To medicate or not to medicate

That was the question... when Baileyanne was diagnosed with Autism, our pediatric neurologist asked us if we wanted to put her on meds. We were VERY against this idea though prayed about it for a few weeks and met up with him and discussed our options. He told us that our best bet would be to try several and see which one worked best for our daughter. We talked to him about the benefits and the advantages and the disadvantages. He told us that her body would adversely react if that particular med was not appropriate for her. He put us on 6 different trial meds, one for two-three weeks at a time. He told us that we would know RIGHT away with each medication if this was the one for her. We tried the first one... nope. We tried the second one... nope. We tried the third one... nope. We tried the fourth one... nope. We tried the fifth one... nope. We tried the sixth one... nope. We were EXHAUSTED! Her body reacted differently to each one. She was violent, hitting the walls, she was moody, she cried at the drop of a hat, she didn't sleep, she slept for hours. We TRIED and knew that this was something that we did not want to see our daughter go through. It was both exhausting for her and for us. Try getting a three year old to take pills... with applesauce, with yogurt... we tried everything in the book. We called the doctor and told him that we had tried each medication and that we had chosen not to medicate our daughter. The medications that he prescribed were for ADD and ADHD. You name it, we tried it.
Three years later, I was at the scrapbook store and the crop that night happened to be raising money for the Austism Foundation here in Tulsa. TOTAL GOD THING... that I happened to be there that night! At the table across from me, there was this little girl that I swear to you, was a mirror image of Baileyanne! she acted like her, she talked like her, she even LOOKED like her. There was something different though. She was a lot more calm that Baileyanne ever was. It was TOO weird! I got to talking to her caregiver (her mom was not there that night) and we got on the subject of meds. This little girl was Autistic like Baileyanne and was on a medication called Luvox. "Luvox, I asked?!?" what is it for and how did I get some?!? we ended up talking for quite a while and realized that we went to the same doctor. We talked about Luvox and the fact that we had been praying about what to do with Baileyanne. I called our developmental pediatrician and he got us in the next month. (usually it takes three to four months to get in to see him) We talked about our options and he started her on the Luvox that week. Not even TWO days later.... we noticed a difference. Her teachers noticed a difference. It was AMAZING! We knew that this was something that we needed to continue. Luvox is an anti-psychotic medication used for anxiety. With Baileyanne's OCD and her Obsessive Compulsive behavior and stemming, this medication has worked wonders not only for her, though for our family. She is pleasant to be around and has demonstrated that she can sit for longer periods at school and in everyday settings. For the longest time, we were against the idea of medicating our daughter because all of the hype you hear, though it is the best thing that we have done for her and for our family. It may not be for everyone though God answers prayer and makes it clear to His children what He desires. He desires for us to be good stewards of His name. I believe that is what we strive to do daily in our family and with our daughter Baileyanne.