In patient treatment

[meggy1]

I need advise on in-patient treatments. My difficult child is not improving even with going to therapy (by herself and family sessions). Has had about 5 meltdowns this weekend alone that lasted over 1.5 hours each because she just can't get herself out of the cycle once she starts. Therapist wants her to see a psychiatrist so she can be medicated for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) but after many, many calls can't find one. They either don't see anyone under 16, don't take my insurance or don't have any openings until February 2011. Meltdowns include yelling, screaming, crying, name calling, telling people she hates them, throwing herself on the floor, saying she hates herself and the list goes on. It got to the point this evening that I told my husband that if therapist suggested in-patient therapy I'd probably agree
Added to this problem is she has chronic bladder pain and is scheduled for a scope and biopsy of her bladder this Thursday. I'm sure this is worrying her and inflating her stress since it is something she has no control over.
Any comments/suggestions about inpatient vs outpatient would be appreciated. My second major worry is that I have a 9 year old that is witnessing/living through this and it's not fair to her. She should have to put up with this drama. HELP!!!!

 

[HaoZi]

Start with The Explosive Child by Ross Greene so you can help divert her BEFORE the metldowns start. There is an e-book version and the Kindle app for PCs is free if you want to get a hold of it before the library opens. Have you talked to her pediatrician? He might be able to script something or point you to a doctor that will take your insurance, or have you called the insurance company and asked them?

 

[meggy1]

Thanks for replying HaoZi, I have the book and have read it from cover to cover, unfortunately while it has helped some and I would suggest it to others it has not resolved our situation. Her pediatrician would rather a psychiatrist prescribe the necessary medication since she is already on several high power medicines for a medical condition he's hesitant on putting her on something now only to have it changed in the near future. He is also going out of town for two weeks and while she has seen other doctors at the practice he is the one with the full knowledge of Megan since he has been her doctor since birth. As far as insurance company I have the list from them, unfortunately so far most of the one's within an hour of where I live do not treat children and those who do don't have an appointment until after January. Have a call in to her psychologist now to see if she can call around and possibly get her seen somewhere sooner. Just can't imagine going through the holidays with both kids home 24/7.

 

[meggy1]

To give you an idea, her meltdowns today were over:
1-new toothbrush, obsessing because it was not the correct kind. It didn't spin like her last one. Tried to explain it was just designed differently. She obsessed/complained about it for over an hour. During which time she yelled and went after her 9 year old sister. Threatened her but didn't actually touch her.
2-Ordered dinner, got her what she wanted and has had in the past. Started yelling and screaming that she couldn't eat it because it had red stuff in it. Explained to her that while she can not have tomatoe the red in her pasta was ok to eat. Went on for awhile, I took her pasta and tried to pick out the "red stuff" then she stated she could eat it as it was delivered!

 

[JJJ]

I would take that appointment for Feb 2011. If you can find something sooner, you can always cancel.

 

[Jena]

i'm with jjj. you gotta lock down on the appointment you have available. i get where your coming from our other children take a huge hit from our difficult child's. if i were you i'd make a plan. a plan on where your 9 year old can go when difficult child melts down that way. i'd make rules post if necessary and remember not to escalate the meltdowns the best that you can. i know i've done it if i get in the middle of it and say anything yet calming words it escalates. when i think what i'm saying is ok it isnt'. just rules consequences stick to your guns and start with calming words bigtime. if you have a stereo play calming music during trigger times for your difficult child. sounds crazy yet calming music does help.

you totally get where the triggers are so be prepared for each of these situations before they happen. have other child engaged in something else so this way u can focus on difficult child during the meltdown. also our kids i've come to learn like an audience. when i walk away from my difficult child which i just had to do a bit ago she shortens her temper tantrum. i was nervous what she'd do alone in it. yet she saw no one's watching me and calmed a bit sooner.

good luck and yea i know it bites. i've been popping magnesium to calm myself and drinking kava kava tea. it def helps. meditate do what you gotta do to stay sane!!

good luck!

