Not Again

Yesterday, as I was finishing lunch, Chica Marie’s psychiatrist called me. She hasn’t been in the office last week when I called after our stint in the hospital. She understood where the hospital psychiatrist was coming from. She had noted, but not spoken to me, about the potential need for Chica Marie to try a mood stabilizer. She isn’t 100% certain she would diagnosis Chica Marie as bi-polar yet, but she does think there is more going on than just your run-of-the-mill ADHD. So, she promised to call in a script for a new medication. She warned me that the insurance might not cover the medication and they might require lab work, specifically fasting blood work. Lovely. When Chica Marie was younger she had an issue with lead and needed monthly or bi-monthly samples taken. Often times it took me, Primero and three nurses to get the blood drawn. Still, if it will help her, we will find a way to make it work. Not long after I ended the conversation with the doctor, the pharmacy called. They said the insurance was not willing to cover the medication. I guess the insurance company would rather pay for another hospital visit? The pharmacy said they were contacting the doctor to provide more information to the insurance company and suggested I contact the doctor’s office in a few days to follow up. The thought of having to fight the insurance company on top of everything else going on makes me both furious and even more stressed out.

 

Saturday evening Chica Marie was going to sleep-over at a friend’s house. We went to spend time with the family, who we met at baseball the past spring, who was hosting a bon fire and s’mores in their backyard. Love Bug and I left around 10:30. We picked up Primero and headed home. When Chica Maire had packed for the sleep-over I decided to not send along her medication. I thought she would stay up with her friend and then they would both crash together. I didn’t want the parents worrying about giving her pills or anything like that. I didn’t want her to have to explain to her friend. I honestly, stupidly thought it would not be a big deal. At 12:15 the friend’s mom called me. Chica Marie had been asked to settle down and go to sleep. She refused, telling the mom she needed pills to sleep. The mom said I didn’t give her any pills. So, Chica Marie asked to go home. I went to pick her up. I talked to her about her mentality around the pills. They are not sleeping pills, like Ambien or anything similar. They might help her feel a little more relaxed and ready to sleep but I worry about making it a habit so that she cannot sleep without taking pills. I did not give her the pills when we went home. She fell asleep in the van as we drove home. I want to try to work on a better get-ready-to-sleep routine and rely less on the medication. I worry about her mentality about the pills and it’s something I plan on discussing with her doctor.

 

Last night I had Primero watch the kids while I went to the chiropractor. I ended up having the wrong day, although I think the secretary got the schedule wrong, but even in the short amount of time I was sitting and waiting, Chica Marie began acting up. She had asked Primero for a peach and he had said no. When I got home she was having a total fit in her bedroom, thrashing about and screaming much like she had been the week before. I asked her to take a few deep breaths and if she could sit quietly at the table, I would let her have a peach. Ten minutes later she is still thrashing about. I had left the room to change and charge my phone. I told her I was going to make dinner and invited her to sit quietly at the table for a peach. After another 10 minutes of screaming and throwing things around her room, she came and flopped in a chair at the table. I asked her a question and she began screaming again, so I asked her to leave the table. She did this two more times before she was sitting quietly. I pealed a peach for her and she ate it and magically she was back to normal. This made my blood boil. I was furious. She could turn it off just like that? Forty-five minutes of screaming and throwing things and rolling around on the floor like an animal, just to get her way? I told her to go to bed. I was done.

 

She stayed in her room for about 30 minutes before she began whining and wanting to come out and watch TV. She apologized 3 times, thinking it would get her out of her room. I did not relent. When she started ramping up again, screaming and stomping around her room, I gave her the pills she claims she needs to sleep. She spent another 45 minutes screaming and trying to get my attention before she finally fell asleep. I feel like I have no patience left with Chica Maire. I don’t understand how she can be so inconsolable and acting irrationally, and then *poof* turn it off and be just fine. I don’t know if medication will help her, but we have an intake with the new family based team this week, so I am hoping they can help.