Friday, June 20, 2014

Grad Dresses and Accessories, Just In Case

I almost didn't greet my hubby with a big hug and a kiss yesterday. I did my usual hi hun and a quick peek on the lips before entering the kitchen. I caught myself and gave him a big hug and a kiss. I really do love his hugs as being in his arms makes me feel protected and secure. When he isn't crushing me that is :) Lately I have taken to referring to him as the friendly giant as he still doesn't seem to have a good grasp of how strong he is. It wasn't his fault but I had allowed my son to put me in somewhat of a bad mood a little earlier. When I called to make sure that he was up and would be ready to be picked up when my hubby came home from work, he said that he didn't want to come home yet. His reasons? He wanted to spend as much time with his friend as possible because for the next two weeks he was going to be around people he didn't want to spend time with. That would be his Nana, father and sisters that he hasn't seen in a year and certainly not an accurate statement. I know that he wants to see and spend time with them however the residual affects of the Adderall is still causing him to have a negative attitude. Then he started making comments about how his father had had a change of heart and feelings, even though he hasn't talked to his father, and how I knew that my son had also had a change of heart a couple of days ago. I call this psychosis talk. When he thinks that he has the ability or the right to telepathically read and/or manipulate other people's feelings. It's hard to have these conversations with him sometimes. Yes I'm aware my son had a 'change of heart' as he was taken off the Adderall and decided that he didn't want to have a 'break' anymore. However my son doesn't like it when I bluntly make these comments. My version of the truth doesn't set to well with him when he is not stable. I ended up telling him to find his own way home then since I wasn't going to ask my hubby to come home then go back out again and that I couldn't have this conversation with him right now, that I loved him and good-bye. I hung up. He found his own way home later that night.

His friend called this morning to talk to him before we leave. Somehow my son got the idea that we were leaving this morning. I guess he misheard me when I stated that I hoped it would rain so that my hubby didn't have to work and we could leave earlier. It didn't rain, so hubby is working. I told his friend that he was sleeping as he had stayed up all night and didn't go to bed until after 5 this morning. I commented that my son still was not doing so well. His friend told me that he had noticed and that my son seemed to be in his own world most of the time that he was there and didn't even spend much time on his laptop. If you knew my son then you would know that that is not a good sign. They had spend most of the time watching movies. So what was the draw to my son wanting to hang out there longer? He can watch movies and be in his own world at home. No disrespect to their friendship but I'm betting that the lure of marijuana played it's part. It seems that his friend is actually trying to go clean and stay off the marijuana however his brother is not and recently I have noticed that my son is wanting to cultivate a friendship with the brother. Coincidence? I don't think so. My son has been telling me that they are going to be going to the gym together. I don't know the brother however him spending time at the gym is not something I have heard of him doing up until now. My son knows what I want to hear. If the thought of him going to the gym would make me more lenient or ask less questions about the friendship than I have no doubt that my son would perhaps elaborate on the actual facts. On a side note I must say that his friend when he is not drinking all the time or smoking marijuana is actually a pretty decent guy. In his own way he tries to watch over my son.

Hubby recently texted me and asked if my son was up. I sometimes wonder about how strongly that motherly instinct to defend my son can rear it's head in me. I simply replied with no. Much better then the thought of replying with: Of course not. You know that he is still not doing good. You know that he was up all night. You know that he needs his sleep so that his brain can heal... All true but my hubby doesn't think like that and tends to not think of the bigger picture. He just sees that it is now afternoon and my son is still sleeping. I'm happy my son is sleeping. If I hear him snoring that I know that he is in a deep sleep and that makes me feel better. My hubby's snoring on the other hand makes me want to grab a frying pan. Go figure! I'm hoping that he will sleep most of the day. He didn't take his meds until after 5 this morning. When I suggested it was time to go to bed he replied that he needed his meds. They were on the coffee table where he told me to put them the night before. Yet another sign that he is still not firmly in this reality. The overflowing ashtray wasn't reassuring either.

I think I have pretty much everything in order for leaving. Except for packing which I will be starting soon, after I do a load of laundry. Still have some juggling do to on finances. I realized this morning that our car insurance payment bounced. Yippee! I called to fix it but they haven't been notified by the bank yet so they can't do anything yet. Advised to make sure I have enough in the account to cover for when they try to resubmit it which could be anytime in the next 3 weeks. As long as we aren't on the other side of Canada with no insurance in two weeks. As much as hubby and I are looking forward to this, our first vacation together, financially it is going to makes it's dent. Between gas, food and lodging I'm thinking about 3-4000. Then there's the missing income of another 3000. Add that to our current debt of about 15000. Ok enough of the doom and gloom. We will figure it out when the times comes.

I tried on 4 dresses and sent pics to my daughter to see which one she would like me to wear to her graduation.


She likes the one on the very left with the buttons. This one used to belong to my mother and my daughter now wants it. Family airloom! (Her spelling) I will give it to her after the grad. I will pack that one and the one on the far right as there is also a parent brunch the next day. Maybe the red one too. Pulled out my hubby's khakis and they fit! All this nagging on him about what he eats is paying off after all ;) Picked out some jewelry which I probably won't wear. I consider myself pretty understated when it comes to accessories and such. I haven't had make-up on in I don't know how long. I guess I should pack what I do have. I realized that I have thrown out all of my heels. I just don't wear then anymore. Luckily I found a pair that was my daughters, that fit me and will go with 2 of the dresses. I guess I should pull out hubby's dress shoes and give them a shinning. My son's too. Guess I'm not as organized as I thought I was. (Pulls out the shoes and puts on the load of laundry)

I was just looking at my printout of my son's medical information that I keep on hand for emergency purposes. Main notes that I can hand to medical personal if needed. I should update it and print a copy for the road and for his father's house where he will be staying. Just in case. I sometimes forget and get complacent when things have been going good. I forget that just in case is an every day possibility and not an after thought. The suitcases aren't going to pack themselves no matter who much I wish they would. Sometimes I wish I could live in my son's reality ;)

Mom
BarbieBF

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Hormones, cabin fever or just life?

It's 9:16 am and all my windows are open to maximize the amount of fresh air flowing through my apartment. I can hear the birds chirping and the sun is shining and it is quiet! Blissfully quiet, except for the birds of course. Both my hubby and I woke up in a good mood this morning. He made his bed this morning (air-mattress actually, that he has been sleeping on to help ease my insomnia since he has restless leg and sleep apnea), folded his PJ's and texted me a little while ago that his sandwich had turned into a ball of tune, bread and cheese but he was able to lol about it. I made the coffee and kissed him good-bye at the door. Much better then yesterday when he left for work already having a bad day that just continued. I have to admit that lately I have not been overly nice to my hubby. Everyday I give myself this little pep talk that I will not snap at him, that I will not react to some of things that he says that irks me and that I will be more tolerant and loving. Perhaps if I literally wrote it out like they used to make us do lines in school? Or wear an elastic band and snap myself when I do react negatively? I have seriously thought about doing both of these things since the daily pep talk doesn't seem to be working as well as I had hoped. My good intentions go out the window as soon as he makes a comment that irks me. I'm trying to figure out why they are irking me so easily. Personally I believe that my hubby does have some sort of thought disorder along with his GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). He himself acknowledges that he may have ADD. So I think to myself: Why can I not give him the same patience and tolerance I give my son? Maybe it's because I'm giving all my patience and tolerance to my son :)

Maybe I need to up the amount of tinctures and supplements that I am taking to help me with menopausal symptoms. I know that I have more patience than I have been displaying lately so perhaps it's my hormones? Although I'm pretty sure it's not that since I have not been experiencing hot flashes (I used to) and my cycles are awesomely easily now in comparison to what they used to be and certainly aren't happening every two weeks like they were. No other signs that it would be hormonal. Well that kind of sucks. If it was then I could up my doses of the tinctures and my ESTROSmart supplement and walah all fixed.

Cabin fever maybe? There are times when I have this overwhelming urge to get out and away from here. Of course at those times I usually want to scream with frustration as well. But then on days like today, I am so thankful that I am able to be a stay at home housewife/caregiver. I really do love it. I love taking my time doing what I am doing even if it's learning how to make homemade bread or posting on the forum or thinking about how I'm going to rearrange my bedroom. For most of my life I didn't have this. Tough childhood, college and job, parenthood, addiction, job... Never much time for just being me. So while I do miss the hubbub of working in an office and yes even the stress and responsibilities of someone always needing me for something, I can't bring myself to want to give up what I currently have to go back to that. I guess that rules out cabin fever.

I guess that leaves just life. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have many friends outside of my immediate family and the internet. Actually I only have one friend and she is my best friend. We haven't talked in a while but even if we do go 3+ months without talking we seem to pick up right were we left off. I haven't seen her in well over a year. How time flies. Honestly though this doesn't bring me down as I don't need more. I think life is sort of at a stand still for me. I'm not sure what I want to do in the future. As much as I am loving being at home I can't stay this way forever. Eventually I will have to rejoin the workforce and the longer I'm out of it the harder it will be. I think that plays on my mind much more then I realize. Part of me feels bad that I am not doing something more productive with my life. Problem is though that I don't know what I want to do. This is a new experience where I actually have the option to make choices, not just go with the flow and do. I picked my college program based on my older sisters choice since I had no idea what I wanted to be. Office Administration (Legal). Granted it gave me a good understanding of office procedures and legal terminology which has served me well both professionally and privately however I have not pursued a career as a legal secretary. Mind you I did get pregnant before graduation ;) Instead I ended up working my way into a Manager of Finance position. Not where I want to be either.

So I am here. Sure of my past but not to sure of my future. The support to do what I want if I can just nail that down. Social worker is certainly an option. More schooling. Then there is my son. I just don't feel comfortable moving forward with that part of my life until I feel that he is more settled on his path. I sometimes wonder if I'm making excuses to not move forward as how can I ever be sure of his path when dealing with addiction and psychosis. Day to day is a grab bag of... who knows?

I do have this nagging dream of being a writer. That seems to be all I have to say about that. I really need to figure out what is holding me back from giving it that old college try... Fear of failing...

Aside from the laughter and the sunglasses yesterday my son seems to be improving. He ate a good dinner which is always good to see. After dinner we all went for a drive to get my son his cigarettes. 5 more cartons so 1000 cigarettes. We last got him 5 cartons on May 25 so 3.5 weeks ago. So averaging a 2 pack or 40 cigarettes a day habit. He was actually coming down from that and was probably worse then that a year ago. However this latest journey into psychosis land means an increase in smoking. Hopefully it was start to slow down some as he regains himself. Hubby and I quit smoking over a month ago so sometimes it's a little hard to take. After the drive for smokes we dropped him off at his friend's place for the night...

One of those rare occasions where hubby and I find ourselves alone for the night and I wasn't being cranky. I even managed without the aid of an elastic band to not got irked so that I would not get cranky and ruin our chances of a 'good' evening together. It worked! Hubby and I had a 'good' evening ;). As a couple we needed this. He is my main support in pretty much every way and our relationship needs the attention. I was a little bemused this morning when I saw my hubby's PJ's folded and not on the floor as usual. A little attention can go a long ways. We both woke up happy and in love. Not that we aren't in love all of the time but life's responsibilities can sometimes get in the way of acting out that love.

I have the whole day and the apartment to myself for the day! Perhaps I will finally get my packing done and play Barbie dress up. I have no idea what I'm going to wear for my daughter's graduation. Other then that I think everything is almost in order for us to leave tomorrow. Hubby will pick my son up on his way home from work today. In keeping with these loving feelings I will do my best to great my hubby at the door with a big hug and kiss. I used to all the time. Somehow life just got in the way.

Mom
BarbieBF

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Wishful thinking, not out of the woods yet.

We may have sidestepped the storm but we are still experiencing some high winds or what I call residual affects. Yesterday he was pretty distracted at the doctor's office and seemed to have difficulty following and concentrating on what the doctor was saying to him. He has been chain smoking cigarettes. He didn't sleep much last night. He did get about 10 hours the night before but last night probably only 2-4 which isn't good after being awake for over 30 hours. He was up at 5 this morning. He did go to school however returned after 2 hours instead of 3 as he was having trouble concentrating. Some smaller things that I am also noticing include the fact that he has been leaving the bathroom door open again when he goes number two and he is somewhat resistant about brushing his teeth and washing his hands before leaving the apartment. After months of making this routine it's noticeable that he asks why I want him to do these things. Morning breathe for one! Then there is reminding him that washing his hands is just good hygiene. He is a functioning male after all, if you get my meaning. He has also had on a pair of sunglasses since 5 this morning. Not sure what that one is all about. He was wearing them yesterday too and I teased him with: It's so bright in here you have to wear shades.

I called his nurse this morning. I needed to let her know that the family doctor didn't have a copy of the ECG results so we couldn't go over them. She will send him a copy. I also asked her if she knew what anxiety treatment had been discussed between my son and one of his workers on Monday. The couple of times that he has brought it up me, he just wasn't making a lot of sense. First he told me that he was done with ADHD medications but that his worker said she was going to look into an alternative. I know that he doesn't want Strattera so that wasn't making sense. He brought it up again this morning referring to it as a supplement. I asked him if he knew what a supplement was as I have been trying to get him to take vitamins and other supplements for a year now and he resists all of them. So supplement was not the right word however he has not been forthcoming with what this alternative treatment or supplement is. He has been approaching it the same way with his main nurse also. What is it? Medical marijuana. Really not all that surprising however I was not thinking it. I really should know better. Where else would my son's mind be after having his addiction and psychosis triggered?

It was somewhat reassuring to have someone else note that my son can be pretty manipulative and he has said things on his own that is raising red flags and letting his nurse, and therefore his pdoc, know that he should not be prescribed stimulants. Within 24 hours of being on the Adderall he was already talking about needing the dose upped and that it was helping him so much with his concentration at school. I fell for that one too however I guess he should not have noticed that big of a difference that quickly. He was saying what he thought we needed to hear. I let his nurse know that I didn't know until after it was prescribed that my son's motivation was in fact what he had read online about it's similarities to speed and that he didn't know until his appointment with his pdoc that he wouldn't be able to crush it. Yes he did admit this to me. She has already let him know that his pdoc will not be prescribing him medical marijuana. As usual I'm a little bemused over how my son approaches things. He discussed getting this with the person he figured would give him the most sympathy as I do believe she is the worker with personal experience with depression and has given him the most sympathy about his anxiety symptoms. In the end they all report back to his pdoc and take my point of view into consideration so I'm never to sure what he is expecting to happen. Wishful thinking I guess.

Another 'symptom' that I have been noticing and perhaps appears to be getting worst is that he has been laughing randomly and somewhat hysterically over nothing except perhaps his own thoughts or things that really are not that funny. Every now and then I hear him giggle when there is nothing funny on TV and nothing else is going on. Just a little while ago he found it extremely funny that I called the iced tea he was making lemonade. As I'm typing this he is in his room laughing. I have heard him laugh like this before and he was in psychosis at the time. He has also been 'playing' with the hamster a little more. In the past when not doing well he has wanted to bread them (we had two at the time) and train them and perhaps create souls in them? I really don't remember exactly what anymore. He did state that the one we have is his companion and will live forever. As I tend to do when things are not adding up and I know that he is wanting to experience certain things, I have searched his room for hidden, not taken, anti-psychotics. I couldn't find any however that does not bring me too much relief at the moment. As hopeful as I was it does not seem that we are out of the woods yet.

2 more days! I made arrangements to have our mail held for 2 weeks. Already submitted the rent cheque. Emailed the YMCA and let them know that my son would not be attending classes for 2 weeks. Have all of his pills. My neighbor said he would watch the hamster so I should talk to him and remind him of that today. Printed the hotel information and other things that we may need to know. I still need to pack. Dress up Barbie time!

Mom
BarbieBF

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Tinker Bell Syndrome

I am naming today's blog in honor of my daughter. My hubby likes to say that he is experiencing Peter Pan Syndrome. ScienceDaily states that it affects people who do not want or feel unable to grow up, people with the body of an adult but the mind of a child. Fits my hubby pretty good :). Yesterday on Facebook my daughter stated she had this but my hubby says it is for boys only. Not according to ScienceDaily but since Peter Pan was a boy... My daughter's comeback: Tinker Bell Syndrome!!! She has always liked Tinker Bell.

It looks like the storm passed us by. Whew! By dinner time (5:30 pm) the difference in my son after being off of the Adderall for about 24 hours, was pretty obvious. He was hungry and ate dinner with us. Still a little distracted but so much better then he was. When I was discussing with my hubby what I had been reading about Adderall triggering psychosis, my son stated that that wasn't good and that he didn't want to go there again and he's happy that it's been 10 months since he did. I was pleasantly surprised and voiced my thought that that was quit a change from his opinion the day before. He just said: Ya, I know. I also told him that he needed to talk to his Nana and let her know that what he had been saying about me wasn't true. He agreed to do so. I hugged him and told him to stop giving me heart attacks like this, that I don't like him scaring the crap out of me, granted it was not all his fault due to the Adderall.

We watched Game of Thrones last night. It's one of the shows out that my son likes to watch too so it is nice when he watches it with us. Hubby and I went to bed at our usual 9 pm. My son stayed up so he must have been up for a good 31 hours anyways. He was sleeping on the couch at 5:30 this morning when we got up. Usually I get upset about him sleeping on the couch but this one I will let slide. It's now after 2 pm and I just got him up as he has a doctors appointment with the family doctor to go over some of his test results.

This morning I rearranged my bedroom. I have been wanting to for awhile now but couldn't think where to move things. This morning I figured it out and did it. You never have to many options when living in an apartment with small bedrooms. Although this place is advertised as being spacious... *shakes head no*

We have to pick up my son's Clozapine from the hospital when hubby gets home from work. At the same time we go to see our Chiropractor for our weekly adjustments. I told my daughter that I was going to start packing today. We leave in 3 days to drive out to see her. 3 days! Woot! Soon I will get to see my little Tinker Bell.

Mom
BarbieBF

Monday, June 16, 2014

The Eye of the Storm?

I couldn't get my son up yesterday so hubby and I went and checked out a new park/picnic area on our own. We had a very nice afternoon of walking the trails, taking pictures and enjoying the fresh air. Got a little sun and I got to sport my prescription sunglasses and new sun hat that I got at the dollar store.

