Questions About Bi-Polar

M.,

My son who is 14 now is ODD which is also in the Bi-polar family like ADHD. I am learning like you are, but I do have a little bit of information. I can't talk right now, but maybe we can either email or call each other and I can give you a little more information. Hope to talk to you soon and help you out.

L.

Hi M.,

My daughter was 7 when I took her to the pediatrician for what "I" thought was hyperactivity. She was just a "rambunctious, child." The doctors are trained to work with the Pharmaceutical companies to keep them in the profit margin. I say this because, after having her first on ritalyn (not sure of the spelling) and then after a year she was changed to something else, I felt that she did not need it, and I took her off all medication. A friend had told me with certain children, if you give them 1/4 cup of strong coffee every morning that it would calm them down. So I did, just to check out her findings. It worked!
My daughter turned out to be a B student in high school, had no behavior problems, and is now 24 years old with a family of her own, (2 boys, ages 4 and 19 months.) It is humorous to me, that she is married to a guy who's dad is on medication for being Bipolar Schizophrenic. I might add, that my dad later on in his years had Schizophrenia. I am well, my other kids are normal.
Try the coffee.
Let me know how it works...The drugs that doctors give out freely theses days...can lead to children becomming depressed, and suicidal. Lord knows that it is very hard being a kid these days without prescription drugs! If you know any kids that go to Ponderosa High School, you will know that this year on the back of their school IDs they have put the number of the "Suicide Prevention Hotline"...It makes me sick, that there is no hope being provided for our kids.

Blessings,
C.

hmmmm well im bi-polar n i guess its a mood disorder. they also call it manic depressive. his moods would b like a roller coaster . and when he is happy he is super happy sad super sad. every emotion is intensified. but w/the right meds its not bad. well hope i helped u a lil

First of all I would get a second opinion because ADHD is mis-diagnosed far too often. Then they stick these poor kids on Riddilin and that usually makes the behaviour go from "bad" to "comatose".
As for the signs, extreme mood swings - to the point of seeming over dramatic about the smallest things. Also check that he's in the right class for him at school - it may be that he doesn't learn the way he's being taught and this could be fustrating him to where he acts out. Or he may be being bullied.
I hope this works out for him :)

My daughter, who is now 22, was diagnosed bipolar when she was eight. She did have family history though, for my mother was also bipolar II, which is more on the depressive side, although she wasn't diagnosed until she was 62. My daughter was on meds from the time she was 8 until she was 16, and I think they really helped. Then being a rebellious teen, she went off her meds, and did whatever she wanted. But things are good now - no meds, and she's been quite stable for years. I think the point about family history is very important - is there any bipolar in your family? My daughter was depressed first, and then went into mania, which was rather off the wall behavior - she would attack me every few days, and run off, etc. It was probably because she was on an antidepressant and no mood stabilizer. She was on fairly low doses of both for years, and then stopped. I was worried, but it is going well, and she is in college. A.

I have a brother who is bi polar & a nephew my father was as well. If you doctor thinks your son is bi-polar take him to a psychiatrist the can tell you for sure. I am not a big fan of medicating children but it your son is bi-polar it will make his life so much easier. My nephew was diagnosed at age 3. He was violent attacking kids for no reason & then he would be fine happy child. He was very had to handle always in trouble throwing fits for no reason. He would occasionally wake up mad for no reason. My sister noticed that her son was acting normal by age 1 even then he was violent. She ignored it for years but since being on his med he is a sweet little boy. He is not comatose or lethargic. She did have to play with his meds a little. But now he act like a normal little kid still has tantrums & fits like kids his age though. Till his meds it was scary at times. My brother is bi-polar as well my mom didn't know about this when we were little (my dad wasn't diagnosed till his 40's) she just thought he acted out. As he got older he resorted to finding his own "medications" like my dad they both did drugs not just weed either & were alcoholics. My brother who is now 17 has been to jail has to go to counseling is on probation dropped out of school. He has a little girl now & that has made him clean up his act luckily. If your son is bi polar please get him help the medication if he is severe enough to require it makes a huge impact on his life now & forever.
I don't want to scare you so I will tell you about someone I know who has bipolar & not on meds. They were diagnosed in high school but can tell when they are going through the manic parts & becomes reclusive. I have known them for yrs since before they were diagnosed you would never know they are. They did wonderful in school had friend was never violent or into heavy drugs.
ps this is an inheritable disease so if someone in your family already has it your sons chances increase.

