difficult child paranoia anxiety both?

[BusynMember]

I know a wee bit about schizophrenia, although that's the one bullet I dodged.

Schizophrenics can have it from birth, like bipolar and often when it comes out in all it's glory (usually in late teens or early 20's, but can be much earlier) the parents say, "We didn't see THAT coming, but, then, there were signs that he/she was different..." Interesting is the fact that a large proportion (although not all) of schizophrenics are born in late winter/early spring. Nobody knows why, but there is a theory about Mom maybe getting some illness that causes schizophrenia. It is also highly hereditary.

I really think that the extremity of the paranoia needs to be looked into. That isn't normal. While my teen may tell me not to be so loud because it embarrasses her (as in Mooooooooooooooooooom!) she does not think that everyone is looking at her, nor does she avoid windows, etc. Nor did I, for that matter, and I'm filled with anxiety. I do think a GOOD psychiatrist should be taking care of her. I think small mom mentioned Zyprexa...I don't know how antipsychotics works, but they are GREAT for distorted thinking and thought disorders. Not all work on all people, but they are the go to medication for people who are not seeing reality as it truly is.

Ex's family history is scrary. I'm really sorry. I hope you find somebody who is very good at treating young teenagers with problems.

 

[graceupongrace]

you know how you just get accustomed to your child's behaviors some of them?

Definitely. There's "normal" and then there's "my normal."

 

[Jena]

steely i appreciate you taking the time to explain all of that to me. i looked it up and she in no way fits all that comes with-that disorder or mentall illness. she as you said matt will also leave reality at certain points and truly believe things are happening that aren't yet i'd say more than not she's in reality mode.

i do think that her pyschiatrist should be a whole lot better than he is lol. yet he is who he is. i will mention it to him and see what he thinks medication wise. i hate as i'm sure you did when they go there. that no amt of logic can bring forth to the child hey that's not really happening. zyprexa is medication she's on now yet suddenly it's driving her mad. she can't stop eating the weights' gone real high real quick. i'm fine with it hey i'm the mom who sat for 9 mos wanting this. so as much as i'm curbing it to 3 meals and 2 snacks a day it still warms my heart when shes sneaking in the cabinet. i'm so very grateful and lucky that this last hospitalization worked so very well just as they said it did.

yet her stomach's getting real sick, she's drinking pepto everyday and as we know that's not healthy either. she's active we've begun exercising long walks with dogs etc. yet zyprexa i do not think and knew back in portland wouldn't be the long term medication of choice for her.

yet this is just another piece of the pie into why this awesome kid with a heart of gold has trouble functioning in the real world. and also some insight now and future thinking into ok what do we do about school does this child belong mainstreamed. she wants to be average her need is so severe and her acceptance of self as many of our kids at this age is so not there. yet i have to do what's best for her she has no clue what's best for her when it comes to school.

thanks again to both and all of you. you know me i never stop thinking and my brains always clicking away. that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) obsessional thinking i have can be a great gift at times yet a great nightmare at times also lol

 

[klmno]

It's my understanding that sometimes paranoia can come from extreme anxiety and then, dellusional thinking. Think in terms of certain phobias. I'd find it hard that this can go as far as causing hallicunations, though I'm not a prof so can't say for sure. I'd recommend neuropsychologist testing.

 

[janebrain]

With all the paranoia you spoke of in her family tree it seems so likely it is genetic in nature. And, it sounds way outside of normal to me. Hugs to you,
Jane

 

[susiestar]

Jen, this is a hugely important thing. It very well may be the reason that past attempts at working with psychiatrists, etc... have not worked. If she has some delusional disorder or form of schizophrenia but is getting treatment for something else it likely would be very hard to see positive results. It is a heartbreaking disease but the docs MUST know about these symptoms - they are terribly far from normal.

Do you have a written Parent Report? I know I have mentioned it in the past to you. It is a report that you write about your child to help the docs understand her. The link in my sig will take you to the thread about Parent Reports. If you have done one already, go back in and put this info into the report in a very prominent way. If you don't have one, start working on one. It will help you make srue athat ALL the symptoms are told to the docs, not just the ones that are a problem at that exact minute.

I am so sorry she is dealing with this on top of everything. It sure sounds liek it came from her dad's side - he sounds paranoid too.