Returned home around 5 to my son just waking up. He isn't supposed to take his Adderall in the afternoon but I left the pill out for him when I went out and he took it when he got up. At first I was thinking that maybe I was overreacting about the Adderall since he seemed much better and his face looked much better so I thought 'Maybe he just needed time to adjust.' I was wrong. By 8 I could see it around his eyes again and he came out of his room and dived right into telling me how he was learning how to control his will. He had told me that he was going to go to bed around 10:30 since he has school the next day. At 11 I reminded him. At 11:38 I entered his room again and got: Yes I know, you don't need to come in here every 2 minutes... I asked what was up with the attitude. Of course this set him off. He was on the Skype with his Nana (Grandmother) and for the next 1.5 hrs I got to listen to him tell a bunch of lies about me. He told her that I was saying things like: Shut your F'ing mouth, I don't want to listen to your spiritual crap... When I called him out on this that it was a lie he asked: Why do you care what she thinks of you? He said that he feels like she is the only one that cares about him and listens to his problems. I said that is because she beliefs all of his lies and bullshit and he agreed. He was telling her that I was calling him psychotic when he was the one telling us that he was going to have a psychotic break. Honestly I'm still pretty hurt and upset. I can deal with and have empathy for a lot of this disease but outright lying and manipulating is not something that I think I should have to accept and certainly not act like it didn't upset me. He knew full well that what he was saying was lies. While I understand that this is being motivated by the Adderall, I still feel that completely disrespecting me and my feelings is a choice since he is not acting like this with other people. He is actually being really polite and respectful with my hubby...

Eventually I got back to sleep around 1 or 2 and I could hear that he was up and down. When I got up this morning at 7:30 he was still up. Asked if he could miss school as he had been up all night. He says that he took his antipsychotics last night which usually helps him to go to sleep. If he did take them and still didn't sleep then I don't think that is a good sign. It's 1 pm now and he still has not gone to sleep. Sounds pretty energetic actually. In fact he just told me that last night he learned how to 'burn off' the affect of his Clozapine so that it didn't make him go to sleep, that he could probably burn off poison. Perhaps a little dramatic but still an indication of where he is at mentally. My husband made him a burger yesterday which is all he had to eat yesterday and he hasn't eaten yet today.

I talked to his nurse this morning and let her know that I'm not giving him any more Adderall. Sometimes I find discussing my son with her a little difficult as she seems to have what I think is a limited understanding of how behavior and symptoms can be linked together. While I agree that my son's behavior is just that, behavioral, I also recognize that it can get triggered by symptoms. When he is not stable then his mood is not stable. She mentioned him not sleeping being a direct result of the Adderall. It's been 20 hours since he took his last one and about 8 + hours since it was in his system since it's shelf life is 8-12 hours. In my opinion it's the triggering of positive symptoms that is stopping him from sleeping. His mind is racing.

I let him know that I had talked to his nurse and that I was not giving him any more Adderall. I just told him that I talked to his nurse and told her what I have been seeing and that she supported me taking him off it. He wanted to know why. I told him there is no point in me trying to explain what I'm seeing because he won't let me anyways that he will cut me off as he doesn't want to hear or see my side. He actually dropped it...

So here we are. Things are calm. Is it the calm before the storm? I don't know. Have I gotten him off the Adderall in time? I don't know. Is he for sure taking his antipsychotics? I don't know. I can't trust that he is when I know he wants to go further into his own head space. One of his worker's is supposed to come by today and see how he is doing. I actually told his nurse that I was tempted for a minute to let him have an Adderall today just so they could see what I see. That look around/in his eyes is pretty hard to miss. I should know more by tomorrow when she talks to his pdoc. I let her know that I would be open to him trying Concerta which is another stimulating ADHD med as long as it doesn't work on dopamine the same way that Adderall does.

Keeping my fingers crossed that we are not in the eye of the storm and that it has in fact narrowly passed us by once again.

Mom
BarbieBF

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Fireworks

I didn't get to blog yesterday morning. I was a little distracted by my downstairs neighbor and her shenanigans. The night before I called the police to lodge a noise complaint as I could feel it in my floor again. That never goes over good with her. They gave her a warning and she threatened to sue them... 10 pm she is banging on the walls, just in case we wanted some sleep. 8 am yesterday morning she decides to put on her stereo with the volume low but I guess the bass turned up so at 8 am my floor is humming and then she goes out until 12, leaving the stereo on. Compared to what I usually have to listen to and what we were privileged to listen to until 4 pm after she came home, the humming was somewhat of a relief. Around 5 pm my hubby was putting together his new night stand and had to hammer 3 nails. By the 2nd nail she's yelling: Keep it down, show some respect, some of us are trying to live here don't you know, I'm calling the cops... Sometimes listening to her is like listening to my son when he is not doing well. I wonder if she realizes that she is admitting that somewhere in her head she recognizes that her own behavior is disrespectful.

My son spent Friday night at his friend's again. Just before he went we butted heads. I'm afraid I lost it on him a little bit. I'm really not liking the Adderall and Monday morning can't come quick enough for me to call PACT and hopefully get him off it. 4 days ago on Wednesday (2nd day of Adderall) when my hubby had picked up my son from school and on Friday, my son is telling us that he is going to have what we would call another break but what he calls his spiritual quest, within the next month, and that there is nothing that we can do to stop it. He needs to do this. He has been writing notes again on his computer. Some of it in code... Not a good sign. On one hand he is telling me that he has gone as far as he can go in his spiritual quest as he has all the answers yet at the same time he needs to have another break... My interpretation would be that he now has more questions. His voices seem to tempt him with the promise of knowledge if he does certain things. I really wish that he could see that this spiritual quest as he calls it only leads to more and more unanswered questions while life keeps passing him by. 4 years of looking for answers that don't exist is not enough? I threatened to video tape his next break. Honestly I'm seriously thinking about doing this. He needs to see what I see when this happens not what his mind makes up to cope with and rationalize something that in my opinion can't be rationalized. I remind him of the fact that he thought that he was a vampire, that he was literally chewing on my fingernails and that he was so distracted by voices that his head looked like it was on a swivel and he could hardly speak or hold a real life conversation. What is spiritual about that? What is spiritual about not eating or sleeping for days and thinking that the devil may be trying to take over your body? So yes I lost it a little bit. Apparently this was causing him to be too stressed and I was pushing him into a break. We have been discussing stress a little bit, since he started the Adderall, stress that he has been experiencing since he was 15. I think what he is calling stress is in fact psychosis. It seems to be how his mind is recognizing it. We picked him up from his friend's yesterday. His mood seems a bit better however I can still see it on his face and around his eyes that he is not doing good. He has a certain look around his eyes when he is experiencing psychosis. It almost looks like being high but is different somehow.

This weekend were we life is a music festival at the local park. Thursday to Sunday, 4 or 5 stages of free bands. Last night was fireworks that I really wanted to see. My mom loved fireworks. Watching them is a happy and a little tearful event for me as I feel like I'm watching them with her. She passed in 2001. We left around 9 and walked down to the park. I got my son out of his track pants and into a pair of jeans. He was fairly distracted most of the time while we were there. You can see it on his face and you can tell that he was having a hard time concentrating on what we were saying to him. Granted the park was packed with people and noise but still I know the signs by now and what I am seeing is not good.

Hubby is waiting for me to make up my mind on what we are going to do today, it's already 11:30! We have been trying to go to a park on Sundays when the weather is good. I spend to much time indoors and hooked up to technology. The fresh air is good for me and I think it is good for my son as well to be away from his computer and out in nature. I think my son was up pretty late again last night. I know he was still up at 2 so I guess I need to find out if he wants to or is able to get up and go out with us today. My hubby needs a new mirror for the shower for shaving and I need to figure out what we need from the grocery store if we are going to go the park today. Decisions decisions... :) I'm thinking we may try out a new park today.

I have been trying to edit the video I took of the fireworks so that my son is not in it however I am having no luck so I only have this pic.


Mom
BarbieBF

Friday, June 13, 2014

Little Red Flags and our old friend Addiction

I seem to find myself, yet again, in a fairly normal mind space of trying to decide if I'm overreacting or being sensible. I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I am a bit of a worry wort as I tend to over think or worry about the what ifs. I seem to always be on the look out for what I call red flags or indicators that things may be heading in the wrong direction.

I had a hard time getting my son up yesterday to meet with his nurse from the PACT Team. We have an agreement now that she/they will call me when they are on their way since showing up on time is not usually the norm and I don't like getting my son up if it's not necessary. So she called to let me know that she would be here in 20 minutes and wanted to take my son for a coffee. This was around 11 am. Getting him up was not easy so I asked him what time he had gone to bed. Around 5. On a good note, I guess my insomnia is getting better as I am usually more aware of him being up that late. 7 hours of sleep and I could barely get an answer from him that wasn't being punctuated with snores. As irritating as that is I consider it a pretty good indication that he is taken his night time medications. I finally got him up and out the door to meet his nurse. He wanted money. They will only cover the cost of a small coffee and that isn't good enough for my son. Go big or stay at home...

He returned from his meeting and asked for one of his Adderalls. He also stated that he wanted to hold on to them. Not a chance. I have made it clear that any type of medication that can be abused will not be allowed in my home unless I have control over it. If that is not acceptable then PACT can administer them or he can move out. Clonazepam/Klonopin and Lorazepam/Ativan among others, have been abused by my son when he was knee deep in his marijuana addiction. My son has low impulse control and an addictive personality. If he has it he will abuse it. Unfortunately that is how addiction works. I know I can't stop this forever however I can control it while he is living under my roof. On one occasion when we were discussing him being put on a stimulant and my reservations about it (I wanted Strattera prescribed for his ADHD as it is not considered to be a stimulant), he agreed that I would be the one in control of the medication since he wanted it prescribed but didn't want PACT administering it. So here we are. He got Adderall prescribed like he wanted. Now he wants to hold on to them. Ironically he does not want to hold on to his Clozapine, Risperidone, Lithium or even his Gabapentin. I know that he has discussed Adderall with his new (girl)friend from school. That is not a good sign. Regardless of what my son's pdoc has told us about how hard (but not impossible) it is to abuse Adderall, I am well aware that the reason my son wanted it is for recreation purposes not to treat his ADHD symptoms. His reaction when I said no to giving him the pill bottle. The usual: I'm an adult, I'm a grown man, You are being unreasonable. I reminded him of his own agreement that I have control and that I was not going to discuss it, that if this arrangement was not satisfactory then I will give them to PACT. He went to his room and closed the door. I was expecting him to slam the door but he didn't, so it's nice to know that my past efforts of discipline and boundary setting are doing some good. I am worried that the Adderall may be triggering some addiction behaviors. Strike that. I know that it is. I'm guessing that he didn't get the answer that he wanted from his nurse regarding upping his Adderall since he didn't say anything to me about it. I'm betting he talked to her about it. I also over heard him talking on his computer with someone about Adderall and sleeping pills. Phrases like: I would like to get my hands on some of those sleeping pills... Let me know what you find out... A little scary. Back to making sure that his pills are in my purse and that my purse is put away every night and certainly not out of my sight for any length of time. I don't feel bad for doing this because I do not trust temptation and addiction. When my son is being controlled by these things then it's best to be prepared, just in case.

A couple more red flags yesterday. Mom we need pop (soda) because there is nothing here to drink. Flashbacks to when he was messing with his meds, drinking and using marijuana and his mood was unstable causing comments like 'There is nothing here to eat', even though I had literally just done a $300 grocery shopping because I refused to take him to McDonald's. Apparently doing things like that is child abuse... Later in the day I asked him how a phone call he had made early regarding his laptop had gone and he responded by calling the lady he had been talking to a whore because she wouldn't listen to what he had to say.

I finally got around to making him an appointment with the family doctor for next week. Baked some bread and made spaghetti sauce, sort of from scratch. I didn't actually boil tomatoes since I used a can of diced tomatoes. Spaghetti and fresh bread for dinner! I know my husband and I enjoyed it. My son ate in his room while on the phone with the lady (whore) from Dell. I didn't bring up getting his blood work done yesterday. When my son is being moody it can be best to not bring up things that will trigger what I call his ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). When he is doing good he doesn't mind the blood work but when his mood is unstable then he gets mad that he has to do it to be on a medication he doesn't even want to be on. Hopefully today will be better and we can get that done as we are already a week late doing it.

For myself, I'm sitting her trying to mentally block out my downstairs neighbors music. She usually starts at 9:30 am. Thanx to a lot of hassle with calling the police (noise violation ticket) and making complaints, I don't usually have to deal with my floor and furniture vibrating anymore however it is still very intrusive and irritating. It's Friday so it started getting worse as usual last night. Dealing with this/her is having the resulting affect of eating away at my patience so I have less for my husband and son. Deep breathe Barbie... I need to walk to Walmart today and pick up my new glasses so hopefully the fresh air will do me some good. After most of my life wearing glassed and therefor not wearing sunglasses, I finally ordered a pair of prescription sunglasses. I'm excited! I finally get to be cool...

Oh ya. I added to my little collection of apartment rules and does and don'ts that apparently only I read. Apartment rules with resulting consequences are on my small coffee table for my son. It at least makes it easier when discussing discipline and I can point to the paper and he can't argue that he didn't know about it since it's been there for a long time. Does and don'ts on picking up after yourself and putting things away are on one of my kitchen cupboards. Yesterday I printed and framed a saying that I have been meaning to print for a long time. I'm sure if you are on Facebook then you have probably seen something along these lines before.


Mom
BarbieBF

Thursday, June 12, 2014

A girl and a broken desk

Later in the day yesterday as I watched my son and my husband put together a new computer desk I was struck by how nice a day it had been. I watched my son and husband read instructions, compare parts and overall just bond over some pieces of wood. Due to things beyond my son's control he has not had much of an opportunity to do things like this. It's times like this that I realize just how lucky I am. My husband isn't my son's bio father and I sometimes give him a hard time that he isn't understanding enough. He certainly understands much better then he did a year ago and I know that he does try. Without hesitation he took the time to be with my son yesterday to put together his new desk. Usually it's me helping my husband so I was fairly impressed that between the two of them they managed to get it put together, correctly. Three times my son thanked me and my husband for getting him this new desk. His old one had broken earlier in the day. I wasn't surprised when I heard the crash from his room as I had been in there tidying up earlier in the day and saw how unstable it was. Per my son: 'I could not have asked for a better desk, it is perfect.' And it didn't cost us an arm and a leg. $40 at XS Cargo.

I was tidying up his room because he was bringing a girl home after school. She is also attending the YMCA to get her GED or high school. My son brought a girl home! How cool is that? I even liked her. She was here when his old desk fell apart and it was her idea to check out XS Cargo. She helped him clean up the mess. She was polite, respectful and told me that I was gorgeous. Even thought my nitpicking at my husband was cute. Yup, I like her. Hopefully the girl she is showing me is the real her. Time will tell. She taught my son how to blow smoke bubbles. They are kind of cool. When the bubble bursts the smoke escapes. She came with us to XS Cargo and to McDonald's for dinner. She wasn't embarrassed to eat in front of us and finished my poutine. Did I tell you she thought I was gorgeous!

I ended up doing my son's laundry for him. It just wasn't worth ruining a day over me being black and white about him doing his own laundry. I don't mind helping him with it on occasion. We still have to do the blood work and I still have to call the GP. Yesterday got a little away from me.

The guy from Dell or Alienware showed up and did whatever to my son's laptop. I guess how the keys light up on an Alienware laptop is pretty major and my son's wasn't lighting up properly. I guess whatever he did may have made it worse... As long as it isn't costing me any money I'm letting my son handle it.

The Adderall... Some good and some bad it would seem. He liked the affect. Liked it a lot I think. He felt good all day and he noticed that he was able to concentrate on his school work and wanted to do it. This may be a first. Already talking about wanting the dose upped from 10 mg. He took it at just after 8 am yesterday morning so by 8 pm last night he could feel the affects wearing off. He didn't like it. Understandable. Whenever you get relief from something it usually seems worse when you get it back. He ended up asking for a Gabapentin/Neurontin. He has been on this since September. It's an anti-convulsant and he was put on it, I do believe, to ensure he didn't have withdrawal or seizures while being weaned off of Valium. It stayed. While we are not sure why he gets the relief/affect that he does it helps him a lot with his anxiety symptoms. I don't know if part of what he experienced last night may have to do with the fact that he is not used to being physically tired. He felt like he wanted to go to bed. Not a usual feeling for him. I'm wondering if his nervous system being stimulated during the day will cause a sort of tiredness or coming down as the affects wear off. Something for us to discuss with PACT today.

I need to make some bread today. Homemade bread. Yum! I saw a picture on Facebook of my sister's homemade dinner rolls and they looked sooo good. So I have been giving homemade bread making a try. My husband decided that he likes my bread for his work sandwiches so I have to make him some more today. Earlier this week I tried cinnamon raisin bread. My son says it needs more raisins and cinnamon. I think my favorite one so far is flax and sunflower seed. Flax seeds are supposed to be good for you and doesn't this look good...


Mom
BarbieBF

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

ADHD & Adderall *fingers crossed*

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is a step in the right direction.

My son finally agreed to try an ADHD med. I do question his motivation behind it as he has been pretty adamant that he doesn't have ADHD... Then after doing some research on ADHD meds and I'm pretty sure coming across things like 'Is Adderall speed?', he has decided that he might have it... I know my son pretty well and he actually admitted to me yesterday that that was part of the motivation to wanting to try it.

Sometimes it's not always why we do something but the end result that makes it worth it. His pdoc made it clear that the type of Adderall that he is prescribing is long acting, slow release and that it is a lot harder to abuse. Also if he abuses it then he won't get a refill prescription. They are also in my possession as that is the terms of stimulants in my home. I get to monitor the taking of them, or the PACT Team does. I guess it's a controlled substance and gets monitored pretty closely. I can't pick up the prescription for him and he has to show ID each time and I think may only get 1 month at a time. These regulations do give me some peace of mind.

He took his first one last night. 10 mg. He has been talking about a 'hole' that he feels in his stomach. Sort of like a void of where his soul should be or where he holds it all together... I'm probably not explaining that very well. I guess it takes a lot of energy to try and fill the hole or keep it together but last night after taking the Adderall he felt that ease up.

I have been told this his pdoc is one of the best for adult ADHD and we discussed some of the symptoms that my son has that he has been calling anxiety etc and has had most of his life. So my son may not have started to take this med for the right reasons however I am hoping that the relief that he gets from not having this hole in his stomach, not experiencing anxiety that may be a result of being under stimulated, and having the want to do something other then play video games, will be enough to keep him on the right track.

We also got the go ahead to decrease his Clozapine again however by 50 this time instead of 100 as we have to be careful, just in case, the Adderall does trigger psychosis. 

I'm hoping that he will find school today a lot easier with respect to concentration. He was late going today. Asked if he could be late as he wasn't feeling well yet when I asked what was wrong he said nothing. He went to bed good last night and actually got up with little prompting from me this morning. He seems a little more up beat then usual... I'm guessing the Adderall is doing what it is supposed to do and stimulating his central nervous system.

He asked for help with his laundry this morning as for him this is going to be a busy day. School this morning and he has someone coming to look at his laptop this afternoon. His bedding needs to be done anyways so I have started his laundry.  Perhaps we will get his blood work done today as well as it has to get done this week. Will try to schedule an appointment with our GP or family doctor as well since I think his ECG? results were a little high last month so we need to go over them. My hubby and I need some prescriptions refilled as well so family trip to the doctor! 

