Brandon Update

On March 25th Brandon met with Dr. Jenkins (Kacie's kidney doctor) to rule out any problems with his kidneys and adrenaline glands. Everything checked out OK. The next day he had an MRI which also checked out OK.

It has been so frustrating that we can't seem to find any answers. So the other day I spent a lot of time on the Internet searching mental health symptoms and I clicked on schizophrenia. I was amazed at how well everything fit. I am also amazed that no doctor has even suggested this.

Some things that I have learned is that psychotic symptoms usually emerge in men in their late teens. In adolescents, the first signs can include a change of friends, a drop in grades, sleep problems, and irritability. They have a decreased ability to speak, express emotion, or find pleasure in everyday life. They also may have hallucinations, delusions and disorders of movement. Speech may be garbled or hard to understand. Another form is "thought blocking," in which the person stops abruptly in the middle of a thought. They may also exhibit involuntary movements and may grimace or exhibit unusual mannerisms. They may repeat certain motions over and over or, in extreme cases may become catatonic. People with schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk, may sit for hours without moving or talking much, or may seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are really thinking.

I think Brandon has shown signs of all of these symptoms and now our challenge is finding a doctor that can help us. I do feel somewhat better knowing that maybe I found some answers.