Does this confirm the diagnosis?
My 7 yo dd has been on a small dose of Risperdal for 2 1/12 weeks. She takes 1/2mg in the pm and 1/4 mg in the am. She is a different child- I feel like I've got my daughter back. No mood swings, no rages, I've even slacked off on the mood chart, as she has been so pleasant and cooperative.
The psychiatrist has only met her once, and she didn't 'diagnose' bp, but said she has the symptoms. If the Risperdal is working so well, does this confirm that she has bp, or a mood disorder? We're going back next week to be reviewed.
I'm aware that the situation may change, and she may become unstable again, but for now, I'm thrilled.
My husband, whilst acknowledging the improvements, STILL denies that it's bp or mood dosorder. My MIL rings dh in tears saying how can we label dd like that, and what are the side effects of the meds etc etc. She is a wonderful grandmother, and very close to dd, but she is also her loudest critic, and catalogues to me eveything dd says, everything she does, she's the one who's been raving for the past few years about how something's not right with dd. So when I finally do something about it, even though everyone can see the positive effects of the new meds, suddenly I've 'labelled' dd, sentencing her to a life of mental illness. I feel like I can't get it right, and I am regretting ever telling MIL about any of this. It's hard to keep it form her, because she sees the kids a few times a week.
Phew! Don't know where that rant came from!
I think only time will tell what the diagnosis really is. At such a young age, many things can change between now and adulthood which could affect her diagnosis. But for now, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck and responds like a duck, then treat it like one.
As for the label, I hear a lot of nonsense from people about that as well. But the truth is, my daughter is a red head and that's a label. She is a girl and that's a label too. She is bright and talented, also labels. If your dd had diabetes or cancer or a broken leg, you would label it and treat it. The reality is that brain disorders are chronic illnesses. If we refuse to call them what they are and treat them, they do not go away. In fact they often get worse when we ignore them. Be patient with your dh and your mil. They are not in the same place you are yet. They may never be there with you. But you are doing the right thing by your dd. You are calling the duck a duck and helping her to become the best and healthiest duck she can be. The stigma of mental illness is old and powerful. Only through education and facing it head on can we change that. Learn all you can and educate anyone who will listen. You won't change everyone, but the ones you do will then be able to educate others.
You are doing a great job and I am so glad for your dd that she is in a better place - enjoy every minute of her. She is lucky to have such a loving and strong mom who is not afraid to face her illness head on.
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Karenj
Self: as sane as I can be everyday
A - DD (17yo) well adjusted, high functioning, motivated, successful, waiting patiently to go away to college
M - DD (13yo) Mood Disorder NOS (dx 4/2011) ADHD (dx 2nd grade), dumb high IQ, mainstream education with IEP/BIP, Seroquel 200mg twice daily - morning and bed time; Lamictal 50mg - morning (increasing slowly as needed)
BF - Live in boyfriend of 5 years, supportive and learning more every day
EX - Ex-husband, divorced since 2002, family history of bipolar, unpredictable and sometimes explosive
I'm not an expert, but I've read about anti-psychotics being used to treat everything from ADHD to PDD. I don't think it confirms a diagnosis. If you had said Lithium instead of Risperdal I'd be very suspect of bipolar or a similar mood disorder. I think there's enough longterm data and research available that connects a positive response to Lithium to bipolar and other mood disorders. Lithium, to my knowledge, is not used off-label to treat any other conditions.
Ashton
Good point, Ashton. Risperdal was even oferred to help my younger daughter's Tourette's. And it did help her "bipolar disorder" but then that diagnosis changed to "psychotic disorder" which then changed to "schizoaffective disorder" and a decade later we don't even use that diagnosis anymore.
--"Naomi"
It's Not Mental
Older dd: formerly (?) teen-onset bipolar (morphed into ultradian cycling): After over 13 years - stable off psych meds over a year. Now fine on just diet changes and higher thyroid levels after healing - addressing gut issues/Candidal overgrowth while using EMPowerPlus and other supplements.
Younger dd: formerly (?) Childhood-onset schizoaffective, TS, OCD, anxiety, PTSD, migraines. After over 15 years, is "recovered" for almost 5 years after treating endocrine issues, food sensitivities, gut issues, sleep issues, nutritional/mitochondrial needs.
I agree. AP's are used to treat the raging of many different disorders. I strongly encourage you to continue the mood charting. This is such a valuable tool during the early stages of identifying and treating any mental health problem in our kids.
Also, here is a link to the Expert Treatment Guidelines and the AACAP Med Guide. If the pdoc really thinks it is a mood disorder, then it would be good if the guidelines were followed.
