FASD: Should We Try Medication?
July 8th 2011 04:26
I’m beginning to think of medicating a fetal alcohol effected child like playing Wheel of Fortune. Open the new medication package, spin that wheel and see where we land. Occasionally we hit the jackpot, like when I discovered melatonin, and we can rest on our good fortune. Most spins, however, land on prizes that are really nothing special. They have a miniscule effect, but nothing to write home about. Sometimes the spin completely bombs. Like landing on Bankrupt and watching all your prize money disappear.
For us Straterra was that Bankrupt spin. My daughter went from hyper and aggressive, to ultra hyper and disinhibited. She jumped the baby gate at the top of the stairs to try and follow my husband to work. She stood on the back of his chair at the dinner table spitting in his hair. She chased her friends down the street screaming and crying because they didn’t give her a hug good-bye before heading home. All this happened within a two hour period the first day she tried the medication. Dexedrine was another. We saw virtually no effect from the medication when it was in her system, but once it began to wear off the crash was horrendous. She fell asleep in a restaurant at supper time, then cried for seven hours straight about everything. Both these medications have worked very well for other children.
It’s a game of chance because every medication has a different effect on each child. There is no one medication that is guaranteed to help with the hyperactivity, impulsiveness or aggression. Children with FASD frequently have opposite or different reactions to medication than intended. Gravol for instance is occasionally given to children with difficulty falling asleep. It makes my daughter more alert and active. I don’t even like to give it to her when she is ill because of how stimulating it is.
Sadly, there is no certain way to know what medication will work for your child until you have tried them. Even the psychiatrist was taken aback by the bad effects Straterra had on my daughter as it is the gentlest of the ADHD meds. It’s a lot like gambling. If I pop this pill into my child’s mouth will she gain better control of her impulses or add heart palpitations to impulsivity? Will he focus better or begin to drowse off in class? You spin that wheel and hope for the best.
So if finding the right med to treat the symptoms of FASD is such a game of chance and the side effects can often be harsh, is it worth medicating a child with fetal alcohol exposure? That depends. How bad are the symptoms you want to medicate? Is your child’s lack of focus or impulsiveness mild and only really bothers the third grade teacher or does your child wander into traffic after shiny things? Safety is one of the best reasons for medications, both your child’s safety and the safety of others. If you can’t keep your child or those around them safe, medicate.
3 Questions to Help You Decide
How do you feel around your child? Are you fine, but her behavior bothers other adults? Are you completely worn out and ready to cuff him upside the head the next time he pulls everything out of the cupboards and fridge to bake a cake for his imaginary dog? Do you want to hide from your child? Do you fear for your safety? If parenting has become unbearable or even really difficult and there are no other factors in your life that might just be making you stressed then it is probably time to try medications.
Does your child have good relationships with their peers? If your child is having a very difficult time making friends because they are too hyper or aggressive medication might be able to help. My daughter becomes so overstimulated around other children that she begins screaming at them after 10 or 15 minutes and sends them home. She was calmer on Risperidone and got along much better with peers. Unfortunately the weight gain was horrendous.
Is the problem important to your child? If your child is ashamed of their lack of focus or impulse control and it is lowering their self esteem, and affecting their relationships with others, then it might be worth considering medication.
Quality of life should be one of the biggest factors in determining whether or not to try medications. Is your FASD child getting in trouble and feeling rejected frequently? Are they unable to participate in normal age related activities because of their behavior? If your child’s quality of life is being severely decreased by their disabilities then medication is at least worth a spin.
There are no guarantees that any medication will work the way we hope it will. Fetal alcohol exposure has many strange effects on the system. My daughter is currently only taking melatonin as the others we tried failed and the ones we have yet to try are for older children. But you never know, you may spin that wheel and land on Jackpot. If you try medications and they don’t work, well, you tried. Don’t feel pressured to continue if the side effects you see at home are worse than the problems you sought help for. Don’t give up too easily either. If you have only tried one medication you may be quitting too soon. Your child may just need a different class of medication.
For us Straterra was that Bankrupt spin. My daughter went from hyper and aggressive, to ultra hyper and disinhibited. She jumped the baby gate at the top of the stairs to try and follow my husband to work. She stood on the back of his chair at the dinner table spitting in his hair. She chased her friends down the street screaming and crying because they didn’t give her a hug good-bye before heading home. All this happened within a two hour period the first day she tried the medication. Dexedrine was another. We saw virtually no effect from the medication when it was in her system, but once it began to wear off the crash was horrendous. She fell asleep in a restaurant at supper time, then cried for seven hours straight about everything. Both these medications have worked very well for other children.
It’s a game of chance because every medication has a different effect on each child. There is no one medication that is guaranteed to help with the hyperactivity, impulsiveness or aggression. Children with FASD frequently have opposite or different reactions to medication than intended. Gravol for instance is occasionally given to children with difficulty falling asleep. It makes my daughter more alert and active. I don’t even like to give it to her when she is ill because of how stimulating it is.
Sadly, there is no certain way to know what medication will work for your child until you have tried them. Even the psychiatrist was taken aback by the bad effects Straterra had on my daughter as it is the gentlest of the ADHD meds. It’s a lot like gambling. If I pop this pill into my child’s mouth will she gain better control of her impulses or add heart palpitations to impulsivity? Will he focus better or begin to drowse off in class? You spin that wheel and hope for the best.
So if finding the right med to treat the symptoms of FASD is such a game of chance and the side effects can often be harsh, is it worth medicating a child with fetal alcohol exposure? That depends. How bad are the symptoms you want to medicate? Is your child’s lack of focus or impulsiveness mild and only really bothers the third grade teacher or does your child wander into traffic after shiny things? Safety is one of the best reasons for medications, both your child’s safety and the safety of others. If you can’t keep your child or those around them safe, medicate.
3 Questions to Help You Decide
How do you feel around your child? Are you fine, but her behavior bothers other adults? Are you completely worn out and ready to cuff him upside the head the next time he pulls everything out of the cupboards and fridge to bake a cake for his imaginary dog? Do you want to hide from your child? Do you fear for your safety? If parenting has become unbearable or even really difficult and there are no other factors in your life that might just be making you stressed then it is probably time to try medications.
Does your child have good relationships with their peers? If your child is having a very difficult time making friends because they are too hyper or aggressive medication might be able to help. My daughter becomes so overstimulated around other children that she begins screaming at them after 10 or 15 minutes and sends them home. She was calmer on Risperidone and got along much better with peers. Unfortunately the weight gain was horrendous.
Is the problem important to your child? If your child is ashamed of their lack of focus or impulse control and it is lowering their self esteem, and affecting their relationships with others, then it might be worth considering medication.
Quality of life should be one of the biggest factors in determining whether or not to try medications. Is your FASD child getting in trouble and feeling rejected frequently? Are they unable to participate in normal age related activities because of their behavior? If your child’s quality of life is being severely decreased by their disabilities then medication is at least worth a spin.
There are no guarantees that any medication will work the way we hope it will. Fetal alcohol exposure has many strange effects on the system. My daughter is currently only taking melatonin as the others we tried failed and the ones we have yet to try are for older children. But you never know, you may spin that wheel and land on Jackpot. If you try medications and they don’t work, well, you tried. Don’t feel pressured to continue if the side effects you see at home are worse than the problems you sought help for. Don’t give up too easily either. If you have only tried one medication you may be quitting too soon. Your child may just need a different class of medication.
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