More control

We had another softball game on Saturday morning.  The past few weeks at softball, as I've mentioned, had been filled with on-again/off-again episodes of rage.  One of the big things we were dealing with as a result of the rage was that Monster Man didn't want anyone touching his softball equipment, nor did he want to share his treasured spot on the pitcher's mound.  He skinned his knees up pretty badly early in the week last week and was still having problems walking as a result, so I'd been warning him for a few days that I was going to put him in the outfield so he didn't have to run as much.  At first, he was okay with it, but as game day rolled around he let me know that he was not happy at all with this arrangement, and he kept begging me to put him in the pitcher's circle.  He even went as far as refusing to get dressed Saturday morning until the very last possible second, when I threatened to take him in his pajamas (I've mentioned before that I am coaching, so I have to be at the fields).  He was NOT playing if he couldn't be pitcher.

Once at the fields, he sat in a chair and pouted while watching Angel Baby's game.  During that time, I decided to go ahead and give him another one of the anti-histamine pills that he'd had the previous weekend.  I knew we had seen improvements at the last game thanks to the medication, and I thought it was best to give it another try. By the time we had to head to the field where his game was taking place, he was perfectly happy with me telling him that 'we'll see' about putting him in the pitcher's circle later in the game.  He went into the outfield without a single complaint.

The biggest surprise of all came when he was in the batting circle, waiting for his turn to hit.  The little girl that batted before him is one that he has been fighting the most with, possibly because she is the one with an attitude closest to what he's had recently, and the two seem to play off each other with their attitudes sometimes.  She is the one person that he fights the hardest not to let her touch his softball equipment.  So imagine everyone's surprise when, as she was selecting a different bat, he said "Do you want to use my bat?" and handed it to her!  And he didn't throw a fit when I decided to keep him in the outfield for the entire game.  Everyone was commenting on the difference in him by the end of the game - the parents, the assistant coach, even the other players.

The anti-histamine that he's started using when he needs help controlling his rage has been an amazing help.  I am so relieved that I have found something to help him control himself when his emotions get the best of him.

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.

His Worst Day Yet

Yesterday was Monster Man's worst TS day so far.  We were at the softball fields all day, as we had three games to play between the kids.  By the time I took him to the house of a friend that was watching him for part of the afternoon, he'd had three rough episodes of rage, and he'd developed two new tics.  His painful tic was back in full-force, which I think added to the rage he was experiencing.  While on the field for his game, I noticed he'd started a new head-shaking tic.  He was shaking his head, very similar to shaking it no, very hard.  He did this multiple times throughout the day.  On the way to our friend's house, he told me that he'd started a tooth-grinding tic, as well.  He was grinding his teeth in a way that wasn't noisy, but it was with enough force that it was painful.

He did pretty well at our friend's house, though all three tics continued to be a problem until he went to bed.  After we picked the kids up, we went back to the ball fields to watch the adults play and to let the kids play on the playground.  He had one more episode of rage during that time, and then another when we got home and it was time for the kids to go to bed.

By the time that bedtime came around last night, we were all ready for him to get to bed.  He needed to rest his brain and the rest of us needed to get away from the rage.  I also needed to get a chance to get away from seeing him struggle so much.  It's so hard to see him going through all of this.

Thankfully, today has been better than yesterday.  He's still having the same tics, but he hasn't had any problems with rage today at all.