Strattera is an SSRi antidepressant, it is just more effective on adhd than depression. It would NOT be a good choice unless your bipolar is totally stable as it can, like any a/d, trigger mania. Talk long and hard wth the psychiatrist before you try it, please.
I hope the geodon withdrawal won't be bad. in my opinion withdrawal is just a nasty kick in the tush and the universe being mean. If you have problems and need a longer, slower withdrawal, it might be something to call the doctor about. Or he might be able to give you another a/p to take short term to help stop the withdrawal.
I have heard wonderful things about namenda. no firsthand knowledge, but some great things for use with focus and attention issues.
CB, PLEASE, I BEG YOU, go online and look up these medications before you add them or stop them. Drugs.com is a good source, wikipedia and message boards, not so much. If nothing else, google the fda website and read about them there. Do NOT let all the possible side effects scare you, usually they are not terribly common, esp the bad ones. But you should be aware of the medication, the generic name, what it is supposed to do and what it is not supposed to do, and the side effects that are signs to call the doctor asap or call 911. I do this for every medication, and email info to myself to keep in a special file so that I can reach it from anywhere I can check my email. I do it for my medications and husband's and the kids' medications. I also email the info to them, and have taught the kids how to find this info also. I also have talked them through how to understand it, and how to not freak out by the side effects listed. I feel it is important for them to know this so that they can make informed decisions as an adult. Having the info saved on your computer is great, but if you are not home, you have to look it up again. When you are having problems, you don't always have the clear thinking to do this effectively. Not you, as in CB, but you as in the person having the problem. So if it is in a file in your email, you can lo in to your email on a phone, tablet, public computer,whatever, and get the info you need NOW, rather than waiting or relying on what someone else remembers.
This would be an awesome thing, and if you take steps to do this, you shoudl be very proud of yourself. It is a step in self care, and a step that MANY if not MOST people would blow off. Any time you take more than 2 medications regularly, you NEED to know what they are, if they interact, and what to watch for as signs of problems. Setting up and email file and sending an email to yourself is a smart thing to do, and really won't take more than about five min, max ten if you look up more than the new medication you have been given. It is a step you can be proud of, and can teach to your kids so that they can begin to advocate for themselves.
Other helpful sites to make sure you can find easily? A drug interaction checker (google "drug interaction checker", I usually use the drus.com one, it is free, easy, and very clear) and a pill identifier so that if you drop a pill or run across one somewhere, you can figure out what it is. I actually use the drugs.com one of those, also, because it is easy and reliable.
Drug interaction checker:
http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html
Pill identifier:
http://www.drugs.com/pill_identification.html
This is a super easy way to take charge of your health to a greater degree, and something you should be very proud of yourself for doing. I cannot tell you the number of times I have found that if I take a new medication, it would case real problems with another medication and when I alert my doctor, the reaction is , "OMG, I am SO SORRY. I am glad you checked." Not just one of my docs either. And they always get a copy of my medication list at each appointment, so it is usually something they didn't know or forgot about. Even using one pharmacy doesn't always catch all problems, so you must check yourself.
You are not worthless or stupid, you are having a rough time lately. Your kids are not suffering because they don't have a home cooked meal each night, and they are not irreparably damaged because you don't hover over them telling them to bathe and brush their teeth and wipe their tushies. Esp not your oldest. Want to know how often my mom told me to bathe and brush teeth once I hit about fourth grade? Probably ten or fifteen. Total. If I got cavities because I didn't brush? Well, that little sting of pain when I ate or drank was motivation to brush. If I didn't listen to it, it was MY PROBLEM. It was not my mother's. If I stopped totally and we never had to buy toothpaste? She would have had a fit, but as long as the toothpaste had to be replaced regularly, it wasn't her problem. If I had to be supervised for toothbrushing, she would assume I needed the level of supervision that a toddler needed and my life would have been awful, so I didn't push her to that point.
Your kids can handle oral care and baths by themselves. If they don't? The universe will tell them. Kids will tell them, so will other adults. You can say you are trying to foster independence and appreciate when the teachers and other kids give her the natural consequences of not bathing/brushing. Smile at these people, thank them, and then ignore them. You are doing what you can, and your kids won't die from not bathing or from eating a simple meal or drive through or from learning to cook. Why not nake them each responsible for a meal a week? They have an assigned night, are to give you a list (under a certain amt of money, say five bucks) a week ahead of time, have to write out a menu that fits the food pyramid, and then prepare it by X time.
You print the food pyramid, keep the weekly grocery ads if you get them, or show them how to look them up online, and if they need basic skills, walk them through it. Then, whatever they cook, you praise it. If they don't cook? You aks them what's for dinner? When is it ready? be sure to whine that you are huuuuuuunnnnnggggggrrrrrrryyyyyyy! A few times until they get moving. If they don't, and you end up at eleven o clock wth no dinner? Gee, they get allowance and now? it buys pizza for everyone, and they do NOT get a say in where it is from or what is on it. the child responsible doesn't get any say because they had plenty of time to cook and chose not to. So you will not give them the next allowance or gift money because you had to go get pizza or whatever.
This does a few things. It prepares them for life, which is your first goal. It takes the weight off your shoulders. Very important. It makes them see that you are NOT their servant, and that they ARE capable of figuring this out. All good things. Someone tells you this is bad, or child abuse, or neglect? LAUGH AND LAUGH AND LAUGH. Sorry, 12 and 15yo's should be able to fix a simple meal. If they can handle going to school, they can figure out basic cooking, even jsut putting sandwiches together. in my opinion it is far more abusive to nto teach them to cook because someday they will be in their own place and will have to figure this out. I saw friends go through this, had a roommate who went through it, saw many other kids in my dorm go through this. It was UGLY and they were scared and it was so preventable that it made them angry at their parents for not preparing them for life. My own mom went through this, and she swore her kids wouldn't. I was the one that everyone came to for life skills in the dorm and after. I could run a house because I had done the various parts. I could also teach others how to do things, because my mom had me teach her things I learned. So if your mom is mad that you are making the kids cook? Tell her that you want them to be confident adults who can take care of themselves, and then tell her that her criticism is hurting and not helping, and while you need help, the put downs and accusations of being a bad mom are going to have to stop. If she continues, drop the kids at her house for a few weeks. (My mom went through a bit of this, and she got scared when I told her that since clearly I couldn't be a good parent, I was going to let her parent them for a while. She backpedaled FAST and FURIOUS to avoid that.lol. Cause seh knew she went too far and I was not joking.)
Sorry so long. But you CAN take charge and improve the things that need it. Just remember the problems didn't start in a day, and won't be fixed in one. Also start to think of physical solutions for physical problems. The parents standing in front of you waiting too long? Someone suggested a bell. Use it. Buy one and put up a sign that says, "I love my job and get wrapped up in it. Please ring the bell if I don't notice you right away! Candy for those who do!" and pick up a bag of hard candy or whatever and give one to anyone who rings it. It solves the problem, and it makes people happy because they get CANDY. People like candy, so rewarding what you want them to do (ring the bell) makes them not mind or complain. It also presents a solution to your boss, which makes you look good. MANY problems that we think are huge are actually physical problems and we can find physical solutions that are logical, not difficult, and take the emotional component out of them.
