Steely
Active Member
So, I will try to make this brief, but I am just a bit concerned and baffled right now right now about Matt'e health and mental health, and I am hoping you guys have some ideas.
When Matt got out of Residential Treatment Center (RTC) in 2/09 he was about 210 lbs and 6'4. They told him consistently he was overweight there, and wanted him to be 180 - which set up an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) thing with him. (Don't even get me started - to top it off - he has big bones. He is not "skinny" - 200lbs would be perfectly fine for him.)
I then transferred him to another facility, where the kids were a lot more independent, made their own meals, bought their own groceries, etc. They only had 50.00 to spend a week, so they ate a lot of junk, and a lot of milk, which Matt is allergic to. He was extremely sick the entire 3 months he was there. I mean, completely incapacitated with headaches and diarrhea. They finally took him to a Dr who ran bloodwork and his blood calcium level was high. I have no idea what that really means, except it could have been tied to the Lithium he was taking. He dropped about 10 lbs in his 3 months there.
Then he went to live with his Dad for 3 months in Dallas. His dad convinced him to go off all his medications cold turkey. He wound up in the ER - duh? For about 8 weeks out of the 12 he was in Dallas he was sick with headaches and diarrhea. Again, he didn't have money to eat well and he dropped about another 10lbs during this.
He got to AZ last year at about 190lb. In AZ he seemed to do OK. I got him back on his medications, and on Zyprexa, and his appetite picked back up. Well, this freaked him out because he started to gain weight. He became obsessive about his weight and d/c'd the Zyprexa. Still, overall, his weight and appetite were not a worry, and he maintained the 190lbs.
So now we are here in Portland. Between August of this year and now he has dropped down to 157lbs. 6'4 and 157lbs. Not good. About 45 lbs in 4 months. Some of it stems around this body dysmorphia that he has, and some of it stems around his agoraphobia and not wanting to go out of the house to get food - but there is definitely more to it than that because he has always had food in his house, and I know he eats everyday. He also is having horrible night sweats, that make him get up every night at 5am to take a shower.
Of course getting him to a Dr has been a huge challenge, "because everything is fine", you know. Finally he told psychiatrist, and psychiatrist ordered thyroid blood work so we will see how that turns out.
He is at my house for weekend and really sick again. He has not been eating dairy, but he has been eating some junk food that I shouldn't have bought that has preservatives. It is like he can barely eat anything without getting sick. Oil, dairy, anything with sugar, preservatives all make him sick - not to mention all the things he doesn't like to eat - makes his food intake minimal.
In the last 10 days he dropped from 162lb to 157lb. His Dr thought it would be "OK" to stop the Depakote without increasing the 200mg of Lamictal he is on - and he is periodically raging. If it is his thyroid, the raging would make sense - otherwise - its medication related? I guess?
I am SO confused on what to do to help. That coupled with his resistance to get help or try more medications - makes this all start to get serious. He just flipped his lid on me, here in my house, while visiting. We have not had that happen in a long, long time. I went into the backyard for a 'timeout" to get away from his rage - which is not something I have done in years. BAD memories - triggering many PTSD issues for me at the moment.
What other disorders would cause this long list of malladies?
Diabetes? But he is not thirsty all of the time.
Aides?
An auto-immune disorder? My sister and Mom both had/have an auto immune disorder, but they were both different. My sister had some sort of stomach thing similar to Matt. For a long time she was diagnosis as Crones disease.
Any input would be very valuable - I know I should just take him to a Dr for a full work up - but he is 21 and resisting. He is starting to now be a bit worried, and perhaps will start re-considering.
When Matt got out of Residential Treatment Center (RTC) in 2/09 he was about 210 lbs and 6'4. They told him consistently he was overweight there, and wanted him to be 180 - which set up an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) thing with him. (Don't even get me started - to top it off - he has big bones. He is not "skinny" - 200lbs would be perfectly fine for him.)
I then transferred him to another facility, where the kids were a lot more independent, made their own meals, bought their own groceries, etc. They only had 50.00 to spend a week, so they ate a lot of junk, and a lot of milk, which Matt is allergic to. He was extremely sick the entire 3 months he was there. I mean, completely incapacitated with headaches and diarrhea. They finally took him to a Dr who ran bloodwork and his blood calcium level was high. I have no idea what that really means, except it could have been tied to the Lithium he was taking. He dropped about 10 lbs in his 3 months there.
Then he went to live with his Dad for 3 months in Dallas. His dad convinced him to go off all his medications cold turkey. He wound up in the ER - duh? For about 8 weeks out of the 12 he was in Dallas he was sick with headaches and diarrhea. Again, he didn't have money to eat well and he dropped about another 10lbs during this.
He got to AZ last year at about 190lb. In AZ he seemed to do OK. I got him back on his medications, and on Zyprexa, and his appetite picked back up. Well, this freaked him out because he started to gain weight. He became obsessive about his weight and d/c'd the Zyprexa. Still, overall, his weight and appetite were not a worry, and he maintained the 190lbs.
So now we are here in Portland. Between August of this year and now he has dropped down to 157lbs. 6'4 and 157lbs. Not good. About 45 lbs in 4 months. Some of it stems around this body dysmorphia that he has, and some of it stems around his agoraphobia and not wanting to go out of the house to get food - but there is definitely more to it than that because he has always had food in his house, and I know he eats everyday. He also is having horrible night sweats, that make him get up every night at 5am to take a shower.
Of course getting him to a Dr has been a huge challenge, "because everything is fine", you know. Finally he told psychiatrist, and psychiatrist ordered thyroid blood work so we will see how that turns out.
He is at my house for weekend and really sick again. He has not been eating dairy, but he has been eating some junk food that I shouldn't have bought that has preservatives. It is like he can barely eat anything without getting sick. Oil, dairy, anything with sugar, preservatives all make him sick - not to mention all the things he doesn't like to eat - makes his food intake minimal.
In the last 10 days he dropped from 162lb to 157lb. His Dr thought it would be "OK" to stop the Depakote without increasing the 200mg of Lamictal he is on - and he is periodically raging. If it is his thyroid, the raging would make sense - otherwise - its medication related? I guess?
I am SO confused on what to do to help. That coupled with his resistance to get help or try more medications - makes this all start to get serious. He just flipped his lid on me, here in my house, while visiting. We have not had that happen in a long, long time. I went into the backyard for a 'timeout" to get away from his rage - which is not something I have done in years. BAD memories - triggering many PTSD issues for me at the moment.
What other disorders would cause this long list of malladies?
Diabetes? But he is not thirsty all of the time.
Aides?
An auto-immune disorder? My sister and Mom both had/have an auto immune disorder, but they were both different. My sister had some sort of stomach thing similar to Matt. For a long time she was diagnosis as Crones disease.
Any input would be very valuable - I know I should just take him to a Dr for a full work up - but he is 21 and resisting. He is starting to now be a bit worried, and perhaps will start re-considering.