Re: seeing bugs

[flutterbee]

Well, I can say with certainty that it wasn't the lexapro or the singulair that caused a visual disturbance that caused difficult child to think she was seeing bugs on two occasions.

How do I know this? Because difficult child informed me tonight that she hasn't taken her medications for 2 months. When I've given her the medications to take, she's acted like she was taking them, but threw them away. Besides the obvious, those are drugs with high co-pays and I literally just threw that money away.

She claims that they made her worse because she was being forced to take them against her will. She is refusing to participate in therapy. None of the things that work for other people work for her because she's not normal. Her words.

It's also not her fault she's depressed. It's because of the way everyone in the world treats her.

I swear I don't know what I'm going to do with this kid.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

And you need this like a hole in the head.


I am so sorry.

 

[susiestar]

Hon, You need to find a way to make a stand. I realize that at 12 it is hard, but medications should not be optional. And if she is having visual hallucinations she should be hospitalized. (If she is not really seeing bugs, but saying it to make you upset, the hospital may be a way to keep her from doing it again?)

medications are something you as the adult should be making the decisions for. NOT a choice. Can you stop all her fun activities, phone, tv, computer, cds, mp3 player, etc until she is medication compliant? Can you grinf the medications up and put them in her food?

I know this is hard, but it is very important.

On the other hand, now might be a great time to get a new baseline evaluation done. She is clearly medication free, so the docs could get a clear picture of her issues? (Trying to find a silver lining here)

Susie

 

[busywend]

Which means she stopped them abruptly. No weaning. This could cause hallucinations itself.

I would take her to the hospital as well. Get them to discuss the importance of being consistent with medications.

 

[Steely]

Ohhhh.............this actually makes sense a bit doesn't it? She has been having more problems lately that have all seemed depression related.......the bugs, the pain, the drama.............now it is more obvious why. She IS depressed - little bugger!!!!

I am in agreement that you are going to have to watch her take the medications and force her to be medication compliant. She is too young "to know what is best for her", in terms of her mental health. You might also make a list of all the things that have been "not right" these past 2 months with her, and help her to make the coorelation between these issues, depression, and why medications are necessary.

So sorry you are going through this with her! difficult children just have this way of knowing how to kick when we are already down. :frown:

 

[BusynMember]

I have to add that in most states, as abominable as it sounds, kids are allowed to refuse medications at ages 13 and 14, and you can't do squat bout it.

 

[flutterbee]

I have made a stand...over and over and over again. We've had World War III in this house more times than I can count over the medication issue. We've talked about the issues and medications. I've tried it from every angle. It's so incredibly frustrating pouring all of your resources into helping someone that doesn't want to help themselves.

Like susie suggested, I'm going to use this time to get a baseline evaluation. She's spent the better part of the day in her usual mood...negative, complaining, I can't do this, I can't do that, it's too hard, blah blah blah. Then out of the blue started laughing hysterically...to the point she couldn't catch her breath and tears were running down her cheeks. She said she didn't know why she was laughing, but she couldn't stop. Once she did, she was like a new child. Completely different mood.

And now she's freezing...huddled under a comforter in long jammies. It's 73 degrees outside and the A/C is not on. No fever, I checked. This child is always hot.

I'm so tired.

 

[neednewtechnique]

See if you can get more specific information out of her about these "bugs". Is she talking about big creepy crawly things she thinks she sees crawling somewhere, or like little gnats she thinks she sees flying in front of her??

The reason I say that, is because if it is like little black gnats she thinks are flying in front of her, it could be "floaters" in her vision. These can be nothing, but at the same time, could be something. I have them, and they just appeared one day, out of nowhere, and at first, startled me, and I thought it WAS bugs flying in front of me, and for quite a while, until I got used to them being there, every once in a while, they would catch my attention and I would swat at the air in front of me, thinking there was bugs, until I remembered them. If this IS possibly what she is talking about, an optometrist can't be of any assistance, you could call an Opthamologist and have her checked out, as it could be a vision problem.

As for the medication problem, I don't know about Ohio, but in Illinois, they are legally allowed to start refusing medications at age 12. From what I understand, having worked with our difficult child through CPS before she moved in with us, if they refuse medications that young, it is usually VERY easy to get a court order requiring them to take them. Don't worry, it isn't like your difficult child could be arrested for not taking medications, but the court order is supposed to do a few different things. Number one, it allows you to by certain means, FORCE your child to take the medications without being held liable for breaking their "rights". Number two, if the psychiatrist states some of the behaviors that can be expected if a child does NOT have the medications, it can also release you from liability if your difficult child happens to do something illegal that might bring up charges against the parents. (so many court systems try to hold the parents liable for their childrens actions if they get into trouble, and this protects you from that.) All it takes is a statement from the psychiatrist explaining the child's condition, what the benefits of the medication are, and what the risks are if they don't have it. Usually at that age a judge won't blink an eye, and will sign the order in a matter of a few minutes. You should make an appointment with her psychiatrist to discuss this, as they should be able to give you all the legalities of your state. Not only should your difficult child's psychiatrist be able to tell you at what age they allow the child to refuse medications, but they can tell you by what means you are allowed to distribute the medications for a child that is NOT of the age of refusal. Such as trying to hide it in their food, holding them down and forcing the medications, etc.