Re: Digest Number 1376

[Guest guest]

, I know you are panicked about 's meds, but a higher dose is not

necessarily the answer. Believe it or not, some meds might work extremely

well at very low doses, and you could get a horrible over-action at a

higher does.

Therefore: It *is* possible that because was bouncing off the walls,

it was because the dose was already TOO high, not because it wasn't high

enough. And really and truly, this is one situation where you can only

look at 's personal medical history with meds, not at what other kids,

and at what sizes they are, are taking.

A few quirky things we not know from Ben's meds:

Ritalin alone will over-stimulate him. This goes for Adderall too.

However, a very small does of ritalin (5 mg in the morning, and 2.5 at

noon) are extremely effective because he's also in risperdal now. But give

him ritalin after 1 pm, when the risperdal's effects are slowing down, and

he gets hyper again.

He had a very bad over-action on Paxil the first time he took it- but we

think the Prozac (which has a very long half life, which makes it hard to

adjust doese correctly) but 2 years later, he took 4 DROPS of paxil /day

and it was effective for several months. We are pretty sure because of his

history with SSRI's that his system doesn't get rid of SSRI's effectively,

and so they build up in his body. So after a while he appears to be on too

high of a dose. when that happens, we wean him off, wait a few months, and

start a different one. It has been worth it to go off an on it like this,

because his ability to focus, not be distracted as much by internal forces

(compulsive, impulsive behaviors), better control of aggressive behaviors,

etc., are a big payoff.

Start low, go slow, has been the motto of our pediatrician when it comes to

meds. He drummed this into us before we ever started PB on these kinds of

meds. I believe this conservative approach has benefitted us. I call in

once a week to talk to the nurse about PB's behaviors- the good, the bad,

and the ugly. We discuss what other factors might be affecting him, is

there is a blip. We never make meds changes during the school week- we

always wait until the weekedn or even better a three -day weekend. This

way, we can control other factors when it comes to behaviors. (For

example, there have been sub aides the last few weeks off and on. PB's

aide being out can really throw him for a loop, thus overriding our ability

to know if it was that incident or a meds change that was the problem.

Also, do you have a neuropharmacologist or psychopharmacologist you can

talk to? These folks are amazing, becuase all of their work is with these

kinds of drugs. They can tell you about the kinds of variations in dosing

among patients, and the one I was able to talk to could explain in real

language what the meds were doing. (That is how we found out about the

SSRI's staying in PB's system longer.)

Good luck, ! I know that sinking feeling when you can't predict what

he is going to do next.....

Beth, Mum to Ben, age 11

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/19/2002 10:35:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time, writes:

> Have you ever wondered if stachy has been "placed" in certain areas or

> dropped maybe from the sky to test it out as being a biowarfare

> weapon?

>

It's listed by AMA as a Bioterrorism Agent. I don't think it's being dropped from the sky, though...lol.

Joanne

[Guest guest]

Hi there.

Anyone know if wheat grass is an avoid for O's?

Thanks in advance,

[Guest guest]

It isn't

RE: Digest Number 1376

Hi there.

Anyone know if wheat grass is an avoid for O's?

Thanks in advance,

[Guest guest]

Dr. D says it is good for all blood types as long as it is the grass. I

remember reading that a couple of years ago.

RE: Digest Number 1376

> Hi there.

>

> Anyone know if wheat grass is an avoid for O's?

>

> Thanks in advance,

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

autism wrote: