Thursday, 1 March 2012

Results of Doctor Visit



We took Alex to the doctor to talk about whether or not medication would help with his aggression and self-injury.

The doctor was good.  Very professional and thorough in explaining the options.  It was nice to talk with a professional and feel that they were respecting you as a parent.  Not talking down to us or giving us false sunshine and reassurance.  Just explained the facts to us.

We have to choose between an anti-anxiety drug or anti-psychosis drugs.  If anxiety is an underlying problem and we go with the anti-psychotic drug, it will help mask the symptoms but not deal with the actual issue.  If it’s not anxiety, then the anti-anxiety drugs could potentially make things worse. 

Unfortunately, Alex can’t tell us what’s going on in his head.  He can’t tell us if he feels scared all the time or worried.  He can’t tell us if he gets hugely angry and can’t contain it.  We have to guess.  It’s frightening.  I don’t want to guess wrong.

The anti-anxiety drugs have fewer side effects.  But they take longer to take effect so we’ll have a longer wait to know whether or not it’s working or not.

It’s a tough decision. 

No comments:

Post a Comment