9Yr Old Taking Abilify

My 13 year old has ADHD and a mood disorder NOS. About two years ago her psychiatrist put her on Risperdal, which is in the same family as Abilify. It has helped her immensely!!! She also takes Focalin and Zoloft. It seems like so much, but what a difference. Even she said, mom I think the doctor finally has the medicine right.

Good luck.

Hi L.,
When my son was 15 months old his body had major reactions to a heavy round of vaccines. He lost all his speech and it changed his demenor. Once a happy, chatty easy baby,
he now could not utter a sound and was angry, frustrated, moody etc. Because of this it led me down the road to homeopath, suppliments, detoxing his body, organic/natural foods and more. He is a wonderful boy now, you would never know that he had issues early on.
One of the issues was, he would get obsessed with things.
He would get fixed on items or routines and literally could not move forward unless we gave in to him. He would have huge meltdowns and nothing could stop them but giving in. It was not about him having control it was more mental.....his brain would not let him move forward until that obsession was satistfied. It was a horrible, horrible time. Sometimes he would say "I don't know why I am doing this". It was heart breaking. Once his was body was balanced out with suppliments and homeopaths he calmed down to a perfectly normal little boy. The homeopath that helps him in this obsessive area is called Lymbic System. It is a liquad that goes under the tongue. A couple of times in the past few years I would take him off all suppliments thinking he is great now......each time it took about 3 months for his body to get out of balance and all the behaviors start to reappear. I have learned also that when he goes through growth spurts that I have to change and tweak things a little. I give him breaks now and then but until he is fully grown or perhaps his entire life he will need to make sure his body is in very good balance.
I know all of this probably seems very overwhelming.
It has been a 4 year process for us. Lymbic System is for
OCD, obssesive, bibolar behaviors. It works for us but homeopaths work differently for everyone. We also keep him on Neuro I, minerals, omeges, etc. all homeopaths.
My heart goes out to your son, I am sure it confuses him too. Poor little boy. Best of Luck
Please feel free to email me if you want more information.
We go to place called Gentle Strength in Brighton.
M. ( my son is now 7 1/2 years old).

My husband take it for bipolar. It has been great for him. He was just diagnosed a year ago. I know it is different, adul vs. kid. But it has helped with his symptoms.

Hi L. -

I have three special needs boys all on meds for their disabiities, ADHD is among the diagnosis' for all of them. While I haven't tried the Abilify I do know that different kids respond to different medications at different doses. May I ask why you stopped the Prozac before trying to raise the dose? Your son might not have been on a high enough dose to assist in controlling his behaviors. I know it's hard to find the right combination but if you have a good doctor you will eventually find it. As with any psych med, stopping use of the meds immediately without weaning off of them can have catastrophic results. Behaviors may rebound and become worse than they were before and you may see an increase in anger and/or violence. Please be careful for your sake, your son's sake and the sake of your family. Your son may not even realize how his behaviors are affecting others and he may feel as out of control as you see him without being able to identify the emotions. He may not realize his actions as they happen and may not recall them later. Take a deep breath, give him some room, structure as much of his day as you can and be patient. Things will get better. If you have a room in your home you can empty out and let him go into in order to blow off some steam when he gets mad it may help. The room needs to be empty so he can't hurt himself, hurt anyone else or break anything. My youngest used to tear apart his room, throwing his mattress across the room, dumping bookshelves and such to get his frustrations out. It definitely helped. Good luck.

Blessings - S.

Hi L. - I'm a pediatric occupational therapist and I work with a number of kids who have ADD/ADHD. Some of them have had success with medications such as Abilify and some of them have not had any success.

Now with that being said, there are other possibilities for treatment other than medication for your son. I am not for or against medication. I think in a lot of instances it can be very beneficial, but again isn't the answer for all kids. Below is a link for an article on Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Children diagnosed with ADHD often have Sensory Integration Dysfunction which can cause emotional outburts (tantrums), rigidity in routine and behavior, and being unable to sit still. If your son does have sensory integration dysfunction the good news is that there are strategies and treatments that can be done (that aren't medications) to treat the tantrums, inattention, and rigidity in behavior.

