If it were up to my husband, none of our children would be on medication. However, he isn’t the one that spends all day, everyday with them so he defers to me. Actually, before we began fostering children, I thought it was a parental copout to put children on mood altering medication. After two years of caring for traumatized children I changed my mind.

I take my teenage daughter to see her psychiatrist every two months for a medication reevaluation, whether we are seeking changes or not. That way we are able to get refills on... more

Some of my readers quickly chimed in to say some of the things about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health that I have been thinking. Kelly astutely pointed out that only four editions since the 1950’s didn’t seem like very many revisions. I agree. The reading I’ve done about this is that the DSM revision process can be highly political and froth with lots of time-consuming review, debate, analysis of research, etc.

The DSM is definitely a lightning rod for controversy.... more

I was listening to the radio while I was out delivering my mail route last week and heard some interesting trivia that I felt compelled to do some more research on and share with you all. Apparently several churches in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula had banded together last month to collect expired prescription medicines from their communities, so the prescription medicines could be properly disposed of. They were doing this out of concern for the purity of the drinking water in their communities. That purity is in danger not only due to easily recognizable pollution, but also... more

Alcoholism is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as: A strong need or craving to drink with an increasing tolerance, without the ability to limit intake, accompanied by withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately people who crave alcohol may want to quit drinking but their desire to drink is stronger. A person’s genes and lifestyle affect their risk for developing alcoholism as does a person’s mental health.

There seems to be a close relationship between mental health problems and alcohol problems... more

It is quickly becoming my personal opinion that inositol may be a well-kept secret when it comes to helping Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Inositol is described as a member of the Vitamin B family, although it’s not really a vitamin at all. It is made by the human body and has been shown to be effective in managing anxiety and depression.

One study showed that people with OCD and panic disorder had symptoms drastically disappear when given a dose of 12 grams of inositol a day.

Often in pursue of the right biomedical answers for LuLu, I feel like a dog chasing my tail. Inositol is one of those moments. Before we consulted with our awesome DAN! doctor, who knows more about... more

One of my friends called me tonight to ask my opinion about medicating her son. No, I’m not a doctor nor do I have any formal training in medicine. What I do have is 24 years of experience; parenting nearly a hundred children with various special needs. I guess you could say that I’ve come full circle. When my 24 year old son was in elementary school I’m ashamed to say that I looked down on people who medicated their children. I thought it was a cop out from involved parenting or from having to discipline your child.

In hindsight... more

“You know,” Super Dad commented, “LuLu is a great kid when she’s not out-of-control.” Yep, he’s got that right. And last weekend was great for LuLu. No explosions and lots of times when she turned around what could have been a meltdown. It was a nice conclusion to an overall peaceful weekend.

Friday, there was an explosion, though – a wall-kicking explosion that ended with another (sigh) hole in the drywall of our upstairs hallway. The effect of the hole explosion was immediate. I was on the phone about church business, and LuLu was upstairs... more

Call it DTD (Developmental Trauma Disorder) or call it C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), but just call it something! And call it something quick!

A few weeks ago I reported that the National Child Traumatic Stress Network had formed a committee that was proposing a new diagnosis of Complex PTSD be included in the new Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM). Today I came across an article about the... more

It is with the greatest trepidation that we begin on the journey of changing psychiatrist. We’ve been quite happy with the psychiatrist we are currently using for over a year now, so why would we consider changing? My daughter is turning eighteen very soon and will be transitioning to independent living. The psychiatrist we currently use is fifty miles away, so each time we go we have to make a hundred mile round trip. With the current price of gas she doesn’t feel that she can afford to make that trip.

There are very... more

In December, we received notice from our insurance company that we needed to start filling the prescriptions that LuLu takes via mail order. The good news is that she’s been so stabilized on the same meds that the doctor has prescribed them at the same dosage for 6 months straight – which raised a red flag in the mail order pharmacy computer that we were mandatory candidates for filling 90-day prescriptions.

The touted benefit of mail order 90-day prescriptions versus a 30-day supply through our local pharmacy is savings. So, it was with great excitement that I opened... more