help! I think my son has ODD or bipolar

[michelle328]

I am a newbie. I am at my wits end. My six and a half year old seems to have ODD and or bipolar disorder. His psychiatrist keeps thinking it is ADHD. But he has no symptoms of that. He does great in school and has no problems. I have talked to his teacher several times about it. I keep telling the doctor I have been reading up and he has all the symptoms of ODD and bipolar symptoms. The thing that got me reading about chilhood bipolar is that I his mother am bipolar myself. And I know there is a possible genetic link. Anyway he has always been a difficult child. He was a difficult baby and toddler and kinda never grew out of it. He is easily set off and bites, punches, screams, butts his head, cusses, and just gets out of control. You have to sometimes hold him down so he doesn't hurt anyone or himself. He does not do it at school though only at home. He is now being tried on Zoloft and resperdol at the moment. We just started the zoloft. I am so stressed and just want him to get better. Thanks for listening. I am hoping to find others who have kids going through the same thing. I feel so alone.

[brandyf]

trust me, i know what your going thru. ours started out with dx of ODD, then to Mood Disorder, now to Bipolar. we see our pscyh on the 19th to talk about mood stabilizers. i have been told and have read that antidepressants can make Bipolar worse and that mood stabilizers are what helps with bipolar, they can be used together i think, but you really have to monitor how they act on antidepressants. can even make them suicidal. from what i have just read zoloft is an antidepressant and risperidol would be the mood stabalizer or psychotrophic med. watch the zolft.

trust me your not alone. the professionals will be here shortly to give you a great welcome. this board has done wonders for my stress and my unaswered questions.

welcome!!!

[busywend]

Welcome! Glad you found us.

Brandy is right, antidepressants must be watched very carefully in kids. Anything that changes you must be aware of. Take notes. It helps.

Brandy was just kidding when she said professionals. She just means older moms. LOL!

Well, older [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/warrior.gif[/img] that is.

Oh better yet - long term [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/warrior.gif[/img] moms. Yeah, that is it.

Anyway, I just did not want you to think we were doctors or anything like that. We are just moms struggling with every day life with a challenging child.

I hope to get to know you better.

[busywend]

Oh yeah, it is very common for our kids to not act out in school - especially at your GFGs age. We think the kids are so on guard all day that when they feel safe at home they let loose. Because they have to some time.

[ysne58]

the people who are pioneers in treating bipolar in children have a website bipolarchild.com I was afraid my son might be bipolar at one point and found this resource at that time.

keep posting here, and reading what others say. I'm finding myself referring other parents to this site at least once a week. I may go a couple of years without posting myself, but this is a wonderful resource.

[Dammit Janet]

Hey busy...who ya calling old!!!

I have enough problems with my kids thinking I am elderly, now I have board members getting me ready for the retirement home...geeze!...lmao.

I second what Busy said even though I was giving her grief. Bipolar is genetic as you well know. It runs down my maternal side. Or at least some form of mental illness does. My mom and grandma were crazy as loons...lol!

It is very hard to diagnose a child as young as yours is. It can take a very dedicated team of professionals to get to the root of the problem so it may be in your best interest to attempt to get a team approach to his testing. Also...sometimes until this is done, treating the symptoms is about all you can do.

Good luck and I hope you find this board a great place. I have been here forever....obviously since Im "OLD"!

[MidwestMom]

Unfortunately, my own son was misdiagnosed twice and put on inappropriate medication. I strongly suggest a fresh evaluation from a totally different Psychiatrist. I wouldn't tell him his old dx. Let him decide. Bipolar IS hereditary and putting a possibly bp kid on stimulants/STraterra/Zoloft/any antidepressant can make him worse. You may also want to visit a NeuroPsych. They do intensive evaluations. How was his early development? Speech? Eye contact? Cuddling? His appropriateness with peers? Good luck!
PS--Janet, if you're "elderly", I'm dead [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

[Christal22]

Michelle,

Firstly let me say, I know how you feel and I'm sorry you too have to deal with it. I myself deal with a child who has the same characteristics as your child. I noticed my son who is now almost 5 was different when he was about 1.
He is clingy (has seperation anxiety with me), refused to potty train, throws horrible tantrums (we had another last night that last 35 minutes which left me in tears the rest of the evening), bites his friends, is defiant with authority, and so on.
He was diaganosed with Mood Swings last year. They did not want to call it bi-polar yet b/c he was too young. He has been on Respirdol for over a year and though things are better we still have many issues.
We went back to the doctor this morning and they want to put him on Adderall as well to see if that will help him to control himself better.
Needless to say, I'm exhausted. I'm a single mom, with low income and his father will not help with support or medical which of course makes it harder to pay for play therapy even though I know he needs it.
I have found though that during his "Episodes" the best thing I can do is stay calm. let me tell you it's the hardest thing I think i have ever done. He finally tires and will submit but again it's a long battle. last night's was 35 minutes long and after words I'm worn out.
I do take time for myself. It's hard to find people I trust to watch him so it's not that often but this helps so much!!!
Also, remembering that he has no control over it helps me to deal with it as well. I know he loves me more than anything which makes it a little easier.

My advice to you would be get a second opinion. Ever doctor is practicing medicine. The operative word being "practicing". From what you described I would say your child is also bi-polar. The respirdol may help but keep your eye on it. If you don't see improvement you need to see if they can increase the dosage. Or switch to something like Abilify.
I would definatly go find another doctor to confirm things. I hope this helps. My prayers to you and your sanity. Please pray for mine! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[misk]

Hey Michelle,

I don't have much to offer at this point, as I was a newbie as of 2 days ago. My 6 year old son sounds similar, but he is also a disaster at school - Grade 1 and 4 suspensions so far this year.

What I can tell you is that this website is fantasitic!! I can get teary just thinking about how much support I have found in just two days.

This is definately one of those life changing things, when you realize that there are so many of us trying to deal with the frustration of the system, and the love and sadness that those little guys can bring us.

You found a good place - welcome!

[chrissy34]

I am so comforted to hear of your story. I am truely sorry for what you are going through, but it feels so good to have someone describe the same thing I deal with. I have felt so alone for so long. My daughter is eight years old and has been experiencing rages and marked irritiability since she was 2, her 6 year old sister is afraid to walk by her when she is in what we call a rage. If she is in a rage and we are driving and there are objects in her reach she will through them at me ex) water bottles, booster seats, books, phone, she has even tried to open the door when I am driving. But the big kicker has been she VERY rarely shows this side to the outside world?! So I can totally relate to what you are saying, she has been diagnosed with mood disorder NOS which means to me that they don't know what to do with her. But as far as your son being diagnosed ADHD atleast alone doesn't seem to jive. And the other messages are right about watching the medications if he does happen to have BP could make it worse. You may want to pick up the book The Bipolar Child. Good luck.