Lamictal so far and THIS WEEKEND

buddy

New Member
We started the Lamictal Friday night, he is getting half the 25 mg dose (half the starting pack dose) to start because of his enzyme stuff, so I fully expect nothing to change yet. But no terrible reactions, and no rash so...

But here is our weekend, I think it is more to do with the fact that he has his horseback riding but he was amazing if I do say so myself.

Yesterday they had a fundraiser (the woman who owns the ranch is in terrible financial stress because she has had several surgeries for her eyes (diabetic, heart problems, joint problems, etc. so her insurance is not covering much) and she could lose the property and horses. It is so scary because she has hundreds of students and works with at-risk youth and special needs kids among her regular lessons. I hate that we just found her and could lose her....ANYWAY....back to the point...

We went for our 1 o'clock lesson then stayed for the fundraiser. difficult child was uber polite to everyone (only a little rude to me, but as insane pointed out, much like other typical teen's in this situation, mom, you are embarassing me, get away....) and he followed directions. He is actually now helping feed the horses etc. He stayed till 7 and helped clean up tables, chairs, saddles...it was crazy.

so we went for our 11 oclock lesson today and they let him stay longer because he was crazy good. He did not have a huge meltdown this morning like our mornings have been going lately....(not perfect but never got to an agressive stage). He rode in the car great. The kids and volunteers kept coming up to the teacher and to me saying , difficult child is doing so great. He is being such a good friend. etc. He was his autistic self, following people around, etc. but if they said...hey watch...so and so is gonna jump the rails, he looked and didn't say something inappropriate.


Now he is asking for the usual, to go out with friends if they come around. i am going to let him as usual but even more curious to see how it goes, how much I will have to coach him and how much effort it takes for me to get him in.


He is watching racing right now and there is a huge crash...fire and someone going to hospital in a helicopter. He is so excited, says, well I hope he dies...I said "difficult child"...in that mommy tone, and he said...(no opposition,no yelling at me, no calling me names) OK I am just kidding you.... but you know I like the excitement, I dont really want anyone hurt. THAT is weird, he usually sticks to his story in the heat of the moment......and then later (hours or days) when he hears how they are doing, he says something like (in his questioning way...) Do you think I am relieved that he is okay? Do you think I feel so happy he can come back because I missed him so much? Am I finally going to be happy he is racing his car again? etc. So I know he just says these things out of discomfort. I have learned to take the DO YOU THINK part off of his statments after all of these years. using less question forms and taking turns to build on a conversation are goals in his IEP, smile...I try to get him to switch it thru modelng and explaining that I can't know what he thinks (but I can really sometimes) and many other things. Oh well....


So when I was thinking about the weekend, I remembered I had started that medication..I just highly doubt it could be impacting him at all but it has been a strangely improved weekend. HMMM?????
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Don't want to be a downer, but be careful before you get too excited. Lamictal, like all mood stabilizers, hits it's peak at six to eight weeks. Sometimes there is an early jolt of good effect only to see it wear off as the person's body gets used to it. It is unlikely that this is going to hold forever.

I'm not trying to be negative, but I've taken too many medications myself to think that you can guess what the answer is in a few days. It is much more likely to be a few months before you really know if this is the right medication that really does a lot of good.

Enjoy every good day and hope for the best. You never know...:)
 

buddy

New Member
yeah, I am prepared for that and even so, I really dont think it is the medications...I really believe it is all that time with the horses and his having nearly total acceptance from people there. We usually dont have two days in a ROW at the ranch. We had to reschedule and then they had the fund raiser so he was there so long and didn't have the usual stresses that he has going from thing to thing and just like this summer,something is just different when he is around these horses. I just dont get it, but I am not looking a gift horse in the mouth! (lame, I know)
 

keista

New Member
Yes, unfortunately it can just be a temporary good jolt, BUT I think even that is good. in my opinion EVERY good moment moves us and our difficult children forward in a positive manner and it's something that can be reflected on later if things, for whatever reason, go south again. Remember when......? That was good. What can we do to try and make that happen again. Not just from the parent or Dr point of view, but in discussion with difficult child.

in my opinion this is why my DD1 is doing well right now. She's had several doses of "good" times where she learned coping skills and can fall back on that.

Enjoy all the awesome moments!
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Horse therapy goes so much farther than medications... its REALLY powerful stuff. So that would be my vote rather than the medications at this point.

(we can't afford it - and difficult child isn't "bad" enough to get it funded - I'm envious!)
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Actually, lamictal does pump into me that fast. As soon as I even started my starter pack it worked and even every time I increase we can tell right away. We knew as soon as I started that orange starter pack it was the medication for me.
 
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