We went to see the new movie X-Men: Days of Future Past, last night. My son really likes to go to the movies. We almost didn't go as earlier in the day my son and I butted heads over the reason he wanted the Adderall and what his expectations of it were going to be. Certain things he said lead me to believe that he is in fact looking for a high instead of symptom relief. He didn't like it when I called him on this and we started down the usual road of me being accused of putting him down and being cut off every time I tried to talk along with negative attitude. That negative attitude disappeared pretty quickly when I pulled going to the movies off the agenda. Things calmed down and we talked and my suspicions were confirmed. At this point I usually ask him why he bothers trying to fool me as I know him much better then that and I really am not stupid. Anyways, I relented and we went to the movies...

Mom
BarbieBF

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

ADHD & Medications

My son was a little hyper yesterday. A fair amount of jumping around and talking a lot. He has always had underlying hyperactive tendencies. Sometimes they come out in a pretty noticeable way for a 20 year old. Seeing how high he can jump or wanting to show me that he can jump and reach the ceiling. I'm ok with this however it's the approximate 180 pounds hitting the floor that tends to draw my attention. One of his workers was here yesterday and noted how much energy he had. I think we kept her a little longer then she wanted as my son seemed to have a lot to say.

We have an appointment today with his psychiatrist to discuss decreasing his Clozapine by another 100 mg and adding an ADHD medication. I am all for my son trying an ADHD med however I am concerned about what is motivating him to want to try one. He has been pretty adamant up until now that he does not have ADHD. Then one day he asks me about Adderall and he really wants to have it before we leave for your planned road trip for my daughter's graduation in less then two weeks. A trip that he seems to think is going to consist of a certain amount of partying with his sister and father. Not particularly a realistic expectation but sometimes when he gets these ideas in his head there is no changing it. He will have to see for himself that neither his father or sister are going to go along with his plans of partying for two weeks. His father works and probably won't be taking time off work because he can't and his sister will be busy with her graduation. I am well aware of Adderall being compared to speed or crystal meth (street drug). I am well aware of how addicting it can be especially for someone with an addictive personality. I prefer the idea of Strattera since it is not considered to be a stimulant like Adderall and I have heard good things about it. The last time I told my son I wanted him on Strattera, he changed his mind about going on an ADHD medication.

His psychiatrist is apparently one of the leading doctors in our area on treating Adult ADHD so I'm thinking this will be an interesting appointment today. My son did a questionnaire a little while ago and according to this he has a lot of components of ADHD. He has questions that his worker yesterday was unable to answer so hopefully he will get the answers he is looking for today. I'm hoping that even if his motivations are not what they appear that he will still come away from this with a positive outcome. I have made it clear that as long as he is living with me that any prescribed stimulants will be monitored either by myself or a member of the PACT Team. I wish that it could be different however I do not trust addiction. As of now he is agreeable to this arrangement.

My son has spoken to me a couple of times now about the 'hole' that he is trying to fill with respect to his emotions and enjoyment of life. I worry that after experiencing psychosis and marijuana related highs that the normal range of emotions can be somewhat of a let down. I can relate since I do know how good being high can feel. In comparison normal is pretty mundane. I don't know if his Clozapine is causing a numbing down of his emotions, if it's a symptom of his diagnoses or if it's just the reality of being normal. I know that he has noticed the difference in his last decrease of 100 mg of Clozapine with respect to these feelings. I too have noticed that even though he is still continuing to make progress with his stability that he does seem to spend a little bit more time questioning what I will call the spiritual. I try not to overreact as he has a right to these questions and until it interferes with his progress then I do not consider it to be a symptom.

There are a couple of things that need our attention. One being my son needs to his laundry. We also need to go for his monthly blood work that monitors his CBC or white blood cell count. I need to vacuum and wash the floors today.

The sun is shining and the birds are chirping...

Mom
BarbieBF

Monday, June 9, 2014

Age of Anxiety

CBC News aired a documentary last night called 'The Age of Anxiety.' I did not watch the whole thing although I was pleasantly surprised to note that it was not what I thought it was going to be. My son actually brought it to our attention and it was his friend that brought it to his attention. My first thought was great. A show giving my son more ammunition to support his theory that his anxiety levels are through the roof.

On Saturday my son had returned from a three night sleep over at his friend's place. His friend is not currently residing across the hall with his father but with his mother across town. With these sleepovers comes some marijuana use and with this one, less medications. Each night my son did not take the prescribed amounts of Clozapine. He did however take at least half, which I am impressed with. Yesterday my son asked if we can go for a drive as he is stressed. I guess I don't always react to his liking when he says things like this as I asked with some surprise: Stressed about what?

My son: Stressed about life. I have been stressed for 4 years.

Me: I know you won't like this but how much weed did you smoke?

My son: Why do you have to put me down like that? I only smoked one puff.

Me: Do I have stupid written on my forehead? I know better then that.

My son: It was only one but it was from a bong and I got pretty stoned.

Me: How many pills did you miss?

Yes, he has been struggling with psychosis for going on 4 years. When he isn't smoking pot or drinking alcohol then he has some insight. Add marijuana and that insight quickly goes out the window. He is not experiencing symptoms but is being more spiritual. He is not going through withdrawal but has anxiety. He is not being moody, I'm being ignorant... I already knew that he would return with medications that he should have taken as he had called me and talked to me about wanting to dream therefor not take his medications as prescribed. Luckily he does not hide from me that he doesn't take them as I don't get mad about it. I can't make him and I stopped trying to a long time ago. I will however point out that his moods are altered when he doesn't take them or that he is experiencing withdrawal (what he calls anxiety) after using. For me the cause and affect is fairly obvious. He breaks the rules more. He makes more messes. He is more irritable. He doesn't sleep right as he is up and down all night and seems to have more night sweats. He starts asking questions about what I think happens to us after we die or where or what our souls are. He starts talking about things that two weeks ago he had decided that he was done thinking about as he has already wasted 3 years thinking about it.

Back to the CBC documentary. It discussed the DSM IV (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders). As I said, I didn't watch the whole thing however I did see them discussing the fact that anxiety disorders are being over-diagnosed. I have said it so many times and I tell my son that anxiety is a normal part of the human experience. We do not want to get rid of anxiety. It helps us to prepare for tough situations. Don't get me wrong. I do believe in anxiety disorders as my husband has GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). Every day situations cause him anxiety then he can not cope with and this has been going on for years. Why is anxiety being over-diagnosed? I have my own theories however I would recommend watching the documentary and forming your own opinion. My son didn't watch it to much past where they stated that anxiety disorders are being over-diagnosed... I stopped watching shortly after they were discussing Paxil and how it was being used to treat or get rid of shyness. Shyness is not a condition about myself that I particularly like however it is something about my personality that other's throughout my life have found very endearing about me and still do.

We seem to be back on track today. Two nights of being back on prescribed doses and minimal amount of coaching to get my son out the door for his GED class today, on time. Another good indicator is when he is able to take me being mom without turning it into me disrespecting him. I should be able to tell him that his alarm going off for the past 45 minutes is getting on my nerves without it being turned into how I'm being moody or PMS'ing...

Mom
BarbieBF

Sunday, June 8, 2014

It's Been Awhile

I haven't blogged since January and here it is June. 6 months, wow. I haven't written the next chapter of "My Story" either.

We had a small milestone at the end of April, 2014. My son has been living with me for over a year now. He is attending the YMCA to get his GED (High School Equivalent). He started going in March. Some days getting him out the door so that he isn't ridiculously late can be a test of my patience. We recently helped him to get a new laptop which is helping to motivate him to attend as part of the conditions of this laptop is that he attend school and pay me back. Until it is paid for then it is my laptop and I can take it back if these conditions are not being met. Some pretty powerful motivation I must say. So far he has not missed a day!

He has been decreasing his Clozapine, with the support of his psychiatrist. He is now down to 200 mg. Some time ago we started discussing ADHD medications. I personally feel that if his ADHD symptoms were being better controlled then things would be a lot better for him. He seems to have a pretty negative opinion of what ADHD is and doesn't think that he has it. My son has a lot of hyperactivity or excess energy that he does not know what to do with. He also has other symptoms that seem to be more ADHD related then anxiety or even psychosis related. Once his psychiatrist gets back from being away we will be looking into decreasing his Clozapine to 100 mg and possibly adding an ADHD medication. I support my son in both of these so hopefully we will be making this adjustment soon.

Marijuana use has been almost non-existent. Same with alcohol since my home is still alcohol free. His friend is currently living with his mother after a nasty fall, so my son doesn't see him every day any more.

My daughter is graduating high school! Wahoo! Planning a family vacation in a couple of weeks so that we can be there for her graduation. I haven't seen her for over a year so I'm definitely looking forward to it. My little girl is all grown up... *happy tears*

