What round are we on??

We got Jack in for an EKG on Saturday morning. The results of that were "normal", I guess. No troubling looks from the guy administering the test, and the Doctor didn't say anything negative. So we're off of the Strattera, and onto Elavil.

You know, I have my doubts with any new med, just as I have my worries. What side effects will Jack experience? Will this help him or hurt him? How long will he need to be on it? What happens when we take him off of it? I guess I'm a worry wart by nature, so none of this is fun. Not fun for me, and certainly not for Jack. As it is, he hates taking baths, and wishes for a world where nobody cares whether or not you brush your teeth. He could also do without taking his daily inhaler for asthma. But These are all a part of his daily life. Now it seems that monthly blood work is in the future. I think this means (hopefully) that by the time he goes in for his 11-yr "well visit", he won't mind so much when he gets his immunizations.

In the meantime, I got a phone call from his Dr. at the clinic, to verify that she had received his EKG results, and that we were going to ditch the Strattera, and start with the Elavil. She asked about (verified, I guess) all of the other medications he is taking. All she said was that he may be very groggy on the Elavil, and that it may be that we have to take him down to a lower dose of the Intuniv. I did tell her about his grogginess while on the full dose of Strattera, when I gave him Clonidine at night, and she said that was more likely because of the Intuniv. Here's my issue.. when I went onto Drug.com to look up interactions with the Elavil, this is what it says about Elavil with Clonidine:

GENERALLY AVOID: Potentially life-threatening elevations in blood pressure have been observed when tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and clonidine have been administered concomitantly. The mechanism is postulated to be enhancement of the pressor response by the TCA. Reports are available for clomipramine, desipramine and imipramine.

MANAGEMENT: It is recommended that this combination be avoided. If no alternatives exist and this combination must be used, blood pressure should be monitored closely, especially during the first few weeks of therapy. When clonidine, the TCA, or the combination is discontinued, gradual withdrawal is recommended to prevent abrupt blood pressure fluctuations. Patients should be advised to seek medical help if they develop potential symptoms of a hypertensive crisis such as nausea, vomiting, sweating, flushing, dizziness, stiff neck, headache or palpitations.

As you can see by that link, I also had to check for any interactions with Jack's emergency inhaler. Not great.. we just have to make sure we only give him that when necessary. The clonidine stuff is scary, though! That said, he's on a miniscule dose- has been on the lowest dose for years, so maybe it wouldn't even impact him. Nevertheless, I'm not going to give him any so long as he's on the Elavil.. just to be safe.