Rhys has been on his drugs for two weeks now. It's not going fantastically. He started out on 5mg once a day. He had the full on Aderol-PMS symptoms. He was an emotional train wreck.
After three days we upped the dosage to 10mg. This took care of the PMS but brought on a whole slew of other problems. He was not really consistent during any of the time but here is what we dealt with.
"My bemmy hurts" (My belly hurts). This is a known side effect and there's not anything we can do about it. This is on top of his reflux and lactose intolerance. Lucky boy.
Not sleeping. We have been giving him Benadryl at bed time so he can sleep. If we fail to do this then he is up in his room, lights on, playing, eyes wide open, and so tired he can't see straight.
Appetite suppressant. We saw this the first week but then it came back. I don't think this will be a long term effect of this drug. We started giving him Pedia-sure shakes in the morning. 500 calories there is keeping his weight up.
He has been lethargic and sad at school. He is not his usual cheerful self. He does not interact with his teachers the way he used to, nor with his class mates. He has lost interest in some of his favorite activities. He is aggressive, especially in the afternoons. His teachers like the old Rhys, warts and all, better.
We are going to try upping the dose on this one. We will do 15mg for the next few days and if that is not working, up it to 20mg. If that is not getting the job done, and he doesn't normalize at something that we are willing to live with, then we will give up on the Aderol and move on to another option.
I sure hope we can get this all figured out soon so he can be his old sweet self without the problems that keep him from doing well in school.
None of this has anything to do with his sensory processing disorder, however. That is a whole different cross the little guy has to bear.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
ADHD
Rhys has been diagnosed with ADHD. No real surprise there. We talked to our pediatrician about it. She explained the scholarship on the issue.
Basically there are three ways of treating it that have some science to back them up. Drugs, therapy and drugs and therapy. Therapy alone doesn't work. No crap. A year and a half of OT makes that clear. (His OT is not for ADHD, by the way, it is for his SPD.)
Drugs work pretty well. Drugs and therapy work a little bit better than just drugs. Drugs it is.
Rhys is taking Aderol (sp?). This is an amphetamine. It is a stimulant. Too little and he has Aderol PMS. Too much and he becomes a brain seeking zombie. Just right and we have a calm child who only has twenty other issues to deal with.
We started off with the minimum dose. PMS big time. We are on day one of the next higher dose. I think this is the right spot for him. No emotional basket case. No zombie. Just a calm, cool, collected five year old with an attention span longer than three seconds.
Two other side effects. Loss of appetite. We have upped his intake of protein shakes. His appetite seemed to be fine today, but we will see. He can't afford to lose any weight so we will have to keep a close eye on this one.
The other side effect is difficulty sleeping. Oh yeah! Big time. This one sucks. Rhys is tired by the end of his days. He has a lot going on. Day care, preschool, therapy, swimming, playing with Owyn. I'm worn out just typing that. By the time bed time rolls around he can barely keep his eyes open. Except. Except with the drugs he can't fall asleep. He is up, playing, re-arranging his room, climbing the walls. We sure hope that he gets past this soon. If it is permanent we are going to have to figure something else out. Like setting my alarm for 0300 and giving him his pills then.
So far the effects of this have been good, sleep loss aside. We are watching him very carefully though. I'm not completely comfortable with it. The real test will be if he can pay attention better in class.
Only time will tell.
Basically there are three ways of treating it that have some science to back them up. Drugs, therapy and drugs and therapy. Therapy alone doesn't work. No crap. A year and a half of OT makes that clear. (His OT is not for ADHD, by the way, it is for his SPD.)
Drugs work pretty well. Drugs and therapy work a little bit better than just drugs. Drugs it is.
Rhys is taking Aderol (sp?). This is an amphetamine. It is a stimulant. Too little and he has Aderol PMS. Too much and he becomes a brain seeking zombie. Just right and we have a calm child who only has twenty other issues to deal with.
We started off with the minimum dose. PMS big time. We are on day one of the next higher dose. I think this is the right spot for him. No emotional basket case. No zombie. Just a calm, cool, collected five year old with an attention span longer than three seconds.
Two other side effects. Loss of appetite. We have upped his intake of protein shakes. His appetite seemed to be fine today, but we will see. He can't afford to lose any weight so we will have to keep a close eye on this one.
The other side effect is difficulty sleeping. Oh yeah! Big time. This one sucks. Rhys is tired by the end of his days. He has a lot going on. Day care, preschool, therapy, swimming, playing with Owyn. I'm worn out just typing that. By the time bed time rolls around he can barely keep his eyes open. Except. Except with the drugs he can't fall asleep. He is up, playing, re-arranging his room, climbing the walls. We sure hope that he gets past this soon. If it is permanent we are going to have to figure something else out. Like setting my alarm for 0300 and giving him his pills then.
