New Diagnosis
I hope to get some advice. Our daughter was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 7. Throughtout the years, she has been on several different types of medication as the docs say her body gets to used to the drugs. Sept. 11, 2010 our daughter was in a roll over car accident and suffered a closed head injury. She is now 18 and her life is so dratically different. The Pdcos are now diagnosing her with BiPolar. She has attempted suicide twice, her moods are up and down. We never know what we are going to get when she wakes up in the AM. She went from a 3.8 GPA, track star, scholarship to college bright beautiful young lady to barely graduated HS, quite track, lost her scholarship and very depressed and down little girl. We tried enrolling her in a local junior college but she had to take a medical withdrawl because she was failing all of her classses. She cannot hold down a job and is basically wasteing away. We walk on egg shells aroung our house. My family does not like to be around her because they say she is "too sensitive and immature". My husband and I don't know what to do.... She is on 40 mg on Latuda, 400mg of Equatro, 50 mg of Zoloft, and 40mg of Ritalin. This seems like an awful lot of medication but when she is not on her meds, she tried to hurt herself. We tried weening her off the meds this summer after HS. She thought all the stress and drama of HS was causing her problems. She she stopped taking them and her were the results. Spent $2400 (graduation money) in one month, could't get a job and drove her car intentionally into trees because she just wanted it all to stop. Should I get a second opinion? How do you know who is treating her correctly? This all seems to be tied to the car accident she was only a passenger in over a year ago. Doctors are also saying PTSD... She had such a bright future and now just sits around and does nothing.... Any suggestions or advise is so welcome. Thanks for listening!
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JoEllen
JoEllen
I would definately get a second opinion or even a new pdoc. To me, after reading a lot of these posts, a lot of literature, and with our own daughter, I would suspect both the Zoloft and Ritalin as either causing or contributing to the symptoms. I hope Brenda H answers. She is quite good in this department. She also frequently references this article http://www.thebalancedmind.org/sites/default/files/treatment_guidelines.pdf
I would spend some time reading about her illness. All sections of this web site have good perspectives.
Brian
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Daughter 7 BP/violent rages. Unsuccessful with multiple meds. Now reasonably stable for last 3 Months (with a few regressions) on Intuniv + Restrictive diet + True Hope's EMPowerPlus & AminoPowerplus + NAC + Q10 + low dose lithium (no more fish oil).
JoEllen,
I am so sorry to here about this tragedy. I think you are absolutely right in thinking this is related to traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is well documented that TBI can cause BP. And it may be that she already had a predisposition to it, who knows. But since that's where things stand now, it's important to get the right treatment for her. I would also encourage you to seek a second opinion, preferably with a pdoc who has experience working with brain injured patients.
Here is a link to the AACAP BP Med Guide. General guidelines call for the use of 1 or 2 MS's, such as lithium and one of the anti-epileptic drugs (AED's--Lamictal, Trileptal, Tegretol, Depakote, Equetro). I would also want to find out if she has an underlying seizure disorder contributing to her condition, since a severe head injury can cause a seizure disorder. AD's and stims can trigger cycling or mania in folks with BP; if you are going to try and minimize her meds, those are the ones I would look at first. Lithium is the gold standard MS, not sure how well it works in TBI induced BP.
Here are a few articles about closed head injury and BP: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0010440X88900351
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/02699059309008168
http://www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2001/ph481.htm
This one may be the most helpful: http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.bipolar_tbi.html
I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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Brenda,51, TBMF Parent to Parent Volunteer
Mom to A, 17, BP, Tourette's, OCD, ADHD: Eskalith CR, Lamictal, Cytomel, Allegra
E, 15 1/2, BP,AS: Seroquel, Eskalith CR, inositol, Buspar
B, 14 & H, 11
Married 18 years to DH, 50
FROM TBMF: 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.