difficult child 2 hospitalized - update

seriously

New Member
Spent almost an hour on the phone with the inpatient psychiatrist Dr. C. She is great and I am so relieved we got her.

She's keeping him for at least a couple days, maybe a week. Dr. C said he was "all over the place" there and they had to give him both Klonopin and Trazadone to get him to sleep last night.

Definitely a manic episode. She lectured me on getting him into the hospital immediately the next time this happens. She said there are now some good docs at one of the other psychiatric hospital with an adolescent unit and I should take him there next time if their psychiatric hospital is full.

She is checking his thyroid levels - said she was wondering if he might have developed autoimmune thyroid disease since he has another autoimmune disease and there's a strong family hx.

Biggest thing --- I thought to mention the choking incident to her. She was very unhappy that the school didn't call 911 and she wasn't too happy with the minimal assessment they did in ER either. She said that after being strangled there can be sudden and severe swelling that is delayed and could be life-threatening. I am glad to know my first instinct - why the heck have they not called 911??? - was the right one.

But she also said that it might have led to the manic episode and she was going to run thyroid labs today for sure. Dr. C said that neck trauma (like being choked) can cause pressure on the thyroid which causes a sudden release of thyroid hormones to flood the body. She said this is rare but it can cause mania/psychosis in even normal people. She called it a hyperthyroid crisis.

So I have dropped a little line to the principal, ED teacher, Special Education district program specialist and our advocate passing on this concern. If the principal doesn't get called on the carpet for not calling 911 I would be surprised.

I am so relieved that they are keeping him I cannot say.

I'll keep you updated.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I am SO glad they are keeping him and she is an awesome psychiatrist!!!! I did not know he has autoimmune disease or thyroid problems in the family history. I would have mentioned the thyroid probls after the choking incident if I had. I have autoimmune thyroiditis and my thyroid doesn't work at all. It is essentially dead, though not decaying or anything. Just won't ever work according to the endocrine doctor. All my docs say this is the BEST type of autoimmune disorder because it is so easy and cheap to replaced the thyroid medications. For a few people, a small percent of the population, the synthetic thyroid hormone does not work well. These people inevitable need to be put on Armour Thyroid - which is still cheap. Last time I checked the price (because my doctor was considering it for me) it was about fifteen bucks a month with a free rx discount card. They are easily available on the web if you don't have insurance to apy for medications. The change in how you feel take a couple of weeks but makes a big difference.

The choking incident could cause other thyroid problems if he has some already. Either way, this place sounds like where he needs to be. It is so dumb that intake is done by someone who makes ten bucks and hour - mosst of the time the psychiatrists then tell you that you should have admitted them earlier, when the problems began, but you couldn't because the intake people won't let you. So stupid a way to runt hings, in my opinion.

anyway, I hoep he can be stabilized quickly and the principal is made to know how she and the stupid sp ed teacher who did almost nothing endangered his life by not calling 911 right away! they also need to knwo that this has liekly caused his need for hospitalization in the psychiatric hospital AND may ahve caused PTSD in him. I still, to this day, have flashbacks to my brother trying to drown me when I was 12. Not often anymore, but until I got help when I was 18 they happened a LOT. Also flashbacks to other things, but water in my face in the shower was a huge problem for years because of what he did (choked me and held my head face up under the tub faucet until the babysitter pulled him off - we had a sitter coming in every day because he was so violent with me even though he was 14 and I was 12.). This is something that you will need to watch for with him for a while.

(((((hugs))))) Take time while he is in the psychiatric hospital to rest and recover and recharge your batteries.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Wow, you scored with this psychiatrist at the unit! VERY glad they are keeping him for a bit :) He needs it, you need it, and no doubt the rest of the family can use the break as well. I used to be freaked out about the thought of taking my difficult child to phospital (and knock on wood, we haven't had to go down that path YET), but I now realize there is absolutely a time for it and there is no shame in having to go there.

Hope they get all the thyroid issues researched and that it's NOT yet another AI issue. You have enough to deal with.

Did you apply for camp Oasis this year or have things been too unstable? This is difficult child 1's last year and then he's too old :(
 

seriously

New Member
Yes he's signed up for both camps. I am crossing my fingers that he will be able to go. It would be so sad if he couldn't. next year will be his last year at Oasis but he can be a CIT at the camp up here.

This psychiatrist is a match made in heaven for us. Won't go into details but her family and ours are very similar including kids with hearing loss. Plus she specializes in Bipolar.

I was so relieved I nearly cried. I knew last Thursday he needed hospitalization but this one was full and wouldn't do an intake and our community psychiatrist has not been thrilled with the other choices so we did our best at home. but it was scary in ways it hasn't been before and I am thankful she didn't hesitate to keep him.

She is hitting him big time with medication changes. The depakote he just started will be bid for 2500 mg/day total. And she's upping the geodon to the max of 160 mg/day. Along with the sedation at night to get him to sleep. She wanted to drop the topomax completely but I objected because it kicked his migraines. She she's leaving that at 25 mg.

We'll see how it goes. I don't know if we'll be able to get him to take those doses at home if they make him really sedated. But cross that bridge when/if we come to it.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Well once they get the Depakote to therapuetic levels he may not need such a high dose. No doubt they'll check his bloodwork after a bit to check the valproate levels. Is it the regular Depakote or the ER (extended release)? difficult child 2 takes 1000mg of the ER, and has been at that level for about three years now with good results. It really does a job on keeping manic symptoms in check, though it doesn't cover everything and thus the Seroquel XR that he takes (and he takes A LOT -- 400mg lunch time and 600mg bedtime -- and I'm to give him 100mg regular Seroquel PRN, which I had to do last week and the week before that because he was bouncing off the walls every afternoon). Sedation is an issue, and some days are worse than others (falling asleep in class). But we've tried backing off on first Seroquel XR, then the Depakote ER, and we just cannot do without either of these medications at their current levels otherwise symptoms come back with a vengeance. The tradeoffs are just not worth it.

VERY glad to hear you are so pleased with the current psychiatrist -- when that magic happens, they are worth their weight in GOLD. I will keep my fingers crossed that they can stabilize him over the next few weeks and that he does get to go to camp -- it is SO important for these kids to have something to look forward to!

And yes, many bridges are best left for crossing much, MUCH later... one day at a time is the best approach during times like this!

Hang in there and use this respite time to its full advantage!!!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Wow, that's great! The dr sounds wonderful. Even if it doesn't turn out to be thyroid related, it is wonderful that she is leaving no stone unturned.
And yes, I would be furious with-the school.
{{Many hugs}}
 
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