It occurred to me that I never really explained what happened with Nikolas so hopefully everyone sees this. Nikolas has suffered from anxiety for several years. For the most part it has been controlled with medicine, counseling and love. Nikolas has been on a medicine called Venlafaxine for quite some time and it appeared to be therapeutic for him. Earlier this year Nikolas had an anxiety attack while on the school bus. He was taken by ambulance to the ER where anything physical was ruled out. Nikolas had a very difficult time weeks after that. He missed 4 days of school and could not function at all. After failed attempts to get relief from his psychiatrist we took him to Urgent Care and he was prescribed lorazapam which gave him fast relief. Another psychiatrist in the dept. saw him the next day and prescribed a similar med. which was intended for temporary use. It helped Nikolas get over this bump. He took it for about 6 weeks. Slowly, his anxiety started increasing in the weeks that followed. His regular psychiatrist decided to raise his dose of venlafaxine from 150mg to 225 mg. After 4 days he felt like he was heating up from the inside out. His doctor told us to go back to 150 mg. He then started having visual problems. (Focusing, dark spots, tunnel vision). I called psych dept again and his regular doctor wasnt in. The doctor that helped him the last time instructed us to drop the dose to 75 mg. He said the med might be causing his increased anxiety. From there he started focusing on physical ailments. Having me check and recheck his neck or heart. He started having severe visual problems, sweats, chills, muscle spasms, nausea, brain zaps, random body pains, depersonalization, feeling of losing himself, hopeless, etc. We were in ER twice, reg pediatrician, psychiatrist, psychologist, and even attempted chiropractor. ER prescribed lorazapam which helped the first night but not after that. Nikolas began to beg me to put him in a hospital. He said he felt like he was losing his personality. He cried and cried. Couldnt eat, drink, sleep or function. We had a failed attempt to get him in a hospital on Thursday night. Still desperate on Friday, we saw his psychologist. After explaining that he was denied hospitalization , he was shocked and took control of the situation. Within an hour we knew he was being admitted to St. Elizabeths in Appleton. We got him there around 5 pm and got home around 10pm. The doctor had to but him BACK on a small dose of venlafaxine to try to get rid of these withdrawals. It has helped greatly, but he still is extremely focused on his body. Hes convinced hes going to die of and allergy, stopping breathing or something with his heart. We had a family meeting with him and a counselor today. At first it seemed to go well, but soon we realized his fears were still extreme. He became agitated. I guess I had higher hopes for what to expect. I left feeling very sad. Nikolas will be starting a new med. tonight which he will take in conjunction with the venlafaxine. We were told we have to take this day by day. We dont know when hell be discharged. My relationship with his psychiatrist in Marshfield has been tainted for quite some time now. I requested a transfer to the other doctor that treated him and it was approved but not official until his first appt in August. I am so, so disappointed with many parts of the psych. dept. I cried and pleaded for help and couldnt get any. I feel they failed Nikolas miserably. I feel he wouldnt be in this position had they addressed this better from the beginning. Instead it manifested into this huge anxiety episode. Sorry for the book, but it was not just a simple incident of anxiety. Thank you all SO much for the prayers, kind words, and support. Its easy to feel alone and helpless when it involves your kids and you cant fix it.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 02:47:25 +0000
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