Opinions on med dosage for bipolar teen daughter

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My stepdaughter is Bipolar & AD/HD. Currently she is on Concerta 54mg QAM - Depakote 250mg BID & Abilify 5mg at 5PM. She is 15 & a half years old & 110 lbs. Today she had a physical altercation with a boy on the way walking home from school. She initiated this altercation, she struck first & was inappropriate in her actions. Anotherwords she was not being picked on or such. I was thinking of speaking to her Psychiatrist of perhaps bumping up her dose of depakote & was curious to know the opinions of some others who perhaps work with adolecents or have a child with MI themselves. She has never yet been inpatient but is currently in very intense outpatient therapy, it is the very last step prior to hospitalization. She has displayed improvement since starting the depakote 2 months ago. I was wondering what sort of doses are given to a child this age & size. Any thoughts? I am open to any & all feedback.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

Members...please share from your experiences.

Reminder....no medical advice.

Titania, hope things improve. Let us know how things turn out.

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Well it has been an ongoing thing, as you know with MI this is how it works. We are hopeful to see her get on the combo of meds which will work best for her. Our summer has been challenging but we are slowly getting to the better tract with her meds & behavior. We keep trying. I work in acute psych with adults & thus I was asking for the input of some of our members who may have more experience with children & teens. I am more used to giving out much larger doses of these same meds to my clientel. I am still learning about these same illness I have been dealing with in adults for many years now as things are different when you see these things in kids or teens. At least it seems this way with my daughter. Thanks for the reply Thunderwolf.

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From my own experience, having been dx'd @ 15 years old, I was put on Li+ but there was talk at one time I was on tegretol and depakote. I was approx 120lbs at the time. That was short lived and went on the LI+ which I continue to take this day 20 years later.

Be careful of drug interaction with multiple meds - not too much study on that. I know at that time being a teenager I had some behavioral problems that were not related to bp. Ex. rebellion, anger, etc. Some would say Yes that is bp, but today I have NONE of those problems. I am "normal" like everyone else even if that is quite paradoxical in the same sentence. My moods are even, I get down but not depressed and I rarely get manic. Anger is something that is usually resolved after accepting and finding outlets and proper channels as releases. Learning to communicate and express tends to enable more constructiveness where that's concerned. Yes, I still get angry today but I have learned how to control it and use it to my benefit and the benefit of others. Life is good, encourage your dd to seek out role models who have conquered the illness and put her on the path of acceptance. HB

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.
from my own experience, having been dx'd @ 15 years old, i was put on li+ but there was talk at one time i was on tegretol and depakote. i was approx 120lbs at the time. that was short lived and went on the li+ which i continue to take this day 20 years later.

be careful of drug interaction with multiple meds - not too much study on that. i know at that time being a teenager i had some behavioral problems that were not related to bp. ex. rebellion, anger, etc. some would say yes that is bp, but today i have none of those problems. i am "normal" like everyone else even if that is quite paradoxical in the same sentence. my moods are even, i get down but not depressed and i rarely get manic. anger is something that is usually resolved after accepting and finding outlets and proper channels as releases. learning to communicate and express tends to enable more constructiveness where that's concerned. yes, i still get angry today but i have learned how to control it and use it to my benefit and the benefit of others. life is good, encourage your dd to seek out role models who have conquered the illness and put her on the path of acceptance. hb

thank you for speaking from your own experience and supporting member....and by not providing medical advice. when we speak of our own experience, in truth, others benefit from it greatly. there is no magic pill or magic dose, for each person is different. this is why this is best handled under the direct supervision of a trained professional overseeing the care. so, thank you for role modeling how best to answer and to support titania in her question here on the board.

the thread remains open in how to support titania in coping with her daughter's current condition. speak from your own experience in this. no advice regarding what med doses should be prescribed....medical advice will only close the thread or have that post deleted/edited.

thank you.

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Don't wish to create any problems here, please just close this thread. Thanks.

-Heather

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In my experience , the dose of depakote is determined by drawing a blood level and assessing a dose change according to that and the clinical presentation. Check with the prescriber!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

Heather, there is no problem. The thread just needed a little nudge with reminders, but all in all, it has the great potential for being an excellent support thread for you by members during this time with your daughter. I do wish you and your daughter the best. I will close it upon your request. PM me if you change your mind and would have it open again for addtional member support and feedback. Hbncns35 gave some excellent self disclosure from her experience. Other members could do the same. Just let me know. Again, you have no problem here with me, Heather.

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