Saturday, December 27

Aaron

Earlier this month we found out the Aaron is iron deficient. This is not a terrible thing, however here is my frustration with the whole thing.
Ever since Aaron was, well basically when I was pregnant with him I knew he was a very active boy. I remember making comments at work "I'm having an ADHD baby," very jokingly of course. And those of you who had the pleasure of seeing this while I was pregnant remember my belly could have caused an earthquake with how much he moved. It was very uncomfortable. To this day he hasn't stopped moving.

At a young(er) age I brought this up to his doctor, who said, "Yes, he does have a lot of energy, but let's wait until he gets to at least four to see how this goes." So, I waited. When he started having sleep disturbances, I waited. When he had restless leg syndrome, I waited. When he had sleep apnea, I had his tonsils and adenoids taken out. I tried changing his diet. I used the cookbook by Jerry Seinfeld's wife, "Deceptively Delicious." It gives fabulous recipes on how to sneak vegetables in everyday cooking. It's a great book. I bought things sugar free and with no preservatives or red dye, because they can increase hyperactivity. When I did all that, on a scale from 1 - 10, he went from a 10 to 9.5. I waited.

At his 4 year old check-up I brought it up again. His doctor, who previously up to this point never hinted a thing, flat out said, "oh yeah, he has ADHD and it's one of the most severe we see in the office." I about hit the floor. I mean, was I surprised? Not a chance, but this whole time making me feel like an idiot mother who is trying to over diagnose her kid. He handed me a prescription and told me he wants to follow up in a month. I cried the whole way home. Not from saddens, but from frustration. After a long talk with Charlie we decided to try the medication for Aaron for a month. If it works, great. If we see anything that makes him not be his adorable, sweet self, we take him off. A month goes by and no change. Zip, nada, nadia, nothing. I do notice that it seems like his sleeps apnea is coming back though.

At the follow up we decide to take him off and wait (again.) I'm okay with that. I just happen to mention about the sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome when he sleeps and he orders an iron panel. The results...no surprise, low. We had to start him on an iron supplement just like his little brother.


That night I started to research iron deficiency and signs and symptoms and guess what I found. It is linked to restless syndrome, sleep apnea, irritability and with more research some doctor's are trying to link it to ADHD. I couldn't believe it.

Now, I am not holding my breath. But, if that was his issue the whole time, low iron, that's the easiest fix I could ever imagine. We haven't seen any really big changes yet and we might not ever, (which I am fine with, I've learned to deal)but I will just say that for the last 2 weeks we have been able to put him bed, say goodnight and walk out. He stays in bed and falls asleep. (knock on wood) We have never been able to do that! It's wonderful.

2 comments:

Lisa & Aukuso said...

Good Luck with That! You know how ADHD my older bro is...had he grown up in today's world, he would have been HEAVILY medicated. and I TOTALLY understand your frustration with not receiving answers from doctors. You and I have talked about my problems and the great joy it is to pay for a doctor to tell you to "just wait and see.... or I don't know why your body is all screwed up..."
Love you girl. I hope this is the answer you have have been looking for. Hopefully this simple fix of some simple iron pills will do the trick!

Emichan said...

I TOTALLY understand your frustration, being told to 'wait it out' is the worst thing for a parent to hear, especially when your Mommy instinct is telling you otherwise. I hope the iron pills continue to help; him being able to sleep better is awesome! I know it's hard, but you're doing a great job and he's lucky to have you for his mom. Hang in there! =)