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Reactions to meds need advice(sorry so long) need help

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Mt 8 year old son has been dx with ADHD a couple months ago.He also has some learning disabilities mainly with writing and reading,visual spatial issues.He has tried Ritalin and had tics appear.Adderall and he in a different world.His psychartrist put him on Wellbutrin SR a little over 3 weeks ago.He still was not sleeping going to sleep in till the morning hours and still going to school the day.The psycharrist put him on Trazodone 50 mg on Monday.He takes this at night and it does let him sleep the whole night and go to sleep within the hour of taking.But now his teacher reports to me on wed and thursday he was like out of it and making alot of mistakes he normally would not make and his writing skills were even worse than they already were.he is learning cursive and he cuold not hold the pencil still to write(this is one on one instruction).The doc. told me to 1/2 his trazodone.BUt today she complained he was very hyper and was forgetting alot of work even on math which he is gifted in.He skipped 2 whole pages and turned them in 2 times with out doing them.Could the combonation of the drugs do thid he takes them at least 12 hours apart one at 8:20 am and one at 7:45 pm.She also said I need to do something before our iep meeting on the 28 of this month .I am trying but it is hard.He is not a behavior problem at school but home he was starting to really hurt his sisters and being very defiant.He holds it togetherin school at home I am afraid he will hurt me or his 3 younger sisters.He is always on the go to stay awake at night and has lots of anxieties

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 03/17/2001 - 5:01 AM

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Hey Jeff….this is all new to me too! Our daughter is 7 and has the same diagnosis…….but the learning differences have been labeled dyslexia. I highly recommend a book by Ron Davis called “The Gift of Dyslexia”. It explains a lot about the condition and how the childs mind feels at work and it has really been an eye-opener for us. We have started her with a tutor that specializes in the Orton Gillingham method (multi-sensory) and so far has helped better than anything. She still has the focusing problems of ADHD but once you find the way for learning to get in it’s like finding the right key to un-lock the door! I hope this helps. All that medication can have effects we don’t even know about. look into dyslexia and you might find some answers. Hope this helps! Jan

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 03/17/2001 - 7:11 AM

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Greetings Jeff,

It does sound like your son is experiencing an adverse reaction with the combination of the two different meds. Is your son taking any other meds such as over-the-counter allergy meds or an herbal supplement? What dosage of Wellbutrin SR is he on? Was your son becoming violent before starting on the various drug regimens or has it begun since being on both Wellbutrin and Trazodone?

From what I understand, Wellbutrin is a stimulating antidepressant and Trazodone is an antidepressant. The being ‘out of it’ is definitely a side affect of Trazodone. The following is info I found about Wellbutrin:

” Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking Wellbutrin, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following meds…….” Trazodone was on this list.

I strongly encourage you to check out the website http://www.brainplace.com. Dr. Amen describes the 6 different types of ADD. Certain regularly prescribed medications to treat ADD can actually cause more problems depending on the type of ADD the child has.

Blessings, momo

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 03/18/2001 - 12:11 AM

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Medication requires some trial of different dosages and his teacher needs to be understanding of this. Does she know that he has been diagnosed with ADHD? Then she needs to also to know that while the right medication is sought and tried out, she will see side effects in your son. Thank you for her observations and her patience - even if she isn’t showing any.

The idea that “you must do something” by his IEP is absurd. You are doing something and you’re doing the best you can. If at his IEP this hasn’t been worked out yet, that’s not your fault or your son’s fault and the district and his teacher will simply have to deal with it.

Good luck.

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 03/19/2001 - 12:20 PM

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No my son only takes the Wellbutrin SR 100 mg in the morning and the Trazodone 50 mg at bedtime.His doctor just 1/2 his Trazodone dosage to see if it helps.He prescibed it to help him sleep since he dont sleep well.Before the Trazodone he would not fall asleep before 1 or 2 in the morning and get up at 7 for school.The Wellbutrin SR is for his ADHD.He got more hyper and tics on riitalin and when he was on Adderall he got in a out of it situation and actually fell down alot and when he was coming down off the meds he got violent.He seems more calm on the WellbutrinSr but still was not sleeping that is why his psychartrist perscribed the Trazodone.He also said we might have to wait a week to really see if it effects his everyday life.His teacher said it effects his corrdination with writing well he had a hard time writing before.He cant remember how to form letters printing and cursive he makes them in a different way or by different steps.She actually said his cursive was worse but he cant even make a cursive e for me at home without me making one first to show him how .He does have learning disabilities and she said they are worse on this medicine than before but we havenot seen this.

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