Mom
BarbieBF

Old Blog Posts from my previous blog

Blog Notes

July, 2013
First Blog
My sister suggested I start a blog and share my insights and observations regarding the experiences I am currently going through with my son. For now I will just a post a little funny conversation me and my son had today. He said “I’m beginning to see why people would think that all this power might cause insanity.” I replied “How about I switch that around and say that only insane people would want all that power.” He laughed and said “Good point.”  
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Anosognosia is a condition in which a subset of persons with schizophrenia (and bipolar disorder with psychotic features) are unable (not just unwilling) to understand they are sick because of damage to the parts of the brain which we use to think about ourselves. It is also referred to as a lack of insight or lack of awareness. Denial is a thought mechanism we all use to not pay attention to something we would prefer not to be true.
The difference between anosognosia and denial can therefore be summarized as follows: A woman with schizophrenia sits daily in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, believing she is married to the President and waiting for him to call her to come over. She believes he has to wait to acknowledge her because of the interference of Israeli secret agents. She is very patient and, at night, sleeps on the streets, where she is regularly abused. When offered medication, she adamantly refuses it, saying there is nothing wrong with her. This is anosognosia. Another woman, trained as a mental health professional, briefly examines some scientific data and concludes it is wrong because it conflicts with her deeply held social belief system. This is denial.
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Good morning. I slept on the couch last night not because of my son but my husband. My son mentioned he would like to cuddle with me. He was in bed so I didn’t but I did spend some time sitting with him. My husband thought this was ridiculous and inappropriate that he would want to considering his age. My son may be in a 19 year old body but schizophrenia in my opinion has stunted his cognitive thinking and growth and in a lot of ways he’s only a young teen. In science cognition is a group of mental processes that include attention, memory, producing and understanding language, learning, reasoning, problem solving and decision making. My son’s have not developed properly and he doesn’t understand the boundaries that should be in place by now regarding our relationship. Just as he can’t reason and learn like most 19 year old’s. Did I cuddle with him in bed? No and I won’t because he needs to learn these boundaries but I do understand and have empathy for were the need is coming from. 
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Crisis Package
Currently working on putting together a crisis package. Not just for my son but also in case anything happens to me no one will know who to contact. Treatment Advocacy Center has guidelines for how to handle certain crisis. I’ve put together a list of any and all contacts with numbers including who to contact in crisis, his/our workers, doctors and where he goes for blood work and prescriptions. I’ve put together a brief medical history with past and current symptoms including his current living details and who to contact. I will have all this together for easy access and send a copy to another relative so that if something happens to me she will at least know who to contact.
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July 14, 2013
Donnie Darko
We watched this movie last night. I’ve watched it before but watched it with my son this time. He enjoyed it. I was a little worried about how he would react to watching it since Donnie has schizophrenia. He had empathy for what Donnie was going through. I’m happy that he could recognize some of the same things in himself. Usually he just ignores the similarities and says he’s not like that
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Anxiety vs. Withdrawal
Yesterday was a bad day. My son is complaining of high anxiety. Wants to be prescribed an as needed anti-anxiety. This after 3 days of possible drug and alcohol abuse and when I’m expecting that he do something other then take over my home with his messes. Anxiety is hard to measure as we all deal with it differently. However we all have it and we all have to learn how to deal with it without the use of drugs, prescribed or street. Hopefully my own anxiety/stress today will be manageable as I’m expecting today to be as bad if not worst then yesterday. Deep breathes.
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Anxiety
So far the day has gone much better then I expected. No anti-anxiety prescription for my son which I’m very glad for. Gently reminded to have some faith in his workers as they are not as easily manipulated as I feared. I’ve been waiting for the next psychotic break but so far it’s holding off. In the meantime the day to day struggle to keep things calm is getting to me. His nurse may have persuaded him to up his anti-psychotic dose. Still not as much as prescribed but it’s a start to getting him stable. Of course the beer he’s currently drinking at a friend’s won’t help. Hopefully one day he will see the harm it does him.
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Lesson learned?
Last night:
My son: Mom can I have my internet back? I’ve learned my lesson.
Me: What was the lesson?
My son: Not to swear at you. I’m sorry I was just upset.
Me: Ok but you know tomorrow if you don’t study you will loss it again.
My son: Yes I know
Upside he studied for 30 minutes so far today. Another 30 minutes expected by dinner time. Downside to him taking 200 mg of Clozapine, at least according to him, is that’s he’s to tired today. Not sure I believe it’s the medication as it’s over 40 degrees with the humidex today and I don’t have the energy to do anything either. I was very surprised when he told me he had taken his Abilify to counteract the tiredness. Might even be able to talk him into doing his laundry today :)
These little victories seem to come at the cost of some stressful tough love but they are coming and I’m very happy to see them.
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So much for little victories. Hard to lower my expectations when I’m already expecting so little. Internet gone again for not doing the rest of his studying. Drinking at friend’s again yesterday. My living room is a mess again with his stuff and garbage. Again seems to be the word of the day. Learned behavior I’m told. More of a discipline problem then a psychosis problem. How to correct years of no accountability and being allowed to do what he wanted because he has psychosis. Only took 100 mg of Clozapine again last night. This up and down with his medications can’t be helping his body adjust. Complaining of pressure in his head. The very things that will help him recover are the things he won’t comply to. Gotta love lack of insight
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July 18, 2013
A little shocked
I’m sitting her a little shocked… My son just made ME a cup of tea. Just wanted to share.
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My son and I had a calm conversation last night regarding my expectations and why I have them. When calm he can understand that I’m trying to help him reach his own goals. He lost his internet again yesterday for how he was talking to me.He needs to learn to control his language and his anger when talking to me. He’s slowly getting it. I’m happy that we are able to have these conversations even if he does have problems following through on them the next day. The fact that he knows he has gone to far, remembers what he has said and can apologize for it tells me that his reality is now more inline with mine. He now knows that I am not going to lesson my expectations of him reading/studying for 1 hour every day or he enrolls in a school program. We both know that he is capable of doing it. If he can’t find his own motivation to do it then I will give him one. No internet. Back to trying to get him to do his laundry today ;)
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Friend or crutch?
My son has a friend that lives across the hall. At first I was very happy that he had a friend to help him and to interact with because isolation is not good. I’m still happy he has this friend however I question how much good it’s doing him. In my opinion they are not helping each other at this point. Instead they drink together. It seems like whatever progress I may be having with my son gets thrown out the window the more he drinks. Due to lack of insight it’s hard to make him realize this. From my point of view a true friend would do what’s best for you not just what you want them to do. I’m supporting my son and in turn supporting his friend as they smoke each other cigarettes and to often my son is giving him our food. Probably in exchange for the beer he is drinking. It’s hard to put my foot down on this as who wants to deny someone food. For me this friendship is becoming a crutch… anyways just venting.
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July 19, 2013
He did his laundry. Yah! No internet for not studying but he’s gone out with his friend and his mom on a boat fishing. Hope he has a fun time.
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Pretty quiet weekend so far. Since it is the weekend there are no study expectations. He was into some drugs and alcohol last night. Not much I can do about that. Today just going to try and enjoy some peace and relaxation. Even I need a break from the day to day struggle of getting his live back on track.
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Insight
There’s what I see, what my son sees and what my husband sees. I try to see what they see. Do they try to see what I see? I just cleaned the bathroom again. I’ve started leaving the Windex in there, so much easier. Stays clean for maybe half a day. Do they see that I’ve cleaned it or just see that the bathroom isn’t clean again… I don’t think they see. 
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July 21, 2013
Went to my sister’s yesterday. Was a good outing for all of us. Despite the rough patches my son is progressing. He can pay attention and contribute to conversations much better then before. He has a great sense of humor and it’s nice to see it coming out. I’ve noticed that he’s not so self involved and getting better at asking for things instead of acting like he’s entitled to receive them. He says thank you for the meals that I make him. He just made himself onion rings and turned off the deep fryer. Unless he’s really tired he asks for help making things instead of asking me to do it for him. He even picks up some of his messes without me nagging. These are all life skills that he will need to do on his own if he is ever going to be out on his own. Will see how the day progresses as he has to do 1 hour of reading by 2 pm. 
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Addiction
We had a good day yesterday. His occupational therapist  was here. We want him to see an addictions counselor. It’s hard to explain how an addiction controls your life when it’s all around us. The myth that you need to be drinking every day to be an alcoholic needs to be busted. If you are putting drinking or drugging above your own goals or health then chances are you have an addiction. I’ve been through addiction counseling. My son doesn’t want to see that he has an addictive personality. As do I. I had to make the decision to get some things out of my life as it was changing who I was and how I was coping with life itself. You end up identifying yourself with the addiction. Saying ‘I can stop…’ and not stopping is proof that an addiction is controlling you. My son can get drunk on 3 beer but drinks 5 or 6. He drinks to get drunk. That is addiction. If it changes your personality then it’s an addiction. I see it with people I know. They drink and become a different person. If you need drugs or alcohol to feel ok that’s not good. We should all feel ok in our own skin without the aid of a crutch.
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Mini Goals
In order to achieve our big goals we first need to achieve mini goals. This applies to everyone. I myself can get caught up in my computer looking at forums and blogs. I set little goals for myself. Since I’m currently a housewife my job is to take care of our home. I won’t look at another website until I first make the bed, start the dishes, vacuum etc. It’s my own way of making sure that I fulfill my obligations. Afterwards I feel good for having accomplished my mini goal.
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Walk
So my son talked me into going for a walk. He wanted a coffee thermos to keep his coffee hot in the morning. Was good to get out for a walk, I needed it too. Also shows that he is thinking ahead and taking care of his personal needs in the physical world.
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Alcohol, addiction and trust
Another family argument last night because of alcohol. Keeping it out of my home isn’t enough and getting it out of his life is impossible. He’s managed to drink almost every day for over a week now. He says he wants to be able to drink on weekends or once a week and I have to remind him it’s Tuesday and he’s had alcohol a couple of days in a row. Spent money I gave him yesterday for a fast food restaurant on beer. Once I found out I got rid of the beer. My money my beer and I refuse to support him drinking. He’s lost what little trust I did give him regarding money. He made an agreement with one of his therapists to not put drinking above taking his medications. If he’s drunk and takes his clozapine it makes him sick. If he takes it the next morning then half the day is shot because of the sedating effect of it. He’s not in control of the choices he is making. Alcohol and addiction are. It’s a vicious circle and I wish we could get off this merry go round.
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It’s been fairly quiet. My son’s nurse was here yesterday and discussed addiction and alcoholism. Was meant with resistance and little insight as to taking responsibility for the choices he is making. Today complained of being depressed. Well that goes with drinking. You have to keep drinking to keep the depression away as alcohol is in fact a depressant no matter how good it makes you feel at the time your drinking it. Getting some studying in each day. Not being to specific on the amount of time as long as he’s learning something and he has learned something new for the past 3 days so I’m happy with that.
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Teaching
Since my son won’t go to any type of school program I’m left trying to teach him at home. Not an easy task. A lot of google’ing and trying to find information I can match with his current abilities. So I’ve decided to try putting together homework for him on a daily bases. This morning put together information on nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, long division, multiplication and multiplying with decimals. Some information he has previously done and some is new. Review of old and adding new information just like they do in school. Wish me luck! 
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Calendar of symptoms and causes
Since my son doesn’t want to see the consequences of the choices he is making I’m going to try and make it easier for him to see. I’ve printed off blank calendar sheets and I’m noting on each day what he’s doing. Alcohol and choices are the main things. I want him to see that him getting depressed seems to be a direct result of the amount of alcohol he is consuming. He thinks or convinces himself he’s been studying more then he has been. I want him to see that some of the reasons he decides to actually get up do something for are motivated by alcohol. Ex: bike ride to beer store. 
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Being put down
My son keeps telling me that I am putting him down. I don’t think that I am putting him down. Sometimes our own feelings can get in the way and determine how we react to what others are saying regardless of their intentions. I know my intentions are not to put him down. How do you nicely point out to someone that if they think they have a 200 iq and knows everything that they should know how to do grade 6 or 7 math? Not an easy undertaking to teach someone who thinks they know everything. Not easy to keep my cool when being yelled at by someone who thinks swearing constantly is an acceptable way to communicate. Yet I’m the one putting him down… No but he perceives it that way because in order to justify his actions he has to put the responsibility on someone else, me. I had to go out and when I returned I calmly told him I’m sorry if he thinks my intentions were to put him down however he needs to realize that he can’t continue stating he knows everything if he can’t do the work. That’s not a put down, that’s fact. Sometimes you have to think about what the other person’s intentions are before you judge them.
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Anniversary & Alcohol
I went out last night to celebrate my sister and her husband’s wedding anniversary. It’s also soon going to be my husbands and my 3rd anniversary of being together. 
My son: So you’re going to go drinking when you won’t let me drink
Me: I’m going out and I don’t need to justify to you if I have a drink or not
I know it can seem unfair that I make these decisions however the circumstances are so different. I’ve made my home drug fee and basically alcohol free to help my son recover and because it was the right choice for me and my husband. I seriously hate being drunk and always have so developing or having an alcohol problem is not currently in my cards. My son however is a different story. He is developing alcoholism. He drinks about 3-5 times a week even with me not having it in my home. It’s as much about the choices you are making as the amount of alcohol you are drinking. I didn’t go out to drink. Me and my husband went out to spend time with my sister and her husband and have some adult conversation. The motivation is different.
Anyways I had a good time and I didn’t get drunk to have it.
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July 27, 2013
Day Trip
I’m leaving my son alone for the day. This will be the first time since he came to live with me 3 months ago. A little anxious but I’m looking forward to spending some time doing my own thing. My sister and I are going to an Elvis Festival. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s where people go to sing, compete and show their love for Elvis Presley, The King of Rock and Roll.
It will be good for me to just relax and let my guard down for a little while. To not be just mom for a little bit. I think it will do my son some good to not have mom around for the day. We need the break from each other. 
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Elvis Festival
Matt Cage, Cody Ray Slaughter and Ben Portsmouth oh my… Then Shawn Klush re-created Elvis Presley’s Aloha From Hawaii concert with the legendary Stamps Quartet and Sweet Inspirations. Seriously awesome show.
Was up for 20 hours yesterday and probably need to see my chiropractor after too many hours sitting in uncomfortable seats but well worth it to have spent the day with my sister enjoying our mutual love for The King.
My son survived the day without me. My husband was home to make him dinner so all was good.
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Swearing
So I get up this morning to my son speaking the way he normally does around me which is to add the F word to almost every sentence. 
Me: You just said the F word about 5 times
My son: Did I?
My husband: You know you didn’t swear at all last night (I wasn’t home)
My son: I guess I’m just trying to get under mom’s skin. Just kidding.
Me: Subconsciously I think you are.
I’m beginning to think that subconsciously he is doing it to get under my skin. He knows how much I hate it. Since he has such a problem recognizing his own subconscious it doesn’t surprise he wouldn’t see it. Something I will have to keep working on.
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Homeschooling & Discipline
So my day begins with the usual ‘it’s your fault, stop putting me in a bad mood, don’t talk to me about things I already know, etc’
It’s 11 am and he’s just waking up. Has to have school work done by 2 pm which sounds like a lot of time but it can take a couple of hours to get 30 minutes of work out of him and of course he needs time to wake up or I hear ‘you can’t expect me to do work when I’ve just woken up.’ 
Frustrating for me as I’ve spent most of my morning putting together his work for the day. I don’t have anyone handing me curriculum. I have to do my best to find what information I can on the internet and put it into a format that he can understand and learn. Then I have to teach it to him which isn’t easy because he talks to me in a way he would probably not talk to a teacher.
Now he doesn’t want to do the work I prepared, he wants to do it his way which means the least amount of effort possible along with the attitude that I’m the stupid one… oh well back to no internet for attitude as he ripped up the work I had prepared for him. Guess I’m in for a wonderful day.
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Up & down
Was an up and down day yesterday. Calm until I wouldn’t give him what he wanted then attitude all over again. Tried to renegotiate as always that if he did his studying than could he get his internet back. No. Internet gone for attitude as well and the motivation for him to do his studying should be to meet his own goal of wanting his schooling. Which leaves us in the cycle of no internet therefore no studying. Again the delusion that his dad is going to let him move back. Later apologized for his attitude. Didn’t take his clozapine last night so that he can have more vivid dreams. Toke it this morning which means he will be to tired to do his studying again. Oh well… what can I do except take away his internet again when the studying isn’t done. It was his choice and he will have to live with the consequences of that choice if it happens.
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My son got his studying done yesterday. Just spent part of my morning making up today’s work for him. He didn’t go to bed until after 2:30 last night and it’s 11:30 now and he’s still in bed. Starting to become a bad routine again of staying up late and sleeping in. Not taking medications at a reasonable time is contributing to this bad routine.
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Compliments & Rules
Saw a blog about a compliment jar. Decided to put together a list of compliments for my son telling him that: I am proud of him even if I don’t say it often enough, he’s beautiful, compassionate, strong, smart, worth fighting for and loved. I’ve also made up a list of rules and self care guidelines that he needs to try and follow every day. I will put both of these on his bedroom wall so that he can see them all the time. Unfortunately he is quit capable of not looking at and ignoring what he doesn’t want to see so I don’t know if it will help or even if he will keep them up but I do have to try.
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July 31, 2013
My son got up at 1:50 pm yesterday. 10 minutes before school work was supposed to be done. Thinking he would rush through it in 10 minutes. I prepared the work so I knew 10 minutes wouldn’t cut it. I disconnected the internet. Resulted in swearing, don’t talk to me and slamming his bedroom door. Internet gone for longer for the swearing. Actually tried to do his work as his friend wouldn’t let him come in until he did it. Said he wanted to be a good friend. Didn’t get far and what he did do was incorrect as again he was trying to rush through it. One quarter of the effort he puts into learning a new game would go far if he applied it to studying. Quiet day outside of this. Again had to force him to bed around 2:30. There’s nothing he’s doing in the living room that he can’t do in his bedroom. New rule will have to be no lab top in the living room if he can’t get himself to bed. Aside from the bad routine he’s going to ruin my couch. Patients on clozapine sweat a lot more and I think he had alcohol yesterday (friend let him in) so sweats even more when sleeping. Appointment with one of his therapists today and I think we will be discussing firmer boundaries around disrespecting me and our home and what options are available to me if things get out of hand. Slamming doors and swearing doesn’t sound all that bad but when it’s someone with a 19 year old vocabulary and strength it can get bad.
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August 1, 2013
From my perspective the appointment with my son’s occupational therapist went well. From son’s, not so good. He thinks she is taking my side over his. Once I got asked to leave the room so that he could talk to her alone. It’s got to be hard when someone else is telling a different version of what happened. He’s having a tough time realizing that the responsibility of most of our disagreements can be placed mostly on his shoulders. His therapist thinks I need to tighten the boundaries as the way he is acting out is not acceptable. I agree but it’s not so easy to do. Every boundary or rule is being pushed and tested. We went over the rules that I’ve put in place and he agreed that they are all reasonable and that he would try harder to follow them. We also discussed that he needs to be aware of some alternative places to go, even if just for a couple of days, in case things get really bad and I am unwilling to deal with his attitude. I did up a list of men’s shelters for him with their numbers so he can contact them. He needs to realize that his choices are causing him more harm then me. He’s the one losing privileges not me. I toke away his apartment keys because he needs to realize that if he wants to leave slamming doors then he may not get back in. This isn’t his castle and he’s not the king. Last night he asked for his internet back stating he’s learned his lesson. I’ve heard this before but I will accept that he’s trying. Gave him back the internet but made it clear he needs to be in his own room by 11:30 pm. No sleeping on the couch. Of course he pushed this too and didn’t go until midnight. We agreed that 3 days a week he study my way and 2 days a week he can spend an hour each day doing it his way. Let’s see what today brings…
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Vinegar on mosquito bites
Was at my sisters a couple of nights ago and got 3 bites on my right hand. If I scratch them they last about 3-4 weeks. If I don’t scratch they last about 2 weeks. Recently started having vinegar in my home. With a Q-tip I put it all over the bite and wherever it’s itching. It works better then any product I have bought. Stops the itching pretty quick and lasts for awhile. Only smell like a french fry for about 5 minutes then the vinegar smell goes away.
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August 2, 2013
Proud of my son
It seems we have to go through some tough spots before we can make progress. It’s been a couple of tough days for him but I think some things finally hit home, at least for now. When he got up today he asked if we had any plans for the day. Shows he’s thinking ahead. Just his studying and maybe his laundry and a shower was on the agenda for the day. Friend asked him to go to the beach for the afternoon. He ASKED me if I would allow him to do his studying when he got back that he WILL do it. Can I be considerate of this? Yes I can providing he knows that no excuse will get him out of it later. He ASKED for his apt. keys back, didn’t demand them, stating he will try harder to not slam doors and swear. We shook on it that if this happens again and I have to ask for them back he will give them to me. His laundry can certainly wait until tomorrow as him getting out and knowing what it feels like to enjoy spending time with friends at a beach is more important. Discipline is hard but sometimes you just gotta do it. Being tough doesn’t mean you don’t love. Sometimes it’s the exact opposite.
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August 3, 2013
One step forward, two steps back
Barely got his studying done yesterday. Had to deal with all the excuses I told him I would not accept when he asked to do it later. Been in sun all day, tired and not in the mood. Reminded him that he gave me his word and persisted that we do it. Broke the rule of no rolling cigarettes in living room after I was in bed. Had him clean up part of the mess before going to visit his friend. Getting him to clean up all of it is a test of my patience. Reminded him of rule and that if he does it again I will throw out his rolling papers. Response ‘whatever’. So attitude about being reminded of what he agreed upon. Has to do laundry and shower today. I’m beginning to wonder if he’s not taking his clozapine every night. Gets upset when I ask him if he did and that’s not normal for him. Sometimes I can hear him laughing with himself. When I ask what he’s laughing at I get told nothing so it’s something in his head.
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Parents or Caregivers
Just wondering if there are any parents or caregivers of someone suffering with psychosis on tumblr. Would love to connect if there is.
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August 5, 2013
Quiet yesterday. He showered, came grocery shopping and went for two bike rides. Went to bed on his own last night. Yesterday morning had to discuss the rule of going to bed as the night before I found him sleeping on the couch with the living room a mess at 2 pm. Had smoked pot the night before so habit toke over. Told him this was his only warning. Next time he loses internet for breaking the rules. It was his choice to get high and cause himself to disregard the rules.
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Insight & Stigma
For awhile now I’ve had a problem understanding what people meant by stigma. I kept thinking that it’s not something I have to deal with. I’m beginning to see it now. It stems from a lack of insight into psychosis and the person suffering from it. I know that my families intentions are not to be unkind but I’m seeing how their lack of insight and knowledge of psychosis does cause it to some degree. They look at my son and see the body of a 19 year old and think he should be acting that age but he can’t. He’s reacting to this world as someone a lot younger then that. In his eyes we are family and because he wants to build a relationship with his family he thinks they should want to build a relationship with him. He doesn’t understand or know what I will call social etiquette. He hasn’t learned the boundaries yet. Being family doesn’t guarantee loving feelings, we are all still strangers to some degree. Add a recent news article about someone with schizophrenia doing some pretty awful things and I’m seeing my family pull back. I can’t say I blame them for being cautious and my son has contributed to them putting up walls with his own negative attitude but it’s not new that he has schizophrenia. We have known about it for over two years. The difference is that now it’s a part of their lives and through no fault of their own fear is dictating their reactions. I’ve heard comments like ‘Can’t you put his pills in his food?’ Said out of love but disrespects my son’s rights to choose. Having a relationship with him build on trust and respect is just as important as him taking medications. We all have the right to refuse treatment just as an alcoholic has the right to keep on drinking. Until of course we reach a point where were are a danger to ourselves or others. Well even then we can’t stop an alcoholic from buying alcohol. In my opinion they are not of sound mind but still have the right to slowly kill themselves or even put themselves in a state that could harm others. Sorry if I’m venting but I’m struggling with feeling for my son who only sees that places he was encouraged to go to before are now off limits. He’s not getting worse with his psychosis, he is in fact getting better. So I guess I have a better understanding of stigma now. Every day we all have the right to make choices, including wrong ones like drinking, drugging, smoking or putting ourselves over other people but because we are legally sane we have a right to that choice even though it could cause harm to ourselves and others. Because my son has psychosis we, even myself on occasion, want to take away those rights. Writing this has certainly been an eye opener for myself on my previous thoughts about limiting my son’s rights to drinking etc. Thanx for reading.
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Feeling blessed
I’m feeling blessed today. It’s been a good day. My son did his school work and his laundry with a good attitude. The reason I feel blessed however is that I got to see a glimpse of my little boy today. We went to the store and he wanted a chocolate egg with a toy in the middle because it showed a picture of a dragon. The innocence behind it touched my heart. I’ve told him today how proud I am of him as his attitude is great and he’s done what I’ve asked him to do. Hopefully we can continue to build on this.
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Positives
I blogged yesterday about how I feel blessed. I’m happy with my son’s progress and the difference in attitude. Perhaps doing up my list of compliments for him and putting the rules in writing for him has made a difference. So far he hasn’t taken them down. Being made aware of the men’s shelters in our area if things kept going bad probably helped too. I think his occupational therapist talked to him about how is own defiance was getting in the way. Since that day I’ve noticed a big difference in his attitude. So far no more slamming of doors and swearing is down to a minimum. He knows that I know he does it to piss me off which is pretty childish. Back to spending time in his bedroom instead of taking over the living room. Less attitude with me while doing his school work. It all adds up to me being able to give him praise for the good things which reinforces the behavior. Time for me to prepare his school work for today.
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August 6, 2013
Another good day so far. He washed his laundry yesterday so today I folded it and had him put it away. We got his homework done. I think we can move on from nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. He seems to have this now. Working on how to use punctuation marks and moving onto fractions in math. This may seem a little below him for the age of 19 but we are working on getting his cognitive thinking moving again and building on the victories of learning the smaller stuff will help him to want the victory of learning the harder stuff. The look on his face when I put an ‘A’ on his paperwork is all the thanx I need.
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Defiance
Ever wonder how much of your life is being controlled by defiant behavior? Your doing something or not doing something just to be defiant? I’m 41 and when I peel potatoes I still have to caution myself not to cut off too much of the potato. Why? Because when I was a kid my dad used to get mad at me for doing this. Part of me still wants to defy him. I just had a discussion with someone about how I do laundry. Honestly I suck at it. I don’t dye stuff pink anymore but can certainly do a better job then I do. I asked myself why. Well because when I was young my step dad used to make us fold and iron a certain way. Not our cloths but his cloths. I guess I still resent doing laundry… 
