Motherhood = ADHD, Strep, Swine Flu, Stress

My son's ADHD is getting the better of me. I wake up every morning to my child that has been possessed by something that doesn't belong in him. He has no self control, no impulse control. If he wants to rub a stick of butter all over the window he will, he he wants to squirt ketchup all over the kitchen and his brother, he will. If he wants to kick the dog or his brother, he will. Thankfully the dog and his brother fight back, and Thomas is a bit of a whimp when it comes to confrontation, so he backs down. He knows better than to do all of that, but when he's off of his meds he can't control those impulses and things happen before he realizes it. When he's off his meds you can look into his eyes and see that he's not there.

I give him his medicine at 8:15 every morning. It's a drug that slows him down to normal speed. He's been taking it since he was 3 1/2. At the age of 3 he was telling me that he couldn't slow his brain down, and he couldn't. His therapist, doctors, and myself decided to try him on the lowest dose of Vyvanse. I had serious conflict over putting amphetamines into my 3 year old son. He is the youngest patient that his doctor has prescribed that med for and the decision was not made lightly. Over the years we've had to increase his dose as he grew, his BMI changed, and his metabolism changed. He's up to 40 milligrams now and that lasts about 8 hours, enough to get him through the school day. He started on 10mg and that lasted 12 hours. Vyvanse has been wonderful for us. The only side effect he's had is a decrease in his appetite, which turned out to be a good thing because he has trouble controlling his appetite when he's off his meds, which is another symptom of ADHD.

So I called his doctor's office and they told me that I couldn't see his doctor for a month. I broke down in tears, actually bawled. She made found me an appointment for 3 days later. I saw Thomas' doctor and she added a new med and suggested we see a psychiatrist. She told me that she didn't diagnose mental disorders and she wanted to rule everything out. I love her dearly, she's a wonderful doctor, I trust her with my son's life, and that says a lot. While we were there Thomas tested positive for the seasonal flu and H1N1. Luke tested positive for Strep. I stopped by urgent care on the way home and also tested positive for H1N1. I guess that would account for us feeling like complete shit.