Wow, I guess almost everything there is to say has been said. I have a psychology degree and a family member with severe Bipolar dissorder and we like to compare it with a tidal wave that's sometimes moves slowly and sometimes quickly. There's usually a long low time where he's reclusive, depressed, won't talk about it, doesn't eat well, sleeps all the time, then he seems to be pulling out of it and progressively becomes more and more energetic (at which point he often quits taking his meds), then the good mood becomes erratic and compulsive until he finally just becames so full of energy that he's enraged and extremely irritable. Sometimes this range of emotions happens over months and sometimes over hours, depending on what starts it all rolling. It's good to notice and become familiar with the patterns. There may come a time where your son really and truly needs meds and if you and a psychologist, not pediatrician, decide that then that's a beautiful gift to give to someone who truly needs it. This is a real illness, as real as diabetes or cancer. However, I agree that you should be very careful about medicating a young child for bipolar because the medications can have severe side affects and are amplified sometimes in young children. Starting with some sort of therapy or behavior modification might be the best place to begin. You're a good mom for seeking out help and I know you can handle this.

My children's father is Bipolar II, and he lives in California where they have the medical marijuana law. So that is how he controls his. I don't know what his symptoms are, because I've never seen him when he wasn't "medicated". But I did borrow this really awesome book from the library the other day. It is called "The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Bipolar Disorder" by William Stillman. I'm not very far into it, but it seems like a really informative book so far. The chapters are broken down so you can learn how to define Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar mimics (tells about some of the things that it is misdiagnosed as), learn about manic episodes and depressive episodes, medications that are available, finding help, school resources, medicine alternatives, therapy, hospitalization (in very extreme cases), and so many more helpful things. If you go to your local library and get a copy of this, I promise you won't be dissapointed.

Good Luck!!!

M. ~

I was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder at age 14. At that time they told me that was the youngest they would be able to diagnose that way. 8 seems absurdly young to me. And looking back, I think probably 14 was too young for so many different psychiatrists to be messing with my already topsy-turvy chemistry. (Now I am fully dependent on the meds.) Please be very careful about medications for your son. I erroneously put mine on Straterra at age 5 for ADHD/ODD and it caused a whole new set of problems. In my experience, it's just not worth it. Watch what is going into his body and into his mind and do the best you can as his very valuable mom. Leave the rest to his Creator, the Great Physician.

I hope this helps, M.. All my best to you and your family. :)

~ R.

my 17 yr old son was diagnosed with depressive disorder at age 14 but last year he was also diagnosed as bipolar. i just need to tell you what he does. as with all mentally ill persons, they take the medicatins, feel better and think they are cured and stop taking them. when he stopped he would be on the go constantly and unable to sleep . he would run 5 miles early in the morning, run another 5 miles to school go through school got to cross country practice or wrestling practice depending on the season. practic ehard for 3 hrs then run home eat and then run some more aroudn 8 or 9 then stay up all night. he says he could stop hismind form gong going going just about nothing at all, couldnt concentrate. then after a few weeks of this his body would wear out and he would not want to go to school slepp all day. he put up black sheets over his windows and would just want to be in the dark, not eat or anything. during this time he wouldt talk. sometimes during his manic phase he would go into these rages. last thanksgiving he thought i took a cd and he tore up the house and my car. it took 4 police officers to get him down. he also slef mutilates during those times. it is very scary but we have narrowed it down to october and april of each year and his doctor says it has somethng to do with light and the changing of the seasons. that is the only time he has a rough time the rest of the year he takes his meds and is the prefect young man. we know when he is starting to crash but he cant tell and doesnt beleive us. this year we talked about it and when he started his symptoms we were after him and he did just fine. he appologizes and says he doesnt want to feel that way. last april he started taking double doses of his meds in march sothat he wouldnt get sick and he ended up scaringheimelsf because he got all shaky and felt really weird. he now understands that there is a reason for his medication and the dosages and he has been doing really welll. family counseling also helped we all learned better communications skills and use them. he was never diagnosed with ADHD but he was abused by his biological father. he attempted suicide when he wa s 14 and that is how we found out about the depression.

