fried like an egg

[amazeofgrace]

Is it so terrible for a Mother to want her child placed in a residential program? I hope not because, I am there. difficult child II has been off the wall, he keeps leaving and going off all over town, getting in fights and altercations. He screams at me hourly telling me I am an idiot and worse. Crisis management SW came on Friday for our intital interview and difficult child II had other plans, lets just say, SW got all the jusitfication she needed while she was here. But they all say call mobile response or the police, and then wha? He gets hospitalized after a lengthy emergency psychiatric evaluation. They do nothing but jack his medications up and hit me with a huge bill, release him with instructions to continue couseling and medications> And then after a few good weeks, it all repeats itself. difficult child I has also been quite the pipp, I sat on him the other night to keep him from leaving (desperate times call for desperate measures). I swear these 2 kids are going to kill me. S2BX is locked away in rehab and I am finding myself jealous! sorry venting

 

[smallworld]

I'm sorry things are so rough.

What medications/doses is GFGII taking?

 

[witzend]

How old is he? What are his diagnosis's? What are his medications? What treatments/therapies have already been tried? Prior hospitalizations? Drug/alcohol abuse?

 

[BusynMember]

What is the age of the child? What medications is he on? Has he had a recent evaluation? Ever see a neuropsychologist? What do you expect to accomplish in an Residential Treatment Center (RTC)?

 

[amazeofgrace]

difficult child II (11 y/o) is on 10 mg Abilify, 30 mg Prozac
*we've Tried Lamictal, Trileptal, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Depakote, Tegretal, and a variety of ADHD medications, all made rage/behavior worse

He receives 1 1/2 hours of in home therapy a week. I will be getting a behavior therapist soon for an additional hour.

He also went to BD experiencial group for 3 months (once a week). He has been in patient 1x and out patient 2 x's.

He's in a Behavior Disorders class in our public school, I am fighting to have him moved to a theraputic school, where his medications can be better monitored.

I just feel a residential may be the only way to keep him from getting hurt or hurting others, which is hard because 80% of the time he's a great sweet and loving kid, but the other 20% is so extreme and so unstable it's scarey.There is no "off switch" no reward or consequence works once he gets going and he goes from 1-20 in a 1/2 second. Which makes it hard to always avoid situations, most of the time he's too unpredictable

*and all neurological testing came back fine, I felt so guilty for feeling disappointed that it did :O(

 

[susiestar]

Please don't feel bad for wanting him placed in residential. Your mommy instincts are telling you he will hurt someone and you want to prevent that. This is a GOOD thing.

The neuro testing came back fine. That is GOOD. HAs he seen a neuropsychologist? They seem to do very in depth (takes several sessions) testing. And they can get better results, because they get more info.

I know the prozac may seem "logical" but have you read the bipolar child? It is an amazing book, and it shows in many ways how antidepressants are NOT good things for bipolar children. Often bipolar patients need TWO mood stabilizers, and sometimes an antipsychotic also to be able to even TRY an antidepressant.

I would first talk to the doctor about getting him off prozac and onto another mood stabilizer. OFten it is hard to find the right COMBINATION of medications to help our kids.

Hugs,

Susie

 

[smallworld]

I have to agree with Susie about the Prozac. Only 5 mg of the stuff made my son wild with rage, and he has BiPolar (BP) as well. Abilify (which is an atypical antipsychotic and not a mood stabilizer) is not strong enough to counteract the bad effects of an antidepressant used for a child with BiPolar (BP).

In addition, your son is not on a first-line mood stabilizer (Lamictal, Lithium, Trileptal, Tegretol, Depakote), which is the foundation of treatment for BiPolar (BP) kids. You say he has tried many mood stabilizers, but if they were trialed with an ADHD medication or an antidepressant at the same time, the trial doesn't count because those other medications can counteract any good the mood stabilizer will do. Furthermore, most mood stabilizers take 6 to 8 weeks at a therapeutic level to work their magic. It takes a lot of time and effort to see a true difference.

 

[Kjs]

been there done that with the 0 - 20 in a half second. I remember the feeling of walking on egg shells because we never knew when he would change. Could be happy, smiling, loving kid..and in an instant be total opposite.

We tried a few drugs that didn't do anything. When we did see improvement it was after 6 - 8 weeks, and then still needed to tweek the dosage.

This medication was done with no others. Once stable we tried to introduce other medications to help deal with minor problems, a mixture was not a success.

For us Lamictal did wonders. Have you stayed with a mood stabalizer for a period of time? It did take a while. As much as we all would like to see a medication that is immediate, I do not believe there is any short term fix for a long term solution.

Even with the mood stabalizer there will be good days and bad days. I do not believe difficult child's want to feel upset or angry.

Good luck and hope you find a workable solution for all.