Anxiety and My Son: April Update

Carson has been on anxiety medication for a little over two months now. Last week we had a follow up with his pediatrician. We discussed his behavior and the little glimpses of improvement we see. Little things such as not biting his nails constantly. I never have been so excited to cut my son's nails! It was a great moment for us both, haha.  Other things we have noticed are less frequent crying spells, less "gloom and doom" talk, and better sleep! He doesn't wake up during the night and isn't nearly as restless as he had been prior to starting the anxiety medication and the iron supplementation.

His behavior is slightly improved, but the busyness, angry outbursts, and oppositional attitude still is very prevalent. He still has trouble at school, but its not every day anymore, so that's an improvement! During our visit to his doctor last week, it was decided that it is now time to treat him for ADHD as well as Oppositional Defiance Disorder. The treatment for these is the same thankfully, but it is a stimulant drug. So far after a week of medication, we haven't had any negative effects of the medicine, but really aren't seeing much improvement yet either. I wouldn't expect to see much improvement yet though, as medications like this take some "tweaking" to get to the right dosage and right medication for your child.

You may be thinking "Oh my gosh! That's a lot for a child." It is, but it's not uncommon. Anxiety or depression disorders are often found as a comorbidity of ADD or ADHD.

So this is our life now. A child on three medications, that sees a counselor every other week. Myself and my husband are both committed to only the best for our son. Stay tuned for an update to my "Parenting a child with anxiety" series later this week!