Caroline has been on her present med mix of Seroquel, Lamictal, Lithium, Trileptal, and Amantadine for almost a year and a half now and this has been the longest period of relative stability we have ever seen--not one hospitalization! Amazing! We are praying that this med mix won't need to be significantly changed anytime soon, but we know that most kids do end up needing different meds eventually when one of them poops out, so to speak.
Our daughter has been home from the hospotal for only a month and her moods are getting unstable again. The doctor today said if we can't stabilize soon at home, she may have to be readmitted. :(
ReplyDeleteHow many times have you had to hospitalize your daughter?
:)
Lisa
Probably at least six and then the RTC too. A lot!!
ReplyDeleteTerri--I would say that if your daughter is having frequent rages, which sounds like she is, she is not stable like she could be if she were on the right med mix. It is possible to have more peace than this. Hospitalization, at the right hospital, can be a great gift in starting a child on the right meds in a quicker fashion than can be done out-patient. It is not giving up on her, but giving her the opportunity to get intensive help and for you to get a break from constant crisis. If she threatens others with injury, if she is a danger to herself, don't hesitate to get her evaluated at a hospital. If the best psych unit is an hour away, do the drive. Putting her in a sub-par unit can do damage, we know! Ask around and do some research before you are in a major crisis. Consult the CABF website for good recommendations on docs and hospitals. Let me know how you and your dd manage!
ReplyDeleteTerri-it seems like there are some missing components to your daughter's meds. The usual protocol for treating pediatric bipolar disorder is one or two mood stabilizers first, and then an atypical anti-psychotic added. This cocktail often seems to produce the best results per many, many parents on the CABF support groups online. Anecdotally, Geodon made my dd worse unfortunately. Lithium was a miracle drug for her, as was Trileptal, another mood stabilizer. We tried Topomax before as well but it was very sedating. It is interesting that the anti-convulsants used for epilepsy are often used for bipolar disorder in kids, as their rages are often very seizure like. Your daughter may truly require one or two mood stabilizers like Depakote, or Trileptal, or the like, before she can achieve real stability. Do you have the book that I have recommended on this blog by Dr. Timothy Wilens on psychiatric meds for kids? This would be a great resource for you if you don't already have it. Caroline used to be so out of control, so violent, and that has really gone by the wayside since doing this cocktail of two mood stabilizers and an anti-psychotic. Hang in there!!
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, no one like to medicate their kids. Sometimes we have to so they can be successful in life and actually have a life. So sometimes we as parents have to drop the guilt and just do what we may resist but realize that loving our kids means doing what is best for them however unpalatable at first.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/433801
ReplyDeleteThis is a documentary on our Australian ABC. It's very interesting and I'm grateful that our kids don't have to endure this. (mind you sometimes, you feel like the DR is stuck in an archaic time warp)