"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."--Joseph Chilton Pearce
First I need to apologize to steveroni for not checking if the link worked. OOPS. First time dude I checked and rechecked the Eric Clapton Link as well as Woody's but I just assumed I had yours right.
I don't normally put my daily thought at the beginning but I am really having a time with the decision I made for my oldest daughters medication for her stress. A few friends of mine do not agree with my decision but it is between me and me family, and now you. Ha, Ha, Ha. Anyway we went to the "child shrink" only to find out she was a registered nurse. OK, then we proceeded to answer a variety of questions pertaining to my family and "A's" stress levels. Then after about 30 minutes of questions this nurse decided my daughter had "general anxiety disorder" and her number one medication for this was Prozac. You know my daughter sees a counselor who told her that she could giver her a referral to a kid shrink and they would see her on a weekly basis on top of the regular counseling. Then they would confer with the counselor and family doc to decide what would best meet her needs.
I guess my two biggest issues is that 1.) I feel there really is only some high stress levels with my daughter and she needs to really just chill out. 2.) I don't think someone who has met with my daughter for 30 minutes and typed up answers into some magical formulary on a computer is the right person to pigeon hole my daughter into some demographic and decide she needs an anti- psychotic medication for stress. The other meds she recommended for calming down however are forms of Valium. REALLY, I mean REALLY are these my only choices for helping my daughter learn to deal with stress!! Come one now, she just needs to learn some coping skills. So I asked for the list that the "nurse" was going to recommend and there were about 10 different "mind meds" on it and I told her I was uncomfortable with making a decision on the spot. Could I go home and think about it, and thankfully she said yes. So we went home and had a family sit down in front of the computer and started googling everything. After about 3 hours we were just as confused as before. Go figure. My baby just wants to feel better. We all agree we don't want something that is going to make her feel like she is on a bigger roller coaster than she is now. We also don't want to have her on meds for a very long time. Some of these medications are very hard to get off of and they are all recommended for a year at least.
Her issue is that the military would not accept her if she were on "psycho meds" as she put it. So then I asked "isn't there something like "St. Johns Wart" that helps with anxiety?" And we looked up a couple of herbal options. My thought was if she tries these and nothing happens, well then nothing happens. And if nothing happens I will be willing to go to the counselors choice of shrink and then, if after seeing my kid for a while they recommend Prozac I would be willing to try it. But I will not use it as a first choice. I will not. I also do not think I am playing doctor.
Last night we went to the counselor and I told her what had happened and she agreed with me. And she does not think my daughter needs Prozac. She would know, she has been seeing her for 9 months now. She also is hopeful that the herbs may be enough to help lower my daughters stress levels. We are trying St' Johns Wart and 5-HTP. Both have natural ingredients that work with the bodies natural chemistry.
I have been extremely busy this weekend I only had time to stop by a few blogs and comment. I hope Mary Elizabeth is doing well with her treatment. I love reading up and seeing how everyone is doing and it is like I either have some time to blog or read. So the last few days I read up. Yesterday and today I blogged. And I can link now!! Thanks everybody for helping me figure that out. It is so cool. One day I will be able to put a you tube vid on there. Oh, and something new I now have prescription reading glasses for my computer. Oh it's Wednesday I almost forgot to put a gratitude list.
1. I am grateful for being able to be a stay-at-home mom and watch my beautiful girls grow up. We have such a magical bond today.
2. I am grateful for this blog to help me stay connected with the outside world when sometimes all i have to communicate with are my little ones.
3. I am grateful for the sense of security I have today that my life is in a good financial stable and structured home.
4. I am grateful for my service work. It has given me some much needed self esteem and work ethics, like staying committed. Keeping appointments and having accountability. Not to mention the computer skills I have learned.
5. I am grateful for today, and being able to enjoy the moment. The moment is now, I hope you are enjoying yours.
What are you grateful for today?
