medication changes aren't helping. She is not sleeping and neither am I.

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
So psychiatrist is slowly trying to wean difficult child off her Geodon and is adding Seroquel to help with her anxiety. For years Geodon was the only medication we found that almost completely took away her manic episodes and it made her finally sleep. Without it she was highly unstable and sleeping only a couple hours a night, all the way from her toddler years up till first grade. Geodon was her miracle pill for many years. Now she isn't doing well without it. Well, she's still taking it but she is at a lower dosage, and she is taking Seroquel along with it. The goal is to completely take her off the Geodon and put Seroquel in it's place. psychiatrist says Seroquel helps anxiety but Geodon does not. So far it hasn't been going well. The last few weeks have been hell. We have finally got her stomach ulcers under control and she hasn't thrown up in weeks, but now she is almost completely missing school due to not sleeping.

My mom disagrees with me and thinks the reduction in Geodon has nothing to do with her insomnia. I know for a fact it does. On Monday night I ran out of her Seroquel and the pharmacy had to special order it, so for one night I couldn't give her any. To make up for it, I gave her the full dosage of Geodon and she fell asleep at 9:00 and slept like a baby. She got up for school no problems at all whatsoever. Last night I finally got the Seroquel, so I gave her the Seroquel along with her reduced Geodon and once again she slept terribly. She didn't fall asleep till after 3:00 in the morning. She was up all night taking baths trying to get to sleep, tossing and turning, and talking to the cats. At one point she went on the internet through her phone to try and get her to sleep. My mom is blaming her phone for keeping her awake, but I know that is not true. She was only on her phone as a last resort after she tried other ways to help herself sleep. Since we share a bedroom, I didn't sleep either.

Difference between her and me is, I still made it to work today but she absolutely refused to get up for school. Today is only her second day at the new school and already she is absent. I simply can't handle this any longer. psychiatrist tells me to hold on and give it more time. I don't know how much longer I can wait. She is only at 50 mgs of Seroquel right now which is a baby dose. Maybe when she gets to a much higher dose she will finally be able to sleep. psychiatrist says she has to work her way up with the Seroquel really slowly. Well I am getting way impatient. Her lack of sleep is affecting me way more than it is her. It's easy for her to stay home from school every day while I have to force myself to go to work. Lack of sleep does a number on my bipolar, and right now I am rapid cycling like crazy. I feel run down and sick plus my mood is terrible. How much longer can I wait? Ugh!
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I know this is going to sound like a strange post but if 50 mgs of Seroquel isnt helping your daughter sleep then I doubt a higher dose will. Seroquel is a strange medication in that Doctor's use it sometimes as a sleeping aid but the dose for sleep is 100 mgs or lower. Once a person gets up there in mg's it seems as though they get used to it and sleepiness is no longer an issue.

I took Seroquel for a little while when we had to take me off of trazadone because it was making me not sleep and my ambien simply wasnt enough. I had to start off with 1/2 of a 25 mg pill because anymore was way too much. Years ago they tried me on it and gave me 100 mgs and when I took that first pill I slept for over 24 hours and woke up as a serious monster. After that I swore I wouldnt use it again but I did and that 12.5 mgs worked for me for months. Eventually I did work up to 50 mgs but I had to quit it because it increased my cholesterol so badly.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
psychiatrist tells me to hold on and give it more time. I don't know how much longer I can wait.
Sorry. Ramp up of new medication needs to be coordinated with the shut-down of the old, in such a way that she can still cope. psychiatrist has these options:
1) keep the original at it's original dose until the new one kicks in, or
2) provide another medication that deals with the sleep issue, or
3) admit her to psychiatric hospital to do the medication swap, or
4) provide a medical exemption from school for the number of weeks it will take to make the transition.

Sorry... he has TWO options. The first two.
NOBODY on this planet can expect a teenager to cope with THAT serious of a lack of sleep. NOBODY. (not even the teenagers who think they can do it, can cope with it)
She MUST be in school. NOT an option. What does he have to change to make that happen... NOW.

(I could really go off on that psychiatrist of yours)
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
Well guess what? The last time I tried calling psychiatrist, which was on Monday, a really rude front office lady told me she didn't wish to deal with me. Why, you may ask? She said that my mom calls the office frequently and it's "too confusing" to have to talk to both mother and grandmother regarding my daughter's condition. Since my mom is the last person she spoke with, she told me she didn't want to talk to me and to have my mom call her! I'm sorry but WTH?? I am her MOTHER! I am her legal guardian. I told her exactly those words. Told her she would be dealing with ME from now on! She didn't take that too well. She is really not gonna like me today, cause I am going to call back and demand something else be done. If I don't hear back from psychiatrist by tonight, I will be skipping her Seroquel for tonight and giving her the full dose of Geodon. I had a feeling she might suffer terrible withdrawals backing off from the Geodon. In the past, her dad has forgotten to give her the Geodon when she spent the weekend with him, and on those nights poor difficult child didn't sleep at all whatsoever. So she has become addicted to the Geodon and can't sleep without it. I don't know what else to do at this point, but psychiatrist needs to intervene ASAP.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Then the office needs a note on file that they are NOT under any circumstances to deal with this patient's grandmother. PERIOD.