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August 7, 2013
Good day yesterday. Didn’t get any studying done but that was my fault for not preparing it early enough. Bi-weekly blood work done. He will be receiving disability soon and I’m worried how things will go once he starts having his own money but will deal with that when it happens. Up until yesterday I’ve had control over how many cigarettes he gets in a day and keeping his medications. It’s time to let him take care of this on his own. Will still monitor but he needs to start learning how to be responsible. I had another chance to tell him I was proud of him. Awhile ago he had an altercation with his cousin that has caused some uneasiness in the family. Instead of just doing what he wanted he asked for permission to say hi to his cousin. I was very impressed that he acted so grown up in taking other peoples feelings and wishes into account. We also had a discussion last night regarding another family member. My son is beginning to feel like they do not want to have anything to do with him. I told him that they have full lives and I’m not even close to them. He needs to not have high expectations and accept that there are people who want to have a relationship with him not just because he is family but because he is an awesome person. Family or not, if someone decides to not be in his live it’s their loss and they are missing the opportunity to know a wonderful person. He said thank you. I do love him and his sister so much!
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My Best Friend helped me get off the fence
My best friend and I talked for a couple of hours last night on the phone. We’ve been friends for years and I think she probably knows me better then anyone. For years we worked in the same office so shared a lot over breaks together. She doesn’t lie to me and tells me how it is. She’s not emotionally involved with what is going on with my son and my family. She’s straight up with me when she thinks I’m being to lenient, etc. and she also has experience with schizophrenia. I’ve been struggling with feelings of being on the fence as I’m trying to see things through my son’s eyes and through my family’s eyes. Her responses to what I was telling her helped me to realize that I need to get off the fence. My son comes first. It’s probably easier for everyone to put the responsibility of current choices on my son but that’s not where it should be. His apparent unfounded negative attitude towards one of his cousins is not unfounded. It stems from childhood when both my children were treated like and told that they were stupid on a regular basis. This attitude is still in place today. How many of us would not respond negatively to that type of insult? Because your not book smart your worth less… My son also wants to build a relationship with another cousin who is now afraid to be around him alone. I don’t blame her for this. However I don’t blame my son either. The part that throws me is that they are now more afraid of my son then the general public because my son has schizophrenia. I won’t go into all the details. Anyways thanx to my bestie for helping me to get of this fence!
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August 10, 2013
One step back
After a really good week we may have taken a little step backwards. I guess it is to be expected. After telling my son’s therapist and psychiatrist how good he was doing my son got upset because I voiced my opinion that he doesn’t need a prn, an as needed anti-anxiety. He has a history of abusing them and his psychiatrist won’t prescribe them anyways but he sees that as my fault. He offered to prescribe him something for ADD of course my son said no. Even though we had a good week he has still been drinking or smoking some pot almost daily. His anxiety levels go up in direct proportion to the substances he uses but he can’t or refuses to see this. Friday morning I wake up to him sleeping on the couch and the living room a mess which goes against 2 of the rules. His way of punishing me for going against the prn? Sadly it’s him that will have to deal with the negative consequences. Tried talking to him about it on 3 occasions. No luck and attitude back. Lost the internet for not studying. Won’t get the internet back until Friday’s studying is done. Of course he didn’t like that and so starts the swearing. Made him leave my room. I’m done dealing with that. If he wants to test the boundaries that’s his choice and he will have to deal with the consequences. On a good note he slept in his own bed last night.
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Reiki Healing
Was expecting a bad morning but my son surprised me yet again. He set his alarm last night as he had plans with his aunt to go out today. Couple of snoozes but he got up on his own and in a good mood. Cleaned up his mess in the living room when asked and acknowledged that he needs to do his homework from yesterday. I’m glad his aunt made time for him today. His cousin that is leery of being alone with him is also with them. I didn’t go as I think they need the time together and hopefully they will talk some things out regarding boundaries.
My son believes he has the ability to do reiki healing. I gave him a name for it today. He would like to be able to heal other people not just himself so maybe today I will spend some time researching it for him and see if there are any groups in our area that work with this.
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August 11, 2013
Had a nice talk with my son yesterday while he was waiting for his aunt. They came back with flowers for me that he picked out. That was really nice. He got his homework from Friday done so that he could get his internet back. He got a little drunk at his friends. He was able to acknowledge that he drank to much. Went to bed at a reasonable time on his own.
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August 12, 2013
Sunday was quiet. No expectations. Perhaps a small showing of positive symptoms as a result of some drinking and drugging the day before. Laughing out loud over his own thoughts or what he was doing on the internet. Went to bed late but did go to his own room. Slept in today as a result. Got his studying done. Also got his first disability payment today. Trying to keep positive thoughts while preparing myself for what will hopefully only be a little bump in the road.
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August 13, 2013
My son is feeling pretty shitty this morning. Too much alcohol and probably some weed last night. Reminded him yesterday that I would still have the same expectations of him today. Tempting to start vacuuming and make a lot of noise like he did last night when I was trying to sleep. I won’t but it is tempting as I have little sympathy for hangovers. Pretty sure he missed his medications last night. Has an appointment with his nurse today. Will see how the day goes.
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Here for a reason
It sometimes amazes me how many blogs I read of people feeling unloved, unwanted and like they do not deserve to live. Then I remember my own past feelings of thinking this way and I try to think of something reassuring to say. All I can say is that you are here therefore you deserve to be here. I totally believe that everyone of us is put on this earth for a reason and it’s not to sell yourself short or to cut off your life in it’s prime. I know that things can seem overwhelming, like your fighting an uphill battle with no peak insight but every hill does have a peak. I’m 41 now and still learning about myself and my purpose. My son, my husband, my daughter, my research and whatever else I decide to fill my life with. All the bad things that myself and my family have gone through are experiences and building blocks that I use to strengthen me. Sure it would be nice if I didn’t go through or see the things I did but without them I wouldn’t be the pillar I am today for my family or for myself. I would not change who I am today for the world and if it took all those negative things to shape me into who I am than I am thankful for them all. Cry, scream, yell, pound on a pillow, blare your favorite music. Do what you have to do but also remember to laugh, love, smile and most of all love yourself because you are here for a reason. That reason may not be clear today but someday your experiences and knowledge will help someone else. Have faith and be strong. All my love <3
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My son got his studying done. As usual the math part he aced. Had him do part of a literacy test so that I can see where his comprehension is at. Something we need to work on but I know that he will get it as his cognition is improving. The brain like any muscle needs to be worked. Toke his medications from last night so a little tired today but I’m glad he toke them. His nurse was here and told him he’s impressed with the progress he’s heard my son is making.
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August 14, 2013
I blogged yesterday that my son’s nurse was here and told him he’s impressed with his progress. He asked my son what he attributed this progress to and my son couldn’t answer him. I have my own theories on this. It’s like when I was teaching my son some of his math and even though I showed him the standard/easy way to do it my son insisted on doing it his way, the hard way. Just to prove he could do it the hard way I guess. The next day I noticed that he was doing it the way I showed him. I didn’t comment on it and just smiled to myself that he was paying attention. No one wants to admit that someone else could be right and that we were unjustified in acting the way that we did. In my opinion my son does not want to admit that his own attitude and defiance was getting in the way. That’s ok. The fact that he is trying to change a negative attitude into a positive attitude and has dropped a lot of his defiance is awesome to see. 
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Voices
We all deal with negative thoughts about ourselves. Inner voices that tell us that we are not good enough. For some those voices take on an identity of their own and they cannot be pushed back or ignored. Through tumblr I learned about Eleanor Longden and the Hearing Voices Movement. I can only urge those who are dealing with negative voices to look into her approach and treatment of her voices, that they are “a sane reaction to insane circumstance.” To treat the most negative ones with the most compassion as they are the part of you that needs the most love and compassion. I know that this may sound pretty lame coming from someone who does not suffer from voices but I do know that in order to recover from own ordeals I had to have compassion and love for myself. That little girl in me that needed to know that she was worth it had to be acknowledged and given the love that she deserved. She is still a part of me today as even at 41 my husband loves his little/baby girl. She used to be the cause of a lot of my insecurities but now she’s allowed the freedom to come out and play even if it is only with my husband who loves that part of me. Just some of my thoughts and I hope I have not offending anyone who does suffer.
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August 15, 2013
 had to go to the post office today so my son walked with me. Then we had lunch at a little diner that I like. After that we stopped at a second hand bookstore that has lots of romance novels. I collect Johanna Lindsay so I was able to get a couple more to add to my collection. My son found a book in the fantasy section that he wants to read. I hope he does read it as I think it will help with his cognition and therefore make his literacy homework a lot easier for him. Small attempt to get out of doing his homework today but gave in and is doing it. Enjoyed getting out and doing something. We both needed it.
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Herbal Tinctures & Supplements
I’m going through perimenopause. This means I’m in the beginning stages of menopause. Because I smoke cigarettes I didn’t want to be on birth control pills to regulate my cycle and control my hot flashes. I had to find alternative ways to deal with these symptoms. Herbs. Dong quai and black cohosh. Taking care of your body can seem like a full time job sometimes. NAC (N-Acytel Cysteine) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. An hour later my herbal tinctures of dong quai and black cohosh also on an empty stomach. A little later my vitamin C with my V8 juice and yogurt. Later in the day my liquid calcium. Supper time my multi-vitamin and mineral, omega 3 and B12. Sounds like a lot but our bodies need to taken care of if they are going to take care of us.
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August 17, 2013
It’s the weekend. Yah! For me that means I get 2 days off from preparing school work for my son. 2 days off from doing it for my son. Nice break for both of us. Everything is still going good although the amount of alcohol and pot he’s been into for the last week will probably cause some sort of depression or anxiety once he runs out of money. He was throwing up yesterday and the night before from too much alcohol and nicotine. He’s smoking tobacco from a pipe and chewing it. Trips to the beer store almost every day. Inconsistent with his medications because of all this. He’s the one that has to decide how much abuse he wants to do to his body and how much control he wants to give to his addictions.  
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11 Years Clean Anniversary
Today I have been clean from speed and crack for 11 years. On one hand it feels like it was just yesterday yet on the other hand it feels like a life time ago. I will go with the life time ago as it’s not who I am anymore. I rarely think about it until it starts to get closer to August and something in my head tells me that I’m forgetting something. To pat myself on the back and say job well done!
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Right now I’m trying to deal with my own feeling of being pissed off. My son has been drinking excessively and smoking pot for the past week. As of yesterday his negative attitude is starting to come back along with his version of things making my version the lie. As of yesterday everything I’m saying or asking him to do is being met with negative attitude. I had to point out that giving me the finger will not be tolerated. I’m noticing that the swearing is picking up again. He wanted me to give him cigarettes today until his bank releases funds to pay me back. No. He didn’t pay me back all of what he was supposed to when he did receive some money. So starts the argument of what really happened regarding this. My version being the lie. Gotta love delusions. So he figures talking on skype with his friend, bashing women, purposely so that I can hear it, is the way to go. Not really. Reminded him it’s a woman supporting his ass so he may want to check his attitude. So far today I have had to clean up two messes in the living room so his laptop is back in his room and can stay there until he changes his attitude. Tried to get my attention when I was cleaning by clapping and doing things within my line of vision. I ignored him. He forgets that I’ve had a lot of years of experience dealing with childlike behavior. Just because I’m mom and have sympathy and empathy doesn’t mean I’m going to cater to this type of behavior. Thanx for listening to my rant.
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August 19, 2013
Downhill we go. Didn’t get homework done by 2 so lost internet. Apparently my attitude sucks. Swearing and slamming doors. Lost internet for 3 more days. Upside he stopped slamming doors
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It was a short downhill I’m glad to say. Was even in a better mood later still knowing that he had lost his internet for about 4 days. He really does surprise me sometimes. Of course his friend agreed to let him use his wireless. Still I’m glad the negative attitude isn’t there right now.
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August 20, 2013
Shame on me… You would think I would know better. My son’s better mood. Well he had reset my router so he had his internet back. I had my own blinders on. I had previously known that he could’t get his friends wireless in his bedroom. Signal not strong enough. In my own need to not rock the boat I let myself think ‘perhaps he upped the signal strength’. I disconnected the router. I don’t need the router or wireless for my own computer so that is taken care of for the moment anyways. Downside to him having no internet is him not doing his homework. Seems there is always a downside. Since he doesn’t have the internet he refuses to do his homework. In the end it’s his choice. I will continue prep’ing his work everyday and let him know that it is piling up and that he won’t be getting his internet back until it’s all done. Currently he won’t get it back for at least 4 more days. I haven’t decided how many days to add on for resetting my router. Don’t want to make that decision out of anger. He got really drunk last night. Throwing up. In his mind this is how normal people drink. They get stupid drunk once a month or so.
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Chasing the dragon
I remember the first time my mom told me I was chasing the dragon. I had no idea what she was talking about. She had tried to learn and understand my addiction. Why I kept getting high. I guess they call it this because you are trying to recapture that first time, that started your addiction, when you thought yup I got it. This makes sense and of course feels good. The problem is that no matter how hard you try to catch that dragon, it’s always one step ahead of you. No matter how high or drunk you get or how deep you cut it’s never quit good enough. You want more and more. I tried really hard to catch it one night when I was addicted. I almost caught it and I’m pretty sure I came really close to OD’ing too. Notice I said almost. Always one step ahead of me and to catch it is probably death. How far are you willing to go? This phrase crossed my mind just now because of my son. I’m supposed to be understanding that once his money runs out then he won’t be able to drink again, at least until he gets in more money, so I should let him enjoy what he has. Drank himself sick last night, caused problems between his friend and his dad, and yet today he is buying more alcohol. When is enough enough? Well, never. Not when your an addict. No amount of alcohol, drugs or I would imagine cutting, will get you the long lasting relief you are looking for. Stop chasing the dragon.
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Double chocolate chunk cookies fresh from the oven. Normally I don’t like chocolate but I had a couple.
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August 22, 2013
Good Morning
Good morning everyone. I’m in a good mood. No particular reason why other then I’m here. My son is here. I love my family and best friend. Not much on the agenda for today. No appointments. Going to wake my son up soon with a coffee. He needs to do laundry and get blood work done. Hopefully between the two of us we can get his room tidied up and some homework done. Sometimes you have to create your own positive moments or days. My goal today is to have a good day with my son and get him back on the road of recovery.
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Not a bad day. His laundry is done and he cleaned up his messes. Blood work will have to wait until tomorrow. Spent some time with him watching True Blood and having a healthy snack.
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http://24.media.tumblr.com/2c9234059c3cbe7dcede03316d44b9e8/tumblr_ms1rqn8Dcd1say2zeo1_500.jpg
Disciplining adult child with psychosis, ADHD and possibly ODD. Not a fun trip trying to set the appropriate boundaries and give positive feedback in the face of defiance and negativity. Make clear rules and boundaries and follow through. Don’t engage in arguments over the rules. Make the consequences clear. Check. This is on his bedroom wall.
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http://25.media.tumblr.com/848e071f5160d790e659f196c2017cf6/tumblr_ms1spsfJZr1say2zeo1_500.jpg
What my coffee table currently looks like. Again clearly stating rules and expectations with consequences. Also a reward system to motivate compliance with the rules and expectations. If he wishes the opportunity to examine his own anger, results and look at ways to change the behavior. Disciplining an adult child with psychosis, ADHD and possible ODD is certainly not easy. To the best of my ability I’m trying to follow the guidelines and the advise of his support team. 
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August 25, 2013
Adult Time
Going to spend some time with my sister today. I need a break from being mom and feeling like I’m walking on egg shells. Will be nice to let my guard down for a little while. Play some cards. Conversation not centered around defiant behavior. Looking forward to it.
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I spent the night dreaming about crying. I’m not one to allow myself the luxury of crying as I don’t believe it does any good but I guess it needed to be expressed so I dreamt about it. All out, falling apart, no holding back, crying. I must say it felt good in my dream to let go. No judgments, no one to be strong for, no consequence to allowing myself to be weak for a minute. The chance to yell at the world how unfair it all is. Can’t recall who, or even if there was a who, I was letting lose on but I recall yelling and crying, perhaps just at nothingness. 
The day to day struggle of trying to figure out the best way to help my son is taking it’s toll. Yesterday my husband and I had a good time hanging out and playing cards with my sister and her husband, Downside. There was alcohol involved. My husband is a recently recovering addict and alcohol, even in small amounts, sometimes causes him to have little to no control over unresolved anger issues. Physical violence is not an issue. His ability to handle some of his own aging and physical ailments however is an issue. Reacting in his sleep and with the after affect of alcohol causes his perception of what is happening to be a little off. He doesn’t recall that he was already agitated or that his own words or actions caused me to distant myself. His inability to let go of his own anger carries over into the following day.
Now don’t laugh… but I managed to sit on a wasp yesterday and got stung on the inside of my butt check. So it’s 2 am. My butt is itching like crazy, my husband is angry, my son’s defiance is continuing and he’s apparently decided to not tell me he loves me when I tell him I love him. He knows this hurts me based on previous conversations. My insomnia is acting up. So ya… After taking Melatonin, Advil and stinking of vinegar (for my wasp sting), I eventually managed to get back to sleep on the couch. 
This morning: Woken up from my crying dream just after 5 as that’s when my husband gets up for work. I don’t normally hear his alarm but due to alcohol he has a harder time waking up to it. Still angry I get no kiss goodbye and he doesn’t put on a pot of coffee like he usually does. Of course he’s mad at me at this point for sleeping on the couch. To top it all off I wake up to my cycle starting. 
With everything that is going on I guess my brain decided if I’m not going to have a good cry in real life I might as well let it out in my dreams. If you read all this, thanx for listening to my rant.
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August 27, 2013
I got over my woe is me moment. Wasp bite only being a small pain in the butt :) Wanted my son to go get his blood work done by himself yesterday and got told that he is only doing it and taking his medications for me so I should go with him. I went with him. On the way back we sat on a bench and talked. I figured we could keep the discussion from getting heated if in a neutral place. It worked. No miracle cures for what we are going through but at least we were both able to discuss our viewpoints. Came home and talked to my husband about what really happened the night before. He is sorry, he didn’t know he had said the things he did and realizes that even that small amount of alcohol was not worth risking his love for me and asked me what I wanted him to do. He needs to find these answers for himself. We all had a good evening and my son had dinner with us for the first time in awhile. Even toke a vitamin. My son’s new nurse is coming today to meet him along with my therapist. I’m hoping it will be a good visit. 
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Proud of my husband
A couple of days ago my husband asked me what I wanted him to do about his unstable moods. I told him he has to figure it out for himself. The next day he went to the doctor for another reason and while there talked to him about how sometimes he gets upset, angry or irritated over the smallest things and has trouble controlling it. He came back with a prescription for anti-anxiety. I’m very proud of him for doing this and doing it on his own. This wasn’t an easy step for him and although he isn’t liking how it is currently making him feel he seems to be dealing with it. When my son heard about the prescription he said “No. Don’t give in…” That meant don’t give into mom lol since that might mean that I could be right on something.
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August 28, 2013
http://24.media.tumblr.com/a7ee9a487f818d67aa0b897a763dd88b/tumblr_msb4naGHal1say2zeo1_500.jpg
Purple one is mine. The little rose is from something my mom used to have. Blue one is my husbands. Brown one is my sons. Even got a crystal for the car. 
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http://25.media.tumblr.com/44403abec41a502a8a12a090bc60cac5/tumblr_msb4qgGDeq1say2zeo1_500.jpg
Got these for myself. Used to have runes a long time ago same with the rider tarot deck
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At a bit of a stand still with my son. Trying to keep things from going down hill. Homework is on the back burner for now. Hopefully I can get us back on track with this next week. He met his new nurse the other day and even though he told me that he wasn’t going to participate in talking with the program anymore he still made a follow up appointment. I’m doing my best to not overreact to him breaking the rules. Calmly getting him to go to his bedroom when he stays up to late and clean up his messes. He seems to have triggered his psychosis a little bit. Laughing with himself, distracted and having trouble concentrating on what I’m saying. Several days of marijuana use seems to cause this. I was worried about him paying me for board and lodge from his disability but at least for the moment that is taken care of as someone else had to explain to him that if he misuses the money being given to him then it’s considered fraud and they can close his file. 
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My son is not taking his medications. I guess I should have known but it’s hard to tell what is causing certain symptoms. I thought that extended marijuana use was triggering it and it is but if he was taking his medications than it wouldn’t have triggered it so bad. He’s not sleeping and is depressed and anxious. There’s not a lot I can do as he needs to realize that his own choices have let to this. I get that he doesn’t want to depend on medications but depending on alcohol and street drugs is not the answer either. The choice to self medicate over prescribed medications is still a choice to depend on something external as a coping tool. I’m hoping the insomnia he is currently going through doesn’t trigger his psychosis even more but maybe that needs to happen. It’s obvious to me how much good his medications are doing but it’s not obvious to him so perhaps I need to step back and let things fall apart. The decisions of being a parent…
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It shouldn't matter
Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world were your color, sex or life style choices didn’t matter. I find it hard to believe that we aren’t there yet. I’m on Facebook reading a post about a poem written by a child about the color of our skin. Usually I share these type of posts but this time I didn’t. What color, gender, how or where we are born shouldn’t matter. Who cares if i’m _____ color or ___ sexual or ___ whatever… I don’t care what color or sex you are or how you choose to live your life as long as you treat me with courtesy and respect. I think if we want to change then we need to make that change by supporting people not color, gender etc. I’m purple, sexual, young, old, rich, poor, smart, still learning… I am… I support humanity. Just my thoughts.
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What is real?
My son and some of my followers seems to be going through a tough time right now. What is reality? I guess it’s what you can see, taste, hear and feel. What if you are seeing, hearing, tasting and feeling more then everyone around you and it won’t stop? I can only understand this on a small scale. My own brain won’t stop thinking when I’m trying to go to sleep or when my husband gets up and there goes my quiet. Sounds I don’t want to hear. Distractions I don’t want to feel. I understand that for my son it’s a lot more then that. The sounds and distractions are not scary for him. They are welcomed. They are safe. They open up a whole different world were anything is possible. God, the devil, demons, spirits and poltergeists are not something to be feared but a normal part of his existence that wrap around him like a security blanket. He can hear, see and feel them. They are real. His quest for knowledge and answers is not grounded in this physical world but in the spiritual world. Maybe they are right and if he listens to them and does what they say then he will gain the power of the universe and can free himself from this physical world and all it’s uncertainty.
3 years later my son is still on this quest for knowledge and answers. 
Mom would you rather be God or the Devil?
Neither. I pick being human. I don’t see myself as being trapped here. I’m not afraid of feeling pain or hurt because I also feel love. 
The further my son goes into this world the further away from me and my love he is. I don’t see it as a fair trade off to give up all the love and yes all the pain and uncertainty of being human for the possibility of knowledge and answers that never seem to happen.The answers are always just out of his reach. Tricksters that tempt him with power that they never seem to able to follow through on. No matter how hard he tries the answers and power elude him. They eat away at him until he is so lost that there is little of him left. Still it’s not good enough. The promise of knowledge and power doesn’t come. 
So I ask you. Does love motivate these tricksters? If another human kept you from food, sleep, caused you pain or didn’t keep their promises, would you consider them a friend? Would you think that they loved you?
My son is now 3 days into self actualization, not sleeping, not eating, not being able to feel my love for him. From a medical view he is in psychosis. I’m not particularly concerned with the word psychosis. I am however concerned for my son’s physical and mental well being. When will it be enough? How much of him needs to be lost before they will be satisfied? I can’t make him choose between me and them. He has to decide for himself if all the pain and uncertainty they are causing him as they play with his mind is worth losing himself. I can’t make him decide which reality is more real. I can only do my best to show him that the love I feel for him is real. It’s my reality and can be his if he wants it.
I ask from my followers that are struggling to ask yourself if following these tricksters is an act of love. Love yourself enough to question their promises. Find a reality that is motivated from love not self harm. You are worth fighting for! <3
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September 2, 2013
I had to have my son admitted to hospital yesterday due to psychosis. Not an easy choice but a necessary one. This will be his 6th time. The first one that I personally have had to go through as he was living elsewhere for 2 years. His insight into why he is being admitted seems to be a little more then his previous ones. He knows that he was not taking care of himself physically and that I was worried for his well-being. He went off his medications 5 days ago. Drinking almost daily for about 3 weeks now and marijuana use has gone up. Perhaps if he had stayed on his medications the marijuana would not have had such negative consequence but that is the cycle. As psychosis takes hold physical self awareness gets less and less. Hadn’t slept and barely ate for about 3 days. Thirsty but it was a struggle to get him to drink water. Could see his lips getting chapped. Shivering from being cold or being afraid to let in external energies. Laughing hysterically at external things and internal voices and images. Fears of the devil trying to control him. I support my sons quest for spiritual knowledge however I can not support his choices to not take care of his physical body. It needs nutrition and downtime to regenerate. He thinks his body should take care of itself on instinct. Natural instinct in my opinion would include the knowledge of needing nutrition and rest. The most basic of animals know they need to eat and sleep. 
I am very thankful for the team that came to assess him and take him to hospital. They were very understanding and my son has expressed an interest in being a part of their team and helping others. They made him feel safe and secure. He’s struggling with feelings of not wanting to take medications as he doesn’t want to lose himself. I wish there was a better way to walk a path between the spiritual and the physical. I don’t want him to lose that part of him that he cherishes but when it takes control and puts his physical body at risk then it is no longer a choice, in my opinion. His psychosis is making the choices for him. 
I stayed with him until he was settled and close to being a sleep. I told him that I want my son back. The one that three weeks ago was making a life for himself. He knew that he loved me and that I loved him. He was finding enjoyment from things like watching tv shows, going for bike rides and playing his games. He was enjoying food and even gave suggestions on recipes to try. The last 3 days have been torture for him as well. He couldn’t feel that I loved him or that he loved me. Somehow he gained a fear of dreaming when he has always loved his dreams. He’s asked me several times if I would take pills like we want him to. My answer: If I was being told that my ability to interact with the people that I love was in jeopardy and that my mental state did not allow me to care for my physical body as it needed then yes I would take the damn pill. I take pills for insomnia and tinctures for menopause because my body needs help not because I want to take them. Yes I know that it is different with anti-psychotics as it limits the overwhelming amount of information being processed. I consider it a temporary solution until cognitive therapy can be implemented and the brain can learn to cope and mature.
Keep my son in your thoughts and prayers