11 comments:
Hi, I was looking around and came upon your blog. While reading about your daughter and the hesitation you have feeding her mind and body altering drugs I thought about my experience with this exact type of situation. I have a 16 yo daughter who is dealing with coming up in this very complex world, she struggles, mightily, with stress and confusion and hence depression. The Dr prescr. her pexeva and then paxil, man did we have a time with that, not good at all, agression, apathy, exhaustion. None of these character traits were present before the Meds.. So after a ton of research(google, I love you) I found a comprehensive blend of herbals and nutrients designed to balance and align the chemical needs of our bodies. After talking with her Psy we weaned her from the meds., another testament that these drugs are not for everyone( she was so ill).
This is why I am posting to you. The product is kind of expensive and has to be ordered from New Zealand, but it has changed everything in my daughters life, maybe it can help ya'll. here is the link.
Good luck to you and yours.
http://www.xtend-life.com/product/Total_Balance_Unisex_Premium.aspx
Oh...I have been here with my now 17 yr old and it's so tough. She didn't like taking the meds and I've found that children have lots of different reactions to psych meds so it's tough to find one that works just right. Fortunately, I was able to hire a "Life Coach" for my daughter...one who specializes in Teen Girls. It's been such a help, but very expensive. How about Alateen? That might be very helpful. There are videos/dvds on dealing with anxiety/stress that may help too and tons of self-help books directed at teen stress as well. I used self-hypnosis cds for quite awhile when I was so stressed at work. I'd put one in the cd player and it would guide me into a relaxed state of mind. Just some suggestions! Wishing you the best as you deal with this situation! Blessings, Lisa
Don't give up - you will find what works, maybe you already have, i wish y'all the best.
Just wanted you to know I have appreciated all your kind comments on my blog in recent days.
I will pray that all works out for your daughter. Faith and trust in God is a great plan.
Man these things suck! I absolutely love you no matter what and your daughter too! I have been thinking about all of the conversation we had that day. I know in my heart of hearts that you would never play Dr. I felt compelled to give the same that I got when it comes to my own. I was mistaken. I love you!
Hi Sweetie! I am back to say I am presenting you with an award on my blog! You so deserve it for your honesty and inspiration in recovery! Continued Blessings, Lisa PS...I will post about my Lemonade award this week! I am not ungrateful...but now working backward on the awards. Silly, but it's the way I am rollin' right now! LOL!
i am no expert in anything. just want to say something. my folks let their doctor prescribe tranquilisers for me from around age 8 for add. if it's connected or not i don't know, but my first instinct, still today, for when anything goes wrong, is to reach for a pill (or a drink some time ago). i was never taught how to deal with my emotions, how to handle problems, stresses etc. and i find that's hindered me hugely and i've had a lot of catching up to do. not even mentioning the dependency issues i sit with now...
i think any treatment should be double-sided. my bean gets ritalin for his add (medication), but also went for lessons on study methods, learning maths the add way and we were shown how to treat and teach him in a way that will help him focus (life skills).
this is beginning to get very long. but you get what i'm trying to say????
you have some difficult decisions to make. good to see that you're exploring the options. if external forces are causing stress, they can be addressed; if it's a brain chemistry issue, there are many drugs to choose from. most are SSRI's but each has different side effects.
My Grandmother was givem some medication for my father's eyes in 1903. Being "right off the boat" from germany, she figures if a little was good for him, a LOT would be better--He was totally blind the rest of his life!
Good/God part of the story is he operated a good-sized dairy farm...was such a happy guy all his life--two nuns wrote a book about him, and titled it LIVING WITH JOY!
I'm glad you are doing what is best for you and your daughter and not just listening to a doc that has spent 30 minutes with her. I went through the same thing at her age and would be happy to talk to you about my experiences in more detail if your interested. Hugs, Jenn
Thank you for you visiting my blog. I just wanted to commend you for standing up for your daughter and following your gut. There are a lot of options to help deal with stress/anxiety before resorting to medication. Also, from my own experience with anxiety, I think you are right in question a "nurse" diagnosing and prescribing meds to your daughter....I'm not sure how old she is but if she's a child/teen there are other issues such as highter depression/suicide rates with anti anxiety meds, so just be real careful see a real psychiatrist that will devote at least a full hour to her before making any decisions. I'm an advocate for natural remedies as well as doctor prescribed meds but it has to feel right to you and your daughter because it is very trial and error. Anyway, sorry for the rant. I just wanted to tell you that I'll be following you. Hang in there! N.
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