Appt with Psychiatrist tomorrow

[Diane]

My DS has an appointment with the pshychiatrist at CAMHS tomorrow with regard to medication. His psychologist is going to come a long to the meeting to give support.

 

I have gone down this path as this is what my DS wanted or so he told me and now he is doing a complete u-turn.

 

For my own sanity I need him to sleep. I know the psych won't perscribe him anything without seeing him. I have told him he does not have to speak to her as his psychologist will be there but she has to see him. I have said he can come in the room so she can see him and them leave. No none of this is good enough.

 

I am tired, emotionally drained, pulling out my hair, You guys all know how it goes and feels.

 

Why oh why does anxiety make them so stubborn beyond belief.

 

Now I am going to rant!!!!!!!! :wallbash:

 

He does not like his new taxi driver

He refuses to have his eyes tested

He has new clothes for aparty he won't go to.

If his x-box game so much as flicker the wrong way they have to go back to the shop

He trying to be independent but cannot do it

He is 15 growing tall and hormonal

 

As for me i have lost my sanity

 

Let me know if I have missed an emoticom that sums up how I feel about life just now

 

[cmuir]

Hi

 

My son is 7 and does complete u-turns quite a lot. I ask him about situations eg appointments and ask why he's changed his mind. He tries to articulate why, but then I believe it all boils down to anxiety. I put forward a couple of scenarios ie if this happens, then we'll do this. I'm also aware that he thinks he's going to get an injection if he has an appointment in hospital and he requires a lot of reassurance that this is not the case. Could it be that your son is perhaps very very anxious and worries about things that might not happen?

 

NB: I'd like a flying pig or someone climbing a never-ending escalator - emoticom.

 

Caroline.

[Sally44]

My son (8) is the same.

I think it is anxiety with him and not knowing what to expect if he agrees to something.

He also cannot choose which drives me insane. He will be in tears and throw a tantrum rather than choose (a), or (.

If I offer him something and he refuses and I say 'okay', he will immediately change his mind and say he wants it.

I just think he automatically has a knee jerk reaction to say 'no' to everything as a way of protecting himself.

So I do sympathise.

 

[Cat]

 

My son would never take medication to help him to sleep and I know how difficult it can be. One of the best things that happened with his sleeping issues was that 'I' learnt to live with them. I recently heard Dr John Biddulph who is an autism professional, working in schools and who has AS speak. Hearing him speak about his sleeping issues really helped me to come to terms with the fact that my son may always have sleeping issues but that he to can learn to live with them.

 

15 is a difficult age for all youngsters and I suspect more so for youngsters with autism, it certainly was a tough time for my middle son. He spent his whole life worrying and becoming anxious. I ended up dragging him to see his psych about his sleeping issues and although he had told me that he would refuse to speak to him he did talk to him and flatly refused meds even though he had said he wanted something to help him to sleep before leaving the house. At 15 I do not think that they could force the issue.

 

It does get better - well it did for us. By the time my son reached 16 he had started to turn a corner with many of the things that he worried about only one issue remained - sleep.

 

Cat

[connieruff]

I'm wondering if they could come to him? Would they do a home visit? Teenagers are a pain in the **se anyway, lovely one minute horrible the next, so your son is going to be difficult especially so with OCD/ASD. So a lot of it is going to be him being a typical teenager.

I would list the things that are really important and try to talk to him about what you consider the greatest problem when he is calm and receptive. Say to him, if you had a son or a friend and he had these problems, what would YOU do? How would you help him? Or just say to him, next time the Xbox does not work properly, can you really TRY to be calm and not get anxious over it?

Just use logic and reasoning, I dont think you can use any logic or reason when they are in a state so it has to be when they are reasonably calm. He might not appear to listen but some of it will sink in.

I have heard Cognitive Therapy can be very helpful with OCD, has this been suggested? I think you can buy a book and try some of it yourself, the concept appears to be straightfoward and logical and you could get some tips and advice from the phychiatrist. (sorry can never spell that word).

Does he not sleep? Is it because he gets no excercise as he's on the Xbox all the time? I had to get rid of the Xbox as it was causing so many problems, my son used to cry and sob if his car got wrecked or if it went wrong. World War 3 broke out when I told him it had gone back to the shop (ahem) but after a while he thank fully has forgotton about it.

I'm not sure what sleeping tablets the doc will prescribe but when I did nights I took Temazapem and it worked for a while, but I found I had to take more and more to get to sleep, and I became very depressed and zombie like, I would never ever take them again.

Good luck - it is awful, but you somehow get the strength from somewhere don't you?

[Kathryn]

How did the meeting go Diane? did you get him there?

