Thursday, October 11, 2012

Update on SLou

If you're new here, you can read a few other posts regarding my battles with SLou herehere and here.  As most of you know, I'm a single mom.  Both of my girls have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.  They were tested through the school system, since my insurance doesn't cover the testing.  Well my pediatrician has never been fully on board with SLou's diagnosis.  She's been encouraging me to get her retested since day 1.  She's not always satisfied that the school system does a thorough enough evaluation.

Originally we were the poster family for Vyvanse. Both girls, my sister and myself are all on this medication.  It's still working wonderfully for everyone but SLou.  Her main side effect has been emotional melt downs when she's coming down off the meds in the evenings.  Finally last Winter, I'd had enough.  Her doctor and I decided to try a new medicine.  We tried Intuniv and Concerta.  Both were a disaster.  Both were non-stimulant and it turns out SLou absolutely needs a stimulant based med.  I gave each medication the good college try for a month each.  By Spring the damage was already done, but after SLou begging to go back on Vyvanse, I finally agreed.   

Unfortunately while we were messing with her meds last Spring, SLou bombed the CRCT's.  She has ALWAYS exceeded expectations on her standardized testing.  As I've told you before, this truly kicked her in the teeth.  Her self-confidence still hasn't recovered from that blow.  Anyway, the emotional side effects are starting to take their toll again.  I'm certain we need a new medicine or a whole new treatment plan, but I'm terrified of the potential downfall of messing with her meds during the school year.

We had her annual check-up yesterday.  Before changing her meds, her doctor wants us to try a couple of things at home first for a couple of weeks.  Starting with me being forbade from helping her with homework.  She has gotten into a habit of just waiting for me to get home to help her, rather than getting what she can done without me and me just helping her with what she had problems with.  I'm no longer allowed to be her crutch.  Second, she wants us to move bedtime up an hour....she wants SLou in bed by 8pm, even on weekends.  We'll see about the weekends part.  She'll be going to her dad's this weekend and he NEVER complies to any of my requests.

We've also got the ball in motion for the retesting.  We have our first appointment at The Amen Clinic next Thursday (10/18).  They will use a much more in depth method of testing that includes brain scans and hours of evaluation.  On our 4th visit, we will sit down with their pediatric psychologist and he will present his diagnosis and his suggested treatment plan.  I'm very optimistic that we are headed in the right direction, towards helping SLou succeed in every aspect of her life.  So, on Friday October 26th....we'll hopefully know EXACTLY what's going on with my sweet SLou.  I'll keep you all posted along the way.

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6 comments:

  1. Hugs and Love to you all!!! I hope SLou is feeling better now!!!

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  2. Hi Giggles, it's Anne from Life on the Funny Farm. Here from your comment on my blog! So nice to meet you. I hear ya on the struggle with ADHD and finding the right meds. We've been down that road quite a bit. You could call us seasoned travvellers.
    Love your blog!!!

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  3. I wish you so much luck with this & don't envy your journey, as I took it with my eldest. I still remember the medication roller coaster & what it did to him & how everything affected him socially, etc. I get your fears as a mom too. If it is at all encouraging - my son is grown and fully functioning on his own. He is, and always has been brilliant. It was just a matter of him finding his niche - which really isn't allowed in main stream schooling. Hang in there & much luck <3 Thought I'd been following all along - but back over from Blog Hop :)

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  4. Good luck ~ sounds like you are doing all things right and being open to new things and being an excellent single Mom! Happy Friday to all!

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  5. Hey there! I'm a new GFC follower from the Friendly Friday blog hop! Maybe that will help your ranking go up! Every little bit helps, right? :o)

    I'm sorry you're having troubles with diagnosis, etc. It is really scary and frustrating when you don't have a plan in place to help your kids. I hope it all gets sorted out really soon!

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