 

[smallworld]

Another option besides in-patient might be a day treatment program. Day treatment is typically in a psychiatric or children's hospital, held during school hours and includes both medication management and therapy. It might help get your difficult child both evaluated and started on medications. Ask your pediatrician and therapist if they know of any day treatment programs in your area.

Hang in there -- I know this is not an easy time for you.

 

[GoingNorth]

Just as a side note. Kava Kava tea or capsules are a very potent liver toxins. It's been pulled off the market in a lot of areas.

 

[meggy1]

Also going to look into day treatment problem is it's about 1 hour from my house and to have to commute everyday and still make work seems impossible. I have a boss that will work with me but have taken alot of time off due to medical issues with both my daughters and myself. Don't want to take advantage of the situation but may have to. I've sent my easy child to her room or my room, also next door to neighbors. Then i feel guilty that she can't be in her house with her stuff not because she did something wrong buy because her sister can't control herself. We're getting good at not paying attention to her when she starts. We walk away and if she following we lock ourselves in our rooms. Today she banged on the door, ran into it a few times and then grabbed the bottom and started shaking it. Also I did take the appointment in February but hopefully with her escalating I can get one sooner.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Sounds like her anxiety is through the roof!

You know, if it were me, I would use my therapist and peddoc together to find a temporary solution. Even though a therapist can't prescribe medications, they have pretty good idea about what is going on in the medication field. I would appeal (demand) that therapist call peddoc's office and discuss the situation. The therapist knows what is going on with your daughter's anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and the peddoc know what is going on with the physical health situation. Tell the therapist that you can not find a psychiatrist appointment until Feb and that's just not good enough. There is no way your daughter, or the family, will survive the next three months. There is absolutely no reason that, between these two docs, your daughter's peddoc can't call in a prescription, even if it's just temporary.

Sharon

 

[Josie]

There is a book called "What to Do When Your Child Has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)" by Aureen Pinto Wagner. I recommend that you read that so you can look for the most effective treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). According to that book, a lot of tdocs don't really know how to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). That was true for us, until we looked for one that specialized in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Even then, the first one was not as effective as the second one.

I have never taken my daughter to be formally diagnosis'ed with IC, but there are times when I think she could get that diagnosis. Luckily, her problem with that comes and goes and it hasn't lasted long enough for me to think we need to pursue it with the more invasive testing. I have read about kids with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) feeling like they have to go to the bathroom after they have already gone and spending a lot of time in the bathroom because of it. I don't feel my daughter's problem is an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) problem, but a physical problem. I would be concerned about putting her in an inpatient setting, because I think they would treat it as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) problem, though. If your daughter's testing shows a clear medical problem, that might not be an issue for her, but I thought I would mention it as a potential problem.

When we were working with a therapist on my daughter's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), they wanted to treat her feeling lightheaded when she stood up as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) problem. Again, I thought it was a physical problem and didn't think it would be good to have her stand up over and over and deal with that faint feeling and/or fall down so I didn't let them pursue that path. We made some changes in medications that were more likely to be causing a physical problem and that feeling went away. In an inpatient setting, I would not be there to prevent them from treating her physical problems as anxiety. As a mother of a chronically ill child, those are my concerns about inpatient treatment.

A few years ago, we had the same kind of problems you are having. I really thought she was going to end up in an Residential Treatment Center (RTC). I remember my daughter screaming and crying in the back seat of the car because we didn't want her to put her pj's on. We had to give up on normal parenting and give in on things just to keep her from hurting herself or destroying any chance of family harmony. I think when it is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), they really just can not get past those thoughts. Sometimes, we did have to tiptoe around her to avoid triggering them.

Even though we tiptoed around her then, we don't have to do that any more. I can't really say what changed because we have been trying lots of things for her medical problems. I do know that our tiptoeing around did not just lead to an out of control kid now, though.

Are there psychiatrists around that don't take insurance that you could get into sooner? You could see someone like that now while you wait for the Feb. appointment. Sometimes you have to see more than one psychiatrist to find the right fit anyway.