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I am really scared for difficult child
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 257773" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>I am SO SORRY!!! I can completely see why you are scared!!</p><p></p><p>Does therapist mean that he thinks difficult child will not be alive when he should be 18 or does he think difficult child will have some sort of breakdown? Is he afraid of suicide or an anxiety related or stress related physical illness hurting him (like heart problem or somesuch)? Can you call and ask him to clarify what he said? That might make a big difference in how you go about treating this. </p><p></p><p>It is very understandable that difficult child feels no one is taking this health stuff seriously. NOT that you aren't, I know you are worried sick about him and his health and have been for YEARS. But that from the headaches to everything else the docs have discounted his reports of illness. It sort of seemed to me the docs said that since a couple of headache medications didn't fix things, or had bad side effects that difficult child shouldn't have treatment. I have been worried about how that would impact difficult child and his anxiety and other problems.</p><p></p><p>It is SO HARD to get many docs, even those in pediatric specialties, to acknowledge that kids have real illnesses and feel real pain. Even harder to get many of them to actually TREAT the pain. </p><p></p><p>The adderall is WAY too high if you started at 30. I know difficult child started at around 5 mg on adderall (years ago). Maybe it was 7, but it wasn't even 10 mg. I remember cutting very small pills in half.</p><p></p><p>I would get the list of docs to the therapist ASAP. I think getting on waiting lists no later than next week would be very important. If you have to, get the therapist's fax number and send them to him that way (might save time). If you don't ahve a list, or it is online (like my insurance co - no written lists even when I beg) then maybe you can get the ins co to fax a list to either you or the therapist. If they send it straight to the therapist you should ask him for a copy of it to keep on hand, just in case.</p><p></p><p>I know the therapist recommended Lexapro. If difficult child took it before it may not be something to revisit. While I have had tdocs who knew a bit about medications, and my mom's therapist seems to know about some basic ones, it is NOT something a therapist has been trained about. If you are going to take advice from someone who is NOT a pediatrician psychiatrist, ask the PHARMACIST. Going in to the psychiatrist and asking for a specific medication is usually NOT a good strategy. The psychiatrist may have other medications that work as well but are more appropriate for your child, or may feel the problem is something else entirely, or that the medication has more problems than you know about.</p><p></p><p>I will say that we gave Jessie buspar for about a year when Wiz went into the psychiatric hospital. It was very helpful for her. It helped with the anxiety and PTSD, even helped reduce the number of panic attacks she had. We started her on HALF the normal dose (again by cutting a pill in half). </p><p></p><p>One thing I have learned to do for myself and my kids is to start any medication that is not time released or an urgently needed medication like an antibiotic at HALF the recommended dose. We seem to metabolize many drugs differently, and are either far more or far less effected by medications. Starting at half the dosage for a few days or a week seems to let our bodies adjust to the medications better, and have a better chance of adjusting to them with-o as many side effects. If we hadn't done this with-Jessie's keppra she would never have tolerated it. As it was it took a YEAR to get to levels where it worked. Our neuro even saw the difference in her when we raised it the entire amt he suggested. He was shocked, but we actually raised her half as much each time and let it have an entire MONTH before increasing it again. It worked, and was worth the time it took.</p><p></p><p>Your difficult child does not seem to have that luxury of time. But it would still be worth trying the medications at half the strength for a couple of days or a week or 2 before increasing. Esp if it meant his body could adjust and have a higher likelihood of working with the medication. It would also mean side effects would be less strong and if it needed to be stopped it wouldn't be as hard. This is JUST a SUGGESTION. Be sure to ask the doctor and pharmacist if it is OK to use a lower dose or cut the pills. </p><p></p><p>If you can't get him in to a psychiatrist in say a month, then you may need to hospitalize him for a few days. It is worth visiting with the therapist about. You may even need the therapist to help make the appointment - sometimes you get in sooner if the therapist makes the appointment. </p><p></p><p>I recommend working on a plan of what to do if you can't get in to a new psychiatrist in a timely fashion. What you will do for difficult child, ask his psychiatrist to do, his pediatrician to do (maybe help get an earlier appointment or rx a medication for severe anxiety until you can get in?), what to look for to know if you need to hospitalize him.</p><p></p><p>I know this is long, and I am sorry. But it also occurred to me to start a diary where you write down what he puts on his myspace page about feeling sad or whatever. It is a good measure of how HE says he feels, and that may help the psychiatrist and therapist in treatment. Having a few weeks of this on paper for the doctor may give you a real advantage in getting the psychiatrist to understand things.</p><p></p><p>I don't know if it is wise to tell difficult child you are recording this. Maybe NOT telling him would give a better measure of his feelings and how they change. Whether he knows or not it is a good thing to record, in my opinion.