Thank you char
Posted by bejoy (Member # 11129) on :
Wow, Char. Here's to you as a mom.
Some suggestions: You'll have to see if any of these make sense in your situation.
1. Back flower remedies - they have some good ones for helping a child calm down from anger
2. Chamomile tea and warm milk
3. Make sure his blood sugar does not get too low. Try not to let him get hungry, or even go to long before breakfast.
3. Put them in water. Ease them into a warm bath, or pop them all clothed into a running shower, whatever works.
4. Hold on tight to the child until the fit is over, for a small child. I'd do this only very carefully, with backup, love, and patience. Sometimes a child needs to feel that someone is bigger than him, when his emotions feel as big as the universe. (If done with love, this can be extremely comforting, but with any emotion other than love, this could terrify the child even more)
5. Take a time out yourself. Let him rage in the other room while you go breathe. Go to general support as often as needed to tell us how you are coping, and get some care.
Posted by lymemommy (Member # 12495) on :
C3,
I don't have much time to write right now, but the first thing that pops into my head is, are your children being treated right now?
If not, perhaps you can get them in to see someone else and have them tested, so that if they do have lyme, they are not going to wait several months for tx.
Besides behavioral stuff, what other symptoms do your children have?
Behavioral stuff can be a part of lyme for kids, but there are physical sx as well.
I'll respond again later, I have to go now... kp
Posted by lymednva (Member # 9098) on :
My middle child also was very strong-willed when younger. As an adult he has mellowed somewhat, and his psychiatric issues are no being treated, so he's much nicer to be around.
We haven't dealt with the Lyme issue due to his difficulty in finding permanent employment with benefits. His COBRA ran out and he is currently uninsured, although I think he may qualify for Medicaid at the moment.
I think he has Lyme and at least Bart, congenital, or from breast milk. Other problems he has had since birth make me think that it's probably congenital.
When he was young a good friend told me to "pick your battles." I quickly learned to let go of some of the stuff that really didn't matter, such as which color glass he wanted. He always liked green, so that was easy!
Meanwhile, try to give yourself some special "me time" where you can get away and pamper yourself, or even go window shopping, see a movie, with a girlfriend, etc.
When you are renewed yourself you will find it much easier to deal with his outbursts.
I agree that finding someone who might treat until he can get him with Dr. J would be a wise idea.
Sending you hugs
You will survive this one!
[ 11. November 2008, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: lymednva ]
Posted by Wimenin (Member # 15294) on :
Just some top of my head questions...
How old are your kids?
How long have the spats been going on?
Has there been a progression of all symptoms, or just neuro-rage related?
Have they been positively diagnosed with lyme?
Are they on any medications?
Whats the home life like with the kids around, and not around?
Are they wild all the time, or just at home? Do they have school issues as well?
Im just trying to get a better picture of whats going on in order to help with some parental/lyme advice...
Thanks!
Posted by c3mom (Member # 16412) on :
Thanks for the replies and advice. I have had
Lyme 20+ yrs and am on 8th month of abx. The
kids all have their special set of symptoms. The
middle child has had numerous unexplained
fevers, hot ears and various joints of off and
on hurting. Does he have a diagnosis? No. But, I
do suspect it due to me and his symptoms. My
oldest child has monthly migraines and exczema
(sp?). My youngest has definite speech problems,
stomach pain, different limbs hurting. He
doesn't sleep well either. This past summer he
had an inflamed hip and everything checked out
fine. I asked for a lyme test, but was told we
didn't have Lyme in Ohio. I shut my mouth and
let them do their testing. We had an appt today
with infectious diseases, but I canceled. I
figure I'm better off saving my $ for one
thorough test rather than many tests that may or
may not give the correct dx.
Back to my middle child. There has been a slight
progression of the physical symptoms, but the
rage seems to be dominating for now. He's fine
at school, but at home and other public places -
No. It seems to me as I'm and his father are his
instigators and I don't why. We have a very
normal happy life. I go out of my way to make
sure I have happy kids. I'm fortunate enough to
be handling my abx fine so far. There are many
days when I'm sick and I grin and bear it. Not
to pat myself on the back, but I try not to let
what I'm experiencing affect them to much. Is
there another LLMD close to me that you can
suggest and do they treat children?
