Re: Digest Number 593

[Guest guest]

Hello Parents:

A question and a response. I'm doing some phone consultation with a family in

Colorado Springs with a 10 year old girl with OCD and separation anxiety. They

can't find a good child therapist near them (or in Denver). Any ideas??

A few thoughts about the " no-talking in therapy " situation. Sometimes this

occurs just because a child doesn't want to be there, plain and simple. At

those times I might voice that view- " I bet this is the last place you want to

be, that there are lots of other things you'd rather be doing, I know you don't

want to be in this " club " and so on " I then empathize. " I don't blame you, I

would feel the same way if I were you- it's a beautiful day, friends are

playing, and here you are. " Finally though I would lay out the situation: " I

know this isn't what you want to be doing, and it's not fair, but if we can work

together, then I can help you to not have to see me anymore, or to have your

Wednesday afternoons free again, so let's jump in... " When kids understand that

I understand, that I get it that this isn't what they want, and I want them back

out there doing their thing, this often breaks the ice.

Sometimes a game of catch with a koosh ball can do the same thing. For example,

we'll say a topic: " highlights of the week " or " favorite foods " and then

whomever catches the koosh says one thing about the topic and throws it to the

next person who does the same. It gets the talking wheels turning. I've also

found that having the parents out of the room can help- it may bring down the

expectation level, or, reduce the diffusion of responsibility (ie, the more

people in the room, the less I have to talk). I will then bring parents back in

at the end of the session to lay out the plan for the week.

Sometimes this occurs because OCD can be just so hard and embarrassing to talk

about. At those times I will express this. " So many kids are afraid to talk

about OCD because it sounds so weird, or their afraid that I'll think they are

really bad or strange. But everyone's OCD is like that, because OCD happens to

good, regular kids like you. You are not weird, don't take credit for OCD's

dirty work! "

Basically I think the challenge of the therapist is to go to ANY LENGTH (just

about) to help kids engage in the treatment. I feel like a contortionist

sometimes or a saleswoman- trying any angle, any metaphor to help kids see that

they can get better. It's not always easy, but it is always worthwhile.

Best to all,

Tamar Chansky, Ph.D.

[Guest guest]

I have noticed several families looking for penapls for their children> My

support group FACES, based in KY has penPals (email or snailmail) across the

US. I still have many childen looking for a penpal so if anyone is interested

please let me know....

Thanks in advance for helping to end the isolation that so many children and

young adults feel.

Donna

aka faces1999@...

[Guest guest]

Donna,

My son is still looking for one. He is 13. Jana

[Guest guest]

Five! I could neverstand up on skates eirher.

Patsy

[Guest guest]

Hi all!

Since there are 2 Carlas in here, I'll sign off as Carla Kay, which is what a

lot of people call me anyway.

To the other Carla,

If you were 1 year older, we'd be the same age & have had Harrington rods at

the same age. Now were older, & having probs. from that same awful surgery.

To anyone who knows,

Did docs have any idea they were causing such potential problems when they

put these things in? I mean, I know a had an S curvature with one of them in

the 70's, but, sometimes I wonder if I'd have been any worse off to have

waited on technology.

BTW, here I was 13 & in a body cast, feeling like a turtle on its back,

watching t.v. Guess what?! They had just done one of the newer fusion

surgeries for scoliosis. I watched them do it on national t.v. The girl got

up & walked IN THE RECOVERY ROOM!!! I was soooooooo mad! It was 4 months

into my recovery. Ahhhh well, progress waits for noone... not even 13 year

old turtles.

I had to include the turtle part because of my little brother. When in a

Milwaukee (sp) brace, he'd grab the back bars & shake me when he was annoyed

with me. When in the body cast, he'd give me a gentle push backward onto a

papasan sort of chair, & there I'd be, all fours sticking up yelling at him.

He'd just laugh at me & walk off. Of course he'd come back & get me up in

awhile (unless mom found me first). soooo funny looking back. I wonder if

he ever feels guilty for picking on me now that I'm in this mess (spinally

speaking - ooooooh sounds like a title to something, don't let me forget that

one guys). I oughtta call that little bro of mine & leave him a friendly

little reminder on his answering machine. Maybe he'll buy me something.

