Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2008 12:11:42 GMT
As most might know my son has been quite unwell for some time, not only with ADHD but is suffering with a number of co - existing conditions, anxiety, depression ect, with led him to a breakdown in May and from the side effects of taking prozac which have caused extreem tinnitus and hypercusis ( extreem pain in the ears ) he might also have aspergers.
He was seen by an adhd specialist who talked to the both of us for a while and said he thought my son had adhd and a 'plethora' of co - existing conditions and he would be making out a report to pass on to my sons psychiatrist. We then saw the psychiatrist who said she could not start anything with my son untill that report came through. After a lot of nagging this report finally came through to her and on Friday my sons CPN rang here, spoke to my mother and said that a prescription on Ritalin could be picked up from my GP either this Monday or Tuesday.
You think we should be happy about this but we're not. it just doesn't seem right.. I might be wrong but i wondered what other people think about this as my son has not undergone any of the usual testing for adhd. no form filling or psychometric testing of any kind. We have no idea of what co - existing conditions he has with ADHD or if there is a any form of austsm present. No one has discussed what meds would be best for him or talked to him about the effects of meds or how this will affect his adhd. Shouldn't there have been at least a consultation to discuss his adhd diagnosis and how this affects his mental health problems and above all shouldn't he have been consulted about what medication he was being prescribed for it... it all seems very roughshot ad unproffessional to me.
You see my son does have adhd ( he was origionally diagnosed at age ten and took ritalin for a short time then ) but he also has huge mental health problems which affect him and our family to a major extent, more than ADHD ever did. For him it's not as simple as taking a tablet that helps his adhd as he will still be left with his mental health issues.
Her is just one little part of the problem amongst all the other stuff. Since a child he has been unable to sleep during normal hours.. he will fall asleep exausted at about 4 am and sleep through till 12.. no ammount of trying to change this has done any good as his internal clock does not work in the same way as most peoples.. this has causes no end of social and work related problems. he is worse now that the tinnitus is so loud as he is unable to sleep at all ! and has been on strong prescription sleeping tablets for the past five months. likewise he is also on diazepan for his panic and anxiety disorder. he is constantly vomiting and has since may lost roughly 4 stone.
he can't just come off tablets he has been on for the past five months to go onto ritalin and he can't mix them either... no one has talked to us about this. we don't even know what dose he has been prescribed. forgive me if i'm not using medical terminology here but i didn't think you were supposed to take 'uppers' and 'downers ' together. But what is he supposed to do.. he has adhd and should be on a med for it but he also has a severe anxiety disorder and needs something for that too.
This is how his problem affect him and the rest of the family, this has been going on since May and he will get like this over any little thing let alone this big thing. .Since finding out on Friday that this has happened my son has has a number of serious anxiety and panic atacks. He has cried constantly, become extreemly irrational, angry,and has lashed out at things. extreemly paranoid as he knows what prozac did to him he has also told me he is hallucinating, he is scared of taking the ritalin in case it makes his tinnitus worse and scared not to in case he doesn't get any more help.has not eaten, has been constantly sick has not slept. I have has to watch him 24/7 . ( he becomes so irrational and has suicidal thoughts ) I stay up all night talking him through it or do things that will try and distract him. I am so exahusted and angry myself. So does this sound right to you... why has he been told to go pick up his ritalin without even being consulted or talked to. is that really the way things are done? it's unbelievable.. Since May, when all this happened, his life has become unbearable and he askes me to 'let him go' much of the time.. I honestly do concider it as seeing someone you love suffer so much is something i wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. i struggle to get the menta lhealth system to do anything about it.. he is totaly incapable of dealing with them himself.
Sorry this is such a long post and this is only part of the problem we have. my son has adhd and mental health problems and there is i no suitable treatment here and i'm so angry about it. We are stuck, at the end of the road and there seems nothing more we can do. We just don't think we can fight this system anymore a system that does not listen or take everything into account. Why is it so difficult for them to see they have to treat adhd and mental health together and not as separate things. They have already told me that he is an exceptionally unusual case - i take this to mean they haven't a bloody clue how to deal with it - my boy desparatly needs help. he needs to go into a residential unit or something where there is specialist help. Sorry to ramble on i just needed to get allthis down.
