Psych Ward

After the last several weeks of Stella's rages, I broke down and called a psychiatrist. I didn't know what to do. Brian didn't know what to do. I was tapped out, drained and at my wits end. Something had to be done.

Scott Shannon had been recommended by several people. He, however, does not take insurance. In fact, there are no child psychiatrists in the area, that I could find, who 1) took our insurance and 2) were taking new clients. That meant we went further out and called a place in Westminster. We made an appt for Wednesday, the 26th.

They called to confirm our appt on Monday, telling me that they need 24hrs notice for change or cancellation. In addition, if we missed/canceled our first appointment, they would not reschedule.

You do know we got our first snowstorm of the season on Tuesday night/Wednesday right? Check this out if you don't live here but would like to see it. Yes, we drove to Denver in that mess. Thankfully, it was fairly warm out so the roads were wet, but not slippery. Visibility was low and things were moving slowly, but it wasn't horrible. We left at 8:30am for a 10:20 appointment and were there early enough for the kids to have a hot chocolate once we arrived in Denver.

The appointment went much as expected. Stella wouldn't talk for most of the time, though she started talking towards the end (and did say she liked the person we saw.) It was a brief run down of symptoms and checking off of some of the possible diagnoses ("do you hear voices talking to you", etc.) In the end, probably ADHD and mild depression. We'll fill out some worksheets over the next 2 weeks, try a med and then go back and check in. We'll keep doing that until things settle down, then it will be a once a month appt.

The person we saw did seem to "get" Stella and be able to describe quite well how she feels, so I feel ok with the diagnosis. However, I could have told you this diagnosis as I know my child and have read a great deal about things trying to help her with her anger issues. Her therapist who has been seeing her for about 2 years also could have told you this. Still, it was necessary that we drive to Denver in a snowstorm to see a Physician's Assistant for 30minutes so she can make the diagnosis before we can get medicine that will hopefully help Stella.

We'll see how it goes. It might be a roller coaster ride the next few months while we try things.