It will get better, OP! You may not want the evaluation but you should.

Even if you have to repeat it later, it can be so helpful. My kid is 12 with pretty well managed ADHD. But in 2nd grade he was a mess. The eval was so good at explaining how is brain works, what helps him and what is easy and what is hard for him. It really helped me and my husband understand him, then we were more sympathetic and things did get better (also, meds ) But do the eval -it was the turning point in our understanding of our kid.

Op above - this is op - the med that we liked was daytrana. It is abpatch and it is gradual to take effect and leave so we did not have a rebound. I do not think my son can handle a rebound.

Hi OP. My 5-year-old has SPD, ADHD, and GAD. 5 is sort of terrible bc she is too big for me to drag away from scenarios within it looking like child abuse, and she is far more clever than she was at 4, and so gets into more sophisticated types of trouble (like escaping the house through the window!!). We tried Intuniv with no luck. Currently on Prozac which has caused noticeable improvements in self-regulation, and ritalin, although the ritalin is not ideal because it wears off and then the dreaded rebound begins. I fully empathise - i am so freaking exhausted and stressed over this alone, never mind everything else in my life.

My DS, 12, has been on ADHD meds since 2nd grade. The first few meds he tried had bad side effects like stomach ache, weepiness, anger. He now takes Concerta and is doing much better. Not perfect, but better. Medication also needs to be adjusted as he grows.

I've found that his behavior gets worse in the spring and fall, coinciding with more pollen and allergens. When trees and ragweed start blooming, I give him OTC allergy meds and try to be careful to limit his exposure.

You're doing the right things, but it takes time to figure out what works. Exercising and lots of sleep also help.

OP, since you are looking for reassurances that it gets better, I'll give you this. Things have dramatically improved for us now that DS is 7 and can read. He will obsessively devour books and it calms his mind and body in a way nothing else has. Of course there are ADHD problems with the reading, namely the hyper focus and anger when told to go to sleep at bedtime, etc. But books make him happy and if I greet him after school with a stack of new library books he will light up. And now when he is mad at me he tells me that he can't wait until he is 11 and gets his letter to go to Hogwarts.

Anonymous wrote:No suggestions on another med?

We can get the med we liked in a few weeks I guess. But it wasn't really perfect. Just took a bit of the edge off.

No suggestions on another med?

Anonymous wrote:Hugs, OP. What does the dev pediatrician have to say?

Not really any help. Going to have to do a full neuropsych I think, several years before we want to.

Hugs, OP. What does the dev pediatrician have to say?