Subscribe to MedHelp's free newsletter for Community Support, Experience, and Guidance.
Dear Renee,
Generally, pediatric mental health clinicians prefer to wait until the age of seven or so to diagnose ADHD, because so many of the symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity) of ADHD are typical of the behavior of yopung (particularly pre-school) children.
Having said this, it does happen that ADHD is diagnosed in pre-school children, and medication is sometimes prescribed in these circumstances.
Children with ADHD usually do not exhibit psychotic symptoms or reveal a loss of contact with reality, whereas children with bipolar disorder may exhibit gross distortions in the perception of reality or in the interpretation of emotional events.
Bipolar symptoms in kids differs for symptoms of adults. These are basic common symptoms:
During a time of mania, children and teens may:
Feel irritable and throw violent temper tantrums.
Seem extremely happy and have high energy levels.
So yes, it is possible that your son developed ADHD like symptoms. But only a psychiatrist who has examined him can diagnose whether he has ADHD or not. If neurontin is responsible for the change in your son’s behavior then stopping the drug for some time may reduce the side effects caused by it and your son may regain his original personality in a few months. He may need repeated psychiatric evaluation to assess whether ADHD symptoms are waning off or not.
It may be that that the Neurontin enabled him to enjoy a more active life style and thus the ADHD became more noticeable(??). Is he getting a good nights sleep, because the lack of sleep will cause ADHD like symptoms. And what kind of a doctor diagnosed it? Some docs do make mistakes about ADHD.
Anyway, what is more important I think is to make sure that now your son is getting the help he needs with the ADHD. If you need any information about ADHD, please post again.
Simply because it is not a prescrition drug, and is manufactured from a natural substance, is not a reason to give it to a child as young as four in any case.
Diagnoses of ADHD in children as young as four have to be suspect - after all, the core symptoms of ADHD (overactivity, inattention, impulsivity) normally occur to some extent in most four year olds. If your child, though, is extremely hyperactive (i.e., at the severe end of the spectrum), Dexedrine might be considered.
my sons tics where full body moments to where his phsyciatrist thought he had austistic type symptoms...only got worse on other med like concerta, strattera on the other hand did not cause tics at all on my son, but it didn't work to well.for focus..and it is not a stimulant..
Inattention, Hyperactivity and Impulsivity. It might be that the psychologist was struck by your son's level of impulsivity and on that basis thought that a trial on medication might be useful. It does not sound like the behavior is symptomatic of mood disorder. It would not be at all surprising if the major psychological characteristic of your son is his impulse-ridden personality. Systematic plans for behavior management, such as you described, are highly recommended for such children.
Bipolar children tend to have a strong early sexual interest and behavior.
11. Children with ADHD usually do not exhibit psychotic symptoms or reveal a loss of contact with reality, whereas children with bipolar disorder may exhibit gross distortions in the perception of reality or in the interpretation of emotional events.
12.
Diagnosis: ADHD/ODD, Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar II, Learning Disability
Separation Anxiety, Deep depression – up and down (swings), eyelash pulling and pulling out hair without anti-depressant, it took 150mg of Zoloft to finally stop the habits and put a smile on his face.
Does not feel pain like other children – can run across rock beach with no shoes and feels nothing - no pain. Loves animals can get stung by bees and does not care.
Bipolar children tend to have a strong early sexual interest and behavior.
11. Children with ADHD usually do not exhibit psychotic symptoms or reveal a loss of contact with reality, whereas children with bipolar disorder may exhibit gross distortions in the perception of reality or in the interpretation of emotional events.
12.
Gilbert,
While you didn't list particular symptoms with your son, hypothyroidism isn't usually confused with bipolar disorder or ADHD (unless the only symptom of ADHD is inattention).
It's always important to rule out any pertinent medical conditions before concluding that symptoms are due to a mental or emotional disorder. This is true, for example, relative to ruling out thyroid problems in conditions related to mood. The diagnosis is simple enough, as you know, with the proper lab studies.
Well anyway here are the list of bipolar symptoms for children. The symptoms in adults are different.
As he gets older it gets worse and more symptoms have appeared which led to his diagnosis of ADHD. Because The discipline recommended had not been working the past several months, behavioral therapy was recommended. My son will be reevaluated and will receive treatment at a special ADHD/Autism management center in children's hospital. I guess I'll just have to try and hang on until then. Just wanted to get some advice\experiences before going in.
If I were you, I'd look at what the symptoms are of add/adhd---- go online and see what you think. Some of the symptoms are vague and everyone does something that is on that list from time to time. People even joke "I'm having an add moment", right? But if you read it and it goes ding ding ding, then it is something to look into further.
Other things could be playing a role though. My son has sensory integration disorder which can look a LOT like add/adhd.
inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Symptoms of impulsivity tend to rerspond less favorably to stimulant medication than do symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity.
It is not at all unusual for children with ADHD to display some 'co-morbid' condition - i.e., some condition alongside the ADHD. This could well be the case with your daughter, though thre's no particular indication of this in the information you provided.
hyperactivity, inattention and/or impulsivity). You've clearly done your homework, so to speak, and understand that a single dose of regular Ritalin is entirely metabolized in approx. four hours. In light of this, why does your grandson's improved behavior and disposition persist over the entire day? It may be that, for him, 'getting off on the right foot' makes a big difference in the degree of success he achieves and in the quality of the relationships he experiences.
making careless mistakes, difficulty sustaining attention, difficulty organizing tasks, easily distractable, forgetful) or to hyperactivity - impulsivity (ex: fidgeting, unable to seated, talk excessively, difficulty waiting for turns, interrupt others). These behaviors usually appear in more than one context including home, school or social situations. To meet diagnostic criteria, these symptoms must occur in at least two settings, although the intensity may differ depending on the setting.
Dear Leslie,
Sometimes symptoms of ADHD and developmental issues (e.g., impulsivity, short attention span) can be similar and, at a young age, it is difficult to discern if the child displays true ADHD or is displaying developmental issues which are not really ADHD. It sounds like the pediatrician is making a presumptive diagnosis of ADHD, but acknowledging the difficulty of making a firm diagnosis of ADHD in a child so young.
There are 18 diagnostic criteria for ADHD, and these 18 criteria represent various symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity (children do not have to manifest all of the symptoms to qualify for the diagnosis). It's best not to try to assess this yourself, although the criteria are widely avaialble in books and on the internet.
Recommended
