Mood Swings

[gypsymom]

Hey all more input/advice needed My son seems to have huge mood swings and I am trying to figure out the way to best handle them. He also has zero confidence right now... I am trying to figure out if it is because he is not feeling well and having a hard time with this recent diagnosis of Crohn's or something else. It is hard to deal with and is wearing me out.
I don't know if I should have him see a counselor or what to do at this point.



He is 8 and was just diagnosed in May.
On remicade currently, infusion #6

 

[my little penguin]

Finding a good child psychologist who deals with medically complicated Is a good thing.
Your local children's hospital should have a few on staff or be able to recommend one.
We started out going as a family so the kiddos would a have good place to express things .
It was great.

 

[Pilgrim]

MLP, how old was DS when you started and how long did you continue?

gypsymom - hugs - for you. No good advice but lots of empathy.

 

[DJW]

Hope it's alright to chime in on this one. I was young when diagnosed. It takes time to adjust. A lot of frustration and anxiety goes with it. I agree with MLP. A good child psychologist can be very helpful.

Sending both of you my support.

 

[my little penguin]

Ds was almost 8 at dx.
We started at age 9 since by then the drug therapy was undercontrol and we had time to breathe . We only went once a month -Ds learned relaxation techniques to deal with the pain of shots . After 12 months we stopped since for the most part Ds is fine with his dx and no real issues came up . But having someone outside of the family help him deal with the fact Humira pain only last 15-30 seconds so it's worth it etc... Was great for him.
Vocalized why he was sick and no one else was
Why he had to get bloodwork and tests when his friends didn't etc....

 

[malorymug]

My 14 year old sees a therapist weekly. It has done a lot of good for his moods. He looks forward to going and is so happy when he leaves. It started off being about crohn's but has turned into a whole lot more.

Our ped GI office has a therapist on staff. It would be worth starting there, if you decide to have your son see someone.

 

[mygirl]

malorymug, how were you able to get your son to see a therapist without a fight?
My daughter has crazy mood swings and zero confidence like gypsymom's son. Could it be from high school stress? (Maybe-I don't know?)
All I know, is that she should see someone but I also know she will put up a fight. Do I force her to see a therapist?
Help Me Please!!

 

[my little penguin]

We went as a family including a teenager who didn't want to go
Since it was a family
Less pushback as opposed to just an individual .

 

[malorymug]

I like MLPs suggestion of doing it as a family. Maybe once she starts, she'll like it. High school stress is so hard, mygirl, especially when one doesn't feel good or have the energy for it all.

My boy didn't have a choice, just like he didn't have a choice getting his blood drawn or any of the 1000 medical appointments lately. No discussion, no battle. And once he was in with the therapist she was able to draw him out. He loved/loves having the attention from the therapist.

The therapist has worked on all the early crohn's stuff (why me?), now we work on maintenance and how to live with this disease long term. How to handle stress, pain, fatigue.

 

[Mehita]

Mygirl - My son only agreed to see a therapist because his GI told him he had to. Hearing it from someone besides mom made it seem ok to him. Would your GI or pediatrician be willing to say something? Then, even though it wasn't a true referral, my son didn't know that and we acted as if it was part of this Crohn's treatment plan.

 

[Maya142]

My daughter also only agreed to see a psychologist because her GI insisted. She really didn't want to go and tried to get out of it for months.

We tried one closer to home, who was not a good fit. Then we saw the one her GI recommended who works in the IBD clinic. Initially M was quiet but her psychologist was great at getting her to open up and now M really looks forward to seeing her. It has been a HUGE help.

The key is finding someone who has experience with chronic illnesses. It also takes patience - M argued about going for the first month and then after that got used to her therapist and now really likes her!

 

[guest20]

I don't know if it makes a difference it's not that I'm not happy mean i realise i have the most beautiful and wonderful partner even if that's long distance,this illness and the other stuff on top of it gets me down mire than anything time's i feel like I'm coping reason's to lift myself out of bed than time's the symptoms like the breathing difficulty the fatigue the all over sicky feeling just get too much.My stuff began at the age of 26 can't begin to understand how kid's would cope with what is most probably a life time condition at such young ages must take away a lot of the enjoyment of being young don't reckon any physiologist vould explain why they ended up with stuff even adults find difficult enough to cope with fair play to them and i hope new year brings some kind of relief to all.

 

[crohnsinct]

Although we haven't had to try counseling, I agree it is worth a try.

Just wanted to also add that many other things can be causing his mood swings and/or depression.

Anemia is a big one for my daughter. I can predict based on her moods when her labs will come back low.

Also many vitamin deficiencies can add to moodiness/depression etc. Vit d and vit b12 are two of the big ones.

Maybe have his vitamin and mineral levels checked out also.

Hang in there! Between counseling and healing you may see a big difference!

 

[gypsymom]

Thank you all for the thoughts and ideas. His GI doctor does not want to recommend anyone because he is fairly new to this area so he thought his general doctor should but that is not working out either. I will find one though hopefully sooner than later
I appreciate all the knowledge & sharing here and just the fact that there are other people who get what you are going through.