Difficult child had a GOOD morning!!!

[Alttlgabby]

I have not responded to any of the posts, or made any of my own in very long time, but I have come here and read off and on. I feel for so many of you and share in your heartaches and the daily grind in your homes! We are finally getting a bit of "relief" here ourselves, but our lives have been absolutely nothing compared to some of yours! We have had the issues with the food, defiance in answering when spoken to or just absolutely refusing to do what is asked, lying, taking things that don't belong to them, taking 4-5 hours to complete homework, not getting sheets signed and brought home from school, etc..... She was doing pretty well there for a bit, but we couldn't pinpoint what the cause for the recent back slide was. My husband came home for the adoption but had to leave again. Older bio sister was here with her fiance and baby, but they left about 3 weeks ago. husband also got a job back here 3 weeks ago and is home for good. So, back to weekly therapy we went. Also saw a psychiatrist on Thursday. He started her on Paxil for her depression and PTSD, and Ritalin for the signs of ADHD/lack of concentration doing homework, at school, etc.... I do have to say, I saw an improvement on the very first day!!! Don't know if it was the medications, but it is obviously something! She was very quick to respond to questions yesterday after school. Came right in and started homework. Asked her if she had her blue sheet and she DID! She had forgotten to get it from her 4th period teacher so it wasn't signed by 3 teachers, but hey... neither my husband or I said anything to her about getting it done that day! She did it all by herself! And when I asked her, I did not get the usual "look". Instead I got a very positive response from her. Any time that I called her, it was a response right off. She is talking..and responding! She did her chores with no problem... She also doesn't seem to be fidgeting as much, rocking her foot back and forth during dinner, etc.. OMG.. I am so happy! And I am happy for her because she seems to be happier as well! Now, to see if it continues! I really hope so! I have read some good reviews in regards to Paxel, but also read some not so good reviews as well. And I wasn't so sure about Ritalin LA either, but if it works!!!! Anyone have any experience?

 

[BusynMember]

My personal experiences with both medications:

Paxil saved my life. I have no idea why. So many other medications that are related to Paxil made me nutty. But you won't know if Paxil is going to be good or bad for her for about eight weeks. This medication did not kick in for me until six weeks and it maxed out at eight. Now it's been over twenty years. Warnings: Some people get EXTREMELY agitated and manic on it either right away or after a time. And it is so hard to withdraw from that I never would. If it ever stops working, I will still take a little bit of it. I won't go through the horrific withdrawal. The verdict: It works great for some, horrible for others.

Ritaliln: It made my mood disorder 10X worse. I would fly on the drug, then crash, which lead to a year long depression. Watch out for hyper-talking, highs and lows, crying, laughing too much, the whole moodswing thang. After I took Ritalin, that was it. I would never take it again. It did not help me focus. It made me feel like I was on speed. There is no way to know how it will affect your daughter over the long run. Have to wait and see.

Remember, medications don't fix everything. You say she's adopted? How old was she when she came into your family? Do you have a biological history on her? Was she ever abused or exposed to drugs in utero? Or drinking? Has she ever had a complete neuropsychologist evaluation? How are her social skills and early development? Most of my kids are adopted (see below).

Welcome to the board again

Others will come along.

 

[Alttlgabby]

Midwest Mom...
So far, so good. Thanks for the heads up on the medications. She has been with us for almost 2 years now. Yes, I know her history because she is my bio niece. There was drinking, drugging, premature birth, etc... her mother and father (my brother) were both drinking and drugging when she was conceived/while in utero/when born. Her father also abandoned her about 8 years ago with her siblings at a church..yet, I am to blame to for all of his problems. @@ I had her in for a psychiatric (not sure if it was neuro or not?)... but we did get her diagnosis then of the PTSD, Dissociative Disorder (not otherwise specified), Social Anxiety, etc.... She has very few friends..only one that I am really aware of, and that one ended up grounded because she brought her to our house after her parents "thought" we only lived about 4 houses down! We live 2 blocks over from them, but in the same gated community. I knew before she even came to us that she had problems since I had seen her as a baby and knew something wasn't quite right with her then. Her egg and sperm donors did nothing to help her out, get her tested, etc... other than what was forced on them through the school system.