Here's some information on sensory integration dysfunction.

http://www.incrediblehorizons.com/sensory-integration.htm

Here's the website for my pediatric therapy clinic.
http://centerfortlc.com/faq.php

There are some FAQs and information on sensory integration dysfunction and the types of treatment provided. If you have any questions regarding this please feel free to contact me through the website (call or email). I would be happy to provide you with as much information as I can!

My son, 6 yrs old, was diagnosised with OCD and Tourette Syndrome this past summer by a child neurologist. We are learning how to live with his OCD, there are certain things if not done correctly will cause an outburst of yelling, throwing things.. I try to keep a record of what leads upto his outbursts or what may triggered them to try to difuse the problem the next time before it causes an outburst. Believe me, my husband and I have tried everything with him and it is exhausting, it causes much turmoil in our household.

After much research I have learned that ADHD goes along with OCD and Tourette Syndrome. Have you taken your son to see a child neurologist? If not perhaps you should take this into consideration. Our son's psychologist referred us to one. After reading many books, I discovered a book, The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., it was if the book was written for us. I am only half way through it, but I strongly suggest this book. It's encouraging to know that my son is not acting badly just because he chooses too, but that he has problems with problem solving, frustration and inflexiblity.

I wish you well. Just remember you are not alone, there are many of us mothers who are experiencing situations similar to you.

Hi L.,
Are you open to alternative ways vs. medication.I have friends with children and ADD/ADHD and/or Autism issues . Some on meds others never put them on meds. they choose our products with great results and it has changed their families life! I can put you in touch with them to hear for yourselves!
If this is an avenue you would like to learn more about let me know via e-mail or call ###-###-####.
Blessings C.

L.,
My heart goes out to you and your son as you both struggle with what is best for him and for your family.
I watch and listen to my sister as she walks the same path with her 10 year old son. He suffers from ADHD, obsesses over things and has outbursts as well.
I have lost track of all the different medications they have tried to alleviate some of his symptoms. Abilify though with stick with me forever. He had a horrible allergic reaction that caused him to have seizures and landed him in the hospital until the drug got out of his system.
If you decide to try the medication, please talk to his doctor about the adverse side effects and what to watch out for. Abilify might be the right drug for your son, and I'm glad to know there are kids out there that are benefiting. It's a relatively new drug, and I think drs are excited about the prospects of the medication. I just thought you should know there is another side to the coin.

Good luck to you and your son. -J.

My son has been on Abilify. I consider it a miracle drug. He was 15 when it came out and was on 3 other meds. When Abilify came out it solved many issues we were working on.I don't know about with a younger child. Ryan had outbursts and was argumentative at home. The abilify made an incredible difference. It is very expensive! I don't know about the homeopathic method that another poster mentioned. That might be an option if you ever lose your insurance. Good luck with your choices. Know if this doesn't work, you needn't get discouraged. Keep trying other things.

My son has been on meds for 4 years now and he is taking the prozac and risperdall which has helped alot with his anger and defiant behavior. One doctor changed my son's meds from the risperdall to abilify because he said it was a better medicine, but my son got very depressed and we tried adjusting the dose and it didn't help so we switched back to the risperdall. Ask your doctor about his opinion with the risperdall for your child. It may work better for him. Good Luck!

I don't know anything about this medication, but I do know that diet plays an incredibly important role in anyone's behavior. I think all those behavioral drugs can be very dangerous. I would first take him to a Clinical Nutritionist to check him for any nutritional deficiencies or food allergies. Contrary to the status quo beliefs, you could see an unbelievable change in him...it could be one little thing that triggers all this and the "normal" medical world really poo-poohs this approach. There is a great group in Grosse Pointe. They are Clinical Nutritionists and Chiropractors. They don't take insurance for any of the nutritional treatment but is is NOT expensive. Go to www.ahccenter.com for info. It is worth a shot! My heart goes out to you!

