|
Need Advice for Oldest Son Dealing with ADHD Younger Brother...
My son is on Vyvanse 30 mg...it does great except that it really lowers his appetite. We went in for a checkup and he hasn't gained a pound in over 8 months (He is 7 and is small for his age, so should be growing at this point). Our Dr. said that while 30 mg was the lowest dose for Vyvanse previously, they just came out with 20 mg and he wanted to try my son on that...less strength, less side effects, more eating was the goal here. I was up for that because my heart was broken that he hasn't been growing. Well, that day the doctor and I spent time talking to my son about how he had to eat even if he didn't feel like it. I was told to give him whatever he wanted to eat whenever he wanted it...which sounded just fine to me considering I was willing to do whatever to help him start growing/get some weight on him. I had a very long "talk" with GOD....now I have always encouraged my son to eat, tried different things, I am a strong Christian and pray about many things...but for some reason hadn't even thought to pray about my son's appetite. Well, my son was on the 30 mg for about 10 more days after the appt. before I got the 20 mg. prescription filled. The same day of the appt. his appetite immediately began to pick up, and hasn't really slowed down since. I feel it is because of the prayers, because I didn't do anything different really except prayer and offer him a little more choices than usual, and he was already eating better before we switched from the 30 mg to the 20 mg. So, I am thrilled about that. Now, for the problem :-) This 20 mg Vyvanse basically does NOTHING for my son. He is acting out of control at home...the medicine is taking longer to kick in, wears off quicker...his grades are drastically lower (like an A/B student to a C/F student...seriously). He is distracting other students, mean to his siblings...the list goes on and on as you ADD parents already know. In the mornings it takes so long to get him to do stuff, we are always rushing out the door to make it to school on time. The big problem is that my older son just started middle school this year...and he is very social. He likes to be to school as early as possible so he can talk with his friends...he is loosing his patience with my younger son. He gets so mad at his little brother for being so difficult and making it so that he can't get to school early enough. On one hand, I want my older child to show compassion to his little brother, because while he IS VERY difficult, essentially, he can't control his behavior completely without help. On the other hand, I totally understand my older son's frustration, because I feel that way too. I am sick of this you guys! I am so sick of breaking down in tears every morning after I drop my ADHD child off at school wondering how he is going to make it through the day, and feeling like the worst mother because I can't help him. I did read (somewhere on this forum, I think) about how if ADHD children need medicine that is fine, but they also need to be taught self control and self calming methods...what a GREAT idea...seems obvious, but I never thought of it. The problem is I live in a small town and there aren't any classes like that...I even checked around different fitness centers for children's yoga classes...but to no avail. Kinda depressing. Anyway, this post was partly to vent, and if you have any advice at all, I'm all ears, but my main question is how I can deal with the older sibling...how can I help him understand, yet also know that how he feels is normal. Is there anything special I can do for him...I just don't know, I'm at a loss here.
PS. We have an appt. next week to possibly get my youngest back on the 30 mg instead of 20 mg...if he has gained weight...if he hasn't gained weight, the way he has been eating, I am going to see if we can check for other problems...because he does constantly have an upset stomach and bad allergies along with some other "stuff". Who knows?!
Thanks for listening!
Quote
|