Winter break is upon us!

Today was the last day of school for my 6 year old, Alex.  Fourteen days ahead of full-time parenting.  I'm a little terrified, truth be told.

Alex takes medication for his ADHD.  While it has helped him tremendously to stay on task at school and be able to 'function' at his grade level, it has most certainly come with it's own set of negative side effects.  Already a slim boy, the meds have caused him to lose about 5 pounds since we changed the prescription in September.  It may not sound like alot, but to look at him and be able to count his ribs or the vertabrae in his spine... well, as a mother it makes me feel terrible.  It's not my fault or his fault - a reduced appetite is simply one of the side effects.  We do our best to feed him full calorie, full fat foods when he is willing to eat of course, but it's not enough.

Another common side effect is difficulty falling asleep at night.  The meds he takes are stimulant based, and supposed to last between 10-12 hours.  He's usually 'coming down' from them right around the time he should be going to bed, and then the battle begins.  The so-called "rebound effect" from ADHD meds can make the regular symptoms of disorder more exaggerated, which means we generally have a boy who is bouncing off the walls and not at all ready to settle down to sleep.  He becomes combative, weepy and needy.

As a parent, the sleep disturbances and the reduced appetite are huge concerns.  I find myself torn, often feeling like I don't know the right path to take with him. 

Occasionally, if we have no where "important" to go, we give him a day or two off the meds on the weekend.  Of course we have a rebounding, more hyper than hyper boy on our hands - but we also have a boy EATS the way a high energy, healthy 6 year old should.  He SLEEPS and goes to bed the way a healthy 6 year old should.  He doesn't have the same anxiety levels as when he is coming off the meds.

With Winter Break starting, my husband and I are discussing giving Alex a much longer drug 'holiday', so that he gets the above mentioned benefits for at least 9 or 10 days.  (We would start him back on meds a few days before returning to school.)  I am hesitant, however, because I know it will require a HUGE amount of patience on our parts, as we deal with the extreme inappropriateness, the extreme inattention, the extreme impulsivity, etc. 

I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog, but if you do - please wish us luck!  This could be a bumpy ride....