Thank Goodness for meds . . .

Shortly after we came home from Florida we had to remove Abilify from Dustin's medication regimen. I have never thought that his Abilify was particularly helpful anyway so I was okay with it. Our state-sponsored insurance in Indiana is FABULOUS. I have very little to complain about in that area of our lives. The kicker is that a portion of psychotropic drugs need a prior authorization. Meaning that your doctor has to provide documentation that the meds your child needs once or twice a year is necessary. It is a tedious process for the psychchiatrists office who is already receiving payment at a reduced rate. They will not cover two meds that do the same thing without a bit of difficulty.

Dustin's system is very sensitive when to comes to upping dosages on medication. He develops EPS very quickly and it can be life threatening. For this reason, he is on Chlozaril and Abilify. Both are anti-psychotics for his schizophrenia. I did not think dropping the Abilify would make a huge difference.

Boy was I wrong.

Last week we went back on the Abilify at a half dosage. I had a bit leftover from a previous refill. I wanted to try going back on it since we were having such a HORRID time of it lately. I wanted to see if it was a typical cycle of rotteness or if it was truly the lack of Abilify. Within 2 days we knew the verdict. He was back to "normal". He basically stopped the UGLINESS we had been seeing and reverted back to the normal ugliness that we are used to dealing with. He has stopped yelling and has not had to be restrained since we restarted it. I couldn't be more pleased.

Robert took him to the doctor last week and they are going to begin the process to get it approved. I am thankful for a doctor who is willing to do this. I am pleased that his behavior is changed a bit for the better. I know this means he is feeling a bit better in his own skin too.

Just like chemo can cure a person's cancer, psychotropic medications can be lifesavers.