It's All About
MORGAN!
Questions?
Call Mom!
440-773-5910
Current Meds
A vital part of her health and wellbeing
dOCTOR AND Hospital visits
She has had (and has, ongoing) some pretty odd health quirks. Her diet sucks, she hates washing her hands, her immune system is less than tippy top, and mental illness comes with a host of physical symptoms as well... That all adds up to a lot of time feeling "under the weather."
If she is being particularly uncooperative, especially about leaving the house, it is very likely because she feels ill. She can't articulate it. Often is is best to just leave her be and try again tomorrow... If you really need her to cooperate, try getting Motrin into her, wait 20 minutes, and try again.
And then there are the sudden, "OMG - What the is THAT?!?" moments... which I have tried to list fully on the Healthcare Greatest Hits page
Morgan does her best, but there are things she just can't tolerate (like shots, blood draws, xrays, dental cleanings, blood pressure readings, and just about any other diagnostic test you can think of). Philosophically, we don't push it because our biggest life goal behavior plan is to lead her away from violence to herself and others, not corner her into situations that inevitably make her violent.
So every few years, we do an anesthetized outpatient visit for dental cleaning, bloodwork, booster shots and any testing needed. Everything changes now since she is aging out of RB&C, but click the button for a PDF that has all the accumulated anesthetization wisdom (it is a brochure we hand out in pre-op - have 10 to 12 copies ready, and you don't have to answer the same questions a thousand times - keeps info accurate and makes everybody happier - docs love it, and Morgan appreciates the less-talking).
Next time she goes under, we plan to have lined up an endocrinologist first (her last set of bloodwork showed it was time to consult).
Click the next button for the most recent social story we used to prep her for a hospital visit. A good social story with as much detail as possible is equally as vital as a honkin' big PRN dose of Ativan to get her in the door!
Social stories can also be a big help when she has an illness, letting her know what to expect. Letting her know that the symptoms are "normal" and will go away in time, and letting her know what is being done about it (e.g. added meds) makes her a much more cooperative patient.
healthcare
IMPORTANT NOTES ON MEDS
Allergic to Sulfa drugs (e.g. Bactrim)! Also probable allergy to red dye 40
Until very recently, we were limited in drug choices because Morgan could not swallow pills. Two major fails we have tried in the past (NO need to repeat... ever) are Depakote and Neurontin. Trileptal was not evil, but didn't seem to have any effect
++ Lithium, a drug used to treat Bipolar Disorder, is usually titrated by regular bloodwork. Morgan refuses to cooperate with regular blood draws. We weighed the risks vs the benefits (knowing that Lithium had proven to be a well tolerated "magic bullet" with other bipolar family members) and titrate by symptoms/behavior. It is by far the most important and effective drug in the arsenal, and worth the risk.
* Syeda (Yazmine) is a birth control pill used to smooth hormone fluctuations and stop her menstrual cycle (having her period greatly disturbed her, and she refused unilaterally to use feminine hygiene pads). The packets come with 7 white placebos, which are discarded - the Rx pills are used continuously, with no placebo breaks
** Lorazepam (Ativan) is a potent antianxietal. Morgan's prescription allows for up to an additional .5 mgs x 2 per day PRN for high stress periods, but due to the highly probability of increased tolerance, we use it very sparingly
*** Usually use 1 tablet of 5 mg Melatonin, but that size can be difficult to find. 2 x 3 mgs tablets works just as well
AM (No Later Than 9AM Currently)
1 Lamotrigine ER 200 mg
1 Lithium Carb 300 mg ++
1 Lorazepam 2 mg**
1 Vitamin D 2000 iu
1 Claritin Liqui-Gels (loratadine 10 mg 24 hr)
(5 pills total)
3:30 PM
1 Lithium Carb 300 mg
1 Lorazepam 2 mg
1 Syeda (no placebos)*
1 ProBio Gold
(4 pills total)
10:00 PM
1 Lamotrigine ER 200 mg
1 Lithium Carb 300 mg
1 Lithium Carb 150 mg
1 Lorazepam 2 mg
2 Clonodine .2mg
1 Melatonin 5 mg***
(7 pills total)
Morgan requires medications three times a day, at consistent times. Since she generally can't communicate accurately how she feels, I have cultivated and quizzed people with Bipolar and Anxiety Disorders, and have been told that consistent timing with the meds is vital. You can vary the times from the current schedule somewhat to better work within her new schedule, but, once set, stick as closely as possible to the timing. As one friend put it, "I can't 'sleep in' - I have to have my morning meds no later than 8am, so I set my alarm even if it is my day off. Otherwise I feel like crap all day long - jangly and just 'not right.'"
Morgan takes medication in pill or tablet form, with each pill tucked into a teaspoon of Mott's Strawberry Applesauce (and yes, the brand is important). She needs to have them spoonfed, and usually drinks some water after the last pill.
Pam Alexander © 2013