Hello everybody:
I am new to this website and just registered a few minutes ago. I have a child who is 15 years old and was wrongly diagnosed for years with ADHD. He was on Strattera, and then Risperidol. The Risperidol was more for anxiety. Well, last summer my son became very sick because of the Strattera and ended up in the hospital with psychosis. I believe the hormonal changes of puberty contributed to the problem. Also, both of the meds that he was on were working against each other. We took him off the Strattera and kept him on Risperidol. My son then started high school in the fall and made straight A's and denied having any problems concentrating.
Over the years we notice that he was always a walking encyclopedia. He has always had difficulty with social issues, understanding social cues, etc. He has nearly every symptom of someone with High Functioning Aspergers. Here is my problem, we live overseas because of the military so we do not have a wide range of doctors. My sons doctor who is a psychiatrist will not listen to me and insists it is schizophrenia or bipolar. Despite tha fact that I live with the kid and have read books on Aspergers and have "Ah-Ha!" moments, they still are stuck on the wrong diagnosis. All of this because he had psychosis related to meds.
If you go to the drug Strattera's website, the drug company warns that if psychosis develops, to remove the medication and not treat the patient for psychosis. I am at a loss right now, and need advice. Has anybody gone through the stress of being wrongly diagnosed? I am wondering what you all did. Thank you for all of your help. I am glad to be a part of this group forum. Please forgive the typos, I am stressed out as you all can imagine. Thankfully I have a strong faith in God. He is holding me together.