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Saw my son last night and spent an hour or so with him. He’s still in emergency as they have no bed for him. Long weekend and emergency was packed. After waiting about 10 minutes for the intake nurse to talk to me so I could find out if he was still in emergency, I just walked in and found him myself. Physically he’s doing a little better. He finally got some sleep and has been eating. He seemed really happy to see me and that is a good sign. He feels safe and comfortable. Still really distracted and finding it hard to follow conversations or answer simple questions. He asked me if I would bow down to god. No I would not. The god that I believe in would not ask me to. He’s not about ego or control. He’s not about being better then me. I only need to believe that he exists. My way of worshiping him is to be the best person that I can be by loving myself and those around me to the best of my ability. That is my belief. My son needs to find his own beliefs that he can life and cope with. Faith is a choice. 
Because he was off his clozapine/clozaril for so long they can’t put him right back on the same dosage. They have to slowly work him back up to it and monitor his white blood cell count. In the meantime they are giving him, I think its risperdal, as they slowly up the clozapine.
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I know a lot of you are dealing with anxiety today. First day back to school. Just get through today and deal with tomorrow when it happens. Stay strong! <3
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Was tough seeing my son today. He’s gotten worse so I’m glad he is where he is. Will take time for the medication to start working again so I guess I just have to wait. 
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As my followers know my son is currently inpatient. I'm trying to decide how I should be approaching visiting him. I know that I'm probably asking a lot but I would like the input of anyone who has been hospitalized for psychosis. I know that isolation is not a good thing. I know that he needs to know that I am there for him. I also know that my own feelings are secondary however I'm finding it hard to see him in the mental state that he currently is in. Time is of no consequence to him and he currently sees me as the reason he is there. I can be there for an extended time and to him it's only been for 10 minutes. Our time together seems to consist of him trying to prove to me that my reality is not real. He's not really in a hospital, I'm delusional. He thinks I'm bringing him food items that aren't really what they are. He's implied to a worker that I may be trying to kill him. I know from previous hospitalizations that in a couple of days, once he starts getting stable again, that he will not recall what is currently happening. I'm struggling with my own feelings of wanting to be there for him yet wanting to protect myself from unnecessary hurt. Once he is reasonably stable and able to recognize that I am there for support and not triggering his paranoia , to me would be the time to step up my interaction with him. Suggestions or input welcome.
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Self care
I’m going to spend this afternoon taking care of me. Just put a good dinner in the slow cooker. Going to do a load of laundry, clean the kitchen, clean the hamster cages, get dressed, take out the garbage and then relax with a cup of tea. Will go see my son after dinner.
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Feeling better. Sipping my tea. Laundry folded and put away. Dishes done and kitchen doesn’t look neglected anymore. Hamster’s cages cleaned. Bed made. Dinner smells good and my tummy is saying can’t wait. Downloading first season of American Horror Story. I actually prefer watching tv series after they have been out for a year or two. Can watch episode after episode without waiting. 
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Letting Go
I’m realizing that there are some things I need to let go of. They are in the past and I can’t change them. It serves no purpose for me to try and rehash past events that at this point in time would only cause unnecessary hurt to others. I need to let it go. I thought I was helping to explain what I think is my son’s point of view but instead all I did was hurt someone I love. We all remember things differently and at this point they are just memories. Memories that need I need to put away. I need to center myself on helping my son learn to cope with feelings and thoughts that even he can’t understand. I have no idea how to do that. I will do my best to put the past where it belongs and that is behind us. 
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Dirty Dancing
I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow as I won’t make my husband sit through me grinning stupidly at Johnny and Baby. Do love this movie. All these years later and I still want to cry when Johnny leaves and when Johnny comes back.
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Just saw my son. Not sure how I feel. Upset I guess. I understand that I’m his safe outlet for emotions that are barely under control but it’s hard to not feel hurt by it. He is angry that he has been locked up and it’s my fault. Nothing I say or do is right. They are giving him more freedom on a trial basis. He can wear his own cloths now so I will bring him down some tonight. I wish he could see that his own choices put him where he is. He can deny having schizophrenia as long as he wants but in the end that will put him in situations like this one every 6 months or less. This is his 6th hospitalization in less then 3 years. If being mad at me would fix everything then I would say go for it but that is not the case. Time to watch Dirty Dancing…
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Toke my son down some cloths last night. Earlier when I had seen him he was still pretty stand offish with me. When I hugged him and said something like I’m sorry I know this is tough, he got mad at me. He doesn’t want me talking about how tough this is, that he is in the hospital or about his schizophrenia. He doesn’t want my sympathy. I guess I can understand that as he is trying so hard to keep it together and perhaps my sympathy will only cause him to fall apart. I will try my best to respect his feelings on this. There well be plenty of time for talking about this after he is stable. On the up side. He seemed genuinely happy to see me last night. I think being able to wear his own cloths helped him to feel a lot better. For the first time in 5 days he actually hugged me before I left. Even smiled at me several times during our visit and referred to me as mom instead of my name. I had no idea how hard it would be to see my son struggle with this. How much of him gets lost while in psychosis is truly heartbreaking. 
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My son was feeling down last night. I guess the medications are starting to work so he is unable to communicate with objects they way he wants to. He doesn’t want to be ‘normal’. I can only imagine how frustrating it is for him to be somewhere in between his reality and my reality as my reality sucks for him. For me the possibilities of my reality can be whatever I choose. I can spend time online, with my husband, with my family, reading or whatever else I want. I find pleasure in all these things. My son doesn’t. I wish that I could get inside his head and find the part that is not allowing him to see and feel all the wonders of this physical world and jump start it.
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 guess I just had an epiphany. Throughout the last couple of years when asked who in my son’s family had mental illnesses I always replied with the diagnosed family members. While on forums I only looked at posts regarding parents and caregivers of someone with mental illness. Today I was going through posts of offspring of parents with psychosis and I realized something. I think my father may have had some form of psychosis or schizophrenia. We grew up in fear of my father’s temper and irrational outbursts. Obsessions with God and being good. Random destruction of things like the tv because it was the devil’s box. A bond with nature and working in the dirt. Alcohol abuse. Confusion over why we were crying after he had hit us. I always knew he was fighting his own demons but now it all seems to make sense. 
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I talked to my worker through my son’s program this morning. She has a way of putting things into perspective for me and her support helps me a lot. My son’s grandmother took care of him for two years as he took his first break while with her. I value her input but at the moment I’m finding that I need to step back from it. I don’t know if we are having a bit of a power struggle over who is best for my son or who does right by him or what. I just know that I’m not liking it. Whether it was being done on purpose or not, I’ve been made to feel like I did not act promptly enough to get my son treatment for his current break. Comments about how sick he is this time and that he can not go without his medications. I was actually beginning to feel guilty about it until I went over all the notes from the last two plus years regarding his admissions and consultations. He’s never been compliant with medications and on occasion was receiving them through bi-weekly injection. Due to chronic marijuana use he was rarely stable but instead self medicated. He was never admitted for not being on medications but for positive symptoms such as paranoia, delusions, hallucinations and multiple voices. My worker helped me to understand that I could not have done anything differently. I am very thankful for that. For my own peace of mind I have to remind myself that despite this last break he has had a more productive life ,although short lived, then he has for a long time. He actually went 8 months in between hospitalizations. Previously he was averaging every 4-6 months. Thanx for listening to my rant. I needed to vent ;)
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Angel Baby 1995
My husband and I watched this movie last night. By the end we were both in tears. 
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My son called me! yah… Although he really wants me to bring him wings for dinner :) Still he’s improving enough to want wings. He was sleeping last night when I went to see him so I didn’t wake him just left him a note that he did get.They have started giving him Valium. Learning how to cope with anxiety and feelings without the aide of benzo..’s is the goal in my opinion. Anxiety is a normal part of life. It’s a normal response to uncertainty, trouble or feeling unprepared. As you learn how to be prepared for what life throws at you, you can learn how to deal with anxiety. I’ve been assured that their goal is to slowly take away the Valium to which I’m grateful. Whether my son realizes it or not he does so much better without them.
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When your mind is on other things
Paid hydro instead of cable so ended up paying my cable late. Tore up the new receipts that haven’t got through yet. So much for trying to be organized :p
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September 16, 2013
As of today my son has been inpatient for two weeks. Was doing better then had a little hiccup with Valium. These types of medications don’t help my son due to his addictive personality. He just wants more and more until he is completely sedated which still doesn’t help as it doesn’t quit give the same affect as marijuana. They are trying him on new medications which seem to primarily treat symptoms of ADHD, OCD and anxiety disorder. It struck me the other day that for two years my son was with the same psychiatrist and not once did I see mention in their notes that my son displayed symptoms of ADHD and OCD. I wish that I had followed through and had him diagnosed when he was younger as I thought that he had these years before he had his first psychotic break. I was lacking in knowledge and didn’t want him on medications and without doing research I let the stigma of some ADHD medications determine my actions. My son’s current psychiatrist commented on these symptoms within two meetings. That tells you how obvious the symptoms are. In looking at the positive side of things if this current hospitalization is allowing for treatment of symptoms that have gone untreated for so long than I am thankful. Since being on the new medications he has been doing better. He is doing a lot of writing so I’m supplying him with pens and notebooks to keep him busy. Eating good and even wants healthier snacks now. Sleeping good. Wants to spend time with me and my husband. Still getting him stable on his anti-psychotic medications but his racing thoughts seem to be getting better. To see signs of my son coming back is wonderful to see. His humor is coming out more. He’s making jokes. He’s making conversation and asking how my husband’s work day went. He’s showing an interest in physical things and making decisions to find enjoyment from the simpler things like how much he likes his new pens and notebooks. When he hugs me now it feels like my son is hugging me not just going through the motions. There is always hope when you center on the positives.
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Quantum Physics and/or Mechanics
I’m not a physicist so correct me if I’m on the wrong track. Quantum physics seems to be about all the possible or parallel realities. I watched an hours worth of a video on quantum mechanics the other day in which they did experiments on how an atom acts based on whether it’s being watched or not. It seems we have to have faith that quantum physics exists based on an outcome that we can not watch happen. If we watch it the outcome is different. There are unlimited possibilities but when you focus on it then it becomes one possibility. You have to have a preexisting belief in it or the results don’t make sense. You have to have faith in it. Is this that much different that believing in say miracles? If you have a preexisting belief or faith in a god then the miracle makes sense. If you don’t then it’s left unexplained or as yet unsolved. I don’t believe or disbelieve in quantum physics. I concede that there unlimited possibilities in this world however I personally can only pay attention to the ones that I can see. Concerning myself with unlimited possibilities that become one when I look at them doesn’t make sense to me. To be grounded in the here and now makes sense to me. Opening myself up to the possibilities of new realities I can do. Still when I look at them according to quantum physics they change how they act and become one. Am I totally missing the point?
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Compliments
When someone gives you a compliment… say thank you. It seems like it took me a long time to learn how to do that. Made me feel uncomfortable that someone even noticed me long enough to notice something good about me. As I learned to accept that I also learned how to say thank you. It’s not a competition on who’s the most beautiful, strong or anything else. It’s not as hard as it seems. 
I think you’re awesome.
I think you’re strong.
I think you’re worth fighting for.
Now what do you say?
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Labels or Diagnoses
I think I need to vent a little bit. I’ve been talking a bit about my son having symptoms of ADHD and OCD. ADHD symptoms appeared years before his first break. I didn’t have him diagnosed as I was afraid of him being put on medications like Ritalin. Same goes for other members of his family. I question that in our fear of such medications and labels we have all overlooked something. Not having him diagnosed did not get rid of any of the symptoms of ADHD. I understand that no one wants to be labeled by their symptoms but does not getting diagnosed give relief from them? I can’t understand the mindset that it’s ok for my son to be on medications for psychosis but not on medications for ADHD. Perhaps if his other symptoms were being managed better then his psychosis symptoms would be less. I don’t know. Overlooking these symptoms certainly has not been a benefit to him. I don’t look at being diagnosed as being labelled. I look at it as recognizing symptoms that need to be addressed. Not just through medications but learned coping skills. How to recognize the signs and find better ways to deal with them. Ignoring they exist doesn’t help learn how to cope. I know it’s not quit the same but I can ignore that I have menopausal symptoms or I can accept that I do and then learn how to deal with them. Ignoring the diagnoses of peri-menopausel does not take away the symptoms or give me a magic cure. Thanx for listening to my rant. :)
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To my followers. I love you...
I love you because you are strong
I love you because you are beautiful
I love you because you are a fighter
I love you because you are worth loving
I love you because I can…
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So if one of my followers is not showing up on my followers or following list and msg’s are no longer in my inbox, does that mean they deleted their account?
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September 23, 2013
It’s been awhile since I’ve done an update on my son. Yesterday marked 3 weeks inpatient. Was out on 2 day passes over the weekend. They went well. It’s possible he may be coming home today. I have mixed feeling about this. I want him home. At the same time I guess I’m afraid of him relapsing. He’s doing better now that some medication hiccups have been straightened out. He’s on more meds then I would like but he doesn’t want me addressing this yet. He’s afraid they won’t let him come home if I say the meds are not right. A normal paranoia I would think. 
We had a couple of small disagreements over the weekend. He wants me to prove that I’m on his side and fighting for him. Hard to explain that sometimes parents have to do what is right not just what their child wants. He was out on passes which meant he had to return to hospital. Me keeping him overnight was not the answer as in the long run it would make them keep him longer for not complying with the rules and they would have sent the police to pick him up. I had to point out to him that at one point it was suggested to raise his Clozapine and I said no. I don’t want him on more medications then is necessary. 
I will know in the next couple of hours if he is coming home today or not. He probably is. So ya I’m glad that he is. I have missed him. Hopefully we can get back on track and keep him from relapsing anytime soon.
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Ok. Deep breathes. My son is being discharged. Can’t believe how nervous I am. 
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Got through the first day. Not an easy one. Already missed 2 doses of meds. Meds that he wanted. Spent a fair amount of time yesterday trying to hurt me emotionally. Took me awhile to figure out why. Apparently I wasn’t loving him enough. Translation - I wasn’t giving him $15 for an online game. Once I figured that part out it was a lot easier for me to not allow him to hurt my feelings. Doesn’t look like today is going to be that much easier. He has an amazing ability of putting all of his negative actions and feelings on me. If he’s telling me things to hurt me, even when I don’t respond, then I’m the one telling him hurtful things. Best thing I can do is just not say anything. Of course then I’m being rude and ignorant. Oh well. What can I do. I know that to a certain degree we are starting over again with recovery and he’s still not stable when it comes to his psychosis. One day at time….
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September 24, 2013
We met with my counselor and my son’s nurse yesterday and went for coffee. It was a good meeting. Trying to open up the lines of communication so that my son can feel more comfortable talking about what he is experiencing. They assured him that they do want to hear about his schizophrenia from his point of view as that will help them to have a better understanding.
We had a conversation about expectations and me being a little lenient. We have agreed that studying can wait for awhile so that he can have time to recover. We also agreed that I can expect and he can follow minimal rules like cleaning up after himself and not slamming doors etc. 
I’m looking forward to our appointment with his pdoc so that we can start weaning him off some of the medications. 
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September 25, 2013
Things I am grateful for
My son in our kitchen getting food
My husband at work supporting us
My family and friends
My computer, the internet so I can blog how grateful I am.
My home, it’s dry, warm, cozy, has food and utilities
The sun shinning in my window brightening up my home
The tea I’m currently drinking, herbal and good
The cloths I’m wearing that are clean
My physical health
Even the cigarette that I’m currently smoking
I am grateful for all the good that I have and will center on that right now.
Sending love to everyone as right now that is all that I’m feeling. <3
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I deserve
To be happy
To feel and give love
To love myself
To know that I am beautiful to someone
To have all the good things I do have
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September 26, 2013
Day 5 and doing good. Resolved what I thought was a delusion from Monday. Won’t go into the details but I brought it out into the open and made it clear I won’t be manipulated that way. I also watched a video on youtube about The Secret. The law of attraction. If my own negative feelings of worry are attracting some of the things in our lives then I will do my best to be on the positive. Instead of thinking about what I don’t want to be, I’m thinking about how much I am grateful for and how much I love the people in my life. My son and I haven’t butted heads since I started watching it. He’s taking his medications and trying his best to follow the rules. I have been worrying about him having money again. He received his money yesterday. No arguments in giving me room and board. Spent some of his own money on shirts and online gaming. It’s a great start. Being able to talk to my son with love is wonderful :)
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Grateful for
My son playing online 
My husband at work
My computer and the internet
My home and everything in it
My comfy PJ’s
My coffee
My physical health
My sleeping pill that gave me a good night sleep
Everything good in my life ;)
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Speak out
It came across my dashboard yesterday that it was speak out day. To write something on your wrists to show support and end the stigma around mental illness. So I wrote speak out on my wrists. Spent the day with family. Only one person asked me what it was. I found that somewhat odd. If I had worn a new bracelet it would probably have been commented on. The more I am exposed to this world the more I have to readjust my idea of what stigma means. No one seems comfortable enough to speak about it. It’s all around us yet we continue to want to keep it hush hush. There is no shame in having a mental illness just like there is no shame in having a physical illness. At the same time I understand my son’s point of view of not wanting what has happened to him being talked about in public. We all need to stop treating mental illness like the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge.
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Validation
I’m finding myself taking a look at me. Why I do some of things that I do. What are my motivations? I have known for a long time now that being happy is my responsibility. It’s not for others to make me happy. Yes having people I love in my life makes me happy but they can not make me happy in my own right no matter what they do or don’t do. It’s up to me to do that for myself. Today I’ve been taking that thought one step further. Do I need others to validate my feelings of hurt or any other feeling that I may have? It doesn’t matter what they say or don’t say. In the end I feel what I feel. I need to take responsibility for that and either let it go or let those negative feelings continue to keep me down. I can’t control other people. I guess acceptance plays a big part. I need to accept that other people are who they are and have done what they have done. I can’t change that. I can however try my best to not allow the past to determine my future. Accept that my feelings have been hurt. Feel that hurt and let it heal. Know that I am being the best person that I can be and that should be the only validation that I need. I will do my best to make that thought a reality.
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I'm grateful for
The tea I’m drinking
The yummy chips I’m eating
My husband who’s working today
The clean cloths I just put away
My comfy track pants
My physical health
My home and everything in it
My children
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I am grateful for...
My children
My husband at work
My family & friends (including my followers)
My home and everything in it
The rain that yesterday caused my husband to be sent home early to spend more time with me
My dirty laundry that I’m about to do because I have cloths to wear
The dirty dishes I have to do because we made them dirty with the food we have to eat
Sending love…
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Negative self image
I have been blogging and re blogging items about recovery and having a positive self image. I realized something the other day. I have been doing this for my followers in hopes that one of them might make a difference. However I was not actually applying any of it to myself. I realized that it doesn’t matter if 5, 50, 500, 5000, 5000000000 people tell you how beautiful you are it will only matters if 1 person believes it. That 1 person is you. If you don’t believe that you deserve to be healthy and happy then the rest is just band aids. No worries I will continue posting the band aids for myself and any one else how wants to read them. I have decided that I need to love and accept me more then I have been. I wear glasses, have messed up teeth, a belly and stretch marks. I am beautiful to my husband. These things make me beautiful to him. These things make up the story of my life like reading to much and having children. They are nothing to be ashamed of instead they are what makes me me. Some of the things that I do that make me feel self conscious are some of the very things that my husband finds so adorable about me.
From now on when I look in the mirror I will see what my husband sees and I will smile and think I’m beautiful because I am me.
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Some things I do and try to remember
Try every day to do something that makes you feel good. For me it’s little things like making my bed, taking my vitamins, doing my stretches and even brushing my teeth. I love looking at my made up bed and my teeth love that clean fresh feeling. Dress up every now and thing for no one but yourself.
I learned in recovery that most things we find annoying about others is something we ourselves need to work on.
Self worth, self esteem and self love all begin with self.
Love trumps hate. Period. 
One day at a time, one minute at a time.
You can’t change other people if they don’t want to change. You can change how you act or react towards other people.
Big goals start with little goals.
Every day is the first day of the rest of your life. Own it and make it yours. Sending love <3
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I haven’t updated on my son lately. Things are going good. Calm. Which is always a good thing. Studying still on hold. Some alcohol here and there but certainly not like it was before. He’s sleeping, eating and following the rules most of the time. One day at time :)
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Privacy
How do you teach privacy?
My son is 19 not 9 so you would think he would understand that sometimes I need some. I try my best to give him his. I knock on his bedroom door and wait for him to answer before entering. I leave him alone when he’s in the bathroom unless it’s necessary. We only have one bathroom. Yet when my husband or I are using the bathroom he has to knock on the door just to see what we are doing or how long we will be. He can’t understand why I’m getting mad at him for not showing some patience or respect for other people’s privacy.
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Teaching responsibility
Never an easy task for parents. Not any easier when your child is an adult. My son is out of cigarettes. Mom can I have?. I made it perfectly clear when he decided to spend his money on online gaming that he needed to budget money for cigarettes for the month. He said he would quit as he would rather have the game. Do I feel empathy for him? Yes but it’s about time he started taking responsibility for the choices that he makes.  
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October 11, 2013
Positives
My son helped me tidy up his room today. Started because he accidentally broke his tv of it’s stand and needed a better spot to put it. Now that it’s in a better spot then maybe he will watch tv in his room at night instead of falling asleep on the couch. It made me think that most negatives can be turned into positives if you look at them differently.
We are going out to Red Lobster for dinner. A treat from my husband for my son and I having a good week. My son and I both really like this restaurant. So I made today shower day for both of us. 
I was frustrated a couple of days ago so tackled cleaning my kitchen. 3 hours off and on… Made my husband comment that the fridge is so bright he doesn’t need to turn the light on :)
My son wanted me to pay for a one month subscription to world of warcraft. It’s actually one of the cheaper ones. We got his laundry done in exchange and he helped me make up his bed after I washed his bedding.
I sent my writings that are on my main page about my research and observations to my son’s previous caregiver as I had hoped it would help her to realize that I do have an idea about what my son is going through, why I think it and how what I’m doing should help in the long run. Didn’t get the reaction that I was hoping for. A negative one actually. But that’s ok because it made me stop and realize that I need to let go. I don’t need her approval or understanding. He is my son after all :)
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What songs mean the most to you?
3 songs I have always felt describe how I feel about life.
The Rose by Bette Midler
Every Rose Has It’s Thorn by Poison
Love Me by Elvis Presley
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October 17, 2013
My son is doing good. Strike that. He’s doing great. We haven’t butted heads in awhile now. Every day he’s more affectionate. He hugged me the other day for no reason accept that he hasn’t for while and he loves me. Yesterday he made his own dinner and a milkshake. 
Update on my previous bathroom/privacy post. The other day he really needed the bathroom but didn’t knock or interrupt. Actually waited until I came out and commented “It’s about time…”
Last night my husband and I went to a group meeting that had been cancelled that day. I didn’t check my email. Turned out we were the only people to showed up so we had some one on one time with my counselor and a lady from the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. I emailed her my writings this morning so hopefully it will help someone else in my situation.
My husband is on his way home with a Timmies coffee for us. Listening to my son talking online with his friend. Currently their friendship is not based on alcohol or weed but online gaming. 
Feeling blessed!
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October 23, 2013
My writing
I just printed chapter 11 of my writings.
My son: What are you printing?
Me: My book
My son: What’s it about?
Me: Us. I thought you knew that.
My son: Oh ya. Is it called hell? *laughs*
Me: No. No matter what is going on you will always be a source of happiness to me.
My son: Cool.
Now if I could just get tumblr to display it…
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My Daughter
I don’t talk about her on here. I should be. Even though she is not currently with me she is still an important part of my life and always in my heart. We don’t talk that much. Message each other on Facebook and the odd text message. I need to put in some more of my time on this. 
So yes I have two children :)
My daughter is a beautiful young lady who has come a long way in the last year or so. She’s had her own hurdles to overcome. She has gone from skipping school most of the time to rarely. Currently in her longest relationship. She made it through the punk stage and no longer has a green mohawk. Although I have to admit she looked very cute with it.
Her dad and I almost lost her twice. Once when she was born. As she says her umbilical cord tried to strangle her. She had to have back surgery for scoliosis. Her spin was almost literally an S. Shortly after surgery she stopped breathing for a what seemed like a very long time but she came back to us.
She has been a constant inspiration to me. I have learned so much from her and her willingness to stand up for who she is. She is a loyal friend.
Currently she is looking into what college she would like to go to. For a while I wondered if she would make it through high school. I am very proud of her!
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August (October) 24, 2013
My daughter had her graduation cruise last night. I just looked at the pictures on Facebook. My little girl is certainly turning into a beautiful young lady. She text’ed me that she wished I was there. Me too. She had a great time!
We have been experiencing what I’m calling some hiccups regarding my son. He was doing great. Small hiccup just over two weeks ago where he missed some medications and drank. Then things got back on track again. He was progressing so well for about a week and a half. On the 18th I told him how well I thought he was doing. The next day missed medications and alcohol. Attitude, swearing and slamming doors. So for the past 4 days it’s been unnerving. On some things he is still maintaining. I guess he’s back to taking his Gabapentin as the negative attitude is gone but my gut is telling me that he’s not taking enough anti-psychotics to keep the positive symptoms at bay. A couple of times I have heard him laugh out loud over his own thoughts. Yesterday he looked high and thought I was talking when I wasn’t. This happened twice. Voices? He said he was just tired and not thinking right. Yes he’s tired as he hasn’t been sleeping right again. I know when he’s taking his medications properly he needs 8-10 hours sleep. Last night he was still up at 10:30 and awake this morning at 4:45. Claiming he had just woke up but I know my son when just waking up and that is not what I was seeing this morning. He’s been hitting the walls and clapping again. All signs to me that he is perhaps testing his connection with physical. I’m pretty sure he didn’t take his anti-psychotics again this morning after I gave them to him. I could hear him stashing them. Earlier he was just sitting looking at his computer screen, thinking. These are all red flags for me. Just one red flag I can overlook but put them all together and it’s not good.

