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<blockquote data-quote="gcvmom" data-source="post: 61843" data-attributes="member: 3444"><p>Well, I can say that in the 5 weeks difficult child 2 has been on Depakote, his frustration threshold has been raised and he does not explode like he was before. He is still a bit impulsive -- it seems to depend on the circumstances: if he's bored, hungry, tired, etc. Those factors tend to lower the threshold for him.</p><p></p><p>I can relate to the blood draw issues -- difficult child 1 needs them fairly often and has a needle phobia... basically would have a panic attack each and every time he saw a needle... got dizzy, felt faint, broke out in a sweat, vomited, etc. (His dad passes out when he sees his own blood, too).</p><p></p><p>I now have him lie down for blood draws (can't pass out lying down). Ativan takes the edge off and he also learned some biofeedback/relaxation exercises that help. The biggest help was putting him on 10mg Lexapro, which also allowed me to cut the Ativan dose in half. AND we got an rx for Emla cream (lidocain-type stuff) which numbs the puncture area very nicely. The final piece to this little routine is a reward at the toy store of his choice afterwards (with a pre-determined budget). </p><p></p><p>I can appreciate your husband's concerns about the effects on the liver and pancreas. That's the main reason for the bloodwork. From what I understand, it's not all that common, and isn't necessarily permanent. The liver has an amazing capacity to regenerate itself. Pancreatitis is serious, but treatable. I guess I'm just used to dealing with these issues since difficult child 1 was diagnosis'd with Crohn's disease last year. The immunosuppressant medications he takes can also mess up his liver and pancreas, AND can cause a whole host of other complications (thus the need for frequent blood tests), but the risk for those complications is far outweighed by the disease remission the medications have granted him.</p><p></p><p>I'm of the school of thought that if there's a potential solution to a significant problem, I'm willing to give it a try. I embraced Depakote because over the past six years, difficult child 2 has trialed various combinations with six different stimulants, an antidepressant, a blood pressure drug, and two different atypical antipsychotics and things were continuing to worsen. I was desperate, I guess. </p><p></p><p>Hope your conversation with difficult child's psychiatrist gets things moving in the right direction for him soon.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gcvmom, post: 61843, member: 3444"] Well, I can say that in the 5 weeks difficult child 2 has been on Depakote, his frustration threshold has been raised and he does not explode like he was before. He is still a bit impulsive -- it seems to depend on the circumstances: if he's bored, hungry, tired, etc. Those factors tend to lower the threshold for him. I can relate to the blood draw issues -- difficult child 1 needs them fairly often and has a needle phobia... basically would have a panic attack each and every time he saw a needle... got dizzy, felt faint, broke out in a sweat, vomited, etc. (His dad passes out when he sees his own blood, too). I now have him lie down for blood draws (can't pass out lying down). Ativan takes the edge off and he also learned some biofeedback/relaxation exercises that help. The biggest help was putting him on 10mg Lexapro, which also allowed me to cut the Ativan dose in half. AND we got an rx for Emla cream (lidocain-type stuff) which numbs the puncture area very nicely. The final piece to this little routine is a reward at the toy store of his choice afterwards (with a pre-determined budget). I can appreciate your husband's concerns about the effects on the liver and pancreas. That's the main reason for the bloodwork. From what I understand, it's not all that common, and isn't necessarily permanent. The liver has an amazing capacity to regenerate itself. Pancreatitis is serious, but treatable. I guess I'm just used to dealing with these issues since difficult child 1 was diagnosis'd with Crohn's disease last year. The immunosuppressant medications he takes can also mess up his liver and pancreas, AND can cause a whole host of other complications (thus the need for frequent blood tests), but the risk for those complications is far outweighed by the disease remission the medications have granted him. I'm of the school of thought that if there's a potential solution to a significant problem, I'm willing to give it a try. I embraced Depakote because over the past six years, difficult child 2 has trialed various combinations with six different stimulants, an antidepressant, a blood pressure drug, and two different atypical antipsychotics and things were continuing to worsen. I was desperate, I guess. Hope your conversation with difficult child's psychiatrist gets things moving in the right direction for him soon. [/QUOTE]
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