kimmiesue asked this question on 4/30/2000:
My step-son was adopted by me about a year ago when his Mother finally abandoned him altogether. He is 13 and was well set in his ways and personality. His moods would swing from angelic to nearly satanic. After many month's we were told that he has a form of manic depressive illness known as Bipolar Disorder.
We currently have him on Lithium. Prior to that it was Depakote and before that Wellbutrin. The kid feels like a lab rat and can hardly function. I am well aware that BP disorder is hard to diagnose in young children under 15 because of so many "like" illnesses. In my stepson's (now son) case, I have studied enough to know he indeed has every symptom of the disorder. I know he is also hurting and angry too over the loss of his Mother from his life.
My question is this....how long does it take to find the right medication. Side affects have been terrible on him. Sleepiness, sleelessness, hyper, lethargic, moody, energetic, worn out, happy in a false way, and now he is getting violent and distructive. What next? A friend of mine has a child with the same thing but we lost touch. She used to go to an AOL chatroom for parents of kids with this. Does anyone know how I can find out if it still exists?
All answers, help, etc GREATLY appreciated.
izzybelle gave this response on 5/1/2000:
Kimmiesue:
First off I want you to know that you are not the only that is going through this. There are a lot of people out there that have the same issues that you have had to deal with in regards to your son. Bipolar is not an easy thing to deal with. One moment you feel close to this person, and the next you don't know who they are. It is hard because you always feel on your toes when it comes to dealing with them. The one thing that you need to know is that it is an illness. It will take some time for his psychiatrist to find the right dosage for him. By the sounds of it, I do believe the lithium may have the best chance of working for him. The trick with lithium is that it has a narrow range where it is effective, and it's effectiveness has to be monitored very closely. It is understandable that your son feels like a lab rat, because you do get poked and proded, especially with lithium, where they ahve to take blood samples often to insure that the right level is being obtained. Reassure your son that it is like having an illness and as soon as they get the right dosage, he will not have to go in as often, and will hopefully feel better.
It is especially difficult to deal with a bipolar person, especially one that is a teenager, because they are going through so much as it is, the high level of hormones and mood swings does not help the situation one bit. There are certain ways that people have found over the years that help reduce the stress and tension that can be cause by the issues that a bipolar person has to deal with. It is also great to talk with people who are dealing with the same issues for both a Bipolar person, and for the family of a Bipolar person. I have some site that I believe are great for support, information and help. I do have some others, just let me know if you want them, but these are the best ones that I have found useful.
http://www.bpso.org/children.htm this is a great reference that is specific to dealing with children and teens diagnoses with BPD.
http://www.bpkids.org/ : this is also kid/teen specific.
http://www.bpso.org/ : This is the main site for information regarding biploar disorder and has many links to various site regarding BPD.
If you want any more information, please feel free to contact me. My best goes out to you and your son.
The average rating for this answer is 5.
kimmiesue rated this answer a 5.
Thank you so very much. It does help knowing that others know exactly how helpless we feel. Here is another good site for info that I found.
http://www.mentalhealth.com
Thanks again! :)