It's been a very long time since I've updated. It's kind of intimidating to start back up again with such a lapse of time.
Olivia is now 11 and I'd like to say life has gotten easier here but we actually have seen the worst behavior ever last Fall/Winter. That was the turning point. Her behavior turned dangerous hitting and striking out to her helper and myself and her little sister. We took her to the hospital emergency room twice. There's another post about that coming.
As for this summer she's been very busy this year and much more in control of her behavior although there are some setbacks.
She participated in our town's summer recreation program again, summer school otherwise know around here as EYS (extended year services), and then went away for a week to Girl Scout camp (which she got for FREE by selling 250 boxes of cookies and completing nine (9)other tasks). She's been back a full week this Saturday. The transition back into the home and routine has been a bit hairy not to mention a couple of weeks before camp when she seem to revert back to last fall/winters behavior. We are hoping for her behavior to slowly improve as she gets back into being at home as she decompresses from the pressure of being focused on herself and surroundings at camp.
We are now getting anxious for school to start as our summer plans have come to an end.
Both girls have signed up for cheer leading this fall and girl scouts will be starting up again soon with the girls in different troops this year. Yea! More stress for me!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Emergency room and catching up
Our first visit to the hospital's emergency came after a particularly bad day at home. She had been fluctuating between aggressive physical anger to detachment and despondence.
I called her primary doctor and a crisis support line who both told me to take her the ER when I explained what was going on. There was nothing they could do other than suggest going to the emergency room. I felt helpless. Yes, Olivia was definitely out of control but I felt the hospital was an extremely drastic step and there should of been something her primary Doctor should be able to do.
I called my husband in tears terrified because frankly taking her to the hospital was never an option for me and all I could think was that they'd take her from me and put her in the psych ward. He came home from work and we pulled both girls out of school to go to the hospital while a certain doctor that was recommend by the crisis support line was on duty.
They had us stay in triage instead of the crisis ward. we spoke to the doctor and nurses. As Olivia was NOT in crisis at the moment she was able to let them know that she was angry when she lashed out and she "heard voices around her head like a bug buzzing around" but they were telling her to behave and be good. It's so hard for Olivia to explain her feelings and I was so thrilled in one way to hear this description not so thrilled in another...hearing voices is never good in my opinion especially when she has a family history of schizophrenia.
I really liked this Doctor he actually listened my only issue was of him promising her a "magic" pill. He meant it was magic because it dissolved on your tongue ...Olivia heard "magic" as in it will fix everything no work required on your part. By the way the "magic" pill isn't covered by our insurance. So we have gradually taught her how to swallow a pill like a "big" girl, starting with hiding it in peanut butter. Luckily its only .05 mg and very small. We were so grateful she was OK with all of this and handled it very maturely.
So she is now on Risperidone.
http://www.drugs.com/risperidone.html
We were sent home with a 2 to 3 month wait to take her to see a psychiatrist. That was a huge relief I felt that the psychiatrist would finally be able to find out what Olivia's problem was.
Seasonal affect disorder? Schizophrenia? Bi-polar? Oppositional defiance disorder? Borderline personality disorder?
Next Tuesday marks our 3rd appointment with this psychiatrist who is unwilling to assess Olivia in fear of giving her the wrong diagnosis. Blaming Olivia's behavior more on her limited cognitive abilities than something else.
Nothing in her routine at home has really changed much in the past few years. We are all well aware of her cognitive disabilities since we live with them 24/7 which we are sure is not the cause this destructive behavior.
And since Olivia is doing SO WELL (right now) there's no real need to find out what caused her behaviors last fall until apparently they happen again. The last few years her behavior in the fall/winter has progressively gotten worse from yelling and screaming to the lashing out intentionally and with great vigor and almost enjoyment or the extreme opposite of despondency.
I'm very frustrated with this Doctor and the lack of anything happening...a few more visits then I'll have to spend another 2 to 3 months waiting for another psychiatrist who hopefully will be more proactive for my tastes. After having to endure more visits to the hospital's crisis ward I'm sure.
I called her primary doctor and a crisis support line who both told me to take her the ER when I explained what was going on. There was nothing they could do other than suggest going to the emergency room. I felt helpless. Yes, Olivia was definitely out of control but I felt the hospital was an extremely drastic step and there should of been something her primary Doctor should be able to do.
I called my husband in tears terrified because frankly taking her to the hospital was never an option for me and all I could think was that they'd take her from me and put her in the psych ward. He came home from work and we pulled both girls out of school to go to the hospital while a certain doctor that was recommend by the crisis support line was on duty.
They had us stay in triage instead of the crisis ward. we spoke to the doctor and nurses. As Olivia was NOT in crisis at the moment she was able to let them know that she was angry when she lashed out and she "heard voices around her head like a bug buzzing around" but they were telling her to behave and be good. It's so hard for Olivia to explain her feelings and I was so thrilled in one way to hear this description not so thrilled in another...hearing voices is never good in my opinion especially when she has a family history of schizophrenia.
I really liked this Doctor he actually listened my only issue was of him promising her a "magic" pill. He meant it was magic because it dissolved on your tongue ...Olivia heard "magic" as in it will fix everything no work required on your part. By the way the "magic" pill isn't covered by our insurance. So we have gradually taught her how to swallow a pill like a "big" girl, starting with hiding it in peanut butter. Luckily its only .05 mg and very small. We were so grateful she was OK with all of this and handled it very maturely.
So she is now on Risperidone.
http://www.drugs.com/risperidone.html
We were sent home with a 2 to 3 month wait to take her to see a psychiatrist. That was a huge relief I felt that the psychiatrist would finally be able to find out what Olivia's problem was.
Seasonal affect disorder? Schizophrenia? Bi-polar? Oppositional defiance disorder? Borderline personality disorder?
Next Tuesday marks our 3rd appointment with this psychiatrist who is unwilling to assess Olivia in fear of giving her the wrong diagnosis. Blaming Olivia's behavior more on her limited cognitive abilities than something else.
Nothing in her routine at home has really changed much in the past few years. We are all well aware of her cognitive disabilities since we live with them 24/7 which we are sure is not the cause this destructive behavior.
And since Olivia is doing SO WELL (right now) there's no real need to find out what caused her behaviors last fall until apparently they happen again. The last few years her behavior in the fall/winter has progressively gotten worse from yelling and screaming to the lashing out intentionally and with great vigor and almost enjoyment or the extreme opposite of despondency.
I'm very frustrated with this Doctor and the lack of anything happening...a few more visits then I'll have to spend another 2 to 3 months waiting for another psychiatrist who hopefully will be more proactive for my tastes. After having to endure more visits to the hospital's crisis ward I'm sure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)