Fast Forward

Since his initial diagnoses of ADHD/ADD, DH and I have been through many emotions over how to deal with it. At first, medication was not even something that we wanted to consider. But, for the sake of our own sanity and the quality of Bug's life (staying out of trouble and being able to actually enjoy the nicer things of growing up - such as learning to read & write) we chose to take the medication route. (This was after at least 6 weeks of trying to make the "scheduled" routine that was suggested to us work...but alas, DH and I decided that we are NOT the type of people that have endless patience and therefore were not succeeding with this route.) We tried several medications...some once a day, some twice a day doses. Finally, we found relief with Focalin XR (www.focalinxr.com) with an additional Focalin tab around 3:00-4:00PM. This worked fabulously for about a year! All was moving along smoothly...or as smoothly as a bullet train can be...until the meds started working less and lasting shorter periods of time. We worked with Bug's pediatrician until we found yet another med to try. We switched Bug to a newer medication called Vyvanse (www.vyvanse.com). This seems to be our best option to the present time. It lasts about 12 hours long! That is great!! But, night time is still an issue. Bug doesn't sleep. His bed time is at 9 PM. Bug has been found still wide awake at 1 AM some nights...poor kid. He is up and down NUMEROUS times after bedtime, for reasons that range from going to bathroom, to being thirsty, to being scared of his own shadow! I can't think of a night that he hasn't got out of bed once we tuck him in! This has been going on for months...maybe a year or more. So, we talked to the pediatrician about this. The thought was that his ADHD was keeping his brain moving so much at night (when the meds had wore off) that he physically could not sleep. So, we tried to give him a small amount of Adderall at night to calm his ADHD. No luck.
Well, in trying to get to the bottom of all of this, Bug's ADHD had gotten so out of control when the meds are wore off that he couldn't deal with life in general. He had fears that were beyond the typical 9 year old "afraid of the dark" fears. (See list of fears below.) He got up one morning and couldn't deal with the simple act of getting himself dressed. He came into my living room, where DH and I were having coffee and chatting, and Bug had a pair of scissors to his throat and said he wanted to kill himself. I was so sad, mad, hurt, concerned, and upset!! That is when DH and I decided that SOMETHING had to give somewhere. We called his pediatrician ASAP and told him what was going on. We mentioned getting him some counseling to see if that might help. The doctor agreed and recommended a great Child Psychiatrist in the area. We had our first visit about 3 weeks ago. Within about 30 minutes of meeting with us, this doctor seemed to know exactly what was going on. He diagnosed Bug with not only ADHD/ADD, but also an OCD/Anxiety Disorder. He prescribed Zoloft (www.zoloft.com) to Bug and recommended taking him off of the Addrall medication at night.
We have been giving Bug his Vyvanse and Zoloft each morning at breakfast. They seem to do relatively well, so far. The ADHD is controlled for about 12 hours (8am-8pm) and the fears/anxieties are better, but not gone. We are headed back to the Child Pysch each week at a costly $105/visit -- which our insurance may or may not refund us for...?? (Ugh) But, Bug is worth EVERY penny that we spend.
LIST OF FEARS:
Spiders, darkness, riding a bike, plane rides, monsters/spirits, dogs, burglers/kidnappers, sharks, the ocean, worms, heights/stairs, dying/loved ones being hurt, dying/loved ones dying, being alone, holes in the ground, dehydration/starvation, wild animals, contact sports, bees, storms/thunder/lightning...and there are more, these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
LIST OF BEHAVIORS:
Obsessions: video games, spiders, staying awake, animal noises
Constant Supervision of Cricket - afraid she will get hurt ALL OF THE TIME
Start/Restart sentences
Picks at his fingers until they bleed - daily
Stuffed Animals must be in specific order on his bed in order to "protect" him
Blankets cannot hang off of his bed at night
Must have certain stuffed animals with him to go to the bathroom at night for protection
Collects/Hoards: Rocks, Shells, Sticks, Marbles, Bouncy Balls, Trophies, Paper Airplanes, Crystals, Cars, Stuffed Animals, Money/Coins, Legos, Books, Pencils, Plants ++

So, this is what we are going through with Bug. Every day is a challenge. I Homeschool Bug partially for these reasons, and partially because he is SO SMART that he was bored with the materials that the public school was covering. Now, instead of being in trouble because he can't focus on his work - he is doing 5th grade science, math, and history. He can spell just about anything you ask him to and is reading at a 7th grade level!! (Who needs 3rd grade!?!) I have great expectations for Bug and all the hope a mother could have for her child. I am just concerned that his disorders may hold him back in real life. *Sigh* More on Bug later...

I want to add a couple of comments regarding the other 2 munchkins. Cricket is coming along nicely on her potty training now! We go through 3 pair of underwear/day (because that is about all I have the patience for) before putting a Pull Up on her. She stayed in her underwear until 6PM last night!! That is AWESOME!! I have no complaints! :) (Well, except that she pooped in her Pull Up because she didn't want to miss her TV show that she was watching last night...) YUCK.
Baby Blue - she is growing so much! She can sit by herself for a few minutes - can sit for several minutes if the Boppy (www.boppy.com) is around her. (Which by the way is a fabulous invention!) She is eating solid food both at lunch time and dinner time now! She LOVES squash, sweet potatoes, pears, rice, applesauce, mango, and corn! She does NOT like peas though! LOL

Welcome Aboard the Smith Bullet Train!

Alright, I am going to try my hand at this "blogging" thing. I don't know how much time and energy that I can dedicate to this, but I just want a place to write. I know, I could keep a journal, but who has time for that? I don't...I have 3 young children, a husband who works not 1...but 2 jobs, a home based business, 3 cats, 2 snakes, and the normal everyday chores of being a wife & mother.
Speaking of my family, let me say a little bit about each of them. I have been married to my adoring, loving husband since January 1997. We are very happy, but extremely busy, goal oriented people...which occasionally gets in the way of our closeness, but seems to make us stronger as a whole. We have a 9 year old son, Bug, who is probably one of the smartest 9 year olds that I know, but is a handful to say the least. We also have 2 little girls, Cricket & Baby Blue. Cricket will be 3 years old in July and Baby Blue will turn 1 in October. The girls are great little kids and adorable in every way (well, except when they are throwing their BIG attitudes around)!
I am pretty much going to just jump right in here, because I am not sure where I would start, quite honestly! Life aboard the Smith Bullet Train is not always fun, nor is it always easy, but it is ALWAYS moving at top speed & we never know when it will derail.
I guess some of the biggest changes in our lives was not when we had our 1st born, was not when we seperated for 2 years & got back together, was not the many moves across the country & back that we have made, was not having our 2nd child...but it was in 2006 when Bug was diagnosed in 1st grade with ADHD/ADD.