Dropping in from ER forum to ask a question ...

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Specializes in cardiology.

Hey fellow nurses!

I'm hopping over from my home in the ER forum to ask a question of you guys/gals.

I was in Triage the other night, and had a 3 year old that was on Abilify and Risperdal. When I asked Mom "why", she told me he was bi-polar.

I was totally and completely floored.

Are children HONESTLY diagnosed with bi-polar disorder at such a young age? Are they placed on these potentially dangerous drugs on a routine basis???

Hope you all can shed some light on this .... maybe I'm just naive .....

Dianna

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ummm..noooo...this not normal at all. wow, I am floored too! These drugs are powerful and certainly not suitable for a child. I suggest you do a little detective work and find out how this kid ended up on these meds. Did you get what the dosage was? I would be curious. The side effects in adults are bad enough...I shudder to think what they would do to a child.

Major psychiatric disorders are not diagnosable at this age, certainly not bipolar disorder. Wow...still floored. So, what ended up happening with this kid?

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That Mom needs to be educated quickly on these meds and just how abnormally, normal most 3 year olds act daily. Example: 3 yo male, loved to wear silk, played with dolls, sang and danced often at home. Fast forward 25+years, 6'2",220 lbs, loves football, fishing, hunting, has wife, kids, and dares pictures of these activities to be shown to teenage son who knows "Dad" is badest dude around. LOL. Some people are so sure the doctor knows best they will not use good sense.

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Specializes in Peds ED, Peds Stem Cell Transplant, Peds.

Exactly

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