Children that are on medication for mood disorders such as ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, or Asperger’s syndrome have to be watched to see how they are reacting to the drugs.  Each one has side effects that parents have to be aware of.  ADHD medications, for example, can cause stomach upsets, weight loss, or insomnia.  Not only that but mood changes have to be monitored.  Quite often the prescribed dose will stop working over time and will either have to be changed or a different medication must be prescribed.

When making a med change parents must be aware of the procedures that need to be followed.  Some medications cannot just be stopped; they need to be weaned slowly over a period of days or weeks.  Similarly, other drugs may have to start at a smaller dose and then be increased to the required one.  Always follow your doctor’s recommendations.

My 8 year old son Max is in the middle of getting a med change.  In his case he is being treated for both ADHD and Bipolar Disorder.  He had been having large mood swings that were interfering with his relationships so something had to be changed.  His psychiatrist does not want to make any changes to the bipolar meds until he is weaned off of the ADHD stimulants so that he can see what changes can be made.

The doctor suggested doing it slowly.  We have reduced the stimulants from 3 doses per day to 2 so far.  Consequently we are seeing much wilder behavior but another change we have noticed has been in his eating habits.  Other recommendations for his ADHD medication have been:

Before all of this started Max was a very high energy kid and thin as a rail.  He exercised constantly and was proud of his “washboard” stomach or, as he calls them, his “6-pack Abs”.  His weight has always fallen into the low end of his height and age range.  This is a result of his suppressed appetite.

But as we decreased his stimulants we noticed that he was starting to eat more.  We have also increased his bipolar meds a bit and now he can eat voraciously at meals.  Where before we were practically begging him to eat, we are now doing the reverse: “No more food Max!”.

And over the passed few weeks we have also noticed that he is filling out.  My mother says that he is starting to look like a regular kid.  But I’ve that his cheeks are becoming fuller.  We are now going to have to watch that he doesn’t put on too much weight.  He won’t want to lose those abs!

Whenever our children are taking meds like this, especially if long term, we have to watch to see how their bodies and moods react.  It is not enough to say “Okay, got them on their meds, now I can relax.”  It doesn’t work that way.  As their bodies adjust, changes may have to be made.  One here or one there can cause wild changes in moods.  It can cause obesity or weight loss.  Some meds even require blood tests on a monthly basis to watch for possible liver damage.

We always have to be vigilant.