Post by kc4braves on Sept 16, 2013 0:20:00 GMT -5
It has been a while since I have posted I guess because things have been going well. However, things have not started out so well for DD age 14 ADHD-inattentive. She has done very well in school since starting meds in 5th grade and has no IEP or 504. She normally takes a mixture or regular and pre-AP classes and plays golf and does dance and theatre. She has always done well managing her schedule, etc. She did very well on Daytrana for 2 years but we were beginning to see a few problems last semester. She couldn't go any higher than the 36mg patch so over the summer we switched to Concerta. the first dose seemed to low so she has been taking 72 mg. it seemed ok over the summer but it's hard to judge focus in the summer.
Now that school has started, we have seen issues that I thought was focus related and maybe other things but we had to make sure she had time to transition to HS. I guess I'm done waiting now. She is forgetful...actually absentminded seems to be the better word. She is no longer a put together, well spoken, meticulous student. She no longer has what I call intelligent conversations about her classes or life. I know that may not make since to you but it is almost like her IQ dropped suddenly. I struggle in talking with her because she doesn't sound like she has even been in class when the teachers lecture. She cannot get to school with everything nor does she often get home with everything. She forgets she has homework even with me prompting her. She sits in class but doesn't get everything down, doesn't ask the teacher to repeat or anything. In biology, she watched a video at home...twice...didn't write down some vital info then made a 20 on her quiz. Teacher went over the test and provided answers. She didn't get them down. Then he told them THIS WILL BE ON YOUR CHAPTER TEST. Still it did not get written down. Then the day before test he reminded again. Needless to say the chapter test, though open book and note, did not go well because she was missing so much information. This is very unusual. Even before we ever took meds, she was not this absentminded. She comes home from golf telling me at the last minute..." Oh, the coach said something about something but I don't know what but it's today." This type of response has happened 3 times now. She knows some info was given but no idea what the details or and no thought to ask teacher/coach to repeat. Again...very odd.
I have been concerned and have tried to talk to her but I get..."I don't know. Are you mad with me?" She and I have always been very close and she has always known better than this...I attributed some of this to hormones. I feel like I have lost the daughter I knew so well and she is becoming less confident, less independent and more vulnerable. Tonight when we were trying to study together for biology when it was already too late for her focus ( 9pm) , she told me that she really doesn't feel very focused in any of her classes. She also says she is ALWAYS hungry and she hates it. She eats all the time now and has gained a lot of weight. The psych doc didn't seemed concerned but it does concern us that she is on a rather high dose of a stimulant and is gaining left and right. She is only 5'2" and has gained about 30 pounds since Christmas with probably 10 of that over the summer since Concerta. I don't know what's up with that. She hit puberty at 13, about a year and a half ago, so some changes around that time of the month we expect but this seems to be most of the time.
So.....any thoughts on what might work. We can try going back to the patch but there is nowhere to go from there if the dose is not high enough. She was taking a 20 mg booster with breakfast then the patch kicked in around 11am. That may be an option. it was better than this anyway. She has taken Focalin in the past but it was very short acting. Vyvanse did nothing good or bad.
Also, if any of you have girls, did things get all out of whack after puberty and, if so, did they ever get it back together? My older son at 17 is finally getting it together more ( puberty helped so much) and the child that always had it together, is falling apart it seems. ;(
Love to hear your thoughts.
Kathy
Now that school has started, we have seen issues that I thought was focus related and maybe other things but we had to make sure she had time to transition to HS. I guess I'm done waiting now. She is forgetful...actually absentminded seems to be the better word. She is no longer a put together, well spoken, meticulous student. She no longer has what I call intelligent conversations about her classes or life. I know that may not make since to you but it is almost like her IQ dropped suddenly. I struggle in talking with her because she doesn't sound like she has even been in class when the teachers lecture. She cannot get to school with everything nor does she often get home with everything. She forgets she has homework even with me prompting her. She sits in class but doesn't get everything down, doesn't ask the teacher to repeat or anything. In biology, she watched a video at home...twice...didn't write down some vital info then made a 20 on her quiz. Teacher went over the test and provided answers. She didn't get them down. Then he told them THIS WILL BE ON YOUR CHAPTER TEST. Still it did not get written down. Then the day before test he reminded again. Needless to say the chapter test, though open book and note, did not go well because she was missing so much information. This is very unusual. Even before we ever took meds, she was not this absentminded. She comes home from golf telling me at the last minute..." Oh, the coach said something about something but I don't know what but it's today." This type of response has happened 3 times now. She knows some info was given but no idea what the details or and no thought to ask teacher/coach to repeat. Again...very odd.
I have been concerned and have tried to talk to her but I get..."I don't know. Are you mad with me?" She and I have always been very close and she has always known better than this...I attributed some of this to hormones. I feel like I have lost the daughter I knew so well and she is becoming less confident, less independent and more vulnerable. Tonight when we were trying to study together for biology when it was already too late for her focus ( 9pm) , she told me that she really doesn't feel very focused in any of her classes. She also says she is ALWAYS hungry and she hates it. She eats all the time now and has gained a lot of weight. The psych doc didn't seemed concerned but it does concern us that she is on a rather high dose of a stimulant and is gaining left and right. She is only 5'2" and has gained about 30 pounds since Christmas with probably 10 of that over the summer since Concerta. I don't know what's up with that. She hit puberty at 13, about a year and a half ago, so some changes around that time of the month we expect but this seems to be most of the time.
So.....any thoughts on what might work. We can try going back to the patch but there is nowhere to go from there if the dose is not high enough. She was taking a 20 mg booster with breakfast then the patch kicked in around 11am. That may be an option. it was better than this anyway. She has taken Focalin in the past but it was very short acting. Vyvanse did nothing good or bad.
Also, if any of you have girls, did things get all out of whack after puberty and, if so, did they ever get it back together? My older son at 17 is finally getting it together more ( puberty helped so much) and the child that always had it together, is falling apart it seems. ;(
Love to hear your thoughts.
Kathy