ADHD and Crohn's

[lad473]

Hi,

So my son has been on Remicade for a few months. He was diagnosed ADHD before Crohn's, and has been on medicine for about 2 years. Now that he is feeling better-- almost all blood values are normal, too, his ADHD meds don't seem to be keeping up with the ADHD. The dr wants to up his dose.

Has anyone else had/noticed problems with distractibility/hyperactivity when coming out of a flare?

 

[izzi'smom]

If you are asking about kids not dx with ADHD, then I can chime in and say no, we don't have those issues. Is it possible that he was focused on feeling poorly and because he is feeling better the hyperactivity is back? DD was generally more tired while feeling poorly from her Crohns also.

 

[jmckinley]

My son was on ADHD meds before Crohn's diagnosis. Once we got the Crohn's under control, the ADHD went away. Turns out it wasn't ADHD at all, but behavior due to malnutrition. Now we watch for the ADHD-type behavior as a sign that a flare may be coming.

Is he is on prednisone? That could be causing the behavior.

 

[kimmidwife]

Lad473,
It could be that his new medication is causing the old one to metabolize faster and so they need to up his dose or if he is on prednisone that can cause ADHD symptoms.

 

[lad473]

Thanks for the ideas. We upped the ADD meds, but it's still not enough. I guess we get to go through figuring that all out again. I'd rather be worried about that than the Crohn's, which seems to be responding well to the remicade. Everything is going in the right direction. Still anemic, but inflammation numbers are down.

 

[Mathewphilips]

Hello,
Have tried some behavioral modifications therapies for ADHD ? Those are generally not very effective, but sometime in selected individuals you will get excellent results.
Thank you

 

[DustyKat]

Hey lad473,

What is causing his anaemia and what are his numbers?

I wonder if his anaemia is feeding into the problem??

Dusty. xxx

 

[lad473]

I think his anemia is from the Crohn's. It has been improving since treatment began. His hemoglobin levels were at 8.4. They are up to 11.8, so we are going in the right direction. The only other blood value that is outside normal is glucose, which is high. Is that something that happens often?

It's great seeing him gain weight and get his energy back, but I don't want his ADHD causing more problems than it needs to.

 

[David]

Get his magnesium levels tested. Deficiency can lead to symptoms of ADHD and magnesium helps regulate sugar levels. People with Crohn's disease are commonly deficient.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/magnesium-000313.htm
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/magnesium/