Hey klmno........
Thanks for asking. I have been posting more and more lately. I guess I am a bit cyclical in my posting. Hmmm.....wonder what that means
Why was he on naltrexone........ I must have missed that post. Isn't that for alchohol abuse?
I believe that with most medications, doctors talk and know only about the "norm". There is VERY little research out there about our kids. So while the "normal bi-polar" adult patient may respond well to Abilify - there is little to no research about our bi-polar kids, especially the ones who do not fit into the bell shaped curve of "normal bi-polar". (If there is such a thing.) So a lot of my insight about medications has been my own, and then later on, down the road, I will have a Dr say, yea that medication has been known to do that.
Really? So why in the hay did Dr X give it to my kid??? And there is usually no answer from the new Dr, because the new Dr is only going on his own patient experience, not documented research, just like I have been going on my own parental experience. Does that make sense?
This is the reason why I have been the over involved meddling mom since Matt was 6 with his medications - because I could see that he was WAY outside of the bell shaped curve, and whatever medication we put him on was a total cr@p shoot. The only way we would know if that medication was not going to work was my observation........not some medical journal. If I had a dollar for every time a psychiatrist said to me, "oh no, that medication does not cause that" I would be rich. Seriously.
So, on the flip side, when they put Matt on Paxil and it really, really worked - I had many professionals and even board members telling me an AD was the worst possible choice for a BiPolar (BP) child. Especially Paxil. However, it works wonders for him if combined with 2 Mood Stabs. So, the point is, you have to completely trust your gut, just like you are doing - and take what the docs say with a grain of salt. Yes, they are correct in "thinking" Abilify may work - but it doesn't, and you took him off of it, and now you are on to the next thing.
Thanks for asking about Matt. He is hanging in there. One day at a time. Probably the hardest thing for me, actually, is not being so overly involved with his medications. The Dr even told me I was in the upper 2% of Moms neurotically involved in their kids medication treatment. Ahhhh..........thanks. It is only because I have watched it day in and day out for 12 years, but OK. None the less, Matt is back on the same medication regimen he was on, per my suggestion (the one the phosph "accidentally discontinued" back in Sept) - and he is more stable than he was 2 months ago. I have my first visit planned to see him the first of March - keeping my fingers crossed.
As for your difficult child, has the Tegetrol gotten to a therapeutic level yet? Have you seen improvements in his outbursts and meltdowns?
Hugs