Posted by Heidi M. on July 20, 2001, at 9:12:25
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!
I have been there with my son. We went the gamit with Brain mapping, Therapy, medications. I hated the drugs he had to take to quiet the preditory aggression as well as depression. When my son was 13, he was diagnosed with almost every mental illness known to man. I was extremely angry, because I knew this kid better than anyone and knew in my heart that allot of his problem was his age, as well as the new relationship I was in. He a terrible time accepting my new husband. The man I married, is a wonderful man and tried very hard to love him. Because my son had never had a REAL father figure, he did not know what to do or how to react. We began with counseling, then were referred to neurologist, who did the brain mapping, then on to a Psychologist, along with regular counseling with the neurologist. At one time my son was on 60mg Prozac, 750mg Depakote, and another one that I can't remember. All of the drugs he took, had terrible side effects and never worked for more than 6 months at a time. Then the dr. took him off of the Prozac and put him on Xyprexa (not sure if I am spelling it correctly). That was the most WICKED thing I had ever seen. His side effects began immediatly and I cried to see the involuntary body twitches, the swollen tongue, the weight gain, the slurring of words and the fact that it took about a week for some of these to subside. I cried when I wondered what that drug was doing to him. As I said before, nothing worked for the long term. He got in trouble with the law, at school and at home. It was a frustrating time for all of us (him included). One month before his 16th birthday, I sent him with 3 months worth of medication, to live with his father. None of us could take it anymore. Before the 3 mo.s of meds. were gone, he began to ween himself off of them, I DON'T RECOMEND THIS FOR ANYONE!!!! Somehow it worked for him. He went on to getting better, loosing weight, great grades in school, and graduated from H.S. in 2000. He is currently working 2 part time jobs and coming to see me and my husband next month. Part of the reason for his trip here is to make amends to my husband for the HELL he put him through. PLEASE don't give up on yourself! I ended up with Fibromyalgia through it all, due to the fact that I could not cope, so my body began to attack itself. I am currently on Effexor XR, it helps me get relax when I sleep. I have had no ill side effects and am glad to be on it. That is the irony of it all, he is completely off the medications (2 1/2 yrs), and I am on the Effexor XR for who knows how long. The thing that saved us all was PRAYER, I believe. GOD BLESS YOU! I do feel your pain. I will keep you and your family in my prayers and wish all of you the best. Remember, she is living in her very own hell. I hope she will have the positive outcome that my son had. Please do not think that I am suggesting you do or not do anything. I found for myself that the dr's were very helpful. I also had to listen to my gut and GOD.
Take care,
Heidi M.
Southwest Missouri
poster:Heidi M.
thread:71049
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010720/msgs/71049.html