Diagnosis is needed and medication is the point of a diagnosis... so....
My son has witnessed and been subject to domestic violence whilst I lived with his dad we left about 2years ago almost - still has contact fortnightly- he has been in counselling for a while now and is struggling in many areas lately so we were referred on to another part of the team who is a child psychiatrist. We no 100% sure he has cptsd. He talks about the abuse as i have to sit and hear it breaks my heart so badly (I wish so much I had left- my biggest regret - i stayed for the kids only now to realise that was my biggest regret/mistake), the nightmares, anxiety and his behaviour shows all of this and struggles at school etc...
The next part is frustrating for me to understand and I feel dissapointed that this is the case.... symptoms of cptsd are apart of the symptoms for adhd i understand that part.
They (counsellor/psychiatrist) want to diagnose him with adhd - knowing well that he has cptsd not adhd but is showing those cross over symptoms.
I dont understand and struggle to get the answer why can't they medicate him under a cptsd diagnosis rather then adhd diagnosis which he doesn't really have given his past i feel like it's a wrong diagnosis which is leaving me feeling abit upset and like this isn't recognised and unvalidated for what he is dealing with. I would like for record for it to be diagnosed as what it is.
Can't he have the medication but under the correct diagnosis.
I guess i am wondering and seem to think from some feedback maybe ptsd/cptsd isn't recognised and funded for medication like adhd is.
Can anyone please help me understand. I am not rushing into medicating my son and don't want to accept this wrong diagnosis willingly either.
Does anyone also know anything about this medication Aromoxetine? Any first hand experience and how it has affected your kids?
6 Replies
Part of it is accessing medication your son might benefit from. There are no recognised medications for my sons true accurate and incredibly rare diagnosis. His accurate diagnosis is not invalidated. It’s just in order to access/try medications he would benefit from he needed a diagnosis of bipolar because his medications would be on authority (the dr has to ring a special number for approval).
One diagnosis doesn’t cross out the other diagnosis.
Interesting, my initial thought would be that medication for ptsd would be similar to anxiety or depression, and a quick Google search confirmed. An SSRI. Can be prescribed without official diagnosis. But the medication you named is not, it is for treatment of ADHD.
One thing I found really important is that you need to trust your professionals. That they kmow your kid and that they know what they're doing. They should be able to answer all your questions and explain it to you so that you understand what it means and what the plan is.
Um no they don’t! She knows her son best. Omg the crap some so called ‘experts’ have come out with over the years would astound you....
It would be a different medication and would require a medication trial. If he didn't respond, then they could go to alternative diagnoses. 10-20 percent of children have adhd... That's a lot undiagnosed. An adhd child exposed to trauma will have more difficulty managing their mood and behaviour and symptoms than another child. If he is adhd, it's possible that with treatment of that, inclusive of psychological counselling, that the ptsd could significantly improve. If the behaviour that is indicating adhd is from ptsd alone (highly uncommon in children) then he won't respond to the medication and will eliminate the possibility of that diagnosis. The rate of children with adhd is much greater than the rate of children exposed to trauma with ptsd. Also, paediatric prescription of antidepressants (particularly in boys) changes their brain permanently and increases mental health issues as an adult. They're trialling the safer drug first.
Please think a lot about putting your son on medication for CPTSD. My 11 yo was diagnosed 4 years ago, time is the greatest healer and honestly it is early days. I don’t believe the above poster who said trust the professionals, you know your child better. What worked for us was limiting the contact with their dad, number one. Go to court and give them all the reports and show them why that man shouldn’t be in your sons life. He doesn’t deserve to be. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but you are contributing to the damage by allowing the contact. It’s no different to how it was before you left, your poor son gets triggered every time he has to spend time with or talk to the person who caused this.
We did horse riding through a charity, therapeutic for kids with PTSD. Spend time outside, read together, talk and look at the stars, walk on the beach, go to the river, hike, ride bikes together. I’m not trying to sound all hippyish but CPTSD can not be cured, it is something he will have for a long time. Medication will only mask it and he won’t have the chance to learn his coping mechanisms and chances are will be on that medication for the rest of his life if you allow it now.
I agree wholeheartedly except it’s not usually possible to stop access, the system frowns upon mothers trying to protect their babies from their fathers and it can backfire. That said, I too would fight with all my might to protect my child.
Nature, animals, water, mindfulness, movement are all very important healing tools