meds suck.

[Guest guest]

In regards to the concern regarding giving kids multiple psych meds, I share that same concern.

We have two autistic kids. The first we tried all behavioral methods, quickly used medications to keep him in the home and out of hospitalization/residential placement.

When the second autistic child came, we were familiar with the plusses and minuses of meds and hoped that somehow our inexperience and fears led us to medicate our first child and that if we had just been better experienced in autism, behavior, meds further that we could have avoided some of the meds at least.

Ha, ha, ha.... wishful thinking. I swore I would not put second child on meds, now that I was so well versed in autism and behaviors. Heck, what couldn't I deal with any longer. We had dealt with probably anything/everything there was.

Well, wrong. I so wish that was true. Despite tremendous experience, behavioral techniques, etc. etc. second child could not function without medication. Not just any meds either. Back to the dreaded antipsychotics again. UGHHHH! We tried anything/everything first before meds on second child. Again, failure. Even the safer meds wouldn't cut it or made it worse.

So, going back to first autistic child, he is on a cocktail of Tenex, Zoloft, Abilify, Melatonin, and Metformin. Good god, what a lot of meds. We systematically tried to carefully and slowly lower each one over the last year, now that he is homeschooled for the past few years and we can entirely control his environment. (Oh yeah, the other theory that if just everything was consistent and well structured, etc. I could lower his meds - wrong too!)

I learned exactly why he is on all of the meds, what might be withdrawal effects, and what is truly his baseline and why we started the meds.

So, without meds, both of my kids would be in a locked psych ward. Either that, or I would. Folks get to meds because of serious behaviors. Ugly behaviors. Trying to jump out of the car on the freeway, physical aggression, property destruction, self injurious behaviors, rage episodes.

We tried hard. Really hard. Really, really, really hard to avoid meds, get off meds, and with my second child I had all of the knowledge I needed and experience. Still, it didn't work.

And yes, tried supplements and diets. They didn't work. I really wish they did/would. And, I am a pediatric neurologist, so it isn't like I don't know the meds, how toxic they are, etc.

I was just agonizing over this today, wondering if my first child would EVER get off meds. Since we tried to lower them this year, slowly, one at a time, I am not anxious to try again in the next year or so. But, he has mild tardive dyskinesia, so we are up against a wall with him. Serious side effects, but very serious behaviors and issues. It truly sucks.

Sorry to ramble.