EKG Results/ Tenex

Sorry I was gone so long. We've been sharing a horrid stomach virus all week.

Well, I called the doctor to get my son's EKG results, and she said they showed he was a little tachycardic. That means his heart rate was too fast. I told her he was screaming his lungs out, and she said that then the EKG was normal. So, we decided to start the Tenex.

Tenex is actually a blood pressure medication, but it is also used to treat children with ADHD and autism to decrease aggression, increase attention span, and help them fall asleep at night. The side effects are dry mouth, dizziness, and drowsiness.

Just filling the prescription was a little bit difficult because it only comes in pill form, so I was trying to discuss with several different pharmacists how to administer it to my son since he will not take a pill and he doesn't eat any food so crushing it into applesauce isn't an option. They had no suggestions. Ugh. So I asked if I could get a bottle of flavored syrup so I could mix each crushed half pill into a little syrup and give it to him with a syringe. However, for reasons that have escaped me, they can not dispense the liquid without a medication dissolved into it, and they can't dissolve pills into it, and Tenex does not come in liquid form. So I told them to fill the prescription, and I said I'd figure something out. I bought a pill splitter and a pill crusher, and then went to the grocery store for inspiration. I thought about syrups. Sundae toppings seemed too thick to use with a syringe, and then I thought about grenadine. Grenadine is pomegranate syrup used to make Shirley Temple drinks, and it's delicious and has a low viscosity or thickness. So, I bought that.

I went home, split the pill, put half of the teeny tiny pill into the pill crusher, and the pill was really too small for the crusher because it never became a powder. Then I poured a little bit of grenadine into a medicine cup, which somehow splashed and stained the counter and the floor. I poured in the crushed pill, but some of it stuck inside the crusher. So, I used a knife to try to scrape out the medicine and mix it in with the liquid. Then I sucked it into a syringe, but some of the pill got left behind. So I crushed the rest of the pill with the end of the knife, put some liquid back, and sucked it back into the syringe. Then I went to give it to my son and told him it was yummy. He still spit some of it out. So, I don't know exactly how much he got.

I tasted it, and it didn't taste bitter at all. He just doesn't like anything. It was so frustrating.

Still, I hoped he had gotten enough of the medication in him, and was looking forward to him falling asleep easily and then having an easier day today. However, he was up banging his head just as late as usual, and had just as much of a tough time today with aggression and frustration.

I thought maybe if I give it to him a little earlier it would have more time to work before he went to bed, so I gave it to him late this afternoon. I didn't even bother with the pill crusher. I just smooshed it in the medicine cup with the tip of a knife. I was extra careful with the syrup, and despite my best efforts, he still managed to spit out some of the liquid. Arghhhh. I didn't notice any difference at all. I don't know if it takes time for Tenex to build up, if the dose is too low, or if he's spitting out too much, or if it's just not working.

I was so disappointed. I wasn't expecting a miracle, but I was hoping for a day that was at least a little easier than usual, and I didn't get that. Oh well.

We have a followup with the neurologist in six weeks, so I'll discuss it more then. I believe Tenex also comes in patch form, so that may be another option for us to try.

We'll see.