Lauren, the good the bad and the ugly

[Renee']

Hey everyone
Well I have been away for a very long time. Things have been just crazy. I couldn't even begin to start to tell you. So I thought I would update you on the Laurenator.
She is 10 now...I can't believe it. Will be in 5th grade! I have been fighting all year to get this kiddo some help. She has not been sleeping, won't wear her CPAP. Had surgery for perm. ear tubes and one FELL out. She is severely allergic to mold which you can't avoid here. She won't wear her hearing aides and her sight is terrible. It has been one battle for me. She was out of control with her behavior but I finally found a wonderful doctor who is working with us on her ADD/Oppositional Defiant Disorder and sleep issues.

It seems puberty is sneaking up on us and they are asking me questions like what do you want to do. I have NO idea. I don't want to give her medication. We finally got her weight down and now they want to give her something that will make her go back up.

She is 4'2" 1/4
She is growing up and is a great big sister.

I have thought of you all and I pray you and your children are well. I am sorry I have been out of touch.

Renee'

[Pat]

Renee,
I know when John-John has a good nights sleep he & his mom are happier people Sorry you're having trouble getting her to wear everything. Idon't have any of those things to deal with, so I'm no help there.
I have a now 10 year old who does not believe in sleeping through the night. (Sometimes he does, sometimes he goes back to sleep, & sometimes he stays up..got up @ 3:30 AM.. like 2 nights ago.)
I use melatonin to get him to sleep. It's natural & I don't want to medicate him because he doesn't do it every night, just a lot of them. I know Bob's Charlie just turned 10 also is doing the same thing.

For those with older kids: Is this normal???

They want her weight back up? Why? I keep John-John down. He'd be happy to eat more (3 or 4 hotdogs if it was his choice).
Pat

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

{{{{{Renee'}}}}}} Good to hear from you I'll pray for guidence in this situation.

[sueb]

Hi Renee: I'm mom to Milly, 21 years old and DS-autism. When she was young she didn't sleep well at all; we tried Benadryl, Gravol and melatonin, didn't slow her down at all. After resisting Drs' advice for 3 years, I finally agreed to start her on a low dose of Risperdal - it was a miracle; she slept through the night and her attention span improved.
As the years went by, she did gain weight and, since we reduced the Risperdal, she has lost quite a few pounds.
She was really co-operative about wearing her glasses (wouldn't wear gloves though, had to sew them into her winter coat!) until she reached puberty, since then, she absolutely REFUSES to wear any glasses, or anything at all on her head. Teenage/independence/hormones kicking in???

Re: medications, are there any alternatives which would not make her gain weight? Or perhaps keep the dose small? Milly's weight seemed to increase when her daily dose of Risperdal rose to 1 mg daily (and it happened over years).
Not sure if any of this helps, the medication issue is a constant struggle, my girl is only 4ft 6 inches tall, so nowhere else for the extra weight to go except outwards!!! I try to always weigh the pros and cons, quality of life for BOTH of us is always my bottom line.
Sue

[Chris too]

Hi Renee!
It's good to hear that you are making progress on the behavior issue - that has got to make your life a bit easier I'm sorry to hear about the sleep trouble though. How likely is it that the poor sleeping is due to the apnea? I am very discouraged that the sheer number of kids (and adults, let's be honest) who so hate the cpap that they don't use it isn't enough to encourage some pulmonologist to come up with something better

On the puberty front: I give my daughters chasteberry to keep their hormones stabilized - and their moods LOL. Works for me too. It's also called vitex from the scientific name. There are no hormones in it of any sort, so it's much safer than bc pills. Here's a website about it: vitamins.ultimatefatburner.com/chasteberry.html - it's a site that sells it (I get mine from the local health food store) - or if you prefer the more scientific approach: www.aafp.org/afp/20050901/821.html

Best wishes!