ADHD Rebound

It has nearly been one week since Alexander has been prescribed ADHD medications. He was diagnosed with both the inattentive form of ADHD and the Hyperactive form.

Not only is the poor kid impulsive and hyper, he also legitimately doesn't even hear us when we give him directions. If you can imagine, we'd be frustrated and he wouldn't have a clue.

He's a bit younger than a standard ADHD kid would be diagnosed, but we apparently have a very strong family history of ADHD, as he is the fourth of our children to be diagnosed, (the other two are still babies).

At a certain point as a mom of ADHD kids, you see it though. I had been ignoring it for about six months before he threw our cat down the stairs and broke his leg. The kitty is recovering well, by the way, but man was that expensive.

We'd told him over and over and over again that it was dangerous for him to carry the cat and that one of them might get hurt. We'd spent countless hours showing him how to pet and treat our pets nicely. That morning though, his impulses got the best of him.

So I scheduled the appointment and got his diagnosis. I wasn't surprised. A couple of days later we started his prescription. The lowest dose, twice a day.

I see an ADHD counselor to help me parent all of these ADHD kids. He gives me strategies for dealing with them that are not quite how I would usually respond. The counselor recommended we give him only one dose for the first few days to see what kind of a difference it made.

Day 1 was enough for me. Alexander was an angel the morning he had his pill. He even responded to my non-verbal queues, which is huge when you can't even get your kid to hear your verbal requests. The afternoon rolled around and the medication was out of his system. Queue devil child. He was everywhere, breaking things, jumping on things, taking non stop and not listening or following instructions. He was mouthy too. Some of this was normal for him prior to the meds, but the rest, not at all.

I texted the counselor and asked if I could go ahead and give him two doses the next day. He said yes, so I did. Day two, the entire day was great, until the evening. Then it was more of the same. The poor kid was in so much trouble by the end of the night that we just sent him to bed.

Day 3, 4, and 5 I had some trouble keeping him on the right schedule. I don't generally break for lunch at work right at noon, so It would be 2PM or so before I'd realize what was happening, and yes, he was generally in trouble by then. Working with kids during the summer is really tough.

So today rolled around and this kid got both doses on time and he's been sorting toys all day and having an absolute blast doing it. He's still disruptive, but not to the point that I feel like I have to work an additional two hours to make up for how many times he's distracted me. The meds should be out of his system by now, and he's still ok.

So I asked my counselor what was up, and I wasn't surprised by the answer. As his body adjusts to the stimulant he is getting so tired from being focused that when the medications wear off he compensates by being a complete prat.

So he needs sleep and a good meal to help with the rebound.

Unfortunately, he's also my 10PM child. This kid won't go to sleep. His older brother was that way too, so we have to deal with that.

Pray that we figure out how to wind him down enough for good quality sleep and much better days.

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Kristian is a mom of six, Program Manager by day, active Professional Photographer by trade, and a big believer in finding beauty in the everyday chaos.

Life in our house is loud, messy and full of literally everything. Love, noise, laundry, laughter, and definitely could use a bit more grace. I'm happily married to my best friend, grounded in my Catholic faith, and fueled by five to six hours of sleep per night and adrenaline.

I try to find joy in the everyday — even when it's wild, because without the little bit of joy, this life would be unbearable. This space is for the moms in the middle of it all: the ones juggling family, faith, work, and wonder. The ones that need someone else's messy life to make their own seem better or somewhat normal. You're not alone, and you're doing better than you think.

Welcome to Six Sweet Smiles — where we celebrate the mess, the miracles, and everything in between.