Those Meds

Today was a perfect example of why I am so torn over giving Basia her ADD medications.  This was the second day of a new medication.  We are hoping that the side effects (sleepiness, sadness, no appetite) are better with this medicine than they were with the one she was on last week.  The pharmacist warned us that she would likely be sleepy for the first couple days at least. 

The Good:
We had company coming this afternoon, so Basia was working on getting her room tidy.  She spent a lot of time in there, and Brishen tells me that she made him help her sort all of her drawers and bins.  Once she was done with the tidying, she came and got a broom to sweep.  She then asked me for a small trash bag so she could gather all the trash in the house.  She then started washing windows and only stopped when I assured her that we had to leave for church that very minute and did not have time for any more cleaning.

The Bad: 
About that time, the sleepiness set in.  It's hard for me to tell the difference between sleepiness and sadness because it looks the same and goes together.  She got quiet and very tired.  She wasn't sure she wanted to go to children's church.  She was not excited when I left her, and she is usually overjoyed.  When I picked her up, she looked half asleep with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.  I asked her if she smiled at all at children's church and was told that she did not.  She got home and was tired for a couple more hours, and I had to threaten her to play with her visiting friend. 

The Better than the Last Med:
This medicine only lasts for 6 hours, so she was her normal self by mid afternoon.  The last one had her wanting to lay on the couch from late morning until evening, definitely not like the Basia we all know and love. 

The Hope:
I'm hoping that the pharmacist was right and that she will only have this tiredness for a couple days.  I can tell you the bad is not worth the good to me.  Parents who give their children these sorts of medications often have very creative, interesting kids, and they fear that the medicine will change their personalities.  I have that same fear.  I don't want Basia to lose her Basia-ness, even for a few hours a day, even if she cleans my whole house.   Each day I hand her a pill, I feel as though I am knowingly giving her something that will make her feel horrible because that has so far been the case.  I know that I have to give her body some time to get used to the medication before I can rule it out, but I sure will hate handing it to her tomorrow.  I will hope, however, that the two days of tiredness are behind us, and that I will magically have this daughter who can filter out the world's distractions and learn a little more easily (and also have focus left over for some laundry!) tomorrow!  If there wasn't hope, we wouldn't be doing this in the first place, so I'll just try to remember that when I hand her that little pill in the morning.