Maybe he is just tired and hungry at the end of the day, askt he teacher about snacks.

Don't listen to a pediatrician about mental disorders they are not trained in this area and are usually not up on the latest research or techniques. See a psychiatrist. Also, there are many things that have the same types of behaviors associated. My son has ODD, OCD, ADHD and who knows what else (the new trend diagnosis is now autism spectrum). I went through 8 years of DAILY hell until we found something that worked, special private school and meds. I first questioned my parenting techniques, then questioned the stability of his environment. Then looked at other children to see if his behavior was that much different to theirs (involve teachers, they can be very helpful, there are also school and district psycologists). Also many kids are misdiagnosed with ADHD due to food allergies. Question if he is only this way to you, or if he is this way to everyone (could just be a parent kid struggle). Then look at disorders.

P.S to the person who said riddalin makes kids comatosed- I have a feeling you have never seen a kid on meds for ADHD, that is a little outdated. I am not sure they still perscribe riddalin anymore. I personally never take advice from someone who has not experienced the same problems. I used to have people tell me I needed to read to him more!!! Ya, that will help him not get suspended from school or kicked out of daycares, or calm his massive fits.

Wow!!!

I really hate these subjects, being that maybe people will think I am an old fuddy duddy, but the doctor says our child has this or that, when it comes to mental issuses. Oh yes there are people of all ages that have real mental problems. But this is my thoughts on this. Did your mom and dad or grandparents or even great grandparents have bi-polar or adhd? Huh NO, because the pharmaceutical companies found a way with a pill that can cure it? They are rich and you are paying for it. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that some child are born with brain problems or some maybe brought on my head trauma. But with mental issuse because your child does something differnt, or cant seem to focus on things. come on. Adha is what they tried to tell me my son had, the school insisted that I have him tested, sure enough they said he had adha, I tried medicine, he was so different, not the same little boy. That lasted a week. let see try watching your child, see how he reacts, the truth behind my sons problem was (with the help of a therpist) he did have what socitey calls adah. But the real souce he that the teachers at school bored him. Never again did I put him on medicine you have to let your child develope into his own. I do not believe in pills for so called bi-polar or adah. Find the real source and a good dr that will treat him as a real person. It is so sad to think that the national istitute or mental health states that 57.7 million americans have some sort of mental health issuses. www.nimh.nih.gov
I guess we are all crazy. lol.... eveyone one has some issues that bothers them, try to stay away from the meds. NO good. If you want to go the the site for bi-polar, go to www.bipolar.com.

This is just what I feel and think. Try talking with your parents or grandparents. Sometime you as the parent is the best cure for what you child needs. Prayer is the best and biggest stress reliver in the whole and that is a true fact.
Teach you child to pray.

May God Bless you and your Family.

M.,

Have you considered looking into any allergies that your son may have? It is common for those with gluten intolerances and celiac disease, among others to be misdiagnosed as adhd. Those with allergies and intolerances can have very similar behaviors as those with adhd, I would recommend looking into it more. If this is the case with your son, simple changes in diet can drastically improve his and everyone elses quality of life. Good luck!
H.

Dear M., Please watch the 12-minute video at www.mineralstory.com and let me know if the Kid's Toddy, which is specially formulated for children, and has vitamins, amino acids and MINERALS might be the answer for your son. If you would like more info, please call me at ###-###-####. Happy Holidays, R.