Asking for help....

[conuly]

A friend of mine is very worried about her daughter, who is diagnosed ADHD and bipolar and who seems to be getting worse all the time. That hair-pulling thing, what looks like the beginnings of an eating disorder, violence towards inanimate objects, suicidal thoughts - that's a lot to fit into 13 years.

I don't have any advice, and doubt I could help, but I know some of my friends are near experts on these sorts of subjects, so I thought I'd ask you to help. If you want to comment there, go ahead, but I gave her my journal's addy, so she can come her and comment and read your comments.

Comments

Re: My daughter

[(Anonymous)]

Hi. I just found out what has been happening to my daughter. We got the results of some tests back. She has not been taking ANY medication since right after school started. The time when the really bad stuff started. Now we know why. She has been palming her pills or spitting them out. No wonder she has been so unsettled and out of control. The doctor has talked to her, and we have a family meeting set up for tonight. All the grandparents and her father...everyone but her little brother. We have a close family, so it is best if everyone is involved so she understands we all care about what happens to her. Not that she shouldn't know already, but I want it to be a united front. She simply must take her meds. Look what happens when she doesn't. it's not healthy for her and it is not helping her relationships with anyone. Her friends and teachers have asked me about her behavior, too.
The child is a straight A student, Gifted and Talented, First Chair saxophone, talented little actress...you name it, she's got it. Her grades have slipped some, but frankly, they were less of a concern than her behavior.
She doesn't feel she should take medication. That's why she stopped. 8th graders are uncool if they take meds. Bless her heart. We're taking away the lunchtime pills, so she doesn't have to take them at school. I have to check her mouth every time she takes meds in the morning. I watch her take it everyday, I fix the pills. She has just been putting them under her tongue or something to fool me and doing the same to the nurse at school.
She cracked when the results came back and confessed to not taking her pills. She wants to be just like her friends who don't take meds and she has to accept the fact she isn't. She has to take meds. That is all there is to it. We tried for years to find some combination of things that worked and last year we did. She was feeling so right, she decided that she didn't need the meds anymore. Now we know the problem, we can try and fix it.
The Trichotillomania is another story. We've dealt with it before and it does stop when she is aware of doing it. It's just something she has to be aware of.
The doctor says the eating should get back under control with the meds. If not, we'll deal with it then.
Oh, I am so relieved. She is a wonderful girl and I love her so. I hated to see her hurting and I just wanted to reach her. Now, I'm off to the band hall to pick her up, fix supper, and then on to the meeting. :)