Earlier in the evening (of what is now yesterday), my son had a friend over. He has one really good friend, who actually enjoys coming over. Because we had to pull Jack out of school, keeping him in contact with his friend has been important. This is their first time seeing each other in about 2 1/2 weeks, and they got along great (per the usual). We took the boys to this place we have locally where they have huge inflatables. Not long before the pizza came (it was a deal for a "pizza and a bounce"), Jack became seriously overheated. His face was red, he was blinking his eyes a lot, or looked like he was having trouble seeing. He complained that his head really hurt. We had him get some water, sit down for a few minutes, and then I grabbed a cold, wet paper towel to cool his neck and face. He drank the juice pouch that came with our meal in about 2 seconds flat. He had been complaining about a headache around 4pm, and this was about 7 when this happened.
With the Intuniv, one of the things that is important is that he gets enough water to drink. Jack has a water bottle, and I try to remind him to drink.. but he's also 9 1/2, and it's not that easy to get him to drink water. I try to explain to him the importance of it, and why he probably keeps getting these headaches, in the hopes that he takes it seriously..well, that doesn't really work, so unless I follow him around all day with water, he drinks it when he drinks it. The headaches do really bother me, though. When he gets really upset, he pretty much stops crying/yelling to grab his head and complain of a headache. When he was still in school and having difficult afternoons, he would get in the car and immediately complain of a headache. (I did notice that he hasn't complained much lately about his legs hurting, or his stomach being upset. Thank goodness).
Another thing really bothering me is his weight gain. When Jack started the Intuniv, he was about 65 lbs. As of about 2 months ago, he was probably 10 lbs heavier. He now weighs more than Savannah, who is still a skinny Minnie at almost 11 yrs old. Thing is, Jack has always been smaller than her. He couldn't fit his clothes right, he was really skin and bones. I was very concerned about him, and the stimulant meds for ADHD were not helping. As soon as he started on the Intuniv, he had a much better appetite. I had been glad to see him putting on some weight. I was relieved when it was finally noticeable- I could pat his back and not feel a rib, spine, or shoulder bone. Now, to me, it seems too much. My husband tells me that it's not as bad as it seems- he's not "fat". Thing is, if you just look at his face, it seems like he should have a much bigger body, if that makes sense. His cheeks are huge.
I don't want to be a mom who worries that her child is fat, or presume he's going to be on the next Biggest Loser. My mom, who was always the skinniest person I knew, seemed to always have a problem with everyone's weight. She thought my sister and I should have diet journals, although neither of us needed one. I wouldn't be so worried about Jack had I not seen what he looked like just months ago.
Makes me want to wean Jack off this med sooner rather than later. I'm a tired mess right now.
Comments
Post a Comment