gcvmom
Here we go again!
We've had a lot of problems over the past year or two with difficult child 1 becoming belligerent, violent, destructive, confrontational, etc. with the family, especially in the evenings, and sometimes on weekends before medications are given. A few months ago, it actually got to the point where husband wanted me to call the police during an episode. Pretty ugly.
It got a little better after we discontinued a low-dose antidepressant he was taking for IBS (Elavil), but not enough.
psychiatrist had us trial Tegretol a few weeks ago -- 100mg twice a day. It seemed to help a bit, and even difficult child 1 noticed a difference. However, there was still a lot of room for improvement. So we added 100mg to his bedtime dose, and he's been at that level for over a week now.
I think this may be the answer for him. His mood is much more even and he seems happier. He is cooperative (as much as a teenager can be), he says he feels like it's easier for him get through his homework (motivation was a big problem before), feels less irritable and not as quick to anger.
I'm really hoping this is the real deal for him. Part of me is sad that it's taken so long, and that he/we've had to go through so much drama. I know we all feel that with our difficult child's, so I should just shut up and stop complaining. Better late than never.
But I wanted to share so that others who are struggling can know that persistence can pay off, and we should never "settle" for semi-stability. Trust your instincts about your difficult child, and keep pressing for answers if you're not satisfied with the status quo.
It got a little better after we discontinued a low-dose antidepressant he was taking for IBS (Elavil), but not enough.
psychiatrist had us trial Tegretol a few weeks ago -- 100mg twice a day. It seemed to help a bit, and even difficult child 1 noticed a difference. However, there was still a lot of room for improvement. So we added 100mg to his bedtime dose, and he's been at that level for over a week now.
I think this may be the answer for him. His mood is much more even and he seems happier. He is cooperative (as much as a teenager can be), he says he feels like it's easier for him get through his homework (motivation was a big problem before), feels less irritable and not as quick to anger.
I'm really hoping this is the real deal for him. Part of me is sad that it's taken so long, and that he/we've had to go through so much drama. I know we all feel that with our difficult child's, so I should just shut up and stop complaining. Better late than never.
But I wanted to share so that others who are struggling can know that persistence can pay off, and we should never "settle" for semi-stability. Trust your instincts about your difficult child, and keep pressing for answers if you're not satisfied with the status quo.
