New Name

After HandyGramps & I came up w/ his name for my blog, I started thinking that my mom should have a name too. So, w/out further ado...my mother will now be known as:

HelpfulGrammy

Why HelpfulGrammy, you ask? My mother is the type of person who will go out of her way if necessary to help when you need her.

She has a very dear, longtime friend who went through breast cancer & a double mastectomy several years ago. HelpfulGrammy was there to take her to appts., shopping, etc. when her husband couldn't.

A little over a month ago, she loaned her car to my neighbor for a week (& they'd never met before.)

She is in charge of the group at her church that provides the luncheons after funerals. This is such a wonderful ministry for those families who lose a dear one & she does it w/ complete compassion.

Numerous times I've called for her assistance...babysitting the munchkins, venting about a rough day, etc. She was here at home w/ me when I was on bedrest w/ my last two pregnancies.

These are just a few of the many things she does for others. HelpfulGrammy is probably not a strong enough name for her, but I don't think Blogger would let me have enough space to give her a 100% fitting name! Love you, HelpfulGrammy!

A Thankful Woman's (er...Young Man's) Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

And finally, today we have five things for which The Archangel is thankful...

1) I am thankful Jesus died to save us.

2) I am thankful for my family.

3) I am thankful for the saints in Heaven.

4) I am thankful for Christmas because it is Jesus' birthday.

5) I am thankful for Legos.

Thank you so much for sharing your thanks, Archangel. Love you!

Angie's Challenge of the Month for March

February's Challenge was to try something new. I decided to give Pilates a try. I did like it, however, as I mentioned before, my back started to bother me again. I'm not totally giving up on it, but I am going to take it a little easier. (BTW - Congratulations to Angie's winner for February.)

So, now we are on to Angie's Challenge of the Month for March...a shortened version of the 40 Bags in 40 Days that has been going around the blogosphere the past few years during Lent. I was planning on doing this for Lent again this year, so I don't think starting a little early would hurt...especially w/ all the clutter in our home!

Our ADHD Journey - Part Three

Part One
Part Two

***************

Our first day back to school went well, but day two was another story. He complained, got angry, threw his pencils...anything to express his negativity toward school. I, myself, was feeling quite emotional & sent both of us to our rooms. I called my mom to vent & ended up crying to her. I felt like a horrible mother & at the end of my rope, not sure what to do but wanting to just retreat into a hole & hope everything would pass on its own. She listened. She comforted. She tried to assure me that I was not a bad mother, no matter how much I felt I was.

She asked if I wanted her to have my dad (HandyGramps) call me. I said to not bother him at work. Well, she called him anyway & shortly thereafter, he called me. Now he is more blunt in giving advice so he balanced out my mom's comforting. He wondered why we hadn't upped The Archangel's meds already & said that should be my first step.

For the next week or so, we had him taking 2 mg of Intuniv per day. There was NO change. This med is not like other ADHD meds that can be started & stopped at any time. Intuniv needs to changed by steps. Knowing that the psychiatrist would have us stop it due to no positive changes, I decided to go back to just 1 mg until our next appointment in about a week & a half.

Finally, the day of the appointment arrived & we ended up rescheduling. It was very icy that day. Our van had been giving us problems, so I didn't feel safe driving it anyway, let alone in the inclimate weather. The rescheduled appointment wasn't for another month, so I had the receptionist transfer me to the doctor's voicemail. After he returned my call & I explained what had been going on, he said to stop the Intuniv & we would discuss other options at our next appointment. He also suggested calling the receptionist back to have her put us on a waitlist. That worked out well...she called an hour later & got him in Feb. 15.

In the meantime, he did have an appointment w/ his psychologist. I asked to speak w/ her alone first so that I could explain how things had been since starting Intuniv. When she talked to The Archangel, she drew up a circular diagram (EVENT - THINK - FEEL - DO) to help him see where his anger is coming from, how he reacts, & how it starts the process all over again. It was intended to help him stop & think before impulsively flying off the handle. Did it help? Well, it didn't change things straight away. So far, I think it's more of an "after the fact" aid - a look back & see how he got from calm to chaos.

(To Be Continued)

A Thankful Woman's (er...Young Man's) Book of Blessings!

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

Last week, The Princess dictated to me a list of things she is thankful for. Well, the boys were feeling a bit left out, so I told them that they could do it too. This week we will hear from The Prophet & next week The Archangel.

So here are the five things The Prophet is thankful for...