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August (October) 25, 2013

Yesterday managed to turn itself around and end on a good note. I hurt his feelings when I asked him how much of his anti-psychotics he was missing because of a conversation we were having. I apologized later and just let him know that I’m sorry if I hurt his feelings that I’m worried. No matter how old he gets I will always be his mother and will always worry. He missed two sets of medications so I added the anti-psychotics to his night time ones as I’ve been informed by his pdoc that I can do this. He saw them and toke them all last night in front of me. With no prompting from me. He went to bed early, got 8 1/2 hours sleep and up early this morning in a good mood. He even spent some time looking through the newspaper this morning. Asked for my help to teach him how to make normal black tea for himself. Usually we drink herbal and it’s just adding water. He just took his morning medications from me. I asked him if he wanted to make a change in how he is taking some of them to make it easier and no he wants to take them as prescribed.

For the fourth morning in a row I’ve been up early. My own insomnia has been acting up so I’ve been getting up before my husband does at 5. Probably a nice change for him to have coffee made for him when he gets up. He apologized this morning as I had taken a sleeping pill last night and got woken up by his alarm as he wasn’t in bed to turn it off. Told him I would probably blog about it :)

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Things I am grateful for...

My beautiful amazing daughter

My husband at work

My son just for being here

The coffee I’m drinking

Everything that I have

Feeling blessed

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Mom can you put on the heater?

Heater? You mean kettle?

Sometimes the words don’t come out right but the logic is sound. A kettle does heat up water.

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August (October) 29, 2013
We got an electric fireplace on Saturday. I decided that since we are probably going to be here for another year then I wanted to enjoy looking at a fire this winter while cuddling with my hubby. We are all very happy with it. I think my son is currently getting more enjoyment from it then I am. He figured out the remote for it and showed us how to use it.

Was a quiet weekend of watching tv and relaxing.

I’m pretty sure my is experimenting with his medications so small showing of positive symptoms but nothing to drastic. For a couple of days there was a little paranoia, messes in the living room, less sleep and he was a little short tempered. He got a good night sleep last night, about 11 hours, so today is in a good mood. Got in some money, paid me back most of what he owed me and is now biking, by himself, to buy a new gaming mouse. I’m guessing he took all of his medications last night and so far has been taking them today. His nurse was here for his weekly visit and that went well. When he asked about my son’s school work I told him that I’m holding off for now. Soon I will look at pushing this but for right now I’m happy with the progress that he is making.

My son needs to get his blood work done today and hopefully do a load of laundry if I’m lucky. I’m going to try making a new recipe for dinner so hopefully that will work out. I have to contact my daughter today. Meant to yesterday… Just want her to know she’s in my thoughts.

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August (October) 30, 2013
I called to lodge a noise complaint against my downstairs neighbors. My floor was vibrating at 9:30 am from her music yet again. Of course the police show up 5 minutes after she turns it off. Told them they have great timing :) I didn’t warn my son that I had called them so when they showed up it freaked him out a little bit. He for a second thought I called them for him. Oops. I will have to make sure I give him an heads up next time.
Forgot to contact my daughter yesterday. This 3 hours time difference in where we live can be a pain. Just text’ed her to have a good day in school and that I love her.

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August (October) 31, 2013
18 years ago today my baby girl was born. 
Happy Birthday! Love you! xoxo

