Which would you choose...emotional health or physical health? For you? What about for your child?
This is the question we've been asking ourselves regarding our almost 13-YO Spicy Boy. In the past year he has gained 25 pounds, without growing taller. 9 of those pounds have come in the last 2 months while on Abilify, known to cause weight gain, but which has done a remarkable job of keeping a lid on his "brief, reactive psychoses" (yes, that's the term from the psychiatrist to describe his horrendous meltdowns). He is also on 3 other medications daily.
He also has a ridiculous obsession with food and has been known to pilfer, steal, beg, hide and cajole others into giving him food. One of our 72 hour kits is now bereft of three days' worth of Chef Boyardee. I even got a call from the assistant principal at the middle school, asking would I PLEASE put money on his lunch card? The lunch ladies can only be so kind, you know, to let him slide and get a free lunch a couple, three, four times. We really don't want him to go hungry. Okaaaay. Could I please have known after the first time?
I pack him a lunch every. single. day. There is no money on his lunch card on purpose.
Mrs. P. just said, "oh."
It is frustrating to repeatedly attempt to accurately portray to others (especially school officials) that we are doing the best we can with him, and we actually know what we're talking about most of the time. We get it. We really do. He is hard. And no, nothing is going on at home. We told you that before.
So we decided to take Abilify out of the picture this last week. The result has been awful. Glasses broken on purpose (not the first, or even the second pair to have such a fate), yelling, crying, and my favorite...being suspended today for hitting three of his favorite teachers...in the teachers' lounge...while having a special lunch with one of them...all because he was told he couldn't have candy.
So...which would you choose?
Fat and happy looks pretty good right about now. What am I supposed to do with him?