1) I am thankful for macaroni & cheese pizza & all other kinds of pizza.

2) I am thankful for the person who created Legos & pizza.

3) I am thankful for the Wii.

4) I am thankful for my family.

5) I am thankful for food, air, & shelter.

Thank you dear Prophet! Love ya!

Our Family's ADHD Journey - Part Two

(If you missed Part One, you can find it HERE.)

Last April, when I took The Archangel for his annual well child check-up, I talked to our doctor about his (The Archangel, not our doctor's...LOL!) behaviors & hyperactivity. Based on my descriptions & The Archangel's constant movement & interruptions in the office that day, he said that it definitely was ADHD. We decided to try medicine.

I've learned over the past year that there are MANY medicines used to treat ADHD & they fall into four main categories: stimulants, non-stimulants, anti-depressants, & anti-hypertensives (originally for blood pressure). Doctors always start w/ the lowest dose & go from there. As you can probably guess, there is no quick fix, toss back a Ritalin, & be good to go! EVERY child w/ ADHD is different & many have other disorders, too (depression, ODD, OCD, Tourette Syndrome, etc.) Therefore, treatment is through a process of trial & error, lasting many months in most cases.

Whatever meds we would go with, we had to watch side effects. The most common w/ many of the meds is a loss of appetite. The Archangel has always been a little guy, barely on the weight growth chart at times. He's grown steadily, just not a lot & he's also been a VERY picky eater. Add that to the fact that he's always on the go, burning off those few consumed calories, you can see our concerns.

The first med we tried was Concerta, a stimulant. For one month there was no change in the hyperactivity, but the anger/aggressiveness increased drastically. We returned to the doctor & this time tried a non-stimulant (Strattera). While the anger/aggression went back to how it was previously, three different doses had absolutely no effect on him. Four months down...how many to go?

At this point, our doctor felt it was time for some psychological intervention & referred us to the behavioral department of one of the smaller branches of our local children's hospital. For the first month or so, The Archangel met w/ a psychologist every other week to talk about his feelings & discuss ways to help calm himself. After a couple of months & her assessment, we decided to try another med. This required yet another doctor...a psychiatrist.

After speaking to the psychiatrist, he suggested a fairly newer med, a non-stimulant called Intuniv that is supposed to be good for hyperactivity & aggression. The lowest dose is 1 mg & it usually takes about a week before you see any changes. The biggest side effect is drowsiness, which I figured would be manageable. Being homeschooled, he could take a nap if he needed to in the afternoon.

Let me say that the first week on Intuniv was Hell! Days one & two weren't bad, but by day three he was on the biggest emotional roller...EVER! The tiniest thing would set him off, sobbing uncontrollably for at least 20 minutes at a time. One instance in particular stands out.

He was in the basement playing w/ his siblings & The Saint took his bag of Lego mini-figures & dumped them in w/ the rest of his Legos. The Archangel came stomping up the stairs in tears, even though The Prophet offered to help him sort the Legos back out. He curled up on the couch, sobbing. After about 20 minutes of this, he finally cried himself to sleep. Many people get grumpy or emotional when they are tired. I think, in his case, the drowsiness hit him like a ton of bricks & he didn't know how to handle it. He did not want to be touched or consoled. No one could talk to him or even go near him. When he woke up about a hour later, he was still upset, but would at least let me hold him some.

After a couple more days of emotions (& they usually occurred around 3pm), his system started to get used to the medicine. We had a few outbursts here & there, but the hyperactivity didn't change one bit! The psychiatrist said that we could raise the dose to 2mg if we felt the need, but I hesitated. It was the beginning of December...Advent & Christmas preparations were in full swing, & all of the munchkins were excited & hyper. We decided to continue w/ the current dose until January when we returned to our school schedule.

(To Be Continued)

Challenge of the Month Update

Well, I forgot to update for Angie's Challenge of the Month last week, but truthfully...there really wasn't much to update!

I did great the first week, but as the second week came around, I got behind...first due to colds/sinus infections in our family (YES, AGAIN!) Then, my back started acting up again. I always have pain in my lower back, but the more I exercise, the worse it seems to feel. I thought Pilates would help & I still haven't given up hope, I just need to back off (yes, pun is intended!) a bit.

So, I think I'm going to change my goals a bit & for the next two weeks aim for four 10 minute sessions of Pilates per week. After those two weeks, I'll re-assess.

Have a wonderful week, my dear blogging friends!