Hello

[devilslake08]

I came across this website lastnight when searching for help. Why is it I cannot get anybody to help with my "difficult child?"? He has not done enough wrong to have juvie to step in, child protective services will not step in because I have not beat him to death, yet. Even though he is becoming more and more of a threat to the other children in the house. We have been through therapist and psychiatrists to no avail. He has started seeing a new one in the past month (we'll see, but I am not holding my breath). I found a Residential Treatment Center (RTC) but not sure if insurance will pay for it yet. Waiting to hear on that.
What do parents do when they are ready to throw there hands up and set the kid on the side of the road and say good luck?? I know it sounds mean but I'm at my wits end. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[smallworld]

Welcome. I'm glad you found us.

If your difficult child has bipolar disorder, he needs treatment -- not juvie or CPS. That means stabilization with medications and therapy to learn to cope with the disorder. Is the psychiatrist prescribing medications? If so, what and are they helping, hurting or making no difference at all?

 

[devilslake08]

He is currently on Vyvance, lamictal and Clonidine. medications just increased on Tuesday. Right now not helping much. psychiatrist is not that helpful. We are not even sure if he has been diagnosed properly. psychiatrist not sure if its bipolar, asbergurs. States he is too young to fully diagnos bipolar. Now questioning Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) but not testing for anything. The only thing fully test and diagnosis was the severe adhd. We have a new therapist that has me hopeful. I am trying to get into a new psychiatrist. The good ones in the area are hard to get into.

I do understand that juvie and cps is not what he needs, I am just having such a hard time and I don't know where to go. I'm being told I just need to learn how to parent my child. Take a parenting class. I have been trying to parent my child for the past 14 yrs.

 

[totoro]

Hi~
Wanted to add an unfortunate Welcome!!! LOL We love having people join but know the pain of having to find us.
I have Bipolar Disorder, and from my experience as a child who had no support from outside sources, none from parents either. When I turned 13, was when I started just plain going crazy!!!
So I think Smallworld is right. Your son needs help, not just to be locked up. Maybe a placement would help stabilize him. But he needs the "right" placement.
My Daughter K, was placed in a Behaviour Modification Center, For her Partial Hospitalization last year for 5 weeks. I was told they knew all about Bipolar Disorder.
We learned how to give a time out... the setting helped somewhat, but there was no transition, no long term plan.
With children like ours we need goals, plans, schedules, HELP!
What we have done is look for a great Therapist, search for an understanding Psychiatrist, (not Psychologist) any support... I come here alot And ask questions! I also belong to other Bipolar forums... this is my favorite for support...
Keep posting, keep reading and keep searching....

 

[totoro]

Has he had a Nuero-psychiatric evaluation? they can weed out a lot of mis-diagnosis... Is there a history of family BiPolar (BP)?

 

[BusynMember]

Hi there. I'm not too far from you in Wisconsin. Has he ever seen a neuropsychologist? Ever been seen at the University? Maybe he's been misdiagnosed and put on the wrong medications. There is good help in Wisconsin. You just have to find it
Welcome!

 

[devilslake08]

He did have neuro-psychiatric testing done. Came up with severe adhd and nothing else. But I dont think they were looking for anything else either. I'm not really sure how the testing works.

I was diagnosis with bipolar not otherwise specified in Oct '07

 

[smallworld]

Bipolar disorder can run in families, and your son is NOT too young to be diagnosed with it. My own son was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder-not otherwise specified and his medications were overhauled while in a day treatment program at a local psychiatric hospital for 6 weeks this year. It was the best thing we could have done for him. His mood is more stable, and he is much easier to live with on a day-to-day basis.

Having said that, you do need to know for sure whether you're dealing with Aspergers or BiPolar (BP) because the two are treated completely differently. My own son appears "Aspergerish" when he's having a bipolar epside -- he's socially withdrawn and incredibly anxious. But when he's medicated properly, the AS traits disappear.

If your son has BiPolar (BP), the medications he's on could be making him worse. Any ADHD stimulant like Vyvanse can activate a child with BiPolar (BP) instead of calming him down. The same can (but doesn't always) happen with Clonidine. Furthermore, Lamictal is a wonderful mood stabilizer for treating BiPolar (BP), but it may not be enough to stabilize your son's mood. My own needs Lamictal plus a second mood stabilizer plus an atypical antipsychotic to gain stability (which is not aytpical for adolescents with BiPolar (BP)).

If things are really rough at home, you may want to consider a day treatment program or an inpatient stay at a psychiatric hospital. That might get you some answers about what's really going on with your difficult child.

Hope you make some headway soon.

 

[Christy]

Welcome! You will find support and hopefully some ideas form the very knowledgable folks on this site (I know that I have). Keep documentation of any meltdowns and unsafe actions you can use it should you need to pursue a psychiatric hospital visit for stabilization.

Good luck to you,
Christy

 

[devilslake08]

Midwestmom,
He has had neuropsychologist testing but only saw the dr for a few hours during the testing. You asked if he had been at the University, that is something I am not aware of. If you know if options in Wisconsin I am all ears. Right now there is a possibility of him going to a Residential Treatment Center (RTC) in Eau Claire called Eau Claire Academy. My fingers are crossed.

 

[BusynMember]

I was thinking Madison's NeuroPsychological Department. They have a long waiting list, but, boy, are they GOOD! I know it's a drive, but in my opinion well worth it.

 

[devilslake08]

Are there different types of neuropsychologist testing? My difficult child did have testing done in Oct '07. diagnosis was severe adhd.

Does the dr base what they are going to test for on the information given to them?

 

[Wiped Out]

Hello and Welcome to a fellow Wisconsinite. I'm sorry things are so hard right now-glad you found us. My difficult child also has ADHD and Bipolar. We found he couldn't tolerate any stimulant due to the raging it brought out in him. The Clonidine my difficult child takes helps a bit with his ADHD though.