved our son.
Best Wishes for a safe and joyous holiday.
L.
Is he the nine year old? Does this behavior exhibit itself only at home or school or both? Did he have other issues in his life? I am sure that you discussed all of these things with the doctor who diagnosed him??
I am a special education teacher as well as a mother of a child who is ADD. I do not always say the medication is the answer...but sometimes it does work...if it is not working...then something else needs to be researched and tried.
Unfortunately, it at times, it almost seems like your son becomes a guinea pig for all of the different "answers and solutions" that the doctors come up with.
I am sorry that you are dealing with this situation and that your child feels the way that he does. I do know, to answer you question,that my daughter seemed more aggressive and exhibited worse behaviors when Adderal was prescribed for her. I changed her diet and her behaviors changed...Like I said...sometimes you have to try a combination of things or change some of the things that are being tried until you find what works for your child. The problem with this umbrella term is that there are so many reasons why children behave or process the way they do in order to be diagnosed with ADD and ODD....sometimes they don't look for the reason...sometimes they cannot...because they do not know why it occurs...it is frustrating and I wish you ease in your choices.
If you aren't sure this is the right diagnosis for your son, you absolutely should not medicate. If the meds seem to be making him worse, stop them immediately. Many medical professionals believe there is no such thing as ODD, and ADHD is extremely over diagnosed. Some doctors hand out ADHD diagnosis's like allergy or cold and flu diagnosis's without any knowledge of the child's home or history or complex personality. Sometimes they just follow a mothers request. My doctor said he hears more about kids behavior today from parents than their medical conditions. He can't analyze a child's history, home life and relationships, so he has to take a mothers word for everything. No one knows the long term effects of these drugs on small children. I have an irregular heartbeat from taking an antidepressant for one year as a teenager which has now been taken off the market. I was told it was safe.
Do everything else in you power to help your son. If you know he already has enough exercise, enough sleep, a healthy diet, a calm structured loving home with firm consistent discipline, clear rules and all the love and attention he needs, and he still cannot ever function normally, take him somewhere for a second opinion and a much more thorough exam, and get five more different opinions to back up the results. Some kids need a lot more work and attention, but drugging them is rarely the right thing to do. You want to be absolutely certain your doctor knows exactly what he's talking about. Missing the real issues now and avoiding them through meds will bring bigger problems later, and could be endangering his health. Good luck, I know this is very difficult, I hope you have a good support system. I really hope your son is healthy.
I have an ADHD child, but an unfamiliar with Tenex. I weill tell you that most drugs have a longer time then 2 weeks to have the full effect of the med. Also, be aware of the dosage and know that the dose may not make it the full day, or even be intended to last the full day. It might be that the drug *wears off* when he is home. WE have my sons meds like that because its more important to us that he be able to focus at school, so his meds are centered around to hours that he will be at school. I'd talk to your doctor about what youa re seeing, but make sure that you are including the times so he/she can understand the full effect of ehat you mean. :)
I would consider taking him off. I would also look at his diet to see what he's eating sometimes certain foods can trigger this. Also I would consider seeing a chiropractor, this can help with any alignment issues he may have and can also help with treating the ODD/ADHD.
Have you had any bloodwork done for heavymetals in his blood? I would reccommend this as well. Make sure he's getting plenty of time to play and especially outside. Boy's are really a whole different animal, they need lots of play time, running around, hands on type activities and such. I would also start doing some research online for alternative treatments.
I'm not sure to the truth of this but i have heard that sometimes when you take a medication used to treat a certain disorder and you don't have that disorder, that the medication can have adverse effects. For example, you may have heard of people taking ADHD medication for recreational use. The reason they do this is because if you don't have ADHD and you take the medication, it gives them a high (energy) and they may act as if they have ADHD. Again, i'm not sure the validity of this with all medications but i'm pretty sure that's what happens with Ritalin.
Hello!
I am not an expert on medication but I am a therapist working in a clinic with patients on meds daily. My advice to my clients is to give the medication at least 4wks for the side effects to end...if in that time you are not experience a positive change, contact the Dr immediately. However, I always tell moms...you know your child best. If you do not feel that the meds are working, call the Dr. and stop taking them. This is a difficult subject because kids react so differently to medications. You can always take your son to see a different Dr. and see if the diagnoses is the same.
