gcvmom
Here we go again!
We're still on the road towards stability with difficult child 2 -- and I guess we're not quite there yet, but I don't think it's going to take too much longer. At least I hope. Gee, he's 12 1/2 and first started medications at the age of 4 1/2... I guess 8 years of trial and error isn't so bad if it will mean he gets the rest of his life on track.
He's been walking a fine line of stability lately -- just one missed dose of his morning Depakote (which is only 25% of his total daily Depakote) and/or one missed dose of his lunchtime Seroquel (which is about 1/3 of his daily dose for that medication) and within 30 hours or so he's starting to have racing thoughts and his behavior begins to unravel.
Initially the psychiatrist just had me bump the evening Seroquel by one tab for a week to get him back on track, but lately that hasn't even been enough. So we had labs for Depakote levels checked last week and found out today it's a tad low (80), so tonight we increased the evening Depakote by one more tablet (now up to 1,000mg at night plus the one 250mg in the morning). I probably won't lower the Seroquel (now at 800mg pm) back to the original level (700mg pm) until we're at least a month at the new Depakote level.
But for all the dozens of medications he's been on in his dozen years of life, this really seems to be the best combo so far. He is more in touch with his own feelings. He is articulate. He behaves and does not try to provoke people (unlike difficult child 1!). He is caring. He shares things without being asked. He is consderate of others and actually thinks to do things for people without anyone else suggesting it. He is warm and affectionate. He helps when asked (might grumble a bit like any 12yo, but he eventually does what he's asked).
Gosh, I REALLY am encouraged!!!
Just wanted to share this for anyone else out there starting down this path, or dealing with similar issues. I never realized it would take this long or be this complicated. But the patience and persistence is paying off.
He's been walking a fine line of stability lately -- just one missed dose of his morning Depakote (which is only 25% of his total daily Depakote) and/or one missed dose of his lunchtime Seroquel (which is about 1/3 of his daily dose for that medication) and within 30 hours or so he's starting to have racing thoughts and his behavior begins to unravel.
Initially the psychiatrist just had me bump the evening Seroquel by one tab for a week to get him back on track, but lately that hasn't even been enough. So we had labs for Depakote levels checked last week and found out today it's a tad low (80), so tonight we increased the evening Depakote by one more tablet (now up to 1,000mg at night plus the one 250mg in the morning). I probably won't lower the Seroquel (now at 800mg pm) back to the original level (700mg pm) until we're at least a month at the new Depakote level.
But for all the dozens of medications he's been on in his dozen years of life, this really seems to be the best combo so far. He is more in touch with his own feelings. He is articulate. He behaves and does not try to provoke people (unlike difficult child 1!). He is caring. He shares things without being asked. He is consderate of others and actually thinks to do things for people without anyone else suggesting it. He is warm and affectionate. He helps when asked (might grumble a bit like any 12yo, but he eventually does what he's asked).
Gosh, I REALLY am encouraged!!!
Just wanted to share this for anyone else out there starting down this path, or dealing with similar issues. I never realized it would take this long or be this complicated. But the patience and persistence is paying off.