He was seen by an adhd specialist who talked to the both of us for a while and said he thought my son had adhd and a 'plethora' of co - existing conditions and he would be making out a report to pass on to my sons psychiatrist. We then saw the psychiatrist who said she could not start anything with my son untill that report came through. After a lot of nagging this report finally came through to her and on Friday my sons CPN rang here, spoke to my mother and said that a prescription on Ritalin could be picked up from my GP either this Monday or Tuesday.
You think we should be happy about this but we're not. it just doesn't seem right.. I might be wrong but i wondered what other people think about this as my son has not undergone any of the usual testing for adhd. no form filling or psychometric testing of any kind. We have no idea of what co - existing conditions he has with ADHD or if there is a any form of austsm present. No one has discussed what meds would be best for him or talked to him about the effects of meds or how this will affect his adhd. Shouldn't there have been at least a consultation to discuss his adhd diagnosis and how this affects his mental health problems and above all shouldn't he have been consulted about what medication he was being prescribed for it... it all seems very roughshot ad unproffessional to me.
You see my son does have adhd ( he was origionally diagnosed at age ten and took ritalin for a short time then ) but he also has huge mental health problems which affect him and our family to a major extent, more than ADHD ever did. For him it's not as simple as taking a tablet that helps his adhd as he will still be left with his mental health issues.
Her is just one little part of the problem amongst all the other stuff. Since a child he has been unable to sleep during normal hours.. he will fall asleep exausted at about 4 am and sleep through till 12.. no ammount of trying to change this has done any good as his internal clock does not work in the same way as most peoples.. this has causes no end of social and work related problems. he is worse now that the tinnitus is so loud as he is unable to sleep at all ! and has been on strong prescription sleeping tablets for the past five months. likewise he is also on diazepan for his panic and anxiety disorder. he is constantly vomiting and has since may lost roughly 4 stone.
he can't just come off tablets he has been on for the past five months to go onto ritalin and he can't mix them either... no one has talked to us about this. we don't even know what dose he has been prescribed. forgive me if i'm not using medical terminology here but i didn't think you were supposed to take 'uppers' and 'downers ' together. But what is he supposed to do.. he has adhd and should be on a med for it but he also has a severe anxiety disorder and needs something for that too.
This is how his problem affect him and the rest of the family, this has been going on since May and he will get like this over any little thing let alone this big thing. .Since finding out on Friday that this has happened my son has has a number of serious anxiety and panic atacks. He has cried constantly, become extreemly irrational, angry,and has lashed out at things. extreemly paranoid as he knows what prozac did to him he has also told me he is hallucinating, he is scared of taking the ritalin in case it makes his tinnitus worse and scared not to in case he doesn't get any more help.has not eaten, has been constantly sick has not slept. I have has to watch him 24/7 . ( he becomes so irrational and has suicidal thoughts ) I stay up all night talking him through it or do things that will try and distract him. I am so exahusted and angry myself. So does this sound right to you... why has he been told to go pick up his ritalin without even being consulted or talked to. is that really the way things are done? it's unbelievable.. Since May, when all this happened, his life has become unbearable and he askes me to 'let him go' much of the time.. I honestly do concider it as seeing someone you love suffer so much is something i wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. i struggle to get the menta lhealth system to do anything about it.. he is totaly incapable of dealing with them himself.
Sorry this is such a long post and this is only part of the problem we have. my son has adhd and mental health problems and there is i no suitable treatment here and i'm so angry about it. We are stuck, at the end of the road and there seems nothing more we can do. We just don't think we can fight this system anymore a system that does not listen or take everything into account. Why is it so difficult for them to see they have to treat adhd and mental health together and not as separate things. They have already told me that he is an exceptionally unusual case - i take this to mean they haven't a bloody clue how to deal with it - my boy desparatly needs help. he needs to go into a residential unit or something where there is specialist help. Sorry to ramble on i just needed to get allthis down.