 

When my 15 year old refused to go to Camhs - Camhs came to her, in the form of regular home visits from a lovely, very understanding, tolerant and skilled psych from the adolescent outreach team. I wonder if such a service exists in your area?

 

 

K x

[Diane]

Hi one and all

 

My Ds did not go in the end. He let me know half an hour before his appointment that he could nto go and meet the psych. I phoned CAMHS and they asked me to come along anyway. My sons psychologist came to the meeting and was brilliant. The suggestion put for war has been for Risperidone but only a small dose once in the evening. An appointment has been made for the beginning fo August, this should give him take up time and calm down time. He still tells me he wants to do this so I shall go with what he wants. Roll on August.

 

As for me I have mixed feelings about it all.

 

Is it the lack of sleep that makes the anxiety worse or the anxiety that makes sleep more difficult.

 

Does medication really help the anxiety caused by ASD?

 

what have others experiences been like?

[Diane]

How did the meeting go Diane? did you get him there?

 

When my 15 year old refused to go to Camhs - Camhs came to her, in the form of regular home visits from a lovely, very understanding, tolerant and skilled psych from the adolescent outreach team. I wonder if such a service exists in your area?

 

 

K x

 

My DS has a lovely psychologist who is going to be at every meeting he has with the consultant psychiatrist.

 

At this point i do not want anyone to come to the house as this is his safe place. His down time from everything and everyone. I suppose it is sanctuary from the world.

 

I am going to see if i can take some pictures of said lady and her office which is close to the one he goes in to see his psychologist. I am hoping I will be allowed to collate a passport information pack on the psychologist for my DS as I know this will help him not to feel so anxious about meeting with someone he does to know.

Edited June 3, 2009 by Diane

[Mumble]

This all sounds like absolute extreme anxiety on your son's part and I can really painfully identify with how he is feeling Additionally, I can also see in your original post how you might be feeling and the frustration that I get off other people who just can't understand the anxiety I have (I don't understand it, so I'm not blaming you or others for not understanding it! ) and why I can't do certain things. It's not that I don't want to - often I really really do - it's the anxiety that physically stops me. It's from that that the U-turns as you refer to them come in, because sometimes I think I can cope and try really hard to 'shut out' the anxiety but at the end of the day it wins and completely engulfs me, making it appear that I have changed completely when in fact others just weren't aware of the brewing process I was desperately and hopelessly trying to contain.

 

Anxiety is, for me, the most debilitating aspect of my ASD, and also one of the hardest to explain because there's only so many times you can hear 'oh everyone gets anxious...' before you not only question yourself, feel a total failure but also want to somehow make others understand that this isn't 'simple' anxiety of the sort that gives you an adrenaline rush that is actually helpful and gets you moving. This is anxiety that roots you to the spot, that stops your brain functioning, that leaves you terrified of situations that previously you could have coped with (and so people might think you're putting it on) and that, worst of all, is self-fuelling, so it is so hard to escape from.

 

As to medication - it certainly didn't/hasn't taken away all my symptoms. What it has done is taken the slight 'edge' off that has allowed me to access other services (particularly therapy) which has then in turn allowed me to begin to address and rethink how I think about issues. But it is a long and very slow process with many ups and downs.

 

Sleeping (or rather lack of) and odd-sleep patterns also affect anxiety, both through tiredness and not having a routine to the day. Here again, intermittent prescribed medication has helped me when I simply felt I couldn't cope with the lack of sleep.

 

I think you've got a long process ahead of you, but it is a winnable one, and you're doing the right thing getting your son support now. I wish I had had such support at his age. <'>

 

[Diane]

This all sounds like absolute extreme anxiety on your son's part and I can really painfully identify with how he is feeling Additionally, I can also see in your original post how you might be feeling and the frustration that I get off other people who just can't understand the anxiety I have (I don't understand it, so I'm not blaming you or others for not understanding it! ) and why I can't do certain things. It's not that I don't want to - often I really really do - it's the anxiety that physically stops me. It's from that that the U-turns as you refer to them come in, because sometimes I think I can cope and try really hard to 'shut out' the anxiety but at the end of the day it wins and completely engulfs me, making it appear that I have changed completely when in fact others just weren't aware of the brewing process I was desperately and hopelessly trying to contain.

 

Anxiety is, for me, the most debilitating aspect of my ASD, and also one of the hardest to explain because there's only so many times you can hear 'oh everyone gets anxious...' before you not only question yourself, feel a total failure but also want to somehow make others understand that this isn't 'simple' anxiety of the sort that gives you an adrenaline rush that is actually helpful and gets you moving. This is anxiety that roots you to the spot, that stops your brain functioning, that leaves you terrified of situations that previously you could have coped with (and so people might think you're putting it on) and that, worst of all, is self-fuelling, so it is so hard to escape from.