 

[pepperidge]

Jena,

I was going to make the same suggestion as Susie about the parent report. I think it will be really important for you to boil it down into an organized factual account in written form and then be able to summarize it clearly and without too much emotion when you see the psychiatrist. if you ever find one, lol! I would also put in what you know about her father's side of the family. You need to find a way of making a psychiatrist take this seriously early on so you don't waste time or money. Perhaps when you interview psychiatrists you might ask whether they know of anyone that specializes in childhoold paranonia or schizo or whatever. Of course they will tell you that they are familiar. It strikes me that this is not the garden variety of ADHD. Could you give you parent report to your pediatrician and ask him to link you maybe with a teaching hospital somewhere? Don't know, just trying to think about how to quickly find someone who is very knowledgeable.

 

[barneysmom]

Hey Jena and all,

I have had many occasions to research the symptom of paranoia. I wanted to add that it can be a trait of a person with unstable borderline personality disorder, And Asperger's too, when sensory input becomes highly dysregulated for whatever reason.

Quite an elusive symptom. Good luck Jena.

Jo xo

 

[susiestar]

I know the parent report can seem like a huge task. It is best to tackle in in 1-2 hour chunks (at most) instead of trying to do it all at one time. You also have to go over it a few times to make sure you didn't forget something (easy to do with a difficult child in the house!).

If you need some help proofreading or whatever, I will help any way I can. While I cannot write fiction to save my soul, I am actually very very skilled with reports and business correspondence. Often if the report looks and sounds business-like rather than informal or conversational, the "experts" are more likely to absorb and believe it. Just an offer.

(((((hugs)))))

 

[BusynMember]

I have to back up Susie here. It is probably best to lay it all out (father's family history is EXTREMELY important). She is exhibiting signs of what could be serious mental illness and you would want to nip that in the bud with the right medications and therapy before it gets even more out of control than it is. I know somebody with paranoid schizophrenia. He can not work. Every time he tries to hold a job he starts thinking that everyone is planning against him and he breaks down. He is 48. I think it is much better to stop the paranoid ideology now. in my opinion it's beyond anxiety as the reason. Deep depression? Don't know, but obviously there are some very strong psychiatric problems on father's side of the family. If her psychiatrist doesn't know about that history, the psychiatrist is kind of blinded. But you don't like the psychiatrist. In all of NY, there HAS to be somebody who can follow her who is also competent. Yes, there are bad apples, but there are good doctors too. If one doesn't work, in my opinion you should make a strong effort to find one who does. but he has to have full disclosure. (((Hugs)))

 

[DammitJanet]

I have to say that while I dont have schizophrenia after my bout with meningitis I have a deep respect for those that do. I now know what it is like to live with those delusions and paranoia, even if I only did it for a short time. I actually still have some residual traces that pop up once in a while. Now its more of a feeling of intense anxiety though.

However when I was in the coma and coming out of it, I was truly delusional and paranoid. I really didnt know what was real and what wasnt. Heck, I was completely convinced I was pregnant with twins! There was a whole ton of things I was convinced of. I thought I was walking back and forth from the hospital to my house. I thought I had two rooms in the hospital. I thought Tony was going out at night and getting into bar fights and getting locked up then showing up on those judge shows on TV...lol. I was convinced I could see him leave at night and see him getting pulled over by the cops. I thought Jamie arrested President Bush for having too much Dr Pepper in his car and then the secret service came down and arrested Jamie...lmao. The list could go on.

The whole time I was so agitated because I was helpless too. I couldnt speak hardly at all. I couldnt form coherent thoughts or sentences so anyone could understand me. I thought I could walk and no one could tell me differently. I couldnt figure out why they wouldnt let me go to the bathroom even though I had a foley in and that just made no sense to me. I wasnt aware enough to figure out the whole bed pan thing. That was simply beyond my cognitive skills. They wouldnt let me go to the bathroom and they told me I had this thing in me to make me go...so I just didnt understand. It boggled my mind. I was a real mess there for a while. The nurses hated me but I simply didnt understand.

I hope I never go back to that and I feel so badly for anyone who lives in that state day in and day out. I would be taking any medication out there to fix it. The first words out of my mouth when I could actually make sense where "where are my medications?"