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Yesterday I gave my five year old (six in March) son two teaspoons of Benadryl help him with his cold....OMGeez! You would not believe how hyper it made him! I am still recuperating. Is this normal? He takes Claritin daily -except yesterday because I gave him Benadryl that morning and the night before I gave him cough medication. He also takes QVAR and Nasonex daily and yesterday received a total of three puffs of his emergency albuterol inhaler. He also receives immunology injections to treat his severe allergies.
I am concerned that he has ADD/ADHD now. I am freaked out because I am against treating children with stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin as I am a grad student specializing in addiction counseling. I read the herbal supplements help some children but because of all of his food allergies I will not give him those either.
He is a brilliant kid with endless energy. He builds 30X30 airplanes/helicopters etc. complete with halogen lights on the wings, a complicated dash board, wheels, seats for passengers, wood ramps etc. He does experiments with baking soda and other kitchen stuff (with supervision of course). He builds castles indoors, fire houses etc. I encourage all of this and my 5500 sq ft house becomes a disaster zone as soon as I have cleaned it and he gets home from school. He plays with the 9 year old neighbors that love to come over and build things too. He loves all kids though. They are only available on Sunday and maybe 2 times during the week tops. He makes sure I am involved in most of his projects. However, he is completely disinterested in sitting still to do homework and it is a major showdown for me to get him to do so - which is daily because I insist that he does well in school. I'm not sure how he "ranks" in school because it seems unfair to do that but I do kind of want a baseline. He can write to 100 on his own and reads all his sight words and books they give him but I'm not sure if it is memorization or an understanding of the work. I worked with him on an abacus when he was younger and his math skills are impressive (in my opinion because I had trouble with math)...he can add and subtract up to say 20. He doesn't like to sleep either...he wakes up at the crack of down in both winter and summer and goes all day long. I can hear him know running around upstairs making some huge mess -ugh! It makes me nervous and I'm exhausted! I am 41 and don't date, don't do much with anyone because I am completely devoted to my son...he would just have a fit if I did something without him. I have never had a babysitter either....Woe is me! I think I need the Adderall just to keep up! JK.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Insight? Hope? I want him to have a good life...but I am concerned he won't be able to sit still. The only time he sits still is when we read books before bedtime - which takes like 45 minutes and also when he watches Martha Speaks, Curious George and Calliou. There is no way I will ever allow him to play video games either - no way, too much stimulation and a waste of time.
Does it sound like ADD/ADHD? Or is that a no duh assessment of mine. What can I do to help him get what his mind needs to operate at his level yet encourage learning and furthermore help him to have some down time?
Thanks
(Sorry for the poor grammar - I've no time to be too mindful because he wants to play!)
PS- His allergist called him a genius but I feel people say that a lot to make parents feel good.
Last edited by breakingbad; 01-24-2013 at 02:42 PM..
Reason: Forgot to give his age! He is five!
Based on your post? I'd say no but I don't know what he is like day to day. I would talk to his pediatrician if I was concerned. Lots of kids bounce around and can't sit still. Lots of kids can't focus on homework. Ask his teacher if he has trouble focusing in school. That may give you some insight. Benadryl does stimulate and ramp up some kids. Was there food dye in the benedryl? That can cause behavioral reactions as well.
You do realize that you already have this five year old child on a huge cocktail of drugs !!!! In a several hour span, you gave him Claritin, Benadryl , QVAR, Nasonex and albuterol.
Have you ever discussed with a medical professional the interactions these drugs can cause? And they are drugs. Ever read the warning paperwork that comes in their containers?. He's five years old ! Why are you giving multiple types of drugs that treat similar symptoms ? Some of these drugs such as Nasonex are not even recommended for children under the age of 6. Does the child's doctor know how many drugs you are mixing together at the same time ?
Yes, people can get hyper from Benadryl- it often doesn't work the way you think it would.
