Re: Dealing with the teenage years

[Guest guest]

, The world looks so much better when you take antidepressants.

I think your son would benefit from them greatly. Stay away from Zoloft. I

know Celexa, Welbutrin and Paxil are safe with CMT.

[Guest guest]

Hi :

If it doesn't sound rude, encourage him to concentrate

on what he can do than what he cannot. Try to be

cheerful all the time ... it won't go un-noticed.

Children generally deal the way parents do. So your

smiling face will can do a lot.

Ask his friend to visit him more often. If he can walk

.... he can do a million things. Don't sympathize, be

realistic.

I am 23 male, from New York, with positive energetic

parents and extra-hyper CMT sis who can light up just

anything. I feel its all in the mind. Does it make

sense??

Good luck.

Sameer

[Guest guest]

,

I don't have children, but was once a 14 year old with CMT once myself.

It was a hard time. Couldn't drive yet, couldn't date, could barely walk

to the bus after school, (walked backwards just to get there) was so

tired came home and slept till dinner, then slept the whole night. I was

in 9th grade at the time, excused from P.E., mostly I stayed in the

library, at school or our public library. I spent alot of time crying

too.

The fatigue factor was horrible for me then. My neurologist had me on

some liquid potassium additive and a year later he added Ritalin. The

Ritalin was for fatigue (so the doc said) and later as an adult I

learned in the 60's (which was my time period) Ritalin was also an

anti-depressant. So maybe I was depressed and didn't know it; I later

learned in life that is how depression manifests itself in me. (I am the

last one to know I am depressed)

My parents, while recognizing that my CMT was causing this, still kept

our home life happy and stable and they encouraged me to keep riding

horses - the one thing I loved to do. While my mother and I fought

sometimes ( " your hair's too long/your skirt is too short " ), my father

was the guiding light in the CMT storm, listening to me and teaching me

how to accept who I was and how to stand up for myself.

~ Gretchen

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your kind words. It is always my best effort to show a

smiling face and that to encourage him to do the things he likes. Although he is

only 14 1/2, he brought his first car, a 1968 Nova that he and his dad are

going to work on so its ready for when he can drive. This has brought a smile

to his face. My main concern is mixing with others, he's shy to begin with so

Im still trying to get him to socialize more. Again, thanks for the email it is

truly appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Gretchen,

Our visit to the surgeon yesterday yeilded casting not surgery which was a

big relief. Although the casting is only a temporary delay, hopefully one that

will last a while. The doctor is also going to fit him for another set of

either AFOs or DAFO's when we are done with the castings. I know we have a happy

healthy home enviroment for but wish he would do more outside of the

home. Even when we encourage him to do so he just says no. But I will keep on

trying!

Thanks