Losing control

It’s been at least a couple of weeks since I have last posted on this blog. As I predicted, we have been pretty active this summer and I simply haven’t had time. An update on Alma is well overdue.

Currently, we are dealing with extreme mood swings. Alma goes from laughing hysterically one minute to sobbing, yelling and slamming doors the next. I’ve had several people suggest we talk to the doctor about “tweaking” her meds. Not only is Alma on the maximum dosage for all of her medications, but changing medications and dosages also comes with a change in side effects. Essentially, we would be trading one issue for another.  We are not convinced that the benefits would outweigh these consequences. A lot of these opinions come from the day care and other “health care professionals” who want to fix the problem. Her doctor is fairly non-invasive and does not push extra medication. The grave reality here is that there really is no fixing anything at this point. All we can do is ride it out with her and work hard to protect ourselves from physical harm while comforting and supporting her to the best of our ability.

I mention “physical” harm because Alma is starting to lash out more. She threw a shoe at me the other day (luckily it was one of those Toms shoes and they are fairly lightweight). She also locked herself in the bathroom. We keep a key nearby so that she can not truly lock us out. On a positive note, these outbursts tend to tire her out pretty quickly so she falls asleep shortly after one. When she wakes up, she has forgotten that she was ever angry.

I do plan to continue posting her family recipes and will get back to that shortly. In the meantime, I do hope everyone is having a lovely and relaxing summer.