The roller coaster ride

It seems weird to post about a boy in a good mood, but it really is a big deal. We've been dealing with either depression or severe anger. Holland's meds have been changed so much, which I just hate. Our trip in March to Hawaii was brutal. He was so depressed on that trip, which sounds impossible to do. It continued like this for 5 or 6 months. Meds were changed again and then he seemed so out of control, angry and got very physical.

Over a year ago, we had tried Lithium, which is a pretty common drug for bipolar. But it gets tricky in children, because there have been so few studies with that age group. Basically drugs are given according to a person's weight, so meds for kids are usually just proportionately reduced. I had never seen such an improvement in his mood and demeanor. At some point we had blood work done and he had developed hyperthyroidism. Our doctor didn't feel it was worth the risk to deal with a thyroid problem, so we dropped the Lithium.

A few days ago we were going through another medication change and I asked about going back to Lithium. Doc asked if I really had seen that much improvement. Yes, I assured him, it was the biggest change I'd seen. He's been on it for 3 days at about 1/3 the dose he will be taking and I cannot believe the improvement. He's more himself. He was cracking jokes in the car today; he didn't get angry when his sister was poking him; he didn't come unglued when I told him he couldn't download a game on the computer. He almost seems more rational, if that's possible. We may even get to do Christmas Eve/Day this year without leaving early.

We still have to monitor his thyroid, but the doctor thinks if it becomes an issue, we'll treat it with meds. We may finally see an end to the ever-changing drug cocktail.