The Strattera® Chronicles (part 2)

*WARNING: This will be a long blog entry as it contains a 10-day log of Joseph’s reactions to Strattera®.  It was started to identify any reactions he might have experienced.  I did not want to post it as a daily log.  I was going to wait the full 30-days, however I have found a 10-day log is still educational and will continue my 30-day log and will update every 10 days.*

Read about the first 10 days here.

Day Eleven

Joseph was picking on Sam and Joshua this morning.  Joshua was picking on Sam too.  We were busy packing to go home from Sedona.  We gave Joseph his medicine a bit early (picking on his brothers reminds us that he’s back.)  Afterwards he did pack up his things.  When they were done and had eaten we sent them out to play until we were ready to go.

Day Twelve

I was not home today (at work) so my experience was Joseph wasn’t working on his school work so I said we should give him his meds.  I asked Joe how the day went and he said after he took his medicine he stayed on task more.  Joseph did not finish a spelling assignment or a Literature assignment

Day Thirteen

Since I was at work again today, most of this is based on Joe’s assessment and my grading his schoolwork.  This morning was the same as yesterday.  Joe says after taking his medicine, he thinks it didn’t really make a difference.  He was off and on today when it came to doing his schoolwork.  He did not complete the Spelling assignment for today, however he finished the one from yesterday.  I cannot tell at this point if he completed the History Lesson.  I can see he worked on it, but I don’t know if he did the writing part as I don’t see it anywhere.  He completed yesterday’s Literature assignment, but not today’s.  We print out the weekly list so he knows where he falls behind and has to make up by the end of the week or work on Saturday.  I asked if Joseph did Math (his favorite subject) and Joe said he started it but then when it was too much he stopped working on it.  They did have fun with Science today studying motion.  In fact, they measured the weight of the centripetal force that an item created by attaching it to a scale.  That wasn’t part of the lesson, but they did it anyway.  He really enjoyed working on science.  He did not work on Art either. 

Day Fourteen

Joseph had difficulty staying on task and did not get enough work completed to account for a full day.  While he wasn’t able to get enough lessons done the last 2 days, he was able to get enough hours in.  He needs to make up hours he is behind so completing everything on his list is imperative.

Day Fifteen

It was as if Joseph didn’t take any medication today. He picked on his brothers whenever possible (chasing them around the house, doing things that would purposefully annoy them, etc.)  He didn’t stay focused on his work and didn’t get enough hours in to even account for a full day.  Today is the last day of the reduced medicine pill.  His pill today is equal to about ¾ of a full dosage.

Day Sixteen

Joseph had a hard time getting focused and getting work done, however once my parents called at 7pm to say they’d take the boys for the night, Joseph did get busy and got many assignments done in the next three hours before they got here.

Day Seventeen

Joseph was at my parent’s home most of the day so I am not sure what to report for him.  He told me he spent about an hour reading his book (for school.)  When I came home he was already home and acting normal like his brothers.  

Day Eighteen

I wonder if his Primary teacher noticed a difference in him today.  It’s getting near the end of the year.  He has difficulty with change and usually causes problems for his new teachers. 

Day Nineteen

Joseph had a great day today in regards to schoolwork.  He was able to complete multiple assignment and put in enough hours to help catch up on his hours.  I was at work so I was not able to observe his behavior.  I can only see the product.

Day Twenty

Today was like yesterday.  Lots done, I couldn’t observe his behavior.

Recap of the last 10 days:  It seems like the first part of the 10 days when he was on the 3/4 dosage that he didn't maintain focus on getting his schoolwork done, however when we switched to the full dosage he was more focused.  He's recently started reading more.  He's always been able to jump into a book and read, however now he is reading not to waste time but as something to do when he's done working.  I also found that since I was back on work I could not observe his behavior and therefore, had to rely on the observations of others or on merely what had been accomplished during the day.

The Strattera® Chronicles (part 1)

*WARNING: This will be a long blog entry as it contains a 10-day log of Joseph’s reactions to Strattera®.  It was started to identify any reactions he might have experienced.  I did not want to post it as a daily log.  I was going to wait the full 30-days, however I have found a 10-day log is still educational and will continue my 30-day log and will update every 10 days.*

Joseph has been home-schooling for over a year and has started to decline again in his schoolwork.  Some days he can get many assignments done, but after the first month of school, he started to decline.  He was getting behind in every subject and in overall attendance hours.  His teacher put him on an action plan today to bring his work up to par and make up for lost time. 

I took Joshua to the doctor for some allergy medicine and the doctor gave me a sample of Strattera® to try out on Joseph.  Straterra® was previously recommended as the correct medication for him to take, however due to the suicidal tendency side-effect we elected to try all other non-medical options for him first.  That was one of the reasons why we moved Joseph to home-schooling.  The other reason was that we felt the school really wasn’t going to do anything more for Joseph.  They refused to give him an IEP because they didn’t feel it was necessary.

