no one gets me
New Member
Wow, Google led me here when I looked up medication wash, because a friend's daughter was in the hospital for one and I didn't want to sound stupid and ask. But boy, did I need to find this place!
I hope my signature does a decent job of telling a bit about us. I struggle quite a bit with my own issues, and as my username states, no one really gets it. My difficult child knows how to use my issues to his advantage, and it is hard to tell what is actually related to his diagnosis, and what is simply a smart kid who knows how to get his way.
This is the first year in school that he has an IEP in place, and it shows on his report card. There were no negative remarks about his behavior. I also don't get calls from school on a regular basis anymore to address suspensions, etc. He is incredibly smart. Way ahead in reading and math, and needs very little instruction when he is given new types or harder types of math problems to work.
He was diagnosis'd with ADHD almost 2 years ago. It was his second evaluation. I had taken him in a year before that as well. I was more concerned about his lack of social skills, and was worried about possible Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). But that is really all they looked for in that evaluation. Once his school had complaints and plenty of them to back up what I was saying, they had me bring him in again. He's been on Concerta now for a year and a half, and while it makes some positive differences for him, I really hate the negative side effects. So he only takes it on school days, or on days when he will be expected to sit quietly for something.
Very recently, I recorded him making the noises he makes in his sleep and played the recording for my sleep medicine doctor. He wanted to get him in for a sleep study, because he was hearing airway collapses. He wasn't just making noises, he was struggling to breathe! So we scheduled a sleep study and sure enough, he has borderline severe sleep apnea. He was referred to ENT to talk about the possibility of surgery to open up his airway, and that doctor said "Yes. He has very large tonsils and adenoids. Let's get those out and see if we can get him breathing easy while he sleeps."
I can tell you that the surgery made a huge difference in the quality of his sleep. He doesn't thrash around or make noises or snore anymore. (He sleeps in my bed, so I really noticed a HUGE difference.) Now our struggle is the Concerta. The negative side effects are really outweighing the good ones. The way it was explained to me is that children with sleep apnea may be misdiagnosed with behavioral disorders. All of the doctors I have talked to have confirmed that. But we have another month before the next sleep appointment, and then who knows how long before they can get him in to redo the sleep study. I'm tired of the zombie who comes home from school. No emotion, just a flat "Jackie Paper" boy who looks like my difficult child, but acts nothing like him. He wasn't like this before surgery. I don't think he needs to take it any more, or at least have his dose reduced. (YAY! Doctor just called and will cut his dose in HALF!!
)Let's just hope he doesn't go back to rolling around on the floor and running out of the classroom.
My own story is a very complicated one. Suffice it to say that I'm an enigma. When I say no one gets me, I mean even the doctors.
When I was taken to a psychiatric ward on a 51/50 last year, the doctor told me he was surprised I had made it as long as I had without having a serious breakdown. I told him I hadn't, I had just managed to hide it all well enough to avoid appearing to need help until then. So I have learned to look for help for myself, and to accept it when it is offered, as I had been doing for my son.
Maybe this will just be a temporary place for me, but I appreciate just having somewhere to put my struggles out there without feeling exposed.
I hope my signature does a decent job of telling a bit about us. I struggle quite a bit with my own issues, and as my username states, no one really gets it. My difficult child knows how to use my issues to his advantage, and it is hard to tell what is actually related to his diagnosis, and what is simply a smart kid who knows how to get his way.
This is the first year in school that he has an IEP in place, and it shows on his report card. There were no negative remarks about his behavior. I also don't get calls from school on a regular basis anymore to address suspensions, etc. He is incredibly smart. Way ahead in reading and math, and needs very little instruction when he is given new types or harder types of math problems to work.
He was diagnosis'd with ADHD almost 2 years ago. It was his second evaluation. I had taken him in a year before that as well. I was more concerned about his lack of social skills, and was worried about possible Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). But that is really all they looked for in that evaluation. Once his school had complaints and plenty of them to back up what I was saying, they had me bring him in again. He's been on Concerta now for a year and a half, and while it makes some positive differences for him, I really hate the negative side effects. So he only takes it on school days, or on days when he will be expected to sit quietly for something.
Very recently, I recorded him making the noises he makes in his sleep and played the recording for my sleep medicine doctor. He wanted to get him in for a sleep study, because he was hearing airway collapses. He wasn't just making noises, he was struggling to breathe! So we scheduled a sleep study and sure enough, he has borderline severe sleep apnea. He was referred to ENT to talk about the possibility of surgery to open up his airway, and that doctor said "Yes. He has very large tonsils and adenoids. Let's get those out and see if we can get him breathing easy while he sleeps."
I can tell you that the surgery made a huge difference in the quality of his sleep. He doesn't thrash around or make noises or snore anymore. (He sleeps in my bed, so I really noticed a HUGE difference.) Now our struggle is the Concerta. The negative side effects are really outweighing the good ones. The way it was explained to me is that children with sleep apnea may be misdiagnosed with behavioral disorders. All of the doctors I have talked to have confirmed that. But we have another month before the next sleep appointment, and then who knows how long before they can get him in to redo the sleep study. I'm tired of the zombie who comes home from school. No emotion, just a flat "Jackie Paper" boy who looks like my difficult child, but acts nothing like him. He wasn't like this before surgery. I don't think he needs to take it any more, or at least have his dose reduced. (YAY! Doctor just called and will cut his dose in HALF!!
)Let's just hope he doesn't go back to rolling around on the floor and running out of the classroom.My own story is a very complicated one. Suffice it to say that I'm an enigma. When I say no one gets me, I mean even the doctors.
When I was taken to a psychiatric ward on a 51/50 last year, the doctor told me he was surprised I had made it as long as I had without having a serious breakdown. I told him I hadn't, I had just managed to hide it all well enough to avoid appearing to need help until then. So I have learned to look for help for myself, and to accept it when it is offered, as I had been doing for my son.
Maybe this will just be a temporary place for me, but I appreciate just having somewhere to put my struggles out there without feeling exposed.