<sigh>
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
My mom is gonna be hella ****** at me but what else can I do? How dare they tell me they will only speak to her and not me, their mother? The nerve of that woman!
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Why on earth is she contacting any of these doctors anyway? She is not the parent. And the fact that she is that involved may be something XH can use against you. She HAS to back off.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I agree she needs to back off. In a lot of ways she is very helpful with taking kids to the doctors when I can't take time off work, or taking them to school, but she is way overstepping her boundaries. I have attempted to tell her to back off in the past, and she cries and gives me the guilt trip. But now I'm putting my foot down. I refuse to have somebody tell me I am not welcome to talk to my own child's psychiatrist.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Guilt trip? about WHAT? YOU are the mother. She has the privilege of being a GRANDMOTHER. She doesn't get a second chance at raising kids... that's YOUR job. You appreciate support, such as being a back-up driver... but she isn't even a "back-up mother"... she's a grandmother.
 

IT1967

Member
I'm sorry you're going through this. All I can say is that this medication stuff is completely terrifying. :( Hope you get it straightened out soon.
 

justour2boys

Momto2Boys
I am her MOTHER! I am her legal guardian. I told her exactly those words. Told her she would be dealing with ME from now on!

Unless you have signed a HIPPA release form for the Dr office to communicate with your mother directly regarding your daughter, they are in violation of the HIPPA laws! Now if you did, ask for another form, revise the contact list and resubmit to the Dr office.

So when you call them today, remind them that under HIPPA you are the contact person(legal guardian) for your minor child, not the grandmother!! And if they continue to speak to the grandmother, you will be filing a complaint. That will shut the office up real quick.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
My mom is gonna be hella ****** at me but what else can I do? How dare they tell me they will only speak to her and not me, their mother? The nerve of that woman!

So she'll be mad? So what?

She has no right to butt into your life to the degree that she does. You're not her little girl anymore and she isn't supposed to treat you like one and your kids are NOT her kids. Sorry. I'm probably close to your mom's age and I think she is being intrusive, bossy and is way out of line and needs a life of her own so she can let you go on without her two cents. Or you have to force the issue. If she gets angry, that's her issue, not yours. I would lprobably be so ticked off that the office gave Mom information that she is not entitled to that I'd switch doctors. This is sacrdd. This is HIPPA. They are seriously breaking the law here.

Now my opinion on the medication change: You know I have a serious mood disorder too. NOTHING could make me change medications that worked. NOTHING. It may be that NO medication helps your child's anxiety much or it may be that she has to wait until she is older and tries a benzo. Benzos are the only medication that sate my anxiety, but of course you don't give that to minor children. Coping mechanisms helped me the most and I was a huge hypochondriac and a chock full of uber-fear when I was your daughter's age. Just like your daughter, school terrified me. I went because it was illegal not to, but didn't learn anything because my heart was pounding and I felt dizzy and I wanted to cry and run away and when I got older, I did cut classes to stop the claustrophobic feeling that school caused. The nurse knew me well...lolol. Anyhow, if Geodon works better than Seroquel, I would probably insist she go back on it. If your psychiatrist won't do it, I'd find another doctor who understands how much it helped your daughter.

Chances are no medication is going to make much difference in your daughter's anxiety level...therapy is better for that for some people. But at least with Geodon she can sleep and YOU can sleep.

Hugs. You can do this!
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
Well I was proven right once again cause I skipped the Seroquel last night and gave her the full dose of Geodon along with melatonin just in case, and she slept great. It is obviously the reduction in Geodon that was causing her horrible insomnia. I am going to keep her on 80 milligrams of Geodon and make another appointment with psychiatrist to see what we can do about the anxiety. I know that with me, antidepressants worked wonderfully for years for my anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Unfortunately at my age, they have all pooped out on me so now I'm going the therapy route. For her I think trialing an AD would be a better option than suddenly switching antipsychotics. She is also getting loads of therapy at her new school, which she absolutely loves. Yayyy! She only missed one day this week, and that was the day she fell asleep at 3:30 a.m. the night before. Other than that, she has gotten up and gotten ready and hasn't complained or tried to get out of going at all whatsoever. The true test will be next Thursday. That will be the day the bus will begin to pick her up from the house and take her. Till then my mom is taking her to school every day. We shall see how she does on her own. I am hoping and praying she is able to get herself up and get on that bus! She is telling me this school is ten times better than the school she was at, so I am hoping that will be a good motivator!
 
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