SFR a person who truly gets what i'm saying lol. ok i gotta ask how old is your child now? did it ever balance out? if so what medication did you use?? you knew id' hit you with-a ton of questions on this lol. yea easy child is wishing she'd of gone away to college. she's grown up with this almost her entire life. it's sooo hard on the siblings.
Jena,
I can hardly believe it, but difficult child 1 is going to be 20 yrs old soon! That old saying, time flies, is so true!!! (I know, you probably don't believe me right about now, totally understandable.)
Although he still had many sleepless nights, once he was on the right combination and dosage of medications, it made a big difference. He wasn't as explosive/violent and mostly stayed in his room. Luckily, he was quiet and I was finally able to get some much needed sleep.
difficult child 1 was on a mood stabilizer, Trileptal, and an antipsych, Abilify. Every now and then the dosages had to be increased but we were very fortunate that this combination worked well for him through high school graduation.
I don't want to paint too rosy of a picture though. There were still times I was fearful, but they were fewer and much farther between. I have to admit though that when difficult child 1 was home but husband wasn't, even when things were going better, I think the past affected me more than I realized. I still locked my bedroom door when I took a shower, made sure my pocketbook was with me, etc... It wasn't until difficult child 1 moved out (soon after high school graduation) that my relationship with him began to improve.
Looking back, I wish we had medicated him sooner then we did. Until he was medicated, the countless sessions he spent with his psychiatrist, therapist, etc... were a total waste of time. Talking to him was absolutely useless.
I agree that having a mentally ill child is extremely tough on their siblings. Although I tried the best I could to make life "normal" for my daughter, it wasn't possible because both of her older brothers are difficult children. Sadly, I think all of the anger she feels about being raised in a house with difficult children is beginning to surface now. As I said, the FUN never ends...
I don't want to end this on such a negative note. difficult child 1 has been living on his own since June, 2009. He is doing much better then husband or I had ever dreamed he would do. I now have a much better relationship with him and actually enjoy his company. He's even taken me out to eat, just the two of us, for Mother's Day, my birthday!!! During the worst of it, I NEVER would have thought this would be even remotely possible!!!
YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS!!! I'm sure the road ahead is going to be rocky, but YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS!!! Believe me, there were many times I was ready to throw in the towel... I don't want to keep on rambling and hogging your thread, lol... so I'm going to stop here. However, if you want to know anything else, just let me know...
Thinking of you... Many hugs... SFR