[2angelwings]

First off, let me say that I am not a nurse (hopefully will be able to get back to school now that son is stable), but a mom to an 11 year old with the diagnosis of bipolar. I'd like to share my story with you and maybe offer a suggestion or two.

My son was diagnosed with bipolar last year. We tried many different medications, hospitalizations, and even thought we would have to place him into long term care. Things were bad. He was very violent, hallucinating, not sleeping...it was just awful.

He wasn't getting anywhere. His psychiatrist was baffled by him and on the verge of referring him to another psychiatrist. I was getting desperate. I started researching trying to find out what was wrong with this kid. I looked into Autism. I looked into Aspergers. If it was a disease or disorder, I was reading about it.

Finally, I asked for a CAT Scan. I wish I had done that years ago. The psychiatrist called me a little later to tell me that he had calcification in the left temporal lobe of his brain. She referred us to a neurologist and after a few MRI's and several EEG's, we had a new diagnosis. My son had had a stroke around the left temporal lobe area and this brought on his bipolar disorder. He also had a mass around his left temporal lobe referred to as an angioma. In his case, Dr's 'think' it is a Venous Angioma and that he was more than likely born with it. He also picked up the diagnosis of epilepsy. He is now being treated with Lamictal and Abilify and doing much better than he has ever done. We still have problems, but I never thought he would be doing as well as he is right now. There is hope! Don't give up.

My suggestion would be to think about getting some kind of testing done like this just to be on the safe side. I wish I had done it sooner. It didn't change anything, but allowed me to understand why he was the way he was.

I'd also like to direct you to a website from the Childhood and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation at this address: www.cabf.org
This place was a Godsend to me when my son was so unstable. This is a very busy site and you will read about lots of things that sound all too familiar. You will even meet many parents whose children have several disorders such as Autism and Aspergers as well as bipolar.

I hope this will be helpful to you. I understand your desperation.

Blessings to you and your family.

[michelle95]

Thank you angelwings...you are already on your way to being a good nurse.

[lucianne]

Michelle, you might look into regulatory disorder or sensory-regulatory disorder. There are 3 or 4 subtypes and I'm wondering if your little guy might fit the criteria.

[michelle95]

lucianne, thanks for that tip.

[lcsw2aprn]

I am a Psych NP, I do not deal with children as I have seen way too much harm done to children in the name of psychiarty.

I would never consider giving Risperal to a child. My question is, "would you allow your child to be in a study of an experimental drug?" In effect giving a psych drug to your child is doing exactly that! THese medications have NOT been tested in children. Who knows what effects medications have on the up/down regulation of neurotrasmitters and receptor sites, esp. in a developing brain.

That having been said, I believe that Duke University is working with BPAD in children. I would never allow my PCP/pediatrician to treat a child with "BPAD" and for sure would not allow a general Psychiatrist to do it... I would look for somebody who had extensive experience in treating primarily BPAD in children.

Personally, I would recommend caution.

Al

[lsyorke]

lcsw2aprn, I couldn't agree with you more!!! These drugs have NOT been tested in children and the testing that has been done has shown minimal positive results and increased negative side effects.(ex. SSRI's)