miles2go

Member
So difficult child was on 7 mg through the second half of the school year and things were great. Then at the beginning of summer, due to circumstances I dont want explain in a public forum (pm me if u like), he was lowered to 5mg for 2.5 weeks, and meltdowns, out of control misbehavior started happening more and more. Then back to 7mg but meltdowns didn't all go away and now after 3 weeks on 7 mg he got a strike 2 at the camp -- chasing kids until restrained by several counselors. Meanwhile a couple of weeks ago psychiatrist said up to 10mg, but I was holding out hoping that 7mg will work like before.
do you see this happen, when too low a dose will destabilize things so that the previous dose doesnt work anymore? Anyway, I upped it to 10mg and hope he can stay in camp else things are going to blow up pretty bad.
me, married dad with-kids
difficult child 8 y.o. boy, BiPolar (BP), ablfy
 

smallworld

Moderator
We once tried to lower my daughter's Zyprexa (same family as Abilify) dose, but the behaviors we were medicating came roaring back with a vengeance. In order to get things under control, we actually did need to go to a considerably higher Zyprexa dose than what we had started at. But once the behaviors were under control for a few months, we were able to lower the dose back to our starting point. So that may happen in your case, or you may need to stay at 10 mg, which isn't such a high dose in any event.

Is there any talk of adding a mood stabilizer for long-term stabilization of your difficult child's bipolar disorder?
 

miles2go

Member
It's been suggested here but psychiatrist hasn't brought it up. I'll ask next visit, although our situation makes it hard for him to take any pills.
 

smallworld

Moderator
The daughter who takes Zyprexa has a severe eating disorder so it's a little different from your situation. Without Zyprexa, she thinks she will choke and die so she stops eating. Zyprexa helps her distorted thinking around eating.

I'm not sure I understand your second question.

Some mood stabilizers like Lamictal come in a chewable form. Others come in a liquid form. Mood stabilizers work over the long haul and are key to the long-term treatment of BiPolar (BP). See the treatment guidelines http://www.thebalancedmind.org/sites/default/files/treatment_guidelines.pdf
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Missy was on Abilify, 5 mg twice a day. We still had problems. In fact, when her Trileptal (for seizures, but also a mood stabilizer) level was too low, she went out of control and things were horrible. They switched her to Risperdal and we've had good results with the combo of Risperdal and Trileptal.

I did notice that the effects of the Abilify fizzled when her body adjusted to the medication. I know someone else who also had a similar issue with Abilify.
 
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