NOT! This is my brother we're talking about here! But I love him.

Well, dd is waking up & we both have this nasty cold. Prayers appreciated.

Blessings,

Carla Kay

[Guest guest]

Carla Kay...

For many years, surgeons did not know that they were creating additional

problems when they performed scoliosis surgery with Harrington rods.

Even when they did know, the only treatment was no treatment at all.

Even with the problems, the outcome for those of you who had serious

curves would most likely have been better with surgery than without

surgery. If your large curve was 70 degrees when you were 16, you might

have a 130+ degree curve by the time you were in your 50's or 60's.

If you'd like to read a great article about the development of spinal

hardware, you can find it at:

http://home.attbi.com/~lsracine/WinterArticle.htm

Regards,

[Guest guest]

Hello--

Regarding a current discussion of artifact, I wonder why the following

couldn't be done?

Place an electrode on areas likely to produce artifact, such as near the

eye. Have software that detects this, and compares it to the same signal in

a cranial electrode. They would be different sizes, but the waveform and

timing woud be the same.

The software would filter everything but the detected artifact, and the user

could use arrow keys to tune it down to a zero level. After that, when the

first electrode detects an eyeblink, the adjusted amount would be subtracted

from the signal from the second.

The same thing could be done with an electrode on the throat for swallowing,

and on the chest for heartbeat. At least the most predictable artifacts

could be filtered out in that way.

Thanks,

Gene

[Guest guest]

Just prednisone, I looked at the bottle while she went away to get the

needle.

Message: 2

> Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 08:27:03 -0700 (PDT)

> From: christine alexandrou <christinealexandrou@...>

> Subject: Re: Reaction to Prednisone?

>

> was it just prednisone or something else added ?

>

> Sabo <bliss_incorporated@...> wrote:

>

> I went back to the doctors today as my sinus infection was out of control

> and still going strong after 4 weeks, 2 rounds of antibiotics and

antibiotic

> drops. (she refused to give me prednisone when I asked).

>

> I was so bad by today though, I could barely breath as the infection had

> moved into my lungs and ears, and I hadn't slept in 4 days. She gave me a

> prednisone shot straight in the arm otherwise it would have been off to

> hospital during the night . I didn't feel anything straight away apart

from

> a slight itch in my ears. During the drive home though, that got worse,

my

> lips and gums were itching and tingling too and my eyes were swollen shut

> almost and also itching.

>

> Has anybody else had this happen? I'm supposed to start taking 50mg from

> tomorrow, but am a bit worried. I've never reacted before.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm pretty sure that prednisone itself does not come in an injectable

form, although prednisolone does. And these must have SOME other

ingredients in them, because they're in a vehicle, although I haven't

been able to find out what those ingredients are. But it would be

good to know, because then you would know if there's something in one

of the vehicles that you are sensitive to.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202018.html

Do you feel any better now?

Lori

> >

> > I went back to the doctors today as my sinus infection was out of

control

> > and still going strong after 4 weeks, 2 rounds of antibiotics and

> antibiotic

> > drops. (she refused to give me prednisone when I asked).

> >

> > I was so bad by today though, I could barely breath as the

infection had

> > moved into my lungs and ears, and I hadn't slept in 4 days. She

gave me a

> > prednisone shot straight in the arm otherwise it would have been

off to

> > hospital during the night . I didn't feel anything straight away

apart

> from

> > a slight itch in my ears. During the drive home though, that got

worse,

> my

> > lips and gums were itching and tingling too and my eyes were

swollen shut

> > almost and also itching.

> >

> > Has anybody else had this happen? I'm supposed to start taking

50mg from

> > tomorrow, but am a bit worried. I've never reacted before.

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

OK folks I'll just dive right in here--I'm new (duh) and I'm scheduled for

THR on Sept 28th. I'm getting a full metal one. I did have AVN and had a

core decompression done in '92 for that, which worked, but the last 3 yrs my

pain has gotten worse and so I went and got another MRI--lovely little old

osteoarthritis has invaded my joint. And I'm only 44!

But Leigh, you are younger than me--and you too are awaiting your operation.