 

Day One (11-20-2009)

We gave Joseph his first introductory dose at 5pm.  Like most medications Joseph needs to be weaned onto it.  When I switched from Dilantin® to Tegretol®, I had to wean off one while weaning onto the other.  So it’s understandable that he would start with a low dosage and work his way up to a higher one.  At first I wasn’t noticing any changes because he’d wrestle with his brothers and after removing them from him so he could do his work, he actually started doing work (after he already told Joe before taking it he was done for the day) and when he finished an assignment he asked for more.  When I switched him to another subject at first he contested and then he willingly moved on to the work.  Was this merely a placebo effect?

Day Two

Joseph took his dose at 10:15am.  We decided to start giving him the medication in the morning so it will give him the most benefit during the day.  He said he had a little trouble sleeping last night.  He said as he was laying there he’d feel dizzy as if the house was moving.  He’s noticed he has the burps (like the almost vomit kind.)  He sat next to me on the couch as started shaking like he was convulsing but he was doing it all himself.  He said there are words spinning in his head and he was trying to stop them by shaking his head.  The words in his head don’t hurt him but he is getting a headache.  He feels yesterday was perfect.   So far an hour later he is still acting just like Joseph always does.   Just when I think it is working because he seems focused on his art project, he starts humming, singing or making some ghastly noise.

Day Three

I was at work when Joseph took his medicine this morning and was gone most of the day so I was unable to observe his behavior.  After coming home, however he is still acting like his normal self.  When I asked Joe if he noticed anything different about Joseph’s behavior today, his reply was, “No, he was the same.” 

Day Four

Joseph took his medicine after he came home from church.  We finished up packing the car for our annual trip to Sedona.  His behavior was not noticeably different.  He did sleep in the car on the way up and when we arrived he unpacked his own suitcase and watched television with his brothers until dinner.  We sent him to bed a bit later than normal and he did have difficulty falling to sleep.

Day Five

We gave Joseph his last low dosage pill today because he was annoying.  He was playing miniature golf and getting frustrated when he was losing and he wasn’t remaining calm.  After we gave him his medicine, he still was rather active and did not want to work on school work.  By the end of the day he was two assignments short of his overall daily plan.  This took literally all day to complete 5 assignments.   The two remaining assignments he’ll have to make up tomorrow in addition to the 7 needed.  Tomorrow a slightly higher dosage starts as well.

Day Six

Joseph was a bit less difficult today.  He was able to complete all his school work for today as well as the two assignments left over from yesterday.  After wards, he had time to play.   I am not sure if he worked hard because the next 3 days are going to be vacation time or if he was just more focused.

Day Seven

This morning we competed in the miniature golf contest and Joseph was very active.  He kept “practicing” because he was bored waiting again for his turn.  He had not yet had his medicine so we can’t expect him to act differently.  After it was over, we went back to our room and ate breakfast and he took his medicine.  His brothers wanted to play outside afterward and so we made Joseph wait until it had been an hour.  Before sending him out to play we instructed him to behave, act calmly, and be respectful of our reputations (not so much that I care, but I wanted him to understand his behavior reflects on us.)  Joe checked up on him and he was acting fine.  I am watching him play in the pool right now and he is a bit crazy, however he is playing with other children.  It is the day before Thanksgiving and he’s swimming in a pool.  At least he is burning off extra energy so he can sleep well tonight.  Oh occasionally he has said he has a hard time falling to sleep.

Day Eight

Joseph was able to go out and play today with his brothers.  We didn’t hear any complaints.  He and his brothers have developed a rash and Adam is sick from eating cookie dough that was left out all night.  Other than those ailments, none of which affect Joseph he’s been fine.  We went to a park today and Joseph sat alone watching everyone else play.  Then I decided to do the fitness trail and he joined me.  We then played wall-ball, or a variation of it.

Day Nine

Joseph was acting a bit wild this morning so I reminded him to take his medicine.  He did before taking his medicine decide to build the racecar kit (like pinewood derby, but not as intense) that I had bought for him.  While his brothers played outside he sat mostly quietly watching television and building his racecar.  Later he played outside too.  I am watching him now in the pool and he is playing with his brothers and a guy that is playing with the kids in the pool.  I think he’s one of the other kid’s dad or grandpa.  The real test will be tonight when we get together with Joe’s siblings and their kids.  Ours will be the oldest there, but none the less, we’ll see how he acts tonight.  His behavior was fine tonight.  Only once did I hear someone else tell him to stop doing something and it was while he was outside playing.  In fact the three three-year-olds were wilder than he was.

Day Ten

Joseph took his medicine a little later today than normal. That was mostly due to him leaving to play mini golf and not being in our room to give him the medicine.  For the most part he was cooperative.  He worked on an Art project for school, the lesson he has yet to do, but we had time to just do the project.  Occasionally, he gets a bit wild, but for the most part he is okay.

Recap from first 10 days:

So far I've noticed Joseph is very wild in the mornings and that reminds us to give him his medication.  I don't know if the medication is working for him or if it gives him a placebo effect.  I try and ask him his opinion about the medication and he doesn't want to provide one.  He still has a hard time following multiple instructions.  I do like how he plays better with his brothers (not in the morning) and doesn't seem to cause as many problems as he normally does.