Pediatric versus Adult BP
I'm curious if alot of the instability with BP children, even those on meds, are because their brains are going through so many developmental changes. I guess the question is for those adults out their with BP....did your BP become more stable as an adult or where you just able to cope with it better because of your understanding/therapy/meds?
Thanks for sharing!!! Hugs to all!
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Melissa, 42...mother of 4 very strong willed, very active and independent kids
Steve, 40...supportive husband desperately trying to cope
Maddie 11, high energy, low frustration level, loves volleyball, clarinet and guitar
Emmie 8, ADHD/Anxiety/BP...quirky, very artitistic/witty, great impressions ...loves drawing, acting, singing, reading...300mg Trileptal, 2mg Abilify, 3mg Melatonin
Ella 5, Very athletic, very bright, independent and bears the brunt of Emmie's anger
Zack 3, Loved by his sisters, either in his terrible 3's or emulating Emmie
KoKo - 2 yr Havanese who is loved by all
That's a great question. I know I had depression as a teen, but I wasn't dx'd until my 40's. I can definitely say that the BP is much more manageable now that my boys are in their mid teens. So I believe that the developing brain has a really hard time with BP. I think studies are starting to show that as well.
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Brenda,50, CABF Parent to Parent Volunteer
Mom to A, 16, BP, Tourette's, OCD, ADHD: Eskalith CR, Trilafon, Lamictal, Seroquel, Cytomel
E, 14, BP,AS, hypothyroidism: Seroquel, Eskalith CR, levothyroxin, inositol
B, 13 & H, 10
Married 17 years to DH, 49
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My worst most destructive period correlated with puberty changes/life changes ages 15-25. Then I just sort of stabilized somewhat. I was saying the other day, I really am not stable but it is different than before. Can't explain but maybe with adulthood and experience I handle it differently and self modify with treatments. But I had some real Sx before puberty so I go with I am better able to cope :)
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Me -BP/ADHD
Dd -18-BP/ADHD
Dd -15
Dd -6-Mood Disorder-NOS/ADHD
Ds -3-PDD-NOS
Dh -Poor Guy :)
I was either hypomanic or neutral as a child - a very high energy kid, no major depression. My bipolar ds is very similar - either manic or neutral - except that he has already had manias more severe than I have ever had. He is unusual for bipolar child because his mania is like classic adult mania, except that only 2 of his manias have been a week or longer (the duration criteria for adults). In-between the long manias, his cycles vary in length from minutes to hours to days, the same as me. My depression didn't start until extreme stress during college, and then really bad post-partum depression after my 2nd ds was born. I wasn't dxed bipolar until 3 years ago - I was misdiagnosed and treated with a variety of other dxes for 7 years before that - this is actually the average number of years that bipolar people are misdiagnosed before being accurately diagnosed with bp.
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Psycmom2snk: bipolar II
Husband: ADD inattentive (in denial)
8yo son: autism spectrum, sensory processing disorder (sensory defensive), neurological abnormality, anxiety, enuresis, encopresis, ODD
5yo son: bipolar I, sensory seeker