Guest guest Posted July 25, 2004 Report Share Posted July 25, 2004 Hi Caroline, Thank you so much for this information. These were things that we have been implementing in our home. Unfortunately though, it is looking like LD may not have just ADD. We are taking him to a child psychiatrist in Orlando next month who specializes in early onset bipolar manic depression. His mother also has been recently diagnosed with bipolar. The red flags for children are when there are alcoholism on one or both sides of the family and if someone has biploar syndrom. In fact, it has been noted that kids who are bipolar meet the criteria of ADD/ADHD and the meds that are used can actually exascerbate their symptoms. I wish it was just ADHD, but we are also looking at a form of FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) along with CD and one of defiant disorders. I've been around many children with ADHD and none of them acted. It's heartbreaking. He did used to watch TV or a movie for hours, now he can't even do that. I watch him change clothes like he's a fashion model. LOL. I have to laugh to keep from crying. His lying has surfaced again. We are having to keep special locks on the doors to keep him from getting out. It's frightening. The doctors wanted to put him in a children's psychiatric hospital on Thursday because he was so out of control. I've never seen a child act like this. LD is above average intelligence. He will fly into these rages for hours at a time and then be giddy, silly and loving. Kind of like Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde. It's terrible to know that he is suffering because I can truly see that he doesn't want to act like that, but he has no control. His violence gets worse as each day goes by. If I take my eyes off of him for one minute, he's off getting into something he's not supposed to. We do have a friend that has a 16 year old son with ADHD. He has been a friend to LD and even he says he's not seen anything like this. There's more going on here than just ADHD. I keep reading the books, doing the star charts, rewards, structure, red, green and yellow light. Nothing works. He just continues to get worse. It's very depressing. Of course having the dragon lift his head on me hasn't helped much either, but I keep my head held high. Thanks again for the info. Please send me anything else you can. It's like putting together a jig saw puzzle with a bunch of pieces. Unbelievable. Everyone please say prayers for my little one. I'm at wits end. Much love, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Hi Caroline, Yes, I've gotten myself involved with a support group and DCF is involved. Our psychologist has joined ranks with me and we are both advocates for LD. Both of us are banging on doors, making calls and researching. Our psychologist is awesome. He is the one who found the child psychiatrist in Orlando who specializes in this type of problem. I don't know what I would do without him or the support groups. I feel very optimistic that once the right meds are found, then we can start parenting him again effectively. He can't help it, his brain is just not firing correctly. My poor little boy. I can't wait to have my sweet little one back again. It's very heart wrenching. When he is really radical, I give him Mountain Dew. LOL, it helps to calm him down. I suppose it is the caffeine. Ritalin is a stimulant. So that makes sense to me. Now if we could just get him to sleep, that would be wonderful. Another night where he was up until 2:30 a.m. after being put to bed at 8:30. Not fun. As for diet, I don't give him anything with preservatives. Fast food makes him go off the chain. No candy except chocolate. Chocolate seems to soothe him, but hard candy makes him nuts. I use Boar Heads meats for sandwiches and give him fresh veggies and fruits. If we deviate from this type of eating, he will go on a tear. Supposedly there aren't any diet restrictions for bipolar. LOL, this morning he didn't wake me and got the dogs out all by himself. I couldn't believe it. Danny and I are going to have to put special locks on the doors until he is under control. I can just see him slipping out of the house one night while we are asleep. He's already scaled the six foot chain link fence in the backyard twice. Henceforth, we had to put up a wooden privacy fence to keep him in. He has absolutely no fear of anything. No boundaries, nothing. Yet he is above average intelligence, but lacks common sense entirely. It's the strangest thing I've ever seen next to SD. LOL. I have to try and see a little humor or I am going to cry. Thanks again for your help. Much love, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 LOL, he loves water. My little Pisces. He loves to take baths, showers, and he is learning to swim. Plus, I rub his arms and his back all the time. He's like a kitten when I do things like that. Today he's been much better. No major uproars. Thank God. I needed a rest. This latest meltdown has gone on for 10 days. He's still wide awake, but laying quietly in his room. Hopefully, I can get some sleep tonight. I'm exhausted. I asked God to send me an angel and he sent you Caroline. Thank you so much for being there for me and for the valuable information. I couldn't have made it through this without the help of you, Kate and everyone else. I'll keep you posted on how he is doing. TTYL. Much love, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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