Hello,
My patience is at an all time low. The new normal here is wake up at 4:30 am. By 5 am he is in full speed. Loud and zipping from activity to activity at the speed of light. We’ve tried making him stay in bed but he talks, yells, makes noises and then has a huge screaming fit. He is currently on 10mg Ritalin twice daily but it doesn’t seem to help him anymore and his pediatrician wants to increase the dose. Does anyone else have an “early bird”? What are some of your strategies to keep this little ones in bed? I work full time and can’t keep up this pace. Thanks!
Kelly60-
Wow, sounds challanging... What is his daily routine like ( what time does he go to bed at night)? Did this just start? Do you have him in sports? Just curious why your pediatrician is giving him medication? Do you know if he is sleeping through the night? Hard to tell unless he comes to you in the middle of the night.
He was diagnosed with adhd, odd, ocd and RAD at 4. He has been on Ritalin for a year. But it’s seems like his Adhd went into hyper overdrive the last few months. He is easily angered, keeps hitting other children at daycare, (I have to leave work frequently and pick him up), can’t remember household rules from day to day, cannot stay still and is difficult to get in bed. We start bedtime at 7:30 and it is usually 9:30-10:00 before he is asleep. No he doesn’t sleep all night. He climbs in bed with us most nights after midnight and lays there kicking and fidgeting, falls alsleep then he’s up early running around. He has his 90 day appt this week with his pediatrician and I pray I get some better answers. Lately I feel so angry at this little guy and am constantly beating myself up for feeling angry.
From my parent opinion ( I am no doctor) it sounds like you really need to be seeing a pediatric psychiatrist. They need to dial in what type of medication is best for his personality, life style and what you hope to accomplish, this is the only Specialist that can handle the job. It may take a few medications at different times , long acting and short, impulse control and focus.
But the one thing I was told is medication should control %60 of the behavior when it is the right type. Behavior management handles the rest.
I know it is hard to imagine, but one day you will have close to a normal life with things dialed in when things are managed right.
There is hope.. right doctor... right medication.. right plan..
Big hugs right now, lots of ice cream..
It's a journey