To Clarify
I didn’t give shout outs to the amazing friends I do have! And they know who they are! They are seemingly by my side even when I’m doing a crappy job at returning calls/texts/emails. Simply texting to see how I am brightens my day! I so appreciate their support. They might tell me straight out they don’t understand, and that’s okay. But they’ll stick with me through thick and thin. Love. There’s the next level of understanding and compassion when you truly connect with a person who has a child with special needs. With those friends, you never have to clarify or explain. They seem to just “get it”.
On another note, quick question for parents of kids with special needs. Of the many specialists Emma sees, a psychiatrist is one of them. This is mainly because when she got diagnosed with ADHD (without the H), the neurologist thought it would be better for a psychiatrist to manage those medications, instead of the neurologist. Anyway, it seems that her behavioral meds have just. stopped. working. Focus isn’t there, and anxiety certainly is back. Has this happened to anyone else? When the meds just stop working? So on Thursday we head back to the psych to see what else we can try. I have some suggestions of medications that have worked well on other kiddos. Basically, at this point, Emma seems to be regressing socially. Her ability to ignore outside stimulus is zilch. She can’t do “too much” in a day right now. For example, I took the kids shopping with my mother in law and myself. Then we met up with the men for dinner. Well Emma had a fit at the table. We almost took her out of the restaurant. I wouldn’t be as nervous if this had always happened. But she’s been on a good streak for awhile. I think the stress of the last month of school may have taken a bigger toll on her then we thought. I’ll keep you posted.
Lastly, thanks again to everyone who visited yesterday! I was just under 500 hits…a definite record for me! I hope you liked what you read and that you’ll come back and visit soon! You can also “like” Jumping Waves on Facebook here. And I do need to post (pictures at least) of Mason. I don’t want the new readers to think I only have 1 child! Emma has a super-cute little brother.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Emma and Mason hanging out on a big ol hovercraft in Oceanside.
Psych meds do stop working – that is very common actually. My suggestion is to tell the psych exactly what you are seeing: what behaviors, what time of day, in what situation, other circumstances that you think may be affecting it. The labels put on a syndrome or illness in psych can vary. The more informational data you can give the doc, the better able to match a good med to a specific psych trigger or issue.
My son went through the spectrum of ADHD drugs. One made him lose his appetite so bad he wouldn’t eat (and he could not afford to lose weight). Others quit working. The best for him was Concerta…but he hated taking any of them. He said they made him feel not himself. He would pretend to take them and then spit them out when I turned my back. It got to where he had to take the pill and then eat and check his mouth. It was always a struggle. Hang in there and keep fighting. My son suffered from Congenital Myasthenia that went misdiagnosed for 7 years.
I am ADHD without the H too. And when I’m not medicated(now), I can’t finish anything. I’m so all over the place. Hope you can get that straightened out. It’s frustrating for me, I’m sure it is for Miss Emma too! Love the picture!
Tomorrow’s the psych day!! Yay! Will keep you posted!
Debbie, there are SO many side-effects to these medications, aren’t there?!? It’s crazy. And it’s truly a trial and error. and trial. and trial. Emma’s on Concerta right now. I think it’s lost it’s potency. We will find out tomorrow! I have a few in mind to ask her about. Thanks for your comment!
Marnee, I have actually created a note on an app that lists all of her “out of character” behaviors. Hopefully that will help the doctor a bit. I appreciate the comment!