Lot's of ?? - About Respidol, BiPolar (BP), Scizo & my easy child

[Mom2oddson]

I'm Back! And it's not about difficult child this time. (He's still with difficult child-mother in law for a little while longer)...

easy child-daughter Asked to see the physchologist(L) because she was depressed. L sent us to the Phychiatrist(P) so that easy child could be put on medications. L thought the depression was bad enough to require medications. easy child allowed me to come in to the office to see P. (In this State a child of 13 or older has total say over their medical condition)... Anyways, while sitting in P's office easy child answered all his questions in front of me. easy child has been hearing voices, seeing hallucinations, been extremely parinoid, and has no sense of self-worth, along with the depression.

I had NO Idea all this was going on!! easy child acts like everything is fine. She gets moody sometimes but she's a 14 year old girl. She's no different than her cousins. How was I to know.

Doctor P, isn't sure where we are in the diagnosis. This could be the begining signs of BiPolar (BP), or it could be the begining stages of Scizo or it could just be an extreme depression. As of yesterday, easy child is on Zoloft (50mg)to be raised to (100mg) next week. Also, she is on Resphidol. Don't remember the amount. The words "Anti-physchotic" medicine short-circuited my brain.

I'm falling apart here. I think this might be the straw that breaks my back. husband left Saturday for San Diego for SIX MONTHS!! So, I call him stressed out from listening to my easy child talk about the voices and the hallucinations... I'm telling him about his little girl and he changes the subject to us getting custody back of difficult child. I will give husband the benefit of doubt here... namely that the stress of hearing all about his daughter, was too much and he needed to change the subject. But, I also think he's a jerk right now. Right now, I don't care about difficult child and if he ever comes back here. All I care about is my baby girl.

Any advice??

 

[DDD]

How wonderful that your daughter is bright enough to recognize
that she needs some help, astute enough to adapt and function so
well in her daily needs and most especially is so confident in your love and support that she opts to share her deep concerns
with you at her side! I realize that it is mindboggling to even
think that your easy child may have serious issues...especially when you
had no reason to suspect they existed. on the other hand it is remarkable
that she is so mature and aware. Sending congratulations for
raising such a fine young woman. Sending hugs to help you thru
this difficult transition time. DDD

 

[oceans]

It sounds like she is having psychotic episodes, so that is why he gave her an antipsychotic. I think that it might take time to know an accurate diagnoses. It could be a depression with psychotic features, it could be either Bipolar or Schizophrenia. It sounds like he is treating the symptoms and waiting to see what develops. What a smart daughter you have to realize something was wrong and know enough that she needs to get help. I hope that the medication will help her.

 

[BusynMember]

Sounds like psychosis to me too, but you caught it early and that's great. Any schizophrenia or bipolar or schizoaffective disorder on the family tree? That could give you a good idea of what may be going on as all these disorders are quite hereditary. Antipsychotics are Godsends. They help people function well today whereas once they would never have had a life. There is hope!!! Hugs!!!

 

[Mom2oddson]

DDD & Oceans,
Thank you so much for the support. You gave my spirit a BIG boost. Thank you for pointing out the maturity in my daughter to seek help and how I was a good Mom because she has those skills. I didn't realize how much my "Mommy" confidence had been shattered.

Thanks for being here!

 

[busywend]

I would not start 2 medications at once. I would insist upon waiting at least a month between starting one new medication - and that is after getting to the right dosage.

I am sorry easy child is having to go through this, but I am very glad she was able to articulate her feelings and thoughts.

 

[jbrain]

My formerly easy child dtr also came to me at age 13 to tell me she was "seeing" a man in black in our house and that she had voices in her head--she did know they were in her head, did not think they were someone else. I was totally shocked--she was my stable, "good" kid! It took nearly 2 years of therapy and trying different medications to figure out she was not depressed, did not have ADHD, was not bipolar, etc. Turns out she has a dissociative disorder caused by trauma from her older sister (physical, sexual, emotional abuse).

I felt so discouraged and downhearted--my difficult child 1 was in an Residential Treatment Center (RTC) when this all came out. I had been feeling relieved to have her out of the house and getting help and was thinking it would be a peaceful time at our house with just my easy child. Boy, was I wrong! It took some time for me to get the energy to start again with another difficult child.

Thinking of you,
Jane