Parents with children (10-12 yrs) w/Bipolar Disord

I recently found out that I am Bipolar II & that changed everything with her. The Zoloft helped her get up easier & it helped her anxiety, but the moods she has in the day hasn't really changed. She has 15 out of 25 symptoms from the Bipolar Children book. And there is a long list of other things in the book that she does as well. She definitely has mania days, and then there are those days that she is so down in the dumps depressed that she has her knees on the floor bending over the couch complaining HOW BORED SHE IS, there is noooothing to do, and she cries & slides down the couch into the floor & throws a fit because she doesnt have anyone to play with. A simple no turns her into an evil child, I could go on and on!!!Last year she went to school & the teacher said she came up to her desk at least 10 times a day complaining 'her leg hurts, her head hurts, her tummy hurts, her toe hurts, her eye hurts. She came home one day and told me that she choked on a piece of candy and her teacher stuck her fingers down her throat to get the candy out. It never happend???

I have a prescription in my hand & all I need to do is get it filled. I no how I feel inside & I no what is going on with myself. I couldn't imagine how she feels & she doesn't even no what is going on with her..I try to talk myself out of it all the time. Like one of the above posters said 'she will grow out of it', 'when she gets older, she won't act like this'. I have been saying that since she was 3?I keep making excuses & 5 years later, it hasn't gotten any better?Now, I have this prescription in my hand, and i don't think its the right thing to do..I'm scared to death of hurting her. Its just no fair.

We are a stable family, we are involved, we spend time with them, we carry on conversations with them, we love them, we would do anything for them, we are here for them. I just don't know what else we can possibly do to make it better, that she doesn't need this medication. I mean, it is proven that it only progresses???

I guess there is no magical answer, its whatever the parent feels comfortable with doing??

Sorry for the ramble!

Amber

My son has been on meds about a month now and we have seen the drastic change. My problem is that his natural dad won't give him the meds when he visits on weekends (in his opinion, any problems with our son it's naturally all my fault, but that's another story). So Monday's - Tuesday it's really hard for him to get back on track. His teacher even acknowledges the change, the difference in him. I don't hear - "Mommy, I don't know why I did that" or "I don't know why I'm so mad, I just am!" any longer.

I don't know about you folks, but I'm so tired of blaming myself or thinking I'm a "bad mom" because of all that is happening. I continue to educate myself, learning from day to day, I work with special ed kids daily in my job, I read all I can get my hands on. Even counseling for him and I to help us both deal better and have more options etc. Having some answers now has brought so much more peace of mind. I wish the answer to all of this was different other than Bipolar disorder - but at least I know which direction to look, read etc. I am so thankful for this web site and all of you that have written! Thank you!!

I am so glad to hear your son has responded well to meds. I have rather strong feelings about the blanket diagnosing of our children with BPD. I think many doctors get excited about the latest thing and tend to over diagnose. It really is encouraging to learn the full stories.

May God bless you on your journey.

Dee

I also think teachers have no business diagnosing our kids even though they've been at it for years. Could it be a problem with his teacher? Have you asked him how he feels about him/her?

I base my thoughts on this. My brother was a wild as any kid could be and I know he would have diagnosed with ADHD if that had been around then. He had a really, really awful teacher in fourth grade and she just ruined him for school. He hated learning and was leary of every teacher. Long story short, he made it to high school but did not finish, and went through a vo-tech program for machinists and never finished. My brother is now a accomplished CNC machinist. He taught himself trig and calculus and he programs and repairs million dollar machines.

The point is that all kids are different, some more extremely than others. Could it be that your son would benefit from a different learning situation? And how about counseling? He should be able to put into words how he feels and recognize what he is doing and a qualified child therapist can help him do this.

K94 I hope some of his will help. I will be praying for you and your family.

Dee

Children find it harder to express feelings and it has taken me years to figure out all my quirks. I think anything that causes stress for a bipolar is going to trigger a reaction that cannot be controlled by them.

Dee

i also had trouble with the exhusband giving my son his medication. one call to the child abuse hotline and he suddenly felt motivated to comply with the doctors orders.i recommend this only as a last resort.

Post edited by: gonecrazy, at: 02/09/2008 15:00