Thanks Char
PS My husband needs a Dr. too. I had a post on his
bruises - which I now believe was a bulls eye
rash and he has physical symptoms as well. Like
I said we are a Happy Lymie Family.
Posted by SmurfyMom (Member # 13688) on :
I have congenital Lyme and had the rage as a child. My mother and I fought basically my whole childhood and through the teen years.
My two children have congenital Lyme. My oldest has not had rage issues, but my youngest?
To the extreme! All that you said only amplify it about a dozen-fold. Since he was 3y. He will be 10 next month.
It was probably made worse by multiple short courses of steroids to control his asthma. (I did not know about the Lyme at the time.)
I have tried EVERYTHING... for 6 years. I've even called the police on him to try and 'scare' him enough to control himself better.
Granted that was before we were sure it was Lyme, but still...
It got so bad and stayed that way so long I seriously was considering a boys home/ranch for him.
There was just no way I could give him what he needed, especially with my health going downhill quickly.
Praise the Lord we are seeing improvement now finally!
For my son what has made the difference was anti-depressants.
He also had SEVERE anxiety all these years which disappeared almost completely after about a month of doxycycline and ceftin.
It was at that point we added the anti-depressant and I kid you not in 2wks I had a 100% different child!
For the next several weeks he was THE most polite, well-mannered, helpful, obedient, happy kid. His only behavior issues were unthinking things like playing with objects that were dangerous or climbing up on the roof for fun.
Basically treating the depression (which was the root of the rage) let his ADHD symptoms come out full-force.
He was burning badly during the one hour of sunblocked outside time he had at school each day, so we switched his doxycycline to zithromax and by day 5 the rage was back. =(
We're now in the process of tweaking his meds to get the happy, well-behaved little rambunctious boy back.
It looks like we're on the right track again finally after weeks. He's currently off the zithromax and we upped his anti-depressant dosage a good bit.
The doc doesn't know if what happened was because of the anitbiotic switch or just the end of the so-called 'honeymoon' phase of the anti-depressant and so he needed a bigger dose.
In the worst rages, I have had to physically hold him down to keep him from hurting the rest of the family (throwing, kicking, hitting, biting, etc) or himself (running out of the house into the street and around town, breaking glass, etc).
In between... just like your son... the sweetest, most compassionate little guy you've ever seen.
The family has called him Jekyll/Hyde for years. We've always said his moods can turn on a dime and for NO reason.
His doc said that was a common presentation of depression in kids his age.
Good luck!
Chris
Posted by c3mom (Member # 16412) on :
Wow, thank you guys for the informative helpful
responses. It's reassuring to know that I'm not
alone. Unfortunately this horrible disease is
affectng our sweet ones, but thru our trials we
can band together and move on.
Again, Thank you Char
Posted by JudyEric (Member # 4070) on :
My son became gluten intolerant when he first was treated for Lyme in 2002. A couple of years later we did a gluten challenge (i.e. had him eat wheat daily) and he became a different child. He was very angry and emotionally unstable. Once we learned he still had a problem with gluten and he went back on a gluten free diet he was his happy agreeable self.
Unfortunately we learned last winter that he still has Lyme and now he is intolerant of gluten, dairy, soy, eggs and nuts. It seems to me that many with Lyme also have a problem with gluten.
Maybe you could keep a food diary to see if the rage seems to occur more frequently after he eats certain foods.
--Judy
Posted by Shosty (Member # 12232) on :
I still don't have a feel for how old your kids are. It makes a difference.
What you describe could have many different causes, including food allergies (as someone said), bipolar illness, depression, puberty and developmental issues, and infections. It is hard, but you will have to keep them all in mind, because it will be a while before you know, if you ever do.
Posted by tickbattler (Member # 14873) on :
Char,
Your son sounds much like one of my twin boys who also has become increasingly difficult to deal with. He has always been the most "spirited" but when he became sick with lyme the spirited behavior turned oppositional.
When he is having symptoms (which is every day), he fights me on everything. But for part of the day, he is sweet. I have also described him as Jeckyl and Hyde.
I just recently posted about his more aggressive and violent behavior since starting Mepron 3 weeks ago.
My son's ears also turn red like your son's. I would try to get some kind of treatment started if you can before you see Dr. J. (All of my 3 children see Dr. J as well...you will be in good hands!).
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)