Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional DD without meds--scary!

YES - I love this idea. Get backing from your doctor.

It's a pet peeve of mine (OM*G it drives me NUTS) when the school over steps their boundaries and delves into realms other than educating. They need to BACK OFF.

To whomever here was concerned enough about DD to report my post to admin. Please. I told her primary care doc about her not eating and other side effects. We cut her dose in half. So now she is on 20 mg. per day instead of 40. It doesn't help. I was told to just stop the meds if we want to do a trial without. There is nothing special we need to do like gradually taking her off. The primary care physician said that this situation is beyond her realm of expertise and gave me referrals. I am taking her into a psych AND a psychiatrist and we may need to change the med entirely. I am on top of the situation, I just wanted to see if anyone had input about the bizarre behavior, like the mood swings (which I will be mentioning to psychologist and psychiatrist).

polarbear--she has a lunch box that she takes in to school every day. It has non-perishable food like cereal, packaged crackers, and beef sticks. She brings the same food back and forth every day. I'm not sure if she bothers taking her lunch box into the cafeteria, but at least I'm sending it with her. I'll tell her she should at least take her lunch into the cafeteria so that people calm down about it. She also has money in her lunch acct. that she can use whenever. But I told her not to buy a lunch unless she plans to eat it.

blackcat-- really sorry that anyone feels the need to "police" something that is really just between your DD and your family physician. {sigh}

We've SO btdt ourselves-- there are times when my DD is simply NOT comfortable eating-- not even her own food. That's her prerogative, and she had that right even at 5 or 6yo.

Yes, she's thin. We know when it's "concerning" and when it isn't. Frankly, this is what a normal body type looks like, I sometimes want to say to others who are trying to force feed her. (Clearly that kind of rhetoric isn't helpful either, of course.)

I don't know what to say about the meds-- other than that a good many parents I've known report that their kids feel some degree of flattened affect while medicated. That alone seems like it could account for more positive affect and more volatility.

blackcat, I would suggest that you post about this over on the Feeding Doctor's blog, if you feel up to it. I have always found her to have topnotch advice about eating issues, which (in the absence of allergies or other "real" health issues) usually boil down to "trust your child."

Blackcat our DD takes 1-2 weeks to fully settle down when taken off meds. For her the mood swings and impulsive tantrums are about the same when taking medication regularly or well settled off it. They are much worse for a week ++ as she stops taking it. She also eats voraciously the first week or two off and then settles down.

Currently she's off and we are yet again weighing up the pros and cons of medication, or not medicating, all of which are significant... It feels like a lose lose lose scenario to me....

Thanks everyone. MumOfThree, what I'd really like to do is take her off for about 2 weeks so that I can see if there is some sort of rebound effect going on here. But I can't do that if she is completely non-functional in school, yells at all her friends, and the teacher can't handle her. Spring break is coming up so maybe we can try it then.
Maybe the people so concerned about food would back off if they see what she's like without her meds. Sigh. Sweet, quiet little girl unleashed as a loud hellion.

blackcat - Spring break should be good. Those meds should be completely out of her system by the time we wakes up the next morning.

I don't have personal experience to contribute here but had a thought as I read through the thread. MumofThree got part of my thought - that it may take some time to physiologically adjust to going off meds. Another thought is that since clearly the meds make a difference for her, it seems like other supports for managing her mood would be critical if/when she is off meds. I wonder whether she is working with a psychologist (or someone else with experience in this area) on developing strategies?

I had an appt. for an initial consult but he rescheduled it. She is rescheduled for just before spring break, I think, so I'll talk to him about it.