My 4 year old grandson was recently put on Adderall, 5mg. Twice a day. He seems to do fine in the mornings but by 6 in the evening he is out of control. The Doctor put him on this because his behavior was getting dangerous to himself and us. He and his mother have lived with us since his birth. He was said to be ADDHD last month, but I still have concerns about this.

He is very aggressive and slides into rages at a moments notice for no reason. He is very loving and tells us he loves us all the time. He also will turn on you and tell you he doesn't love you and start throwing things at anyone there. He has gotten knives so many times, we have run out of hiding places for the silverware. He will fight with all his friends, then cry because they want to go home. He has no fear of things that could hurt him and doesn't seem to care what is right or wrong at the time. After the rage is over he feels very upset and keeps asking if we are mad.

We are at our wits end and do not know what to do. The medicine doesn't seem to be doing the job and I'm not confident that this medication is really the right thing for him.

Would love some help and the Doctor doesn't seem to be concerned. There have been no blood tests or other tests performed on him.
Please help me.

Find a specialist that deals with this type of behavior and go to him immediately.

This type of violent behavior must be curbed before someone gets hurt.

Perhaps the doctor that you are using only sees him during the wonderful times and not during his violent episodes.

Anytime a child is prescribed medication for behavioral problems, blood tests are administered frequently and counseling is strongly advised because a child's body is constantly changing, and so must the dosage. It takes time and experimenting with different medications to find just the right combination that will help.

I have an 11 year old granddaughter that started at about 3 or 4 years of age with these problems. Over the years, her diagnosis changed many time as did her medications. During this time there were frequent blood tests and heart monitoring to assure that each change was not harmful to her.

Read my special on behavioral problems and please call one of the numbers listed to find a specialist in your area.