[Brometheus]

the guy is easier to look at than this woman.. scary.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by ouisch66 ↗

I took care of a 13 year old who had Stevens-Johnson syndrome. He'd gotten it from taking Lamictal for ADHD. I'd never heard of Lamictal being used for that and I don't even think Lamictal is supposed to be given to children. Anyway, his was blind. They'd sewn his eyelids about 3/4 of the way shut and we had to put eye drops in the 1/4 that was still open. He only lived a few months.

How sad! Why were his eyelids sewn shut?

[ouisch66]

I don't really know why they had his eyes sewn like that. We had to put eye ointment and drops in his eyes once every hour. I don't think they would have done that because he couldn't produce tears and moisturize his eyes because we did that ointment. His eyes looked like skinned grapes, if they were pink. They said he was mentally retarded after he had that reaction to Lamictal but I'm not sure that's true. He loved Star Wars and I'd put it on at the end of his bed so he could hear it. He'd get real quiet and listen. *He cried A LOT. He'd cry so hard that his blood pressure would go up and we'd have to medicate him for that, too. It was a really sad situation.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by ouisch66 ↗

I don't really know why they had his eyes sewn like that. We had to put eye ointment and drops in his eyes once every hour. I don't think they would have done that because he couldn't produce tears and moisturize his eyes because we did that ointment. His eyes looked like skinned grapes, if they were pink. They said he was mentally retarded after he had that reaction to Lamictal but I'm not sure that's true. He loved Star Wars and I'd put it on at the end of his bed so he could hear it. He'd get real quiet and listen. *He cried A LOT. He'd cry so hard that his blood pressure would go up and we'd have to medicate him for that, too. It was a really sad situation.

I never heard of a drug causing mental retardation, although I guess it is considered a birth defect. If I am wrong, please correct me.

That is such a sad story It must have been very stressful for you.

[ouisch66]

Well, they put mental retardation with developmental disabilities. If you are damaged with your mental or physical abilities before you're an adult you're considered MR/DD.

"By most definitions mental retardation is more accurately considered a disability rather than a disease." Stated on the Mental retardation page of wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation

It wasn't as stressful as one would think. My unit had 12 children who had a diagnosis incompatible with life. It might be good that I don't have children of my own and I know that most of my kids there had no appreciation for life. We didn't let them suffer but we could never make most of them smile or show that they enjoyed life. No laughing. Just sitting through their youth.

[ouisch66]

Also, I think they quit calling it MR/DD. I think they might call it DODD now, which also means dentist so I never started using it.

[mintycbo]

Originally Posted by ouisch66 ↗

I took care of a 13 year old who had Stevens-Johnson syndrome. He'd gotten it from taking Lamictal for ADHD. I'd never heard of Lamictal being used for that and I don't even think Lamictal is supposed to be given to children. Anyway, his was blind. They'd sewn his eyelids about 3/4 of the way shut and we had to put eye drops in the 1/4 that was still open. He only lived a few months.

Lamictal is a drug mainly used in Bi-Polar Disorder,
The drug I was concerned with in my previous post was Effexor, but I also take Lithium (either of those can cause Steven Johnson's).
I read your other posts prior to mine here. That is sad. The kids you care for may not smile, but atleast it doesn't seem like they are suffering from what you had said.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by ouisch66 ↗

Well, they put mental retardation with developmental disabilities. If you are damaged with your mental or physical abilities before you're an adult you're considered MR/DD.

"By most definitions mental retardation is more accurately considered a disability rather than a disease." Stated on the Mental retardation page of wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation

It wasn't as stressful as one would think. My unit had 12 children who had a diagnosis incompatible with life. It might be good that I don't have children of my own and I know that most of my kids there had no appreciation for life. We didn't let them suffer but we could never make most of them smile or show that they enjoyed life. No laughing. Just sitting through their youth.

I apologize. Disability was the word I couldn't think of.

[ouisch66]

Originally Posted by mintycbo ↗

Lamictal is a drug mainly used in Bi-Polar Disorder,
The drug I was concerned with in my previous post was Effexor, but I also take Lithium (either of those can cause Steven Johnson's).
I read your other posts prior to mine here. That is sad. The kids you care for may not smile, but atleast it doesn't seem like they are suffering from what you had said.

Lamictal is a seizure medication primarily.

I don't work at that facility anymore. One of the nurses there accidentally killed one of our patients and they hid everything so she wouldn't be in trouble. I don't appreciate backwards shit like that so I left.

I work on a drug rehab unit now.