Has your dd had a thorough neuro-psych exam yet? This is also helpful in teasing out different dx's that can cause the sx she is having.
--
Brenda,51, CABF Parent to Parent Volunteer
Mom to A, 17, BP, Tourette's, OCD, ADHD: Eskalith CR, Trilafon, Lamictal, Seroquel, Cytomel, Allegra
E, 15 1/2, BP,AS: Seroquel, Eskalith CR, inositol, Buspar
B, 14 & H, 11
Married 18 years to DH, 50
FROM CABF: Do not start, stop, or change medications or other treatments for yourself or your child based on what you read on this Website or elsewhere on the Internet. Information presented here should not replace the considered judgement of a doctor who knows you or your child.
I’ve asked the same question for my son who had an amazing response to Lithium. I thought... “where there you go, it must be bipolar, right?”
Well, I too can't get an official diagnosis, as I was told by a pediatric bipolar researcher with Standford, you can't base a diagnosis on the response of a medication. In our case, she said that she has seen those with depression improve with Lithium, so unfortunately, they can't make a clear diagnosis. It all goes back to symptoms and what the child looks like in their teen/adult years. I’ve also been told that most kids that look bipolar, do not grow up to have bipolar disorder as an adult, most have depression or anxiety disorders instead. So I think we can expect our kids to change a lot as they grow, maybe receive several different types of labels throughout the years and in the end, we'll have to wait until they are older to really know what our kids have. In the meantime, celebrate the positive response your child is having to the medication and know that you are doing an excellent job in treating your child's symtoms.
--
Mom of 3 boys, the oldest (10 years) suffering with a "Mood Disorder". Our current psychiatrist believes he suffers from Bipolar 1 Disorder, but he’s too young to make the official diagnosis. He’s currently taking Tenex, Trileptal, Lithium and Melatonin to help.
Check out my blog at http://mysonhas2brains.blogspot.com/
What a relief that things are normal for once. We asked the same question to a psychiatrist, who replied, “The only thing you can really say at this age is that she responds well Resperdal”.
Your story sounds familiar. With us, after the first dose of Resperdal, we had this wonderful little girl that to be honest, we had not really seen. She had been basically raging, trying to hurt us, screaming, and throwing herself since birth. For us, it only lasted a few months until it started to loose it’s effect and we started upping the dose. Side effects started to show up as well: a huge increase in appetite & weight and becoming cognitively dulled. From there, we've had a long few years.
What I'm basically recommending is to become an expert and preparing for the next bigger wave. (Hopefully it doesn't come, but I wouldn't count your chickens yet). I would get familiar with basically all common psychiatric medicines and the side effects. I would get to know who the doctors are in your area. If possible, I would find an integrative physician who specializes in mental disorders, or even a DAN! doctor. I would read the entire CAM section here. This autism web site has a good description of several non-medical things that are similar to what we practice in our house: http://www.autism-society.org/living-with-autism/treatment-options/summary-of-biomedical.html. I would also recommend Naomi's book, It's not mental. Lastly, I would go to every parenting class that you can find. Both normal parenting, as well as through NAMI and if possible, through a local mental hospital.
I think personally think the psychiatric profession are very good people who are very good at what they do: Manage psychiatric symptoms with psychiatric medicine. But, to me personally and in complete retrospect, it is a barbaric first approach to mental illness, especially with younger kids like yours and ours. For us, not only are medicines (so far) relatively un-effective in the long haul, they have had life threatening side effects and with heroin like addictions. To me, the first approaches should be through diet, nutritional supplements, and comprehensive testing for underlying disorders. (neurological, metabolic, and hormonal). For us, we can knock down a violent rage with 2 vitamin C tablets as fast as we can with any dose of Resperdal----but the illness is completely unique to each individual.
For us, the testing is still elusive. Our daughter has been hospitalized 3 times this past summer at Seattle Children's hospital. For the life of us, while we were in the big city inside a world renowned hospital, we could not get the doctors to agree to anything more than the most basic of screening tests. Not even a CAT scan nor a basic neurological work up. Now we have returned to our small town and are trying to work it through local doctors and with phone calls. We are working it very hard, but are still having setbacks. Our hope is that you can jump on it while you can, and just maybe, keep that next wave from hitting with full force.
Our family wishes yours the best of luck.
Brian
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BK Daughter 7 BP/violent rages. Unsuccessful with multiple meds. Now reasonably stable for last 2 Months on Intuniv + Restrictive diet + True Hope's EMPowerPlus & AminoPowerplus + low dose lithium. Still working towards getting endocrine and metabolic testing.