TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Hi Flutterby96, so sorry for all you're going through. Any chance you and your husband can go to counseling to discuss seeing things eye-to-eye?
I am so sorry he's in denial. I know the feeling. It makes a huge difference when spouses work together.
You've gotten some great advice in regard to medications and doctors.
Hang in there. I know Tuna must be miserable, too.
 

flutterby96

New Member
Ah, sorry for the confusion re:medications... Tuna was off medications for about 6 weeks in Dec/Jan when she was removed from the State Health Insurance with-o any notice. She wasn't weaned off the medications, just went cold-turkey. That was fun! We've been able to get her seen by a p-doctor through County Mental Health for free & they've been giving us Abilify samples, so she's been on medications again since February. J-Dog is much more supportive & on-board now, and is actually hounding me about finding a parent support group for us to go to together, so that's VERY encouraging!! He's also found a job (after a year of unemployment), so we'll have health insurance again in about a month. THANK GOD!!!

At Tuna's psychiatrist appointment this week, we agreed to start her on a low dose of Prozac as the Abilify doesn't seem to be handling it all on it's own. I honestly don't know what Tuna's real diagnosis should be... I kind of feel like "not otherwise specified" is a cop out... like, are they saying she's BiPolar (BP) & they just don't want to call it that yet, or is it just an anxiety issue only? Not really sure. Her main symptoms are that she is highly irritable over unreasonable triggers, is very noise & fast-paced environment averse, unable to regulate her emotions - mostly in the realm of overreacting negatively - and basically completely incapable of accepting the words "NO." In so many ways she sounds BiPolar (BP), but she doesn't have the mania or the decreased sleep (she actually needs about 12 hours a night). So, I don't really know what the deal is. I need to look into a more comprehensive evaluation once we get our insurance situation figured out... I feel like we don't really have a solid handle on what her issues are, so how can we know how to treat her?

J-Dog & I are reading thru "The Explosive Child" together at night... "that's so Tuna" is our most common phrase! (-: Thanks, all, for the encouragement, support & ideas! I'll keep you posted. And, you are all in my thoughts & prayers tonight.
 

SRL

Active Member
Welcome back, sorry you had to find us again. I'd suggest considering any diagnosis for a young child as a working diagnosis--live with it for awhile, see if it fits and how the child responds to treatment, and then adjust as needed from there. It's pretty common for the initial diagnosis to need tweaking.

You might want to take a look at the book :What Your Explosive Child Is Trying to Tell You: Discovering the Pathway from Symptoms to Solutions" by Dr. Douglas Riley.

There's a thread on adapting The Explosive Child for younger children:
http://www.conductdisorders.com/com...the-explosive-child-for-younger-children.864/

Since she's so noise and environment adverse, has she been seen by an occupational therapist to be evaluated for sensory issues?
 
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