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November 5, 2013
I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween!
Called my daughter this morning to make sure she was up for school. She had a spare for first period. Oops…
Waiting to hear from one of my sisters as we are supposed to have some sister time today with the three of us. Looking forward to it.
My son is doing good. I’ve noticed lately that he is just calling me mom instead of mother or my name. 
I think I have made the decision to go back to school. I was dreaming about it the other night and at about 3 am thought this is what I need to do. My goal is to get through the winter due to finances then in the spring look at studying to be a social worker. I can do this!
What I’m grateful for… Everything!
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November 6, 2013 Peaceful
Yesterday evening my son and I had a short but interesting conversation. He talked to me about how his mind is a lot more silent then it used to be. I guess he used to be afraid of that silence. I think I can understand this as for me I know how loud the silence can be. If that makes sense. Now he’s not afraid of it. Because his thoughts are not racing all the time he can pay attention to the sounds of the physical world. Simple things like the ticking of a clock. I have never thought about how hard it would be to have my own thoughts constantly getting in the way. I can understand to a certain degree because of my own racing thoughts when I try to go to sleep but I don’t have to deal with it 24/7. I asked him how he felt about this new experience and he finds it peaceful. I don’t know if mere words can describe how insightful that one word can be. To think that my son is probably for the first time in a long time able to experience peace with himself and with the outside world. He is happy with where his life is right now. It was a teary eyed moment for me. He can feel himself maturing and growing up. I notice it too. He commented about writing a book on growing up that maybe it could help others. I told him that I think that is a great idea and that if he wanted to we could make it a part of the book that I want to have published one day or he could keep it separate that is up to him. He seemed to like the idea of including it with mine. It would be an honor to share this experience with him one day.
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November 8, 2013 Yes, No and Maybe
I’ve recently experienced a little deja vu. When our children ask us for things they either get a yes, a no or a maybe… I’ll think about it… My daughter used to respond to my maybes with that means yes. Hard to disagree when usually she was right. If I wasn’t outright saying no then chances are that eventually my answer would be yes. Yesterday when my son asked for a Nintendo 3DS and I said I would think about it. He replied, so that means yes? I guess it does. I think as a parent our goal is to make our children understand that we don’t want to say no. We love you and want to get these things for you but at the same time we want you to understand how easily our answer could have been no. We want to teach responsibility and that we can’t always have what we want when we want it. So we are left struggling with our own battle of wanting to say yes but thinking we should probably have said no. Later on my husband and I discussed it and I told him that it’s hard for me to tell my son no on this. It would be different if he was being negative and had the attitude of a couple of months ago where he thought he deserved whatever he wanted, now. He would probably have accepted me saying no. My husband agreed that my son is doing very well right now and if I think he deserves it then let him get it. Needless to say this morning we got it. I guess my biggest concern is not wanting to start a trend where I’m teaching my son that if he does good then material things follow. 
So the next time your parents say maybe… Try to remember they have their own struggles on wanting to show you love but also wanting to help you grow up and be responsible. They don’t always get what they want when they want it either. 
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anonymous asked:
Guten Tag. I'm here to let you know that I really like your blog. Now, I'm quite a lot younger than you- younger than your son even, but often times when I read your "about me" page I find little relations to my own life in there and it's rather comforting. I wish you; your family; and anyone else you may have an affinity for a great deal of happiness and safety. Much love from a fellow Tumblr user. ~The Kind Stranger
Guten Tag to you too. Thank you for liking and reading my blog. Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads my pages so thank you for confirming that they do get read. Sending much love back at you. Love is something we have in abundance in this world and that we will never run out of as long as we keep it alive. <3
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Keeping my cool but I’m pissed. On August (October) 30 I called the police to lodge a noise complaint about my downstairs neighbor. That day she interfered with my washing twice by opening the lid and leaving it open. My son caught her trying to do it a third time. Today the same thing is happening with the dryer except this time I have lost my money as the timer kept going. I really wish I could understand what makes some people be so petty and immature. I can’t imagine spending my time watching other people just so that I could pull pranks like that. Part of me feels sorry for her that she doesn’t have anything better to do with her life but still… and the landlord is afraid of her… Oh well. Filled out an incident report which is all I can do.
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November 11, 2013
I have recently learned how to use my queue as I’m sure some of you have noticed. There are some posts that I see or post myself that I find I don’t want them lost in the shuffle. Their message is to important to me. So daily I am trying to keep them in my queue. I hope you guys don’t mind the constant re-blogging of them?
My son is experiencing a little hiccup. He got high the other day and I wish he could see what I see. Distracted, not sleeping the same, not eating the same, making messes, lying to me, being secretive and being forgetful with his medications. Especially when using pot the medications become even more important to stop his psychosis from being triggered. Without them he can quickly decompress and land himself in the hospital. Taking care of his psychical body becomes less important. He was just starting to feel peace within his own mind. I really hope that he can see for himself that the consequences of this is not worth it. 
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A form of bullying
I blogged recently about my downstairs neighbor interfering with my laundry. Saturday I had to call the police and lodge a noise complaint because her music had items in my living room vibrating. This has been going on for 4 years. No one calls the police on her. I did once 3 years ago and had to call them back because she was shouting really derogatory things out her window directed at not only me but my then 14 year old daughter. For 3 years I have basically not done anything about it because this is what happens when I do call the police. 3 years is enough. Saturday started it up all over again. I thought why am I being so lenient about this when she has no respect or concern for others. She’s interfering with my laundry anyways. Why be intimated by her. Well I had to call the police back yet again as this time she decided to target my son. Again really derogatory remarks centered around incest with my mentally retarded son. They came and talked to her and she admitted to what she said. They told her that if she kept it up she could be charged with harassment. Told me I could call anonymously to complain. Why would I bother. Apparently I’ve been the only one with the guts to call the police on her in 4 years so she would know it’s me anyways. Well since Saturday I have not heard so much as a peep from her unit. *crosses fingers*
I guess I’m saying don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. That doesn’t mean stooping to their level. I have never spoken to her or responded to her rantings. I refuse to act like that. Call the police. Call an adult. Call whoever you need to but not doing anything will not make it go away as I have recently been finding out. She is a bully. Even the landlord is afraid of her which I think is ridiculous. So even adults deal with bullies. Stay strong. <3
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November 19, 2013
Put up my Christmas decorations yesterday. I usually wait until December but this year I decided why wait? I’m glad I did. This time of year is about celebrating love and birth and yes Santa Clause. I’m so thankful for what I have. My kids are doing better then they have in years. My husband and I are doing great. Money… well it comes and goes but I have home and family to love so it’s all good.
Another little hiccup in my son’s life. A bottle of wine. I think perhaps the Gabapentin is causing the alcohol that he does drink to be amplified so that also means the re-emergence of positive symptoms also seem to get amplified. Nothing serious. A little bit of attitude last night when I had to remind him of the rules. Chewing tobacco is not allowed in the living room. I would prefer it not be in my home at all so it has to stay in his room. 
Spent some time googling my names and reclaiming some old profiles. Joined twitter as I wanted to know what that was all about. 
Watched the movie Bedlam from 1946 and now watching season one of the tv series. My son opted out of watching it with us which I’m glad of. 
One of hamsters, Saltie, died the other day. Salt and Pepper were born March 2012 so they are getting up there. Hope Saltie is having fun in hammy heaven. 
That’s it for now…
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November 27, 2013
Oppositional Defiant Disorder?… 
So my son has been having what I have starting calling little hiccups when it comes to smoking marijuana and taking his medications on time for the last week. I try not to nag but don’t always succeed. So today on the third time asking him if he took them I get “I don’t need them you know.” So I said “ok” and walked away. “I love you.” he says. “I love you too.” I replied. A couple of minutes later he takes them… I said “Thank you.”
So I’m just sitting here thinking… Go figure…
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November 28, 2013 Insight
*knock on wood* Just in case… I don’t want to jinx it…
I think my son may be gaining some insight. Sometimes it is a benefit to me to not speak during his appointments with his nurse and psychiatrist. It gives me a chance to hear what he has been thinking when he talks to them. During his last two appointments he has talked about how he can see now that his schizophrenia may be linked to his marijuana use. That his last hospitalization was probably because of it. 
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November 29, 2013 Dropping the ball...
I started thinking last night about my son’s birthday which isn’t until January and what I would like to get him. I’ve been thinking about doing simple things with him this winter like building a snowman when it snows enough. I have most of my Christmas shopping done and my husband commented yesterday how I was going all out this year as I have tried to make cute little stockings for some of his grandchildren and trying to think up gift ideas for his adult children as I don’t want anyone feeling left out. My Christmas decoration where up a couple of weeks ago. My village is gaining more people. I have been getting a package ready to send almost across country to my daughter. All these are good things.
It struck me this morning how in the past I have dropped the ball so to speak. I didn’t have the time to spend with my daughter doing the simple things like building a snowman. Also I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make these things important. Working more then full time it was sometimes a struggle just to try and get supper made before 7 pm. 
I am so thankful that at least for right now I have the time to make these things a priority. To do my best to fill my life with the little things that make me happy. 
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December 1, 2013 ODD?
How to nicely ask him to take his medications when his ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder), what I have started calling it, is acting up. Not easy when it’s obvious to me that the he resists for no apparent reason then the fact that I am repeatedly asking. It’s a bit of a catch 22. I’m repeatedly asking because he’s not taking them. His reactions say that his anxiety or mood is not good yet the resistance of saying they are not needed because his anxiety isn’t acting up… contradicts for me what is obvious. I had to remind him that his pdoc isn’t going to trust him with a benzo if he can’t trust him to take current medications as prescribed. Why is his ODD acting up… Well a couple of nights of getting drunk and I’m pretty sure some marijuana use since I found a pipe packaging that he tried to say was from a long time ago. I wonder sometimes if I really do have stupid written on my forehead. I have already warned him that I will be looking for it as we are in agreement that he will lie to me when it comes to marijuana and it’s not allowed in my home.
Teaching responsibility with money is getting easier but we still have such a long ways to go. He has pretty much spent this months money and he still hasn’t bought his cigarettes for the month. That means he is counting on me to do it for him. That’s ok mom I will pay you back. He still owes me $100 from last month. From my point of view it’s mom please keep giving into me while I resist you trying to keep me healthy and out of hospital. Sorry I think I’m venting a little bit as it isn’t that bad. But it feels like it sometimes. 
Good note: He did take them after I walked away.
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Trust
As time goes by I find it easier to reconcile what I do trust and what I don’t trust. I know it can seem like I don’t trust my son. Especially from his point of view. At least he seems to understand that I am being motivated by love and fear for his mental well being. 
I do not trust schizophrenia and I do not trust addiction. From my own experience I know that addiction can not be trusted. It does what it needs to survive. It takes away hope and makes your world so small that the only thing that matters is it getting what it needs. The only way you can feel good or ok is if you are self medicated. Be it drugs, alcohol or some other form of addiction. Schizophrenia is not so different when it comes to how small your world can become. How can I trust a phenomenon that causes the brain to not regulate itself or be able to cope with the data that it is perceiving? I can’t. 
So when I question my son or watch him closely it is schizophrenia and addiction that I am stalking with a mother’s love. <3
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December 2, 2013 The Heart Vs. The Brain
I’ve been having this little discussion with myself. I seem to talk to myself quit a bit. And I worry about my son’s voices…
Anyways. One of the rules is no chewing tobacco in the living room. Not a new rule. Several times I see the container or spit bottle in the living room and remind my son of the rule, as I did last night. Several times I have gotten “I only thought that applied when you were up and that you didn’t want to see it.” No that rule applies 24/7. It’s a rule. So this morning upon seeing a spit bottle in my living room yet again, I found the chewing tobacco and put it away. That’s the consequence to breaking that rule. The offending product gets thrown out. My bad as I didn’t actually throw it out but put it away. So when my son comes to me asking for it that he didn’t actually use it in the living room. He changed his mind after I told him to put it away and again the I thought this only applied when you were awake… So how do I ensure this won’t happen again? I will try harder next time…
So my heart gave in… Next time I will have to make sure that I actually follow through and throw it out, then and there, so that I don’t have to listen to my brain telling me I was a push over yet again.
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December 6, 2013 Up & Down
My own anger is a little up & down right now. Trying to let it go…
Yesterday afternoon my son’s friend comes in a little drunk and starts telling me that I should not be giving my son his night time medications because look what it’s doing to him, making him nap more. The reality is that it’s not taking certain medications and drinking and using marijuana that is making my son nap during the day. When I pointed this out I got told that it’s ok to drink 3 beer a day and that nicotine is more harmful to him that smoking marijuana a couple of times a day. My reply was to go to AA and see if they say it’s ok to drink everyday and that I have been through drug rehab and one joint is equivalent to one pack of cigarettes for the harmful chemicals it can deposit in your lungs. 
I find out this morning that he is ticked at me for telling him to go to AA. I asked if that was all he remembered of the conversation because I recall it a little differently. I made it clear that if this happens again he will not be welcome in my home. I am the one here every day helping my son and I will be the one there everyday if he gets admitted to the hospital again and I don’t appreciate him coming into my home and telling me how to deal with my son’s medications. As much as I want my son to have a friend he now has access to alcohol and marijuana much more frequently because of this friend. Really if you don’t want my opinion don’t come into my home and start something you can’t handle.
The upside of today is that my son put away his laundry and helped me make his bed with only a little coaching from me. I also got told on a forum that I’m on that my posts are very helpful. That made me happy.
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December 9, 2013
So my son has talked me into a 20+ minute walk each way when it’s -3 to get him an early Christmas present. A wind up radio/charger/light etc. So hard to say no when he’s being all cute about it. The walk will do us good. It could come in handy if there is no power. He has wanted one since he was a kid. He will still love Christmas day. Yup I’ve lost this one lol
Found more pills. Although he has been taking them lately so they are from about 2 weeks ago. Just reminded him to not hid them from me. He likes to be ninja about it. Have to appreciate his humor in knowing that he’s not so ninja since I do find them. 
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December 11, 2013 It's the little things
Sometimes those little things aren’t so little. Especially when it comes to trying to teach responsibility and consequences. In the past whenever I have given my son money for outings with his friend that money has ended up going exactly where I tell him it is not supposed to go, on alcohol. It had been awhile so about a week ago I was asked for money so he could go with his friend to get something to eat. I didn’t get change back because it went towards alcohol, again, after making it clear to both of them that I would be upset if this happened. So today my son has gone shopping with his friend and I got asked for some money for the food court. I said no. I must say I was impressed with how my son handled being told no. I reminded him of the last time and he accepted my reason for saying no. It is time not only for my son but for his friend to realize that I can only let things go so far. I am also taking back some of the control over my son’s cigarettes as they are being given to his friend a little to regularly. Since I am the one making sure my son has cigarettes for the month I don’t need to be supporting his friends habit too. Same with other items like sugar, coffee and even munchies that his friend comes to my door asking for. If he can ask my son to walk to the beer store with him and carry home his beer then he can ask my son to walk to the grocery store with him for essentials. 
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December 14, 2013 Oh the weather outside...
is frightful. But the fire is so delightful. And since there is no place to go. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
Seems to fit since I’m at home thinking about making a big cup of herbal tea, curling up on the sofa with maybe Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing and turning on my electric fire place while I watch the pretty snow fall.
My hubby is probably just thinking it’s frightful… since he is currently out getting ready to snow plow which is his second job. I will send him good thoughts as I think about how grateful I am for the things that I have.
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December 16, 2013 Progress?
I think we are making some pretty good progress.
Sometimes I go with my gut and when the opportunity presents itself I try to take it. So today when my son’s nurse was here I took the chance on speaking up and asking him to explain what is happening with respect to the over stimulation of neurotransmitters in the brain. Too much dopamine and seratonin can lead to hallucinations for one thing. Medications are not to change my son and/or his beliefs. Medications can’t do that. Instead the goal is to help regulate some functions in the brain. To slow down or inhibit the re-uptake of these. Just as someone with diabetes may need medications to help with their sugar levels or I use tinctures to help with menopausal symptoms. They are not changing who I am. My beliefs and spirituality are unchanged however my body is functioning at a better level.
So I’m hopeful that this conversation helped my son to understand better what the medications are for. Until now I don’t know if anyone really tried to explain to him what is happening in the brain with these neurotransmitters. That it is not his character that we are working on. My goal is not to fix him because he does not need fixing. His spirituality and beliefs are what make him beautiful and unique. Controlling the amount of dopamine and seratonin that is produced so that he can reach his own goals is our goal. 
I’m also pleased to say that he seems to be gaining huge insight into the negative consequences of using to much marijuana. *happy dance*
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December 17, 2013 Be nice...
Have you seen Road House with Patrick Swayze?
Remember the scene where Dalton is explaining the three simple rules of bouncing?
Dalton: All you have to do is follow three simple rules. One, never underestimate your opponent. Expect the unexpected. Two, take it outside. Never start anything inside the bar unless it’s absolutely necessary. And three, be nice.
And if somebody gets in your face and calls you a ______, I want you to be nice. Ask him to walk. Be nice. If he won’t walk, walk him. But be nice. If you can’t walk him, one of the others will help you, and you’ll both be nice. I want you to remember that it’s a job. It’s nothing personal.
This scene came to my mind today when I was thinking about how nice I was being while constantly reminding my son to clean up his mess in the living room. I was nice… He finally picked up his mess. 
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December 18, 2013 Letting my guard down...
I really do know better but sometimes I allow myself to get wooed into a place of complacency. Meaning I have let my guard down and the results of that are never good.
The result this time was me turning around to see my son drinking a beer in the living room at 10:30 am. Where did I go wrong? For one allowing it in my home in the first place. My husband and I have not touched alcohol in about 4 months. I do not want to force my son to not drink, period, however if I allow the boundaries to slip just a little bit then he pushes them to far. I told him yesterday when he decided to go to the beer store that I didn’t want it in my home. He stated he would keep it at his friends. Of course he can’t do that because his friend will drink it on him. So last night in comes the beer. This morning some goes in my fridge. I allowed it… My bad… because now I get told that he didn’t know I was so against it. If you want to know the difference between anosognosia and denial I would say this is a good example. Choosing to ignore the facts is denial. He is well aware of my feelings on alcohol. He is making the choice to ignore them because they do not serve him and what he wants to do.
So I will reinforce the boundaries. From now on our home is alcohol free. Period. Once his friend gets home he can take it over there. Not my responsibility or even my concern if his friends drinks it all. On top of that he is now refusing his morning medications because he is drinking. 
On Guard!
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January 10, 2014 Liar, liar...
pants on fire… Remember saying that as kids when you knew the other person was telling a lie?
I’m keeping my cool but it’s hard to deal with my own frustrations when my son insists on lying to me about having alcohol in the home when I have made it very clear that it is not allowed. Period. So I’m a bit frustrated at the moment. Last night it was an obvious lie that he walked to Tim Horton’s and got timbits (mini donuts) that he ate while he was there. Two obvious lies because one he doesn’t walk that far for anything except alcohol and two he never eats that many timbits at one time. Then he wanted me to give him money to pay for an online subscription because he didn’t have enough. When I asked for proof that the money did go on timbits he admitted that it went on alcohol but that he didn’t have it in the home. Again another obvious lie because he won’t keep it at his friends because his friend will drink it and if it was there my son wouldn’t have been able to stay away from it for very long and didn’t go visit which means it was in my home. On top of that he was awake very early this morning which is a good indication of certain things happening like alcohol and not taking his medications properly. This morning I let him know that I was going to search his room and he offered up what was left of the alcohol. Smiling at me while he does it… Why am I upset? Hmm…. I don’t like being lied too.
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January 17, 2014 Big Steps
My son took a big step yesterday. Well, he was nicely pushed into it but still he is willing to try and for that I am so proud of him. He has been a part of early intervention programs for the past three years and usually that is the time frame for early intervention program. They help you for three years. He is hesitant to go into the next program as he is comfortable with and likes his current support workers. It is sad for me too as I will also lose my support worker and it also means a new psychiatrist. But this next program has a lot more support. Workers that can actually pick him up and take him to appointments. Meet with him several times a week if needed. It is also security for me that if something happens to me then right away there are people that can step in and help day to day so that his stability is not put into jeopardy. Soon things may get stressful for him as I will be pushing for him to start getting his high school equivalent. I have tried being teacher in the past and I don’t want that stress between us again when we are doing so good. I just want to be mom. As much as he doesn’t feel that he will continue to need such support within the next 3-6 months he gracefully gave in and agreed to give PACT (The program) a try for a month. I agreed that during that time I will not push schooling to give him a chance to get to know them before things get stressful again. We both have some changing to do and a world to become a part of. I need to get back to work as well. So as great as things are right now I will do my best to ensure that 6 months from now we have progressed into something even better. I told him to take advantage of the help that is being offered because most of us have to do these things on our own with very little support. When I start looking for a new job it will be scary for me too. New company, new people and I will have to do it on my own. He will have someone help him every step of the way. He should never have to switch programs again so if he needs them 3 months or even 3 or 6 years down the road they will be there.

The last couple of days have been a little stressful for my son. His best friend who lives across the hall, the one I’ve began to look at as a crutch instead of a positive, does not seem to be doing too good. He also has a MI and drinks and smokes pot. Well two days ago while under the influence he decided to physically go at my son. Hit him a bunch of times, once in the face, so my son hit him back, once, to stop him. Well the friend got hurt and called the paramedics. Now he is trying to say that he was only play fighting and that my son should not have hurt him. This is not the first time that this friend has tried to be macho with my son and got hurt in the process. He didn’t come at my son in a playful matter. My son felt assaulted. So now he is guilt tripping my son. All I can do is tell my son to try and stay away from him and the next time this friend is at my door and I already warned my son that I will be doing this. I will be making it clear to him that if he can’t handle it then don’t start it. You can’t go around hitting people and expect them to not react or defend themselves.


On another good note. I got a message today from someone thanking me and letting me know that they get comfort from my posts. Messages like this make it even more worth it. It’s like icing on the cake. I’m so grateful that my journey with my son can help others to not feel so alone.