Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Prayer Requests

Ok ladies... I need some serious prayers for my children. We have an appt with the family dr on Thursday for each of them... Kali for ADHD and Megs for severe anxiety. I don't want to go to this appt... It took me 2 weeks to even make the appt... but I can't take it anymore... my house is a zoo and every time I turn around there is someone having an emotional breakdown.

I'm feeling quite guilty for not medicating Kali during the school year right now, as I frankly don't know how her teacher dealt with her. The kid has no impulse control, excessive amounts of energy, and can't even sit through a hannah episode, oh and I can't forget that she looks at me like I'm speaking Chinese every time I tell her to do something. Previously, my dr suggested behavior modifications and lowering my standards, and just seeing how she did in 2nd grade. Well... she isn't going to make it to second grade at this rate and I really don't think it is fair to set a child up for failure like this! There are a lot of behaviors that people have pointed out to me that she does, that I hadn't even noticed... like she can't actually sit on her bottom through a meal, she stands most of the time while she eats or sits on her knees, bottom, feet, stands, knees, bottom, feet... you get the picture... apparently, she is always moving in some manner too... not that I didn't notice it myself, I just thought she did it more in my presence! Anyway, there are many more symptoms of ADHD that she has, but I'd be here all freakin' day! :)

Megs is an entirely different ballgame. She was treated for anxiety in kindergarten, but over time we were able to wean off of the medication. I guess the pre-teen hormones that are flowing through her veins are causing her ability to cope to decrease, cuz let me tell you about the summer we are having! Several friends have told me of panic/anxiety attacks that she has had when I wasn't around... and they know because their children have told them. How crappy is it when other 10 yr olds don't want to play with your kid because they know there is anxiety? Things that should be easy for Megs aren't, so how is she supposed to cope with the hard things? She won't ask for ketchup at MCD's, she won't talk to a friend at the pool if they are there with someone else, she calls me after 30 min at home with her sister to ask when I'm coming home! UGH! All of these things individually wouldn't be that big of a deal, but together and happening daily is not so fun or healthy for a 10 yr old child. What's she going to do when she starts 5th grade and realizes she has 4 teachers... or 6th and has 8 teachers???? Holy cow... she will seriously freak! She can't even handle being asked to move to another chair at choir practice... totally freaked her out for 2 hrs even though the director specifically told her she wasn't in trouble! Sunday at lunch she apparently freaked out because her food was touching... and I didn't even see it... if I had, I probably would have told her to get over it... Oh my... as you can probably 'hear' in my post, I'm not exactly the most patient when it come to this stuff...

Anyway, as you can see we are dealing with a lot here. I don't so much mind the 'stigma' of Kali and her ADHD... or at least it is something I can handle. What I don't want is the 'stigma' of an anxiety disorder or OCD for Megs... that is not ok for a 10 yr old and I honestly think my dr is going to tell me I'm a loon. At least I do have past medical history to go off of, and if you've met my husband you know there is quite a bit of genetic issue there too... oh and did I mention my own prescriptions for some of this? FUN, Fun... isn't parenting grand?????

3 comments:

Lolosblog said...

Oh, I will be praying Jessica!

I have no experiance with the anxiety, but the ADHD---my daughter was diagnosed in second grade. It is hard, but look at all your options before you start medication. We didn't!

She is now 24 and still has to remind herself that she has to pay attention. But she now knows what to do and how to handle it. She has just started a new job and is going part time to CJC.

There are many more options than when she was first diagnosed. I know one of them is diet.

I think sometimes we over medicate our children- ugh, somethings wrong, give her a pill. I am not saying not to medicate just check all the options first.

I will be happy to talk to you any time if you would like to hear what all we went through.

God will get you through!!

Shelley said...

Jess, Hang in there and pray alot. I have released that is what parenting is about... patience and endurance. I am with Brandi, check out all your options before you just medicate. It may require diet, schedule, routine, and thought process changes for both Meg and Kali. There is also lots of good therapy for both situations. I am not totally against meds but try some other options, too! Hang in there. Parenting is so super tough, but the rewards are amazing. We all have our struggles... each unique in there own way... but we will make it through them all and we and our kids will be better for it!

Amy said...

I say , "ditto", Shelley and Brandi!! Hang in there. My Kate is on the verge, I am afraid of some kid of anxiety issues. She is extremely outgoing and has tons of friends, but when she gets over...something?? she starts to freak...sweat beads start to form around her mouth and covering her face and arms, and she can't breath. Who knows??? I just try to talk her through it most of the time. But, like I said...ditto!! Both great points and awesome words! Hang in there!