The pediatrician feels that the stimulant medication is making G more aggressive and increasing the obsessive-compulsive behaviors of picking at everything. So we have stopped the Focalin and will be increasing the Intuniv.
Today I delivered G to his teacher in a seemingly unmedicated state. There were no stimulants in his system. I told his teacher about the medication change and told her that it seemed like a good idea the previous day. It really seemed okay yesterday, but this morning, I was very anxious about sending G to class in such a wild state. Don't get me wrong- he was happy. I've seldom seen him in such a good mood. It just also seemed like he was likely to literally swing from the ceiling if given a ladder to reach it. And he was talking nonstop to the kids in the hallway. His teacher and I talked about an incentive plan, one that I'm hoping will motivate him well. My parting words?
"Try to hang in as long as you can. Let me know when you just can't stand it anymore. We'll go back to the stimulants for the rest of the year if we have to." All the while, listening to G out in the hallway, chattering away at light speed. Sigh.
By recess, he was a mess. A total mess. A total hot mess. We spent twenty minutes trying to decide if he was being disobedient (teacher's thought) or just totally inept due to ADHD med switching (my thought). He was noisy, fidgety, rude to the teachers, and just plain difficult.
We ended the day with me carrying a bawling G out to my mom's car so I could stay for a wedding shower. No screen time. No treats. No happy thoughts about first grade. I've called the pediatrician and am waiting to hear back. I think we'll revert the meds, because bad on the stimulants was better than being without them for the next three and a half weeks. I'll switch over the summer.
I'm exhausted. I've done nothing but worry about my kid and wondering if I've done the right thing. There's no way to know, though, for sure. I'm back to blindly making decisions based on gut instinct and praying that I'm doing okay. Hoping he'll make friends, have teachers who love him no matter what, learn something, keep his hands to himself, and actually get the urine in the toilet.
I'm reading about meditation these days. I think I know what I'm going to be doing this evening while I wait to hear from the doctor.
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