Like you, I'm having alot of emotional trauma over this, but its not really

coming out yet--I'm still in the process of getting boys ready for school

and kick-starting my hubby to rearrange this ADHD infested apartment.....we

all have this lovely disorder in some form, and I have anxiety/panic

disorder on top of it. No wonder I'm running out of my meds early! :\ I'm

sure when I totally run out I'll totally freak out.

And I'm sure freaking out is normal--what, we go in and have a piece of our

bodies taken out and all is happy happy joy joy, to quote Ren and

Stimpy???!!! Riiiiiight! I think its normal.

Its a real scary time for me, as I say, I'm a mom and I have 2 boys, 13 and

9, and tho husband can take care of things I'm sure my house will never be

the same....hopefully it will be better! Right now I have tiny walkways

between boxes of STUFF that I must collect lol--hubby thinks its a great

idea to just gather these things up and STUFF them into boxes and leave them

all over the place. I like to display them, but he likes to treat them as

clutter and create more clutter in the process. Ahem.

And then there's the boys! Arrrgh!

I was supposed to have the THR surgery way back in 92, but as my first son

was only 5 mos old, I opted for the least invasive then. I went to several

well-heeled doc's in their ivory towers--they all said it was post-partum

and would disappear w/i 6 weeks. It didn't. One so-called Dr. wanted to cut

a pie-shaped piece out of my femur and 'let it grow together because its

just crooked, that's all'!! Yeah right! So, I got 2nd and 3rd and 4th

opinions, and finally got the right diagnosis of Avascular Necrosis. Oh joy.

Luckilly that surgeon was tops in his field and really did a great job, and

I had minimal bone damage but lost all my cartilage after that one. But now

as medicaid could run out at any time, and the osteo has landed, I figure

now is as good a time as ever.

So--I guess my #1 question is about mobility.

I hear its easy to dislocate these things and I wish to dance and shake my

booty like I've been doing for years--hubby wouldn't like it if I couldn't

wiggle a bit you know! ;-)

Is it really that easy to to dislocate these things or is that just relative

to how strong you make your muscles and the length of time after the

surgery? Because if I can't EVER cross my legs or put the thing at a 90deg

angle....aye, there's the rub! I think its wonderful, Stan, that you are

able to do so much after only 3 months! You must have been incredibly active

before--I am incredibly NOT active, and this worries me.

I hope the pain goes away, and they're not too harsh about taking me off my

pain meds I've been on for 12 yrs. Withdrawl is an horrible thing--I've done

it and its awful. I don't want them to give me the grease pole, if you know

what I mean. Taking me off in 3 weeks is just ludicrous. I've just become

too dependent on them, and its a physical dependence which will require time

to get off of as well as used to.

So far out of the many folks I've spoken with in person, only one of them

says they're having problems now after 3 yrs....but I suspect (and hopefully

I'm right) that she didn't diligently do the exercises.

What say you?

And, the doc is going to operate using just a spinal--is this normal? I sure

hope they have a CD player and Hendrix to crank up real loud.....I am afraid

of anesthesiologists--I woke up during my 1st surgery, and having my first

son by c-section was another horrible anesthetical experience--the epidural

went too high and my ears were ringing. Later the wiseguy laughingly said

'oh, you almost died then! Oops!' What a jokester.

Well, you all seem like a fine group--and Stan, I do love your

commentary--my first husband's name is Stan and he has a razor sharp wit as

well. Maybe its something in the name!

Well thanks for enduring this tome of a post, and hopefully all will go well

for me! You guys seem like a great group, and with your help hopefully I

won't need to eat Valium like a Valley of the Dolls girl until Sept 28...!

;-)

XO-Glenna in Seattle

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[Guest guest]

> OK folks I'll just dive right in here--I'm new (duh) and I'm

scheduled for THR on Sept 28th. I'm getting a full metal one. I did

have AVN and had a core decompression done in '92 for that, which

worked, but the last 3 yrs my pain has gotten worse and so I went and

got another MRI--lovely little old osteoarthritis has invaded my

joint. And I'm only 44!

Hi, Glenna

I'm in Seattle also and am going to have a TKR next year. The pre-op

jitters are universal, it seems. Good luck with your surgery.

Carolyn