I am a few short seconds away from blowing a fuse. Lil' Man as not slept more than 6 hours a night since Thursday. Typically he sleeps 7:3o pm-7am, with a 45 min nap around 1pm.
On Wednesday the doctor prescribed him Focalin. Focalin is a medication that is used to control ADHD. One of the side effects is insomnia. He has been up since 4am. Which means i've been up since 4am.
One would think he would sleep considering he takes a prescription sleep aid.
He is agitated, restless, whining, and just plain annoying.
It's 11:30am, and i've been trying to get him to nap since 11am. After all he's already been up for over seven hours.
He's tired, his eyes are red, his whining non-stop, but his body wont relax.
He told me "Mommy I am so tired"
I've tired singing to him, rubbing his back, ignoring him, sitting in his room, bribing him.
A FAS, ODD, ADHD kid with no sleep equals a total disaster.
Since he's not my kid, I can't take him off the medication. Dr says i've to stick with it for 30 days. Thank God i'll be gone for 18 of those 30 days.
I know it isn't his fault, but that doesn't make me any less sleepy.
God love ya sister. You will be rewarded greatly some day. And it will NEVER be here on earth, and sure as hell won't be from DCS. haha. Thinking of you. Hang in there. I am sending some foster parent strength your way!
ReplyDeletelmao Katie we all know it wont be from DFACS! Thanks for the support :)
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteI've followed your blog for a while now. I have a son with autism/ADHD and he was SO energetic/active/crazy when he was younger-we also dealt with the tantrums. He was on stimulants for a few years, and while they seemed to help a little, the rebound, insomnia, etc was AWFUL. He would also complain of not being able to settle down and sleep. He was also diagnosed with ODD, and that's when I said enough....he was generally a very sweet kid, and the profile for ODD just seemed wrong, as he was always so apologetic after an outburst. So finally we were fortunate to find a neuropsychiatrist who recognized that stimulants were not really helping and Dylan was taken off of them and put on Risperdal. HUGE immediate difference. He is now 14 (has been taking it now for 4 1/2 years) and he is like a different kid. NO WAY would he be seen as ODD now. We have typical teenage stuff, but nothing like before. He is a really good student even with his learning disabilities, autism and deafness (he has a full plate :)). I just want you to be aware that given lil man's outbursts, etc he could also have an underlying mood disorder that will be made worse with the stimulants. The biggest side effect we had with the Risperdal is sleepiness :) and weight gain (which was okay as he was super skinny from the stimulants). Just something to keep in mind....I'll be praying that the side effects from the focalin are short lived! I remember just wanting them to SLEEP!
Sherri
Sherri, Thanks for your comment! Lil' Man takes respidol to make him sleep at night. It was working fine, before we added the foclin. I am not big on medication, but he needs something to help him stay still so he can learn, and interact with the real world. I believe he does have an underlying mood disorder (bipolar), but no Dr is going to give that DX to a four year old.
ReplyDeleteI wish Dr's where willing to think out of the box, and really listen to what the parents have to say. I told them he did not do good on Adderal because it's a stimulant, but what do I know?
Does he take the risperdal in the morning as well? Usually that medication is dosed twice daily to keep an even flow of meds. Believe me, meds were the last thing I wanted for Dylan, but he is a new kid on them. Stimulants NEVER worked for Dylan...he was on every one used over a period of 5 years...nothing worked.
ReplyDeleteMaybe try adding a morning dose of risperdal? Dylan takes the max amount (4 mg) and if we even back him off a little, you can tell.
He takes 250mg of Depakote ER in the AM, and then 250mg again at night along with 1.5 mg of Resperdal. The Depakote made a huge difference in his moods, but didnt touch the hyperness. If the hyperness did not get in his way of learning, and making friends, I wouldnt worry so much about it. At school he cannot sit still longer than 2-3 min.
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