Read more about the article Gavin gives an update on his latest mission 8/6/16 #schizoaffective
Gavin / Mission Debriefing / Schizoaffective Disorder

Gavin gives an update on his latest mission 8/6/16 #schizoaffective

Just so we're all on the same page.  Gavin suffers from a form of Schizophrenia called Schizoaffective Disorder.  He's currently in the midst of a psychotic break and living with both audio and visual hallucinations. Gavin likes to update me frequently on his missions and what's going on in his world's. Gavin spends a great deal of time in what he calls worlds.There are many of them and he's the ruler of them all.  He battles the evil forces of Eggman and Zurg with his band of visibly challenged, super best friends. I refer to them as his visibly challenged group of super best friends for a couple of reasons. For starters, they're his best friends, only he can see them and they're also super heros. I started using that…

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August 9, 2016
Read more about the article Gavin’s had a really rough day
Autonomic Disorder / Gavin

Gavin’s had a really rough day

Gavin's had a tough day and probably not for the reasons you're thinking. Behaviorally, Gavin's been an angel for the most part and we couldn't ask for more.  Unfortunately, the things that have been a problem today are more health related. Gavin's had stomach aches, on and off all day long.  There's nothing that seems to be an obvious cause but he was definitely hurting. About mid-afternoon, we went to visit my Grandmother.  She lives about 90 minutes away and at the time, Gavin was doing fine.  He was excited about going and said that he felt fine.  If he hadn't, I wouldn't have suggested making the trip. A few minutes before we left, Gavin approached me like he was a secret agent and sought permission for his friends to…

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August 2, 2016
Read more about the article We made a difficult decision about Gavin’s current emotional status
Gavin / General Update / Psychotic Episode / Schizoaffective Disorder

We made a difficult decision about Gavin’s current emotional status

I meant to publish this update the other day but I've been a bit distracted. Lizze and I met with Dr. Pattie on Tuesday night to discuss what we should do in regards to Gavin's current psychotic break.  The reality is that there is very little that we can do, aside from possibly adjusting his meds. The decision basically revolves around whether or not to increase his Clozapine dose. While this may not seem like a tough decision, it really is for a number of reasons. Clozapine is not a medication to be messed with, if it can be avoided.  That being said, it's also the only medication that has a history of actually working on Gavin.  It either quiets the voices or makes them silent all together. Gavin is…

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July 28, 2016
Read more about the article We have a very serious decision to make
Clozapine Crisis / Gavin / Psychotic Episode / Schizoaffective Disorder

We have a very serious decision to make

I heard back from Gavin's psychiatrist today and we have a very, very difficult decision to make, in regards to Gavin's current psychotic break.  Dr. Reynolds explained that we can increase Gavin's Clozapine dose back up to 800mg a day, if we feel he's that bad or that far gone.  He's currently on 600mg/day right now because when we had to start over the last time, we stopped when we reached 600mg/day.  It seemed to be working at the lower dose and because the danger inherent to this medication, if it worked at the lower dose, we were better off stopping there.  Bumping him up to 800mg/day would put him back where he was before we started over.  We had to get special approval to have him in the 800mg/day…

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July 26, 2016
Dentist / Elliott / Emmett John / Gavin

You won’t believe what we went through just trying to get Emmett to the dentist

I can't even begin to explain how horribly awry today has gone. I should probably just start at the beginning. Lizze got off to class without any problems and let me sleep in until it was time for her to leave. The boys and I spent the morning getting some things done. I spent a large part of my time just trying to calm Emmett, who's picked today to freak out about the dentist.  He normally does well but on a day that Lizze isn't able to be there, he's pretty hardcore freaking out. Before we left, Elliott and Gavin had a snack because we were going to eat lunch late. Elliott had some granola samples I had received and Gavin had crackers or something, I can't remember. We checked…

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July 25, 2016