Stopping Meds

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Advise please ! !! ! My son is 14yrs Aspergers & ADHD currently taking Concerta (he refuses to see his Dr) after his Dr had a chat with the liason Support Teacher at his high school she called me at home. She has suggested my son stops taking his Concerta as the school feel that his ADHD isn't apparent at school sighhhhhh ! His Dr wants him to stop taking it for 2 weeks to see if he still requires it or not and wants him to attend a meeting with her and myself in July. When I discussed this with my son he had one enormous outburst, which ended in him storming out the house (when I asked if if wanted dinner he said I dont want to eat your food amongst other things) The same Dr said just 2 weeks ago he is suffering from anxiety DONT I KNOW IT.
Anyway I need some advise about what to expect while he isn't on any meds, my daughter 16 wants to move out as she says he'll be bouncing of the walls.

Please excuse my ranting but I feel as if I'm hitting my head against a brick wall.

The first question is, what caused the outburst, seeing the doctor or the week off from the meds? That give you an idea of what he is thinking.

As far as his sister goes, maybe you can send her to a friends house for the first week and if your son stays calm, then have her come home.

Otherwise, I do not know what to tell you. Maybe ADHD medication is not what he needs but something for the anxiety.

The outburst came about when I said that his Dr has stated that for him to stay of his Concerta he must attend this appointment ,presuming he doesn't need it. She suggested 2 weeks ago that his meds were changed but my son refuses to attend appointments to discuss this with her, 3 weeks ago I did manage to get him to attend one appointment to which he walked out after 15mins after they suggested anger management for him.

He has said that he wants to be left alone and that I have poor parenting skills oh and that his Dr is like a insect in his head buzzing away.

I do fully understand what he is going through but it's damn hard going.

oh boy....we went through a spell when son didn't want to go to the drs...fortunately, he changed his mind. life without meds can be exhausting. son's moods fluctuated tremendously. for us, going without meds was quite similiar to being on meds that didn't work

My concerns right now are what the withdrawls are going to be like, I know his ADHD problems will be more profound. I'm worried what his mental state is going to be like. He has been on meds since he was 7yrs Ritalin first then Concerta when he started high school.

How involved has your son been in the process? Who's idea is it that he get off the meds? What does he think? What do you think? My son has been on low doses of Concerta and Paxil for 6 years. I always told him that I thought it was the right thing for him at the time, but that in the end it would be his decision. He didn't really understand why for years, and couldn't explain how he felt differently on or off, but I could see it the minute he walked in the room. He only started really taking an active interest and discussing it with me at 16. He is still on the low doses, but we sometimes discuss the possibility of him getting off, and I just tell him that if he wants to he has to discuss it with me and the Dr.

The good thing about the Concerta is that they can take it or not take it on a day to day basis, or go off it cold turkey. Sometimes I like it better when he doesn't take it because he's much more talkative. But the problem is that he has major impulse control problems when he's off it. Actually, I think that's getting better as he gets older, however.

A word about the Dr: my son and I now see his psych as kind of a necessary evil. So we plan what we'll say to him before we go - and we "manage" him. That makes it much better for both of us - it's sort of us against him. This is unique to this Dr. - he sees other Drs. that we don't feel that way about!

He has only recently started asking questions about his Aspergers and Adhd, but he is easily distracted which makes it difficult to have a proper discussion with him, he really feels uncomfortable talking about his feelings etc. If something is said that he can't get to grips with he will become anxious, louder etc
When I notice the signs that he is heading for an outburst I try and change the subject.. Extremely difficult to do.

Around a year ago when he was 12yrs he started to question why he was having to keep seeing his Dr. He didn't like going to his appointments but did go as he didn't want to upset me, we used to discuss issues with her that had cropped up previously. That has gone out the window now though.

When he came in tonight after being out (on the curfew he has on school nights which is a plus) I was worried about him while he was out then so relieved when he came home. He went straight to his room, you could say he walked out the front door like a lion earlier and came back like a lamb. A little while later I had a chat with him (basically to see if he was feeling okay) I didn't want to approach the subject with him again tonight as he really can't cope with it. I'll try again tomorrow if I think his mood is okay.

My motto just now is tomorrow is another day.
Thanks so much for your reply

Rosacoke~ I thought it was just us who had a psych that we have to "manage"
the last time son went for his appt, he was so nervous that he was talking very rapidly~ psych immediately wanted to pull him off his meds and asked if son was taking drugs.....as it turns out, son had drank something like 5 energy drinks that day and was a bit hyper.
son's other docs are fine, but his psych ? he believes in Orogonian therapy...uggh....he's the only one who had an opening and was on our approved doc list for our HMO....

I just had the same discussion with my doctor and we found out he has AS with anxeity, so we are getting ready to stop the Aderall XR he is currently taking. It really hasn't helped anyway..but look into the anxeity with your doctor is what I would say. My son has his AS fits triggered by anxeity from what we are learning. It is a long hard process from what I have been through so far, just try to be paientent. I know it must be hard but at least we have this to help us cope. I wish you luck with your son. Oh and my son doesn't show signs at school either but it is becuase he is in an enviroment he likes, that is something we are discussing as well.