newly diagnosed, struggling to remain sane!
Hi all-
my seven year old has recently been diagnosed. She has stopped the stimulant she was taking for her misdiagnosed adhd, and started on Risperdal, which she has been taking for the last 5 evenings. It does seem to be helping, it helps her get to sleep, however we are still getting silly giddiness, albeit less intense. We haven't had a rage since she's been on the new med, however it's not unusual for her to go up to a week without having one, so we'll see....
She still has periods of relentlessly annoying her 3 y.o brother, or our long suffering dog. She still does things like drawing on her bedsheets or furniture, then when I confront her, (always calmly and gently) she becomes incredibly remoresful, and says things like 'I'm so stupid', or 'I'm so bad'. This morning she was playing beautifully with her brother, they were drawing and she made a heart shaped sign for him that said I love you. Then later when he didn't want to continue their rough game, she took the sign and tore it up. Then she became remorseful and gave him a present from her room. They're currently charging around the house pretending the ground is hot, she is giggling and chanting, completley incapable of calming down. My poor son never knows what to expect from her, and even though she's been much better with him since the new med, he has learned to generally react to her by screaming, crying and hitting, because he's so used to her purposly annoying him for her own entertainment. Some days I have to bring him into the bathroom while I shower, as I can't trust her not to fight with him or annoy him.
She makes up stories, and lies to her grandmother and sometimes to me, so I can only imagine she does it at school too. She told me the other day she can speak French, and would not back down when I challenged her. Last Easter she stuck to her story about how the Easter bunny are the chocolate eggs, not her, for literally weeks, even though the eggs were witheld until she confessed (she never did).
What breaks my heart is that when she's not in a mood, she is a smart, affectionate, delightful angel who we all love to have around. I always try to remember this when she's driving me insane. Parenting a child like this, as I see you all understand, takes the patience of a saint!
She's calmed down now, and is playing Guess Who with her brother. Long may it last!
I am meant to call her psych tomorrow to let he know how we're doing with the new meds, and I am continuing the mood chart I've had going for the last few weeks. Since she's been on the Risperdal, sometimes I don't know what to put on the chart. Over the weekend I could only describe her behaviour at times as 'subdued giddiness'.
Sorry for the long post, I'm so glad I've found a place where other people understand what this is like. Bipolar is rarely diagnosed in children in Australia, but adhd is common.
Thanks for listening!
Welcome to the site- there are a few parents here from Australia.
It can take several weeks for a 'steady state'. Risperdal is a common 'first med'. We saw positive effects pretty quickly, but it ended up taking more to keep those effects consistent. While we had success with meds addressing symptoms, (treatment guidelines: http://www.bpkids.org/learn/library/treatment-guidelines-for-children-and-adolescents-with-bipolar-disorder ) I also found it necessary to address nutritional needs. There's more info on that on our CAM (complementary medicine) forum.
This article is from our library: http://www.bpkids.org/learn/library/parenting-an-unstable-child-with-bipolar-disorder,
and this may also be helpful: http://bipolarchild.com/2004/02/vol-16-boredom-and-the-provocative-behavior-of-children-with-bipolar-disorder/ : Why are these children so often bored, and why do they need to provoke someone close to them and create such chaos and bad feeling? The answers are multi-determined and no doubt a combination of psychological and biological factors.
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Darryl - parent volunteer, dad to
Levi, 12, stable using supps and diet exclusively since June 07. Previously treated and stable with med combo inc. lithium, 900mg seroquel, and small amounts of risperdal, luvox and focalin after being dx'd at age 3 1/2.
It is great that you are already seeing a positive response to the Risperdal. But it does take a couple of months to get a full therapeutic effect from these meds, and often one med will not be enough. Be sure to keep a mood chart to keep track of her behavior, sleep and reactions to meds. There are also environmental things you can do, such as keeping distractions down at home--limiting TV and computer use, getting her outside to play as much as possible, finding a safe place for little brother and dog when she is out of control.
I'm glad you found us, be sure to explore the website as there are many wonderful resources available here.
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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
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