He's having a BAD day & I'm ready to scream

[Karen & Crew]

I dunno what's up with R today but I'm absolutely ready to run away from home.

He was uncontrollable this am when we had to take daughter to do her dance revue pix. From there we had to run an errand at the mall and he was worse. He has destroyed his room and when anything is said about it or any fuss is made he laughs uncontrollably and asks what's the big problem. Its starting to rub off on daughter and I am determined that she is not going to turn into another version of him.

Time-outs, loss of privileges, spankings - absolutely NOTHING is working on him and I am going to have a nervous breakdown if he doesn't chill out soon.

 

[oceans]

Is the psychiatrist taking him off from all those stimulants now that the diagnoses was changed to just Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? Maybe the medications are not right for him...he seems to be acting so unstable. Have you tried the Explosive child techniques?

 

[TerryJ2]

So sorry Karen! I know how you feel!

I don't recall an update you may have posted in re: to his medications or weaning him off of them. Is this behavior new, or more of the same old stuff? I know he's been wild b4 but I don't remember the hysterical laughing part. That's kind of creepy.

Is his trashed room a bone of contention or one of many things that has set him off today?
I'd give up on the room just for today and try to stay away from him. It sounds like the room is a trigger for both of you. Of course, there will be consequences. Just not right now. He sounds like he's too off-the-wall today to understand what's going on anyway.

Our difficult child improved a lot when we did a clean sweep of his room... I thought it would be a punishment but it was actually a boon. There was so much going on in there, it was a stimulus. Could anything like that be going on with-your difficult child?

We don't spank any more... it makes you feel good for the moment but generally only makes kids like that worse.
Can you just take him outside and run around with-him... literally? He needs to get rid of that steam, physically and emotionally, and it sounds like he needs to get away from his room.

Can you run away from home for a cpl hrs while David watches difficult child, and then David could go out while you take over? Sometimes I do that with-husband and it keeps us from killing difficult child and one another. :smile:

Good luck! Let us know if he calms down tonight.

 

[Karen & Crew]

Oceans - she's leaving the stimulants alone for now until she knows for sure the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is under control. She said then she'd try to wean him once we know the Celexa is working. Y'day was his first day and he seemed to do so well y'day. Not sure what the heck happened today other than I gave it to him a few hours later since he slept in.

Terry - this is more of the same old crap coming up again. He hasn't had a day this bad in a long time. The tics have been especially bad today. Its gotten worse since I last posted. He has now urinated in the big cardboard can that his Lincoln Logs were supposed to go in (guess we'll pile those up in a corner until we get a new storage container) and there is poop smeared all over my bathroom vanity. He's in there right now supposedly cleaning himself and my vanity. I'll go check on him in a few minutes.

I think what I don't understand the most (and have the hardest time with) is that he doesn't even TRY to control himself. I find that so frustrating. I know kids misbehave. I know they can be worse in public. But I know with my brother and myself growing up we at least TRIED to behave. daughter seems to try when I get on her case. R doesn't seem like he cares.

Spanking isn't something that I've ever been a big proponent of for the very reason I find myself doing it today. I just don't know what else to do and "I" lash out because of my own personal frustrations. The Explosive Child stuff isn't working today. daughter can tell that he's out of control and she's daring him to do things she knows will get him in trouble and I don't know if he can't help himself or what but he's doing what she tells him. I'm just overall miserable as I slipped in the kitchen earlier and sprained the heck out of my ankle and the baby apparently has a tummy virus and has been screaming for what seems like eternities at a time.

I'd love to turn him loose in the backyard but today, when I most needed the sunshine we've had for 2 straight weeks it finally decided to pour down rain. I've given up on the bedroom issue too. Told him to clear himself a path from the bed to the door so that if he had to go potty during the night that he wouldn't fall and kill himself and I just wasn't going to worry anymore. HA HA!

David has to work tonight so I'm on my own. Again. He offered to call in since I had sprained my ankle, the baby's sick and R's out of control but he's had so many shifts cancelled lately and we really, REALLY need the money. I just couldn't let him do that. We have a b'day party for my great-niece tomorrow afternoon. I'll see how he's doing and if he's too out of it tomorrow too then I'll drop him with my parents who only live about a mile from my niece & her husband.

OK, off to make sure everyone is doing something akin to what they were told to do and to pile in bed next to the baby and watch Food Network a while.

 

[timer lady]

Karen,

I hate days from hell! I hope you'll get settled in early tonight & have a good night's sleep.

Rattling beads that tomorrow is a better one for difficult child.

 

[oceans]

Well - I hope it gets better. I was just asking because my difficult child had some pretty weird behaviors when he was on stimulants. He is doing much better without them. The Zyprexa seems to have done the job we were trying without success to get done with the stimulants. I know everyone is different...

Have a good night!!!

 

[Wiped Out]

Hoping tomorrow is a better day. Hugs. :flower:

 

[BusynMember]

My son was misdiagnosed over and over again. I'd be leery of that drug combination. Do you feel this is the right diagnosis and the right treatment for your child? What does your "mom gut" tell you? Did he see a Child Psychiatrist or neuropsychologist and get intensive evaluations or did somebody see him once or twice and decide what he had? We had such a hard time getting the right diagnosis. It took a neuropsychologist and twelve hours of testing/observation. Now my son is doing great, but, during all those misdiagnosis, he was mostly just zombied out because the medications were wrong. Some kids get uber-hyper instead. I wouldn't give a raging kid antidepressants and stimulants--course I'm not a doctor, but I've taken both myself, and so has my son. I've come not to trust short sessions and fast diagnoses. I like intensive evaluations that last a lot longer than one or two hours and include testing. There are no blood tests, but certain results point to certain disorders--it's as close as you can come. in my opinion if this doctor isn't helping your child improve, move on. My son saw at least eight different Psychiatrists by age 11, and all of them read him WRONG. He didn't have ADHD/ODD or bipolar--he is on the autism spectrum, high functioning. I get scared when I look back at all the medications he was on and how many Psychiatrists MISSED the autism. I saw it and asked about it and was shouted down, yet the only thing that has helped him are Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) interventions. I doubt your son wants to be bad or doesn't try, even if it seems that way. I have bipolar and, as a kid, I hated raging, but I couldn't stop myself once it overtook me and I hated myself afterwards. I needed different medications. If your son has a missed, undiagnosed mood disorder (and I'm not saying he does) BUT if he does, he is bound to get much worse on either an antidepressant or stimulants, and he's on both!!! I didn't think you had to wean off of stims, but that's another issue. You have to decide how you think your child is doing in the care of the doctor he is seeing. Good luck and try to hang in there.