So far the effects of this have been good, sleep loss aside. We are watching him very carefully though. I'm not completely comfortable with it. The real test will be if he can pay attention better in class.
Only time will tell.
Nana and KweKwag
The boys stayed with Nana and Grandad the other night. Rhys was really excited about it. Owyn was not so jazzed. It worked out fine.
They got to play with toys, watch movies and play in the dirt. That night they walked down to the local pizza joint and the boys got to make their own pizzas.
For some reason, however, Owyn is calling Grandad KweKwag. I like it.
They got to play with toys, watch movies and play in the dirt. That night they walked down to the local pizza joint and the boys got to make their own pizzas.
For some reason, however, Owyn is calling Grandad KweKwag. I like it.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Tunnel
The other day Mama was getting ready for work. Rhys was downstairs, ensconced on my chair and watching cartoons. Owyn got up and came into our room looking for Mama.
Our master suite has our room, a sitting room (Mama's sewing room) and our bathroom. We never turn on the light in the sitting room in the morning. The bathroom is very bright.
Owyn stood in our room, looking into the bathroom and called his Mama. She turned around and said "come on in Owyn." He looked at her and said "Tunnel. Scary" Then he smiled and ran through, into our bathroom.
As the two of them were heading downstairs later, Owyn got to the stairs, where the light also was not on, and said, again, "tunnel." Then he smiled up at Mama and headed down the stairs.
Our master suite has our room, a sitting room (Mama's sewing room) and our bathroom. We never turn on the light in the sitting room in the morning. The bathroom is very bright.
Owyn stood in our room, looking into the bathroom and called his Mama. She turned around and said "come on in Owyn." He looked at her and said "Tunnel. Scary" Then he smiled and ran through, into our bathroom.
As the two of them were heading downstairs later, Owyn got to the stairs, where the light also was not on, and said, again, "tunnel." Then he smiled up at Mama and headed down the stairs.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Pneumonia
Owyn has pneumonia. Fortunately we got him in to the Dr early. Drugs, drugs and more drugs.
Tracy got a call at work on Friday, "Owyn can't breath". She rushed down to pick him up and his breathing was very labored, he was coughing his guts out, he had a fever and he just looked miserable. She got him home and gave him a nebulizer treatment and some Motrin for the fever.
I got home not long after them, about 1300, and Owyn upstairs for a nap. He ended up falling asleep on me so I took a bit of a nap too, until he was asleep enough that I could put him in his crib without waking up.
His appointment was at 1530, which turned into 1630. Tracy and Owyn took another little nap in the waiting room. They put the O2 monitor on him, which he hated, and were very concerned about his low oxygen levels. They were on the way to the hospital, though the Dr didn't tell Tracy that.
Fortunately, they decided to give Owyn another breathing treatment, which opened him up enough to get his O2 levels up to where they are supposed to be. Prescriptions in hand Tracy was able to bring him home.
It was early to bed, after yet another breathing treatment, for Owyn and Rhys, who has also been under the weather this week. I had to give Owyn some more motrin in the middle of the night but, happily, no more breathing treatments.
He was feeling much better this morning, though he has still not been himself today. Hopefully he is up to Easter tomorrow. I'm just pleased that he is feeling better.
Tracy got a call at work on Friday, "Owyn can't breath". She rushed down to pick him up and his breathing was very labored, he was coughing his guts out, he had a fever and he just looked miserable. She got him home and gave him a nebulizer treatment and some Motrin for the fever.
I got home not long after them, about 1300, and Owyn upstairs for a nap. He ended up falling asleep on me so I took a bit of a nap too, until he was asleep enough that I could put him in his crib without waking up.
His appointment was at 1530, which turned into 1630. Tracy and Owyn took another little nap in the waiting room. They put the O2 monitor on him, which he hated, and were very concerned about his low oxygen levels. They were on the way to the hospital, though the Dr didn't tell Tracy that.
Fortunately, they decided to give Owyn another breathing treatment, which opened him up enough to get his O2 levels up to where they are supposed to be. Prescriptions in hand Tracy was able to bring him home.
It was early to bed, after yet another breathing treatment, for Owyn and Rhys, who has also been under the weather this week. I had to give Owyn some more motrin in the middle of the night but, happily, no more breathing treatments.
He was feeling much better this morning, though he has still not been himself today. Hopefully he is up to Easter tomorrow. I'm just pleased that he is feeling better.
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