Brilliant … But Bouncy

How’s the Strattera working?

Today we visited the neurologist again.  We love our neurologist.  We chose her because she is exceptionally thorough.  Not all doctors are as thorough.

When we were searching for the perfect doctor, I scoured the internet and studied reviews.  I talked to folks for recommendations.  And we went to at least half a dozen doctors.

Our doctor was recommended by a friend, and took more than an hour to examine Dylan.  She took frantic notes the entire time and gave us choices about medication.  She said she liked to dose low and build up, if need be.

We still had another appointment.  The final visit – and the final straw – was the  doctor who took one look at Dylan, asked him if he liked sports, and wrote us a six-month prescription for Vyvanse.  He didn’t even listen to Dylan’s heartbeat.

We chose the thorough doctor.  And she has never wavered in her thoroughness.

“How’s the Strattera working?” she asked.

“Well…” I started.

“Oh, that doesn’t sound good,” she said.

“It’s much better than the high blood pressure medication, but it’s more like a sedative,” I told her.

“How so?”

“He’s much less bouncy, but he still has no focus ability at all,” I said.

“So it’s helping with the hyperactivity but not the attention issues,” she said.

“Yeah,” I said, ever the professional speaker.

In the course of the visit, she asked Dylan about feeling depressed.

“I still do sometimes,” he said, “but not as much as before.”

“You DO?” I asked him.  Then I turned to the doctor.  “He smiles and sings all day, every day!” I told her.  I felt like I was off my game somehow, having missed symptoms of my kid’s depression.

She explored it further, but there wasn’t much more for either of us to say.  I was stunned into silence.  Dylan?  Depressed?! I thought.

“It’s mostly at school,” he said.  “And hardly ever at home.”

Well, I thought, at least that explains why I don’t see it.

After another hour in her office, during which time she explored every symptom of every kind including those that have nothing to do with ADHD, we decided to increase the dose of Strattera and – in a week – add a very small dose of stimulant to the mix.

I asked if it might not be worth our while just to try a different stimulant, in hopes that the depression and pre-suicidal behavior might not return.

“All stimulants will have the same effects,” she said.  “There isn’t one that would be better than any other.”

“I was hoping that maybe there were some that didn’t have the ‘crash’ factor,” I told her.  I had been studying my copy of Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids.

“No,” she assured me.  “Once he has had this reaction, and also the way that he is talking today, I think we should really try to avoid those negative behaviors.”

So here we go again.  Three pills in the morning for a week, adding a touch of stimulant – and a fourth pill – after that.

We shall see.  Meanwhile, not a teeny tiny touch of depression.  Dylan kicked butt in Monopoly again, and we had an absolute blast, all day long.

But that will stop me from worrying about it.