Thursday, May 22, 2008

Gus often gets stuck on things - nothing new about that, but for the past few days, he's been stuck on something amusing. Armpits.

The other day, I was getting him ready for bed and he asked what was under my shirt (pointing under my arm). So I said, "my armpit."

"Can I feel it?"

"Er...okay." It was an odd request, but mostly harmless I figured.

"What's that?"

"Stubble. Go to bed." So much for being harmless, I thought at the time.

He's been quiet about it for a bit, but then this evening as he was drifting off to sleep, he asked again. I should point out that since he was a baby, the underside of his arms have been a soothing point for him. I told him that he had to go to sleep. He kept trying to get under my sleeve, but I was firm and he said his good nights.

Five minutes later, wouldn't you know it - he came downstairs and tried to stick his hand under my sleeve again! That little sneak! I had to stop myself from busting out laughing.

He's off tomorrow - I hope he forgets about this because I don't know if I'll be able to fend him off all day.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I sent Gus to school today without any medication. The report from his teacher was that it was a pretty good day with only a couple of issues - he didn't finish his work fast enough to get computer time and then he got upset. Just like yesterday. I wonder if the level of improvement we saw was just a placebo effect. Maybe he was just having good days and they had nothing to do with the Strattera.

He had a better time on the bus until he was almost home and then he got a bit unruly again. I can see that he's nowhere near as wild today as he was then. Yesterday he came in and was crashing into the door and was just running non-stop. He had a burst of energy when he got off the bus, but he's fairly calm at the moment.

Gus also slept better last night. I think that probably has more to do with putting the blackout curtains up again.

So, I'm convinced that we are done with Strattera. I've ordered a homeopathic ADHD remedy to try over the weekend, just out of curiosity, before I talk to his doctor again on Tuesday or Wednesday. She had wanted to try him on Focalin, which is a stimulant(similar to Ritalin, but longer lasting).

As an interesting aside, I read that 100mg of coffee has a similar effect on the brain as the lowest dosage of Ritalin. Maybe I should just get Gus to start drinking coffee?

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Getting Worse

Gus was up at 5 am today, and by 5:30 was completely off the wall. Yet his teacher reported that he had a pretty decent day, only "got caught" not doing his independent work twice. However, this tells me that he wasn't focusing. The real disturbing news came just now from the bus monitor.

He's always been especially good on the afternoon bus, so good that he hasn't needed to be in his car seat. Today, the monitor said she had trouble with him staying seated. Right now he's hopping around like a jack rabbit on speed. I'm used to high energy and racing around from him. This is way beyond his usual level of hyperactivity.

I'm waiting for a call from the doctor. If he's like this on the lowest dosage, will he get worse by increasing it, or will an increase have the desired effect?

I want to scream right now. I hate, hate, hate this process. It's hard enough to watch my son when he's struggling for control of his behavior and his body under normal circumstances. To think that something that I'm making him take (he spit it out this morning) is making his struggle so much worse, makes me want to kick myself. But they've said that it can take time for the body to adjust. What the hell am I adjusting to though?

Edit: After a conversation with his doctor, we've decided that Gus is going to stop taking the Strattera, at least for now. We'll see how he is for a few day s and then decide if we're going to increase the dosage. I'm very worried about that prospect and so is the doctor. She expected that he'd have no noticeable response, if any. So we'll revisit after the holiday weekend.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Gus was very excited about his sister's dance recital yesterday. He was so excited that he got very emotional, crying because he wanted to leave already and the anxiety was too much. When he got to the show, he enjoyed himself immensely. He danced at his seat (my sister said he reminded her of our mother who always did the same thing at concerts) and sang along to the music. Unfortunately, there were people sitting behind the family (I was backstage volunteering with my daughter's class). So they took Gus out for a walk around the school, let him run around the gym for a bit to blow off some frenetic energy. He came in for her second number and made a break for the stage (during someone else's act). Fortunately, his Nana caught him. As soon as he saw his sister perform, he had to be taken home. The whole thing was too much for him.

And that was on the medication.

It didn't seem to help all that much. It's pretty much what he would have done had he not been on the meds.

Granted, he may not have been taking it long enough, or he may need a slightly higher dosage. Right now, the benefits have been minimal at best. But at least he enjoyed the show.