One of the problems with bipolar medications is...sm
Posted By: Georgia Gal on 2007-12-09
In Reply to: Risperdal causing auditory hallucinations? - Completely stressed
if you take them with ADD medication, i.e. Concerta, it can cause problems like this or make the bipolar worse, then you're having to increase the bipolar medications to get the adjustments correctly. Also it is known that antidepressants commonly make bipolar worse.
Bipolar people/kids commonly think that others are talking negatively about them.
Risperdal has been the miracle drug with our 7-year-old. Before going on it she was having emotions bouncing all over the place and became suicidal/homicidal when we tried her on Zoloft. Getting the right medication and dosage for her took a few months but now that we have her "just right" she's a completely more stable child. We don't medically treat her ADHD because it's not severe to the point that we have to treat it and her psychiatrist and I agree with not using more medications than mandatory.
If you haven't heard of the website bpkids.org go there - there's lot of information to help you and there are also bipolar kids support groups available in Yahoo groups.
If your psychiatrist isn't certified in child psychiatry and hasn't had a lot of experience with bipolar kids I'd strongly recommend finding a doctor who is, because you can't treat kids the same as you do adults with bipolar.
If your child was mine, I'd talk to the doctor about getting the Concerta and fluoxetine weaned off and seeing what happened with just the Risperdal.
Good luck to you. Feel free to e-mail me if you need to bounce off of someone who's been there/done that/still going there!
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Opinions on bipolar medications
My child was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is unable to take Depakote due to side effects from the drug. We now have to decide on a different medication to try. There are so many out there, and all have some bad side effects. We have several options, but are just unsure which one to choose. I was wondering if anyone out there has bipolar disorder or a child who has it, and if so, what medication(s) you have opinions on, pros and cons. TIA!
Definitely take medications in sm
carryon, in separate bottles, with prescription numbers on the bottles.
medications
I have used liquid medicine with good success in the past, maybe you could try that route, most medications come in liquid form.
As far as when it is time to let your beloved go, I had to do it recently and I prepared myself for it and it really helped. I spent every moment with her and looked in the yellow pages and found a vet who would come to my house. I had a box built for her and had my neices and nephews paint it. I had a friend dig a hole the day before. I bought daisies and woke up really early the day of. I put on Josh Groban, lit candles and spent that last few hours holding her. The vet came and it was very peaceful. I wraped her body in her favorite blanket, lowered her into her box, covered her in daisies and covered her up. I made a mosaic headstone and rounded her grave in river rocks. All in all I believe since I did all these things it was a way to say goodbye, she was my constant companion for 16 years. I miss her daily, but preparing made it so much easier. I wish you a peaceful transition for your loved one. Remember they are always with us, until we meet again. All for the animals!
He did have medications
Jett Travolta had been on Depakote, in increasing doses, which had stopped being effective. He was taken off of the drug WITH HIS NEUROLOGIST'S CONSENT.
Any new medications started?
Blood pressure meds can cause all kinds of weird things.
Effexor and others can cause some weird things too for some people. And so can getting off some medications, even if you tapered off at a rate that should have been reasonable.
I hope it doesn't take long before they track down some benign culprit that they can correct.
If it is anxiety, I learned a lot from relaxation training using biofeedback. It was very helpful, so even that can be overcome in a systematic way.
urgent care or ER. You go, right now. You need medications.
x
BIPOLAR
The best and with least side effects for bipolar is Lamictal (actually none. 5-HTP over the counter is good also, in addition.
Bipolar
As far as meds, there are many, with new ones coming out all the time. Your first plan should be a psychiatrist with whom YOU and YOUR CHILD are comfortable. This will make the years ahead much smoother. Believe me, I have been there and know that all shrinks are not created equal. Then, find a good group to share highs and lows with. I recommend
going online to NAMI.org. Not sure if it is all caps or lowercase. Stands for National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. This is available nationwide. I have taught a class for them entitled Visions for Tomorrow. It is strictly for parents of children with mental illness. Great resource for you, FREE, ours met once a week for 10 weeks. They can put you in touch with people, literature, etc. to help you with this longterm. It is very scary to have a child with any type of mental disorder/illness. My son has schizophrenia. He is 31 now, but has had problems since childhood. Hang in there and be sure to TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!
she's been diagnosed as bipolar
of course, that's according to the press.
My dad is bipolar and has s/a and alcohol problem. I know how heart breaking that can be. It's like people who overeat. We all feel sorry for fat people but if you chose drugs then you are such a bad person but it's the same thing, really. A compulsion is a compulsion, no matter what you are taking into your body.
children with bipolar
I don't know if your son is bipolar or not - you didn't really describe what the good side of his mood swings is, but Newsweek ran a cover story about 2 months back on children with bipolar disorder and your post reminded me of it a bit. The article said that bipolar kids are usually misdiagnosed because most providers just think they're being difficult or depressed. You might want to go to your library and find a copy and see if you see any similarities.
LMAO--bipolar cat!! Aren't they all?!
 I swear, that's exactly what makes 'em so great though!
But what about that bipolar student who might get ticked off
Seems to me odds are someone will get hurt if everyone carries guns, statistically speaking. Even an accident could happen, or the gun could be placed in the hands of someone who might just do more harm than good. Just IMHO.
How funny! I have clinically diagnosed my hubbie as Bipolar too!! LOL! We really are in the wrong fi
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