To Medicate My Children or Not?

One of the hardest choices I had to make was whether to medicate my children, who both have behavior issues, or not.

In the past, I had been a massage therapist. I favored Eastern philosophies, ate very healthy, drank plenty of water, and exercised regularly.  I would rarely take tylenol for headaches, unless I really couldn’t bare the pain.

My situation has changed drastically, and so has my perception of Western medicine.  Part of me still tugs towards the Eastern/holistic approach….but the urgency of needing to help my children, and help them NOW, over-powered any other notion.

My oldest son started having abnormal behavior symptoms when he was about two.  It took three more years to get any kind of a diagnosis, other than “strong-willed” or “adjustment disorder”.  I noticed some spectrum symptoms as well, but wasn’t sure of the role they were really playing.  I did try the GFCF diet hoping that would help, but it didn’t appear to change anything.  When, at 5, my son started telling me he wished he were dead repeatedly, the urgency to find comfort for him kicked in.

The main thing I could see was that my child was uncomfortable in his own skin.  He did have plenty of anxieties, and was diagnosed with bi-polar and ADHD.

If I, with the assistance of psychiatrists, could find anything to bring balance and comfort to him, I was certainly going to try it.

The difficulty has been the trial and error part.  I have hated having to subject him to so many chemicals not knowing which one will work.  At the same time, how can I sit back, with a diagnosis of bipolar from 4 different doctors, and not try to find what will help him?  We have gone through a handful of mood-stabilizers, but the reward has finally come, at least for now.  Watching the difference his current medication has made in my son, has enforced what the trial and error process was about.

Now that his mood is stabilized more, the ADHD is showing more of it’s true colors.  This wasn’t even really addressed before because the instability of mood was running the show.  Our journey begins on finding the right medication for his attention and impulse control issues.  Luckily these medications make it known fairly quickly whether they work or not, so it won’t be months and months of trials before we find the right assist for him.

My other son has autism.  He and I spent a good three years getting no more than a couple of hours of sleep each night for weeks at a time.  He used to jump off his furniture and slam his body into walls.  Finally a prescription medication was brought to my attention for him as well.  I was desperate for both our sleep, so I decided to give it a try.   His body is calmer.  He no longer dangerously jumps from high places, or slams his body into walls, trying to find his body in space.  And for the most part, he sleeps through the night (until recently when his medication was lowered…lesson learned).

Deciding to medicate my children was not an easy decision for me.  Any reservations I had about it were resolved when I saw the difference in how the medications have helped my boys. I am sold.  There is such a stigma attached to giving children medication.  But  the reality is that we have western medication for some very important reasons.  My children need them so they don’t suffer on some level.  That’s enough for me.

This blog was written for S-O-S Best of the Best: Medications Use with Special Needs Kids. http://sos-research-blog.com/11/s-o-s-best-of-the-best-edition-12-medication-use-with-special-needs-kids/