Tag: stability

Waiting For the Other Shoe to Drop

Submitted by chickeyd on Thursday, June 16, 2011 - 5:13pm

 

shoe dropping

Photo by Roman Skrada

My son has been in residential treatment for two years this month. I can’t believe he’s been living away from home for that long. It seems like it was just a few months ago we were sitting at the kitchen table, making the decision on the residential programs we wanted to look at as options. It’s been difficult having him away from home so much, but we are lucky that the program isn’t too far away (although with gas prices they way they are right now, it seems farther), and we talk on the phone several times a week.

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The Mom Thing: Worry?

Submitted by Cinda on Thursday, October 21, 2010 - 5:30am

The thing about bipolar disorder is that it lifelong. It may finally submit to treatment and be tamed  for years. It may stay docile or, more likely, it will come out of hiding and snap or bite at times. It may be dormant but it does not go away. This frightening fact hit me hard as my daughter, Linea, and I were working on our book. She had become extremely ill. She was suicidal. She was hospitalized. She had ECT. She was finally able to go back to school. End of story. Great, happy ending and one that I wanted to believe. I wanted to call it good and end it there.

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The Balanced Mind Foundation 2008 Expert Chat with Janet Wozniak, M.D.

June 19, 2008

Kim   
What are your feelings on stability for kids with BP--what's the best you have seen and how much break-through symptoms should we expect?

Janet Wozniak, MD   
Stability is difficult to achieve. There are no studies addressing this, most medication and treatment studies are too short term. In clinical practice, we are always rolling with the punches. Children are a moving target with changes occurring due to age, course of illness and stressors. Usually we must settle for a reduction of symptoms, a decrease in frequency and intensity. If we try to stamp out symptoms 100% we run into med side effects. 

This is a common question in follow up visits: Should we try for better control with unknown side effects or unknown new med effects? Or should we settle for what we have? The answer is guided by how impairing the current state of affairs is. If a child is really struggling, we try to address better mood control or treatment of co-morbid conditions.

bsm   
If a child is on the highest amount of Abilify or any other medication, and the mood is still not stabilized, would you add another type of medication or try something new altogether?

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