ADD or ADHD - Have teen with extreme anger issues, new to this need advice? - ADD / ADHD Message Board

jr2212 · 09-27-2008, 12:20 PM

I have a 17 yr. old son who may have ADD or ADHD, we have him consulting a psychologist who is working on diagnosing him.

I'm new to this and I guess at times a little "old school" when it comes to understanding it. I look at the symptoms such as "procrastination, disorganization, difficulty sleeping, being fidgity, and difficulty concentrating" and I think, what teenager doesn't have some or most of this?

Of all the things that he may be displaying the overriding issue with us is his "anger". He is quick to anger, especially with me (I'm his father), he can anger over the smallest issues and of course larger issues. His anger is extremely explosive when it occurs and he seems to never get over it. His anger about various things just goes on forever, he'll get mad about something and be just as angry about it 6 weeks later as he was in the first 30 minutes. Several months ago I overheard him telling his girlfriend on the phone "that one minute I can be fine, even happy, then the next moment I can just snap over the smallest thing".

To compound the difficulty of our situation with him he broke his neck 8 months ago in a snowboarding accident. He appears to have made a good physical recovery but the accident seemed to serve as a flashpoint for his behavior. I believe that most or all of the issues that may indicate a possible ADD condition existed with him prior to the accident but were managable. It's as if things in his behavior, especially his anger have been magnified ten fold since his accident.

Needless to say I am so concerned about him and am lost as to what to do? We have gone from what I thought was a pretty good father and son relationship to where he just hates the site of me and refuses to even talk to me, this has been going on for months. Everything that is wrong in his life is my fault, I feel like I've become a punching bag for his frustrations.

I have read that anger and having a short fuse are common among ADD patients but has anyone shared this experience? What did you do? And does anyone have any thoughts on his injury and how it could relate to his behavior?

AnnD · 09-27-2008, 12:34 PM

When he broke his neck I would guess he was on pain medications?...perhaps he develop an addiction at that time and have you drug tested him? All his symptoms also could suggest drug use.

jr2212 · 09-27-2008, 02:32 PM

Anne - Appreciate your response. I don't believe he has access to anything prescription related, he was actually very good at minimizing there usage during his recovery, so I don't think that is a problem. He is a heavy user of pot though and we have had several episodes of abusive usage of alcohol, he may use alcohol more than we are aware. Are these things indicative of his symptoms??

Thunor · 09-28-2008, 12:35 AM

Because ADHD involves (possibly severe) impulse control issues, a short fuse can be a symptom of ADHD. However, it sounds like it's unlikely that ADHD is alone responsible for your son's behaviour. The fact that his anger does not subside over time, along with the fact that his issues have worsened so considerably after his injury make me feel that there is more involved in what is going on with him. Because the 'short fuse' associated with ADHD is an impulse control problem, the anger is likely to recede rather quickly. Did your son sustain a head injury in addition to the neck?

All that said, there are many disorders that may mimic the symptoms of ADHD, and may be treated in the same way. My advice is keep working with the psychologist and see what the results are.

jr2212 · 09-28-2008, 09:22 AM

Thunor - Although I find myself pretty lost with this whole ADD thing because of it's subjective nature and newness to me, I just don't know if were dealing with a pure anger management issue or ADD. I have been leaning in the direction of your observation though. I came upon some limited information on Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) yesterday, my son is extremely defiant of authority and certainly has a dislike for rules. He is very argumentitive and will pursue disagreements to the end, he will sacrifice greatly to "win", winning is extremely important to him, coming out on top of disagreements is paramount in his eyes.

You know I see all this ADD, ODD, anger management and I find them difficult to sort out. I also look at the simple fact of this adolescent time period revolt that is common among kids combined with a serious injury recovery in a kid that is fueled by heavy pot usage and some undetermined alcohol usage level. I look at all of this and at times wonder if perhaps that is all it is? In AnnDs reply she felt his symptoms to be drug related, I wonder too? Going to ADD meds if he's not ADD does not sound productive? But the anger deal is very real and extreme with him, and as I said he just stays angry forever about thing's.