Follow-Up: Hello Kim. The medical term is "cyanosis" for the bluish, grayish, or dark purple discoloration of the skin that you are noticing in your child. It is caused by the presence of abnormal amounts of oxygenated hemaglobin in the blood. Hemaglobin is the molecule in the red blood cells that carries oxygen to the tissues of the body. When red blood cells carry enough oxygen, hemaglobin turns the blood bright red and the skin looks nice and pink. When there is a 5% reduction in the amount of oxygen carrying hemaglobin the blood turns a dark color and bluish skin tones result. The cause of cyanosis is deficiency of oxygen in the blood. Now, the question is...Why is your child not getting enough oxygen? The heart and lungs work togather to get oxygen to the blood and, ultimately the tissues of the body. If either the heart or lungs are not working properly, cyanosis will result. You may be on the right track with dexatrine causing a cardiac problem. The adverse cardiac reactions to dexatrine include: palpitations (a feeling of the heart fluttering), increased heart rate, elevation in blood pressure, and isolated reports of cardiomyopathy (damage to the heart muscle). The other factors would be that the lungs or the airway are not working properly. So there is a possibility that your child has an underlying lung condition that is interfering with oxygen exchange to the lungs (ie. central apnea, asthma or pneumonia). The other component to this is the airway which may occlude when the child is sleeping. This is called obstructive sleep apnea. The soft tissues in the back of the airway relax and collapse over the airway when the child is sleeping. This interrupts gas exchange between the lungs and the atmosphere. When these conditions are chronic, the body compensates by producing extra blood cells and hemaglobin. This condition is called "erythrocytosis" and is easily detected by a simple blood test which is called a complete blood count (CBC). The reason that I bring up sleep apnea is that it is a common (5% to 15% of the population in the U.S.) and often undiagnosed problem. Many of the symptoms of ADHD are the same as sleep apnea. This is because the brain is not getting enough oxygen when the child is sleeping. Other signs of sleep apnea in children may include: disturbed sleep, snoring (children should not snore), increased respiratory effort when sleeping, bizarre or unusual sleeping positions, sweating, bedwetting, dry mouth, grogginess, disorientation, confusion, headaches, excessive daytime sleepiness, poor cognitive functioning, bedtime behavior problems, enlarged adenoids, speech difficulties, growth impairment, and sudden awakenings. I am suspicious because your child was only sleeping 3 hours a day before taking dexedrine. This is not enough sleep for anyone, especially a child. As one concerned parent to another, I hope I have answered some of your questions. If I can be of any further assistance please contact me at gharper@erols.com. Good luck!