</p><p></p><p>Sending hugs and lots of strength to you! Prayers for all of you also.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 257773, member: 1233"] I am SO SORRY!!! I can completely see why you are scared!! Does therapist mean that he thinks difficult child will not be alive when he should be 18 or does he think difficult child will have some sort of breakdown? Is he afraid of suicide or an anxiety related or stress related physical illness hurting him (like heart problem or somesuch)? Can you call and ask him to clarify what he said? That might make a big difference in how you go about treating this. It is very understandable that difficult child feels no one is taking this health stuff seriously. NOT that you aren't, I know you are worried sick about him and his health and have been for YEARS. But that from the headaches to everything else the docs have discounted his reports of illness. It sort of seemed to me the docs said that since a couple of headache medications didn't fix things, or had bad side effects that difficult child shouldn't have treatment. I have been worried about how that would impact difficult child and his anxiety and other problems. It is SO HARD to get many docs, even those in pediatric specialties, to acknowledge that kids have real illnesses and feel real pain. Even harder to get many of them to actually TREAT the pain. The adderall is WAY too high if you started at 30. I know difficult child started at around 5 mg on adderall (years ago). Maybe it was 7, but it wasn't even 10 mg. I remember cutting very small pills in half. I would get the list of docs to the therapist ASAP. I think getting on waiting lists no later than next week would be very important. If you have to, get the therapist's fax number and send them to him that way (might save time). If you don't ahve a list, or it is online (like my insurance co - no written lists even when I beg) then maybe you can get the ins co to fax a list to either you or the therapist. If they send it straight to the therapist you should ask him for a copy of it to keep on hand, just in case. I know the therapist recommended Lexapro. If difficult child took it before it may not be something to revisit. While I have had tdocs who knew a bit about medications, and my mom's therapist seems to know about some basic ones, it is NOT something a therapist has been trained about. If you are going to take advice from someone who is NOT a pediatrician psychiatrist, ask the PHARMACIST. Going in to the psychiatrist and asking for a specific medication is usually NOT a good strategy. The psychiatrist may have other medications that work as well but are more appropriate for your child, or may feel the problem is something else entirely, or that the medication has more problems than you know about. I will say that we gave Jessie buspar for about a year when Wiz went into the psychiatric hospital. It was very helpful for her. It helped with the anxiety and PTSD, even helped reduce the number of panic attacks she had. We started her on HALF the normal dose (again by cutting a pill in half). One thing I have learned to do for myself and my kids is to start any medication that is not time released or an urgently needed medication like an antibiotic at HALF the recommended dose. We seem to metabolize many drugs differently, and are either far more or far less effected by medications. Starting at half the dosage for a few days or a week seems to let our bodies adjust to the medications better, and have a better chance of adjusting to them with-o as many side effects. If we hadn't done this with-Jessie's keppra she would never have tolerated it. As it was it took a YEAR to get to levels where it worked. Our neuro even saw the difference in her when we raised it the entire amt he suggested. He was shocked, but we actually raised her half as much each time and let it have an entire MONTH before increasing it again. It worked, and was worth the time it took. Your difficult child does not seem to have that luxury of time. But it would still be worth trying the medications at half the strength for a couple of days or a week or 2 before increasing. Esp if it meant his body could adjust and have a higher likelihood of working with the medication. It would also mean side effects would be less strong and if it needed to be stopped it wouldn't be as hard. This is JUST a SUGGESTION. Be sure to ask the doctor and pharmacist if it is OK to use a lower dose or cut the pills. If you can't get him in to a psychiatrist in say a month, then you may need to hospitalize him for a few days. It is worth visiting with the therapist about. You may even need the therapist to help make the appointment - sometimes you get in sooner if the therapist makes the appointment. I recommend working on a plan of what to do if you can't get in to a new psychiatrist in a timely fashion. What you will do for difficult child, ask his psychiatrist to do, his pediatrician to do (maybe help get an earlier appointment or rx a medication for severe anxiety until you can get in?), what to look for to know if you need to hospitalize him. I know this is long, and I am sorry. But it also occurred to me to start a diary where you write down what he puts on his myspace page about feeling sad or whatever. It is a good measure of how HE says he feels, and that may help the psychiatrist and therapist in treatment. Having a few weeks of this on paper for the doctor may give you a real advantage in getting the psychiatrist to understand things. I don't know if it is wise to tell difficult child you are recording this. Maybe NOT telling him would give a better measure of his feelings and how they change. Whether he knows or not it is a good thing to record, in my opinion. Sending hugs and lots of strength to you! Prayers for all of you also. [/QUOTE]
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