 

As to medication - it certainly didn't/hasn't taken away all my symptoms. What it has done is taken the slight 'edge' off that has allowed me to access other services (particularly therapy) which has then in turn allowed me to begin to address and rethink how I think about issues. But it is a long and very slow process with many ups and downs.

 

Sleeping (or rather lack of) and odd-sleep patterns also affect anxiety, both through tiredness and not having a routine to the day. Here again, intermittent prescribed medication has helped me when I simply felt I couldn't cope with the lack of sleep.

 

I think you've got a long process ahead of you, but it is a winnable one, and you're doing the right thing getting your son support now. I wish I had had such support at his age. <'>

 

Thank you so much for sharing you experience with me Mumble.

 

I do understand that my sons anxiety is debilitating and we call him 'last minute.com as he will quite often agree to do something and at the last minute will be unable to follow through. we accept this without question. If he can do do what has been agreed we take him away from it. I do understand what you are saying about others not understanding about anxiety. I do sometimes get frustrated but not so that he would know.

 

Your post has taken away some of my anxiety. thanks for the warning that it could be a long journey but none the less the right one and one with a positive outcome.

 

I know how desperate my son is to do things and would like to take the edge of things for him so he may do just one of those things that others find so easy. Having tried every strategy i have ever come across to help and support him the only untried solution has been the medication one. I think for any parent putting their child on medication like this is a hard decision to feel comfortable about.

 

All I can do is try it and if it makes a difference then wonderful if it does not work for him then it will be ack to the drawing board.

 

I just keep asking myself what have I not done. What have I done that has caused him to be so anxious that he cannot sleep. The rational answer is nothing he has AS but the emotional answer is somewhat different and not one that I can share on here.

[Mumble]

I think for any parent putting their child on medication like this is a hard decision to feel comfortable about.

I'm not a parent, so I can't know how I would feel. However, if your son had an ear-infection, would you think twice about him having anti-biotics to clear it up? Or about giving him paracetamol to bring down a temperature? Anxiety is a medical condition and I think is easier to rationalise if thought about in a similar way. There is a chemical imbalance that can be 'fixed' or altered through medication in the same way that anti-biotics can 'fix' or eradicate a bacterial infection.

 

[Diane]

I'm not a parent, so I can't know how I would feel. However, if your son had an ear-infection, would you think twice about him having anti-biotics to clear it up? Or about giving him paracetamol to bring down a temperature? Anxiety is a medical condition and I think is easier to rationalise if thought about in a similar way. There is a chemical imbalance that can be 'fixed' or altered through medication in the same way that anti-biotics can 'fix' or eradicate a bacterial infection.

 

Allowing him to have medication when put this way does feel more comfortable and of course you are right, if he had an ear infection or some other illness that needed medicine to aleviate the problem you would allow them to take it.

 

Sensible thinking is so easy if you do not let the emotions get in the way. So I need to learn not to let my emotions get the better of me. So I am in for a battle with myself. That should be entertaining.

 

Emotional reasoning vs Rational thinking. hmmmmmmmmmm!!!

 

 

I was going to decorate this announcement with some emoticoms but they do not seem to want to participate in this post. GRRRRRRRR!!!!!

 

 

 

[szxmum]

Anxiety is, for me, the most debilitating aspect of my ASD

 

 

Diane, your post and Mumble's replies have touched a nerve with me. The anxiety is such a cruel part of ASD and has far-reaching consequences for both the person with the ASD and the family who are trying to support them. I try not to look back but I sometimes wonder if we had had an earlier diagnosis and more support put in place whether ds's anxiety would have developed to the extent that it has done and whether my family would now be in this position (I have given up work to care for ds and would do so again in a heartbeat but our financial situation is now pants!! ) - hindsight is such a wonderful thing!

 

Ds, 17, is currently not functioning due to not sleeping, panic attacks, phobias, OCD and depression. I too am looking at the possibility of meds for ds, he has had group CBT but tbh I don't think he is mature enough to put the personal work required into CBT. I do understand your reservations about meds Diane but I personally seem to have gone past this point - they wouldn't deny a diabetic insulin so why is it okay for my son to suffer emotionally when there are meds out there that could possibly improve his quality of life. It makes me so mad that they won't prescribe meds for him.

 

We received an appointment today for AMHS and it is with the same woman who ran the group CBT sessions - an Occupational Therapist. I am going to have to ask for an appointment with a Psychiatrist to discuss meds - why does it have to be so hard :wallbash:

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I really do hope that some people who work in the NHS or in Education read theses stories. Maybe, just maybe, with earlier diagnoses, earlier intervention and more support we will not have to travel the long road that Mumble speaks about - that's my hope anyway.

 

Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed for your ds meeting with the Psychiatrist,

 

szxmum xxxx