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Question 40: One of my major concerns
... has been medication. C. has been on medication since he was diagnosed
... actually quite a few different ones and to tell you the truth,
lately I am thinking that I don't even really know my "true"
son ... only the medicated one. After listening to you all day Saturday
... I feel like I am giving C. a double standard when I say "be
yourself and be proud of your Tourette Syndrome ... but her take your
pills so that you don't have any symptoms of it"! I realize that
there are cases where medication is a must and if it is working great
... but thins are pretty bad for C. right now and his self esteem
is at an all time low ... I spoke with him this morning and told him
how you felt when you were on medication and he said he feels the
same way ... I am going to try and go drug free and see where it takes
us ... who knows, I may be back here some day but for now I think
it is worth the effort to see my "true" child and not the
one I have medicated to suit society!! T.D., NS, Canada.
Good
evening T.D.:
Your
concern of a 'double standard' is a very good point, and is something
that I personally have grappled with as well. While the decision "to
med or not to med" is yours and C's to make, I think I would be
concerned if things were GOOD now and you were still considering taking
this step. If, as you say, things are rock bottom though, then perhaps
now is the time to at least explore a different route to finding success.
An important caveat to give you I think is to appreciate that not MEDICATING
is not synonymous with not TREATING. Treatment, in terms of strategies,
cognitive-behavioural techniques through a psychologist, or medications
needs to be in place or else failures and the resultant low self-esteem
will persist. Be sure you begin implementing a new treatment as you
remove the old, so as there are no set-ups (to you OR him).
The best of luck to you both...........l am impressed with the obvious
sober deliberation you've put into making this choice, and while the
non-medication route may not ultimately be the solution, as you point
out, the only really "wrong" decision that can be made in
this journey is to not try all options available to you. Fingers crossed
that when you each get to know the 'true' C. you find that, with a little
re-channeling, the tune he plays is one you both enjoy.
Dr.
Dunc.
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