When to do inpatient treatment?

fabfive

New Member
I seriously CANNOT take the tantrums that last for HOURS with difficult child#3. It's like he gets a little worse everyday. He is never happy and spends most of the day either screaming or crying. I am getting no answers from our behavioral pediatrician. We see him pretty often for medication checks and he is certain it's ADHD and has him on 1mg of Intuniv. I am seeing no results with the Intuniv but he just reassures me it's trial and error when trying ADHD medications.

I am at my wit's end with him today and I am STRONGLY considering inpatient treatment. We did it once with difficult child#1 and it seemed to get the ball rolling to get other services for him. I am thinking it might give me some more concrete answers on what is going on with him. He was the sweetest baby and toddler ever but it's like a monster has taken up residence inside of his body and he is NOTHING like the little kid I used to know.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Generally they have to be a danger to themselves or others to get admittance. It can help if they are going nuts in the ER or intake room/waiting room at the psychiatric hospital. Frankly, with a child who cries and rages all day I would start with a log of when and how long he rages. Docs hear a lot of parents say that something is "all day" when really it is less than an hour a day many times. So a log showing that he starts at this time, keeps going, finally stops at this time, with what the rage is about, potential triggers (like being asked to do a chore or school assignment or stop playing a video game or whatever), and even things you have done to try to end the rage (leave him alone, try to talk to him, whatever you are doing).

With that info to show he really is raging/crying all day, esp if he hits people or pets or damages property, you probably will be able to get him admitted. in my opinion this is not just adhd. SOMETHING else is going on because NO ONE wants to cry all day. It could be a sign of depression or bipolar. Read up on bipolar (the bipolar child by paplous is teh BEST book, pay special attention to the medication protocol) and try to insist that they use mood stabilizers before antidepressants. They take 6 weeks at a therpeutic level to fully work, which is really HARd, but if he is bipolar then the antidepressants that would give faster results can send him into mood cycling which you do nOT want.

I think if he truly is raging and crying all day then he needs more intervention than a psychiatrist can provide with appointments every few weeks/months. Esp if he hurts people or himself during his rages, it is time to at least try to get him inpatient. Luckily he is still young enough that you shouldn't have to deal with idiots who tell kids they have the legal right to refuse treatment. Parents of teens often run itno this roadblack, because what mentally ill child/teen wants treatment?

Sorry things are so rough.
 

klmno

Active Member
I agree with Susie with only one thing to add, in our state at least, I heard that there is a little-known 3rd way to be qualified for an inpatient stay and that is called "deterioration of functioning". I would think that this might be a possibility. Can you get him to an ER at one of the worst periods? Even if that doesn't lead to an inpatient stay, it might lead to a more thorough psychiatric evaluation. Or- try your local crisis center (in person not via telephone).
 
Top