When Lexi was first diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder we put him on a very small dose of Zoloft. This medication made my son absolutely manic. He stopped sleeping and would stand in the middle of rooms laughing like crazy and just pee on himself and laugh some more. Although my son was intense with autism, these symptoms had not occurred prior to this medication. Sadly, my son has never slept well since. Some experts suggest that those prone to bipolar can be triggered by either Zoloft or Prozac. I am not sure if this occurred but I will tell you whole heartedly that my son has never been the same since.
A few years later we tried Risperdal. Risperdal is an anti psychotic medication. After finally getting in to see the UC Davis MIND Institute the doctor felt that medication might help Lexi with his rage issues and would support him as he grew stronger. I went for a second opinion to the experts at Stanford Children's Hospital. They agreed and we began a low dose of Respirdal. Lexi's rage issues went away and he was able to go into public places without meltdowns and anxiety attacks. It was fantastic. I remember going to an amusement pizza place in our local area where once I dragged him out screaming like he was on fire because it was so loud and chaotic and on the Respirdal he was playing, smiling and laughing with his sister. It was SO wonderful to see him enjoy himself and be a part of the world. Within 6 weeks on the Risperdal, Lexi had gained 24 pounds. His liver test showed the medication was harming his liver and beginning to start the early signs of diabetes. We weaned him off of the medication. Lexi has never lost that weight and he still borders pre-diabetic physical conditions today, that was six years ago. Once again, my son has never been the same.
Next we tried Abilify. Similar to Risperdal, this medication is in the anti psychotic family but is not supposed to cause the pre-diabetic situation and weight gain. After only two weeks on this medication my son began to facially tick. He had already sort of had some physical ticks and obsessive behaviors due to the autism but these ticks were different. He would snap into these facial contortions and his limbs would jerk and twitch. Even when he slept, his body would twitch. Apparently, this is a side effect of Abilify for some people. We quickly weaned my son off of this medication. It took about four years for the twitching to fade. He now ticks in ways that are less noticeable. He pops knuckles and twitches his knee or feet or hands. Again, my son has never been the same.
Since my son's diagnosis ten plus years ago I have also sought out every alternative method of healing I could find. He has seen osteopaths, homeopaths, naturopaths, curative eurythmists, spiritual healers and more. We have given vitamins, herbs, oils. He has listened to tones, music, been massaged and held and prayed over. I can not go into the myriad of straws that I have grasped at in order to help balance and unlock my son. Some I saw small results, some I saw no results. I do not regret trying it all. Perhaps some of these alternatives have kept my son out of the horrible state that doctors advised me he would end up. He is very highly verbal, can make eye contact, has learned how to tell a joke and more that I was told a kid on the spectrum could never be expected to do. None of these alternatives were able to help with the mental illness, however. I will correct myself by saying, none of these alternatives have shown any noticeable difference in saving my son from the torturous spiral of mental illness that he has been on for the last 15 months.
Since March, my son has tried the ADD medicine Stratera, for sleep he was put on trazadone, chonadine and attivan all at different levels and combinations. Finally, with the correct diagnosis he was put on Lamictal and Geodon to help control the mood imbalance and the violent rages. The geodon immediately caused him to shake and have painful hiccups. One missed pill and he was attempting suicide so we decided not to take him off of it even though all warnings say to stop immediately if shaking as a side effect occurs. The Lamictal is a powerful newer medication for bipolar that has little side effects but the one to watch for is a deadly rash. One must go on the medication very slowly or the rash can occur and for some it may never go away. With amazement, no rash occured and he is now finally up to a therapeutic dose.
The Lamictal and Geodon were not quite doing the trick for Lexi. While they helped SOME, they still did not stop the suicide attempts, the parasuicidal behavior, the deep depression and spikes of energy. More concerning was the hallucinations that came before medications started and seemed to come more frequently and more intensely. None of the previous meds were able to address the depth of challenge my son was facing. My poor son was terrified, exhausted and feeling more and more hopeless every day. This last time to the psychiatrist, she upgraded the bipolar diagnosis and added a new medication.
The new medication is one that has not been tested on children or teens. It is brand spanking new and kind of hard core. It is supposed to be low on side effects. He started this medication a week ago and after 24 hours he began seeing relief. It took a few days to get to some serious relief but so far, he is seeing relief from some of the intensities. His hallucinations have almost completely gone and the ones that remain are mostly harmless. His depression seems to have lifted and his suicidal tendencies and self harm are completely gone. We have had four days of almost normalcy. Now I qualify that by saying all of the autism symptoms are still there but the gripping darkness and instability have melted to minimal at best. He is sleeping more at night then he has in years. He smiles and laughs and has hope again. He ASKED to go to church today and even was able to sit through the sermon.
I am not sure what this medication does completely and how it works as far as whether or not the initial impact is long lasting but I am grateful for the improvements. Like Lexi, I am beginning to have hope again. He is currently on Fanapt, Lamictal and Geodon with the hopes of slowly weaning him off of the Geodon due to the negative side effects. The prognosis is still bleak and the severity of his illness is still grave. Life is fragile. Yes, he is medicated. Yes, I have tried alternative methods. Yes today was a good day. Yes, I hold out for hope.
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