A Little Control

After a rage-filled night at the ball park on Friday night, I was beginning to get a little desperate to help Monster Man find a way to control the rage.  Since I coach his team, I have to be at the ball fields for every game.  Since my hubby is working long hours, Monster Man has to be at the fields with me.  And since softball is one of the few things he looks forward to all week, Monster Man does not sit out at the games.  There is no leaving him home when he's had a bad day, no having him 'sit one out'.  I knew I had to find a way to help him have a calmer day at the ball park on Saturday.

I think I've mentioned before that the kids' current insurance will not cover anything for Tourette Syndrome.  I cannot get him the additional testing he needs for school, the therapy he needs to help him learn to control certain behaviors, or the medications he needs to help with the anxiety.  His pediatrician had previously prescribed something very mild that is similar to a stronger form of Benadryl.  In fact, Angel Baby has the same prescription for when she has allergic reactions.  In Monster Man's case, the medicine is supposed to be used to help mellow him out when his anxiety starts up.  We had never given it to him before because I'd never seemed to have it with me in cases when he ended up needing it, and I've had to talk him through controlling his breathing to help calm him down when I couldn't easily remove him from the situation.  I wasn't really sure how well the medication worked, but I decided that if it was supposed to help calm him down when the anxiety attacked, maybe it would help with the rage.

Before heading to the fields on Saturday morning, I gave him a dose of the medicine.  Within 30 minutes, he actually seemed happier than he had in days.  He was laughing and telling jokes with his sister, rather than yelling at her every time she even looked his direction (the way he had been for over a week).  When we first got to the fields, he wanted to love on me and kept giving me hugs rather than glaring at me and yelling over every little thing that didn't go his way.  During his game, he only had two minor setbacks, nothing compared to the experiences he'd had a week earlier.  He was able to calm down much quicker and to get back under control.  In fact, he told me that he felt more in control of his emotions than he had in a long time.

This particular medicine is not going to be a daily thing for him.  It is still going to just be used on days when he needs more help controlling his rage.  It now has a home in my purse, where I can easily find it and distribute it when he's starting to have a meltdown (hopefully before he goes in full rage mode).  It isn't a long-term solution, but I know it's there if we need it.  It's comforting to know that we have finally found something to help Monster Man for now.