I don't think your child has ADHD- he may be over medicated, he may showing signs of bad drug interactions. I'm surprised he's not swinging from the ceiling. Perhaps it's time to sit down with his pediatrician and come up with a better plan. What's going on right now is not good for the child at all .
On the meantime, sometimes the old ways may be helpful- a steam vaporizer, some Vicks on the chest , etc. Can't be any worse than throwing every drug you can buy into the little guy all during the course of several hours.
I would definitely get input from the pediatrician or allergist regarding the doses and interactions of the drugs. I'd also talk to the allergist about the Claritin. It doesn't sound as though it's working, and there are other good alternatives. In the allergic child Benadryl is fine in emergencies, but ask your allergist for advice regarding dosage of his other medications in preference to avoid the grogginess.
What allergies does your son have?
I feel your pain though as my son had many severe allergies, and needed to be on a variety of medications to keep them under control. In my son's case being exposed to specific allergens was comparable to giving him a triple espresso, it seemed to be a major neurological stimulant, he'd talk non-stop and get hyper-excited.
Depending on his allergies it sounds as though you may need to step up the prevention. If he has seasonal allergies a shower at night, keep bedroom doors and windows closed, carpets vacuumed, etc. Basic stuff, but it really helps.
Yes, he is on an enormous amount of medication. The Nasonex, Claritin and QVAR are daily maintenance rx for his severe environmental allergies and the daily dosages have actually decreased thanks to the immunology injections. Before this treatment plan he had constant infections, high fever, respiratory problems etc. He could not even go outside. It has been a huge blessing! In addition, I do the neti-pot every night and he will get into a steam shower several times a week. Before I had him I would have thought it was way too much too. I also moved from TX to AZ in hopes to alleviate some of his allergies and asthma but it seems worse due to the air quality...then having to start a new serum concoction didn't help. I also have installed wood floors in all the carpeted rooms, vacuum/dust mop everyday, launder sheets every three days (all sheets and blankets that he uses) nad have dust mite covers on all the bedding as well. It is tiring and hard to manage but routine. At any rate, both pediatric Dr.'s have assured me this is the best treatment for him and is better than the alternative.
...I gave him the Benadryl in place of the Claritin and waited 24 hours to do the switch. I never noticed a Benadryl reaction like this but it reminded me when he was rushed to the ER and given the Epinephrine Attarax, Benadryl, Prevacid and Singular....in like one hour! I swear unless it is an emergency I'll never do it again as the Claritin has worked well usually but he was sick yesterday and I didn't want his nasal discharge to sit up in his sinuses brewing away.
I live in fear of what could happen to him without all of this rx....it was so traumatic for him (and me) when he had such reactions. I feel horrible but he needs the medication.
The dr.'s have not suggested that he is hyper nor did they give me a "heads up" on the medications other than it shouldn't have much effect on his behavior. I suppose I am just getting old...
But he seems hyper and I want his life to be easier than mine of course. Having ADD/ADHD makes it a little tougher and then throwing severe food and environmental into that mixture makes it worse. Having a counseling background you'd think I'd be prepared for these things but I'm not---too personal and giving narcotics to kids seems irresponsible to me.
He eats mostly chicken, cheese and couscous/rice. He does have some sugar and I let him drink reduced sugar Capri Sun usually. I definitely can reduce the sugar and I will from now on due to this epiphany. He exercises everyday...I ride bikes everyday with him to a park about a mile away and let him play with friends...he does soccer...baseball soon...and of course runs around like a nut. He is very tall and muscular for his age but I attribute it to the steroids I was given for his lung development in utero during pre-term labor at 24 weeks. I actually think maybe that has a lot to do with allergies and asthma as well.
Good advice and I feel like I am backed into a corner....I think I am doing a good job as a single divorced mom and I am truly blessed by God to have him...he is definitely a survivor but i am just concerned about that crazy energy he has all the time.
Thank you for your responses.
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