I am curious, I have started reading The Bipolar Child by Demitri Papolos, MD and was reading about all the different symptoms. While there are quite a few that fit my child, some don't. Like the auditory or visual hallucinations. Is there such a thing as bipolar lite? Or will things just keep getting worse? Or will things just kind of stay where we are now? I know we haven't been on the medication long enough to have a clue if it will work. We have only had 3 nights that she has taken a pill. After 14 days the dose doubles for two more weeks. Then we see the ARNP again.
Some things I learned... night terrors. Yep, those have been going on off and on since we got custody of her 7 years ago. The carb/sweet thing and food aversions. She only wants sweets and "beige" foods. Pasta, potatoes, rice, bread and meat. She will eat an iceberg salad with ranch dressing, but it can't have any other veggie on it. Croutons and cheese and bacon bits... but no tomato, carrot, celery or anything else. Won't touch a vegetable. Not even corn. We have tried to continue doing the "one bite" rule. But at age 13 it is ridiculous for her to act like you have set a plate of poison in front of her when you merely have 5 kernels of corn or two green beans. If you let her, she will eat and eat and eat. Since she only likes certain things, she thinks she should have her fill of chicken breasts instead of having one. I have seen her fill up a plate with mashed potatoes. Fortunately, she is very slim (95 to 98 pounds) and about 4'10". THe other day, she ate as much of a casserole that she liked than my husband, myself and other daughter put together.
She has been SO irritable. Won't take no for an answer. And it used to be she just got defiant in front of us... but now that is changing and she is doing it in front of other people. She is rude to her little sister and doesn't seem to have any empathy for her at all. She goes to the school nurses often - at least once a week for "headaches" or other ailments.
I guess I feel lucky that I haven't seen all the possible symptoms of bipolar... yet... just curious if some people can have a mild case? Or does it tend to escalate as they age? Will medication really help this roller coaster that we are on? KSM
Some things I learned... night terrors. Yep, those have been going on off and on since we got custody of her 7 years ago. The carb/sweet thing and food aversions. She only wants sweets and "beige" foods. Pasta, potatoes, rice, bread and meat. She will eat an iceberg salad with ranch dressing, but it can't have any other veggie on it. Croutons and cheese and bacon bits... but no tomato, carrot, celery or anything else. Won't touch a vegetable. Not even corn. We have tried to continue doing the "one bite" rule. But at age 13 it is ridiculous for her to act like you have set a plate of poison in front of her when you merely have 5 kernels of corn or two green beans. If you let her, she will eat and eat and eat. Since she only likes certain things, she thinks she should have her fill of chicken breasts instead of having one. I have seen her fill up a plate with mashed potatoes. Fortunately, she is very slim (95 to 98 pounds) and about 4'10". THe other day, she ate as much of a casserole that she liked than my husband, myself and other daughter put together.
She has been SO irritable. Won't take no for an answer. And it used to be she just got defiant in front of us... but now that is changing and she is doing it in front of other people. She is rude to her little sister and doesn't seem to have any empathy for her at all. She goes to the school nurses often - at least once a week for "headaches" or other ailments.
I guess I feel lucky that I haven't seen all the possible symptoms of bipolar... yet... just curious if some people can have a mild case? Or does it tend to escalate as they age? Will medication really help this roller coaster that we are on? KSM