HI L.
This sounds like my 5 yo when she has had gluten. Were gluten intolerant. When she gets some in her diet it a few weeks of symptoms before we get her back to normal. She gets hives (not everyone does though) extreme emotional swings, it taxes her immune system so she gets sick if germs are around, and yeasty & pees her pants w/ little control over it. It's amazing the difference food makes for people. I remember other moms on this list asking, or talking about special diets for ADHD. Food coloring is one that I remember can make a difference. Here's a link I found. I hope there's a safe natural way you can help your son be the lovely boy he was when he was little. Good luck to you and your family. Please feel free to message me if you want to talk about food (Good food is my hobby :)A. H

http://www.oneaddplace.com/adhd-diet.php

ADHD in many cases has been linked to diet, which includes food allergies and nutritional deficiencies…simply eliminating certain foods or adding others may reduce symptoms or eliminate them altogether. Hyperactive children are especially vulnerable as they are ‘hyper' sensitive to sugar and other stimulants. Have you ever noticed how your child's behavior changes very shortly after he or she consumes a soft drink, sugary cereals or chocolate? We believe it is worth attempting to address the ‘root' of the problem first, if it is indeed nutritional, before ingesting the potentially toxin pharmaceutical alternatives that merely mask the symptoms. Making healthy food choices for you and your child is NOT difficult. There is NO downside to adopting a healthy eating program and huge benefits for everyone, whether dealing with a current health issue or preventing future ones.

A couple other posters mentioned trying a change in diet/supplements. I'd like to suggest this as well. There's a great book that explains the tie between ADHD and kids' diet. The book is called "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Allergies, and Asthma" by Dr. Kenneth Bock. My own nephew was diagnosed with autism a few years ago and since he begain this diet along with supplements and detox, he's improved VASTLY with the help of no medications. The book describes that kids with autism often show symptoms of ADHD (my nephew would often get obsessed with objects like your son does) and since then, many of his symptoms have gone away. Honestly, most people just think he's a quirky kid now and he's in a general classroom which is awesome. Before seeing the transformation of my nephew, I would have never believed in simply trying all-natural healing methods but MANY, MANY moms out there are doing this for thier kids and it's working :) The book has many case studies of kids with severe ADHD that end up really benefitting from this healing method and most of them lose all of their ADHD symptoms! Best of luck - this has got to be a rough time :(

Oh L., my heart goes out to you and your son!

Has your Dr talked with you about the nutrients that the brain needs more of especially when on those prescriptions?If the Dr didn't tell you, please don't quickly stop those drugs...weaning off those drugs is very important because of what is called rebounding.

I have some very good CDs about these kinds of issues. They would enhance what you're doing. Let me know if you'd like to listen to them.

Warmly,
M.

Hello, I have a 11 yr old daughter that has many disorders she was first diagnosed at 6. At 7 she was added more disorders and still coming. She is listed as Bi-polar 1. Her Doc. did request that she be on this and another, I refused. No med has ever worked longer than 2 weeks on her. We kive a very hard life, and so do our other 2 children. She has a lot of the symptoms that you described. I am sorry that you are going through this. It is not an easy life for a family. As far as meds go, I listen to the side effects and really worry about what it could do to them. Remember that these meds aren't made for kids. Yes they have very low doses that can be given to them, but they were never intended for kids. We have found that a very strict routine with very little disruptions does help a little. A good school where kids are helped to understand is great. And at the end of every day (sometimes every second) I thank my creator that we made it through. I am not trying to talk you out of meds, this was our choice, but with our daughter it didn't matter. And we were also told just recently that even on meds we were only looking at a 3% improvement on her issues. Now in our case 3% is not enough to damage the rest of her life with meds. Hope you have better luck than what we did.