Hi! I am a newbie. Pardon my english it is not my native language.

Background:
I have a 6 yr old, very active since infant. At 2, researching for a way to control his hyperactivity without meds I bumped into the feingold program (elimination diet: dyes and harmful chemicals) which turned him into a very calm kid. Las year, when he started kindergarden, his inattentiveness and impulsivity, although much better, became an issue. Delayed social skills became obvious.

So, I waited 3 months for a diagnose which pretty much was: hyperactivity, impulsivity, no focus, low muscle tone, delayed social skills and low muscle tone. They did an IQ test and he scored with the intelligence of a 3rd grader. So finally the doctor said that if we get the ADHD under control, he may be able to catch up on social skills with ABA and avoid a borderline autistic label.

Anyway, he convinced me to go into meds. To avoid dyes and BHT, we went with daytrana, the patch. I put it on and worked like magic: he was calmed, focus,alert, solving math problems that I did not know he could do, we went to the movies.... AWSOME.

The problem: :mad:
The problem came when I took out the patch. 2 1/2 hours later, he was worse than ever, he could not control himself, he even had suicidal thoughts (never had before) it lasted for about 2hours.... i got scared and haven't tried anything else. Doctor said I should leave it on until bed time so he can sleep off the rebound, but I've heard that it is harder to fall asleep with meds.

Any advise? Is this normal?

Thanks

Doctor said I should leave it on until bed time so he can sleep off the rebound, but I've heard that it is harder to fall asleep with meds.Trust your doctor. There are lots of posts in these forums from people who take evening doses of stimulant meds so they are still calm when it's time to shut down for the night. I do not suffer from rebound, but some days, if my meds have worn off before I go to bed, I develop a second wind and stay up too late.

As you probably already know, low muscle tone is not a symptom of ADHD. I don't understand the reasons behind trying to avoid a diagnosis of Autism? Is you doctor concerned that it would be the wrong diagnosis?

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try leaving the patch longer, although I have to admit I dread another meltdown.
Regarding the low muscle tone, I now it is not ADHD. The doctor point of view is ADHD plus something else on my son. The reason he does not want to label him is that his speech is not delayed, and the way he answers questions is not typical in autism. He said some young ADHD'ers miss social/non verbal language due to lack of attention, they just dont realize it because they are not paying attention to begin with, so he may be able to catch up. So he wants to see how well he does on the meds.
He said low muscle tone may also be due to all the throwing up/bad nutrition he did before I found up about his allergies, so he is giving him one year of OT to see how he improves.
I have to admit that I've been reading a lot about autism and in a lower scale it fits my son soooo well that it's scary. On the other hand, with the patch he did seem to pay attention to social clues and correct himself if necessary. I really felt like a magic cure until the rebound.

BIG Ooops!
I just realized there is a forum just about meds, and it covers children's meds too. I'll post future questions about Daytrana on that one.

Even people with other disorders may and do benefit from stimulant meds and whatever works is great. Post your questions wherever you want. It's sometimes difficult to find what you are looking for because this is such a busy site. It sounds like you have a good doctor for your son.

My 6 y/o was on Daytrana for a little bit. The rebound lasted about 4 days and then she adjusted to the meds. It was hell for those few days. Even now with her on Focalin, the rebound initially was unbearable. I found that on those days good hard exercise helped her. Running around in the yard, playing some sort of sport, anything to ger her active and try and work through the rebound. Good Luck

Hey CarmenC, I would try leaving it on a little bit later - but also call the psychiatrist who prescribed it and see if there is anything he/she would reccommend. A lot of the side effects will often only last for a short time while a child is getting used to the medication (however, my view of a short while might be different than yours - and the doctors, so always keep them in the loop so they don't find out at the next appointment that things are not going well).

Just my two cents,

At Heart

Low muscle tone (floppy and uncoordinated?) is not ADHD.

Ask to see a Developmental Pediatrician.

Hi! I am a newbie. Pardon my english it is not my native language.I missed this information! CarmenC, your English is definitely nothing to apologize for. Well done.

Wow! :cool:
Thanks for all the posts!!! I was at a birthday party with my son (dreadful) and it is nice to come back home and see all the support.

I know low muscle tone is not ADHD, he has something else on top of that (previous post, same thread...) I guess time will tell...

I have been calling my developmentalist doctor every single day and so far he is still returning my calls, IN PERSON!!! (Not the nurse message system, quite common in Orlando). I am getting psycologically prepared for the next rebound as I am trying the patch again tomorrow. (haven't used it in all these days). The thing is... his birthday party is next friday and I don't want any meltdown by then :eek:

Hi!
I left it today on for 12 hrs, lots of protein snacks and lots of wakeboarding to get all the energy out and he is right now sleeping like a baby!!!

Thanks a lot for all the tips!

One down, rest of the life to go!!!!

Carmen, ask your psychiatrist or read the instructions for daytrana. Our family practioner prescribed daytrana while we are waiting for a psychiatrist referral. She also told us to leave the patch on longer but the sheet with the meds specifically gives an hour limit. I think it is no more than 9 hours. You might want to check this out. Our daughter has rebound too in the evening hours, we keep the patch on the critical daytime hours until we can conferr with a doc.

I know....
The pediatric developmentalist psychiatrist...etc. was the one who suggested to leave it longer, closer to bedtime.

He is ADHD himself...

Hi!
I left it today on for 12 hrs, lots of protein snacks and lots of wakeboarding to get all the energy out and he is right now sleeping like a baby!!!

Thanks a lot for all the tips!

One down, rest of the life to go!!!!That's awesome! One day at a time, Momma.

I know....
The pediatric developmentalist psychiatrist...etc. was the one who suggested to leave it longer, closer to bedtime.

He is ADHD himself...Sounds like a keeper to me.

My son is on the Autism Spectrum. He will manifest some signs of Autisms some days and be a typical ADHD another day and some days you wouldn't know a single thing was wrong with him.

The low muscle tone is more associated with Autism. Where your son is so high functioning and verbal but mostly missing social cues but still has some low muscle tone as associated with Autism, may you should talk to his Doctor about Aspergers. It's on the Autism Spectrum.

Oh, and my son is also 6.