Monday, November 3, 2008
What's worked? What hasn't?
Here is a topic where we can share about issues we or our children have had and discuss the treatments and what worked and what didn't. We must remember that everyone is different and what works for some doesn't for others, taking into consideration the medication-vs-no medication conflict that many have faced or may be facing. Also, please keep in mind that the choices someone makes for themselves or their loved ones is done with their best interest in mind, please be considerate of their choices. This is a safe-share environment!
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6 comments:
my daughter was socially delayed. my husband and i decided to start her in a year of pre-school before kindergarten as the school counselor suggested and it helped her.
my son was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder at age 10. we started him on buspar but both he and we as parents didn't like the outcome, so now we attend group therapy and it's working great.
i tried buspar as an adult and it didn't seem to have the greatest affect with me either. i do take klonipin for maintenance of both social anxiety and general anxiety that still can interfere with my daily life if un-medicated.
i think you brought up a good point. as children, we cannot make decisions such as our physical or mental health on our own, we must count on our parents to make the best decision for us. what was your childhood like in terms of treatment? are you doing anything else besides medication now?
as a child, my parents did not put me on medication but we attended family therapy and i attended personal therapy. my parents helped to keep me very involved with activities that i was interested in such as ballet, music, drama and track.
as an adult, i was in pain and worrying all the time, so i needed to help that, so i decided to start medication and it's worked for me. i also see my psychiatrist once a month and have talk therapy once a week. my therapist is trying to encourage me to attend group therapy which i have yet to try.
My children are too small and too healthy for me to honestly say what I might do if one of them has a behavioral/mental condition.
For myself, I do not choose to take any medication. I have also never suffered from clinical depression or any other severe mood disorder. My choices would probably be different if I had.
I have a general "no medication" practice in my life. The only time I've ever taken a lot of prescription medication was when I went through a terrible bought of migraine. In retrospect, the medication I used made my headache much, much, much worse. The side effects were unbearable and I felt that the medical world was so impatient with my condition that they weren't willing to find the cause of my pain- and were far too eager to push refill after refill after refill of vicodin at me.
Though this was the worst pain in my life and I was scared/sick all the time, it changed me for the better.
Since I have stopped taking in meds, I feel healthier and less altered. When I feel blue, I run for a half an hour. When I feel anxious I get on an eliptical or take a walk. When I can't sleep, I take a vitamin supplement. When my belly aches, I drink a cup of peppermint tea. When my head hurts, I suffer through it and wait for it to pass. I also find that I can help manage my anxiety by cleaning. Odd, I know. But I think that the act of tidying and creating a clean environment helps me feel that I am in order. Also, I think that cooking, creating recipes and feeding people makes me feel relaxed. I like feeling that I am a part of a community and a family and a lot of that happens with food.
Of course, these are just the things that work for me. Like Nikkol said, everyone is different. And I don't know what I would choose for my children. I guess I'd get a lot of opinions and try the most natural thing first.
Like, when my daughter was diagnosed with asthma and was having asthma attacks every night. A doctor immediately handed me albuteral and a nebulizer and sent me on my way with no other information. So, I went to a different doctor who tested her for allergies (because asthma is usually an allergic reaction.) We discovered that she has a food allergy. We removed the food. And she was better almost immediately. We never even had to use the albuteral.
Of course, if removing the food hadn't worked, we WOULD have certainly used the medication. So, it's tough to say...
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