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Could this be bipolar?
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<blockquote data-quote="TerryJ2" data-source="post: 236117" data-attributes="member: 3419"><p>Hi Donna, welcome. So glad you found us.</p><p> </p><p>Your son sounds a lot like mine! My son has rec'd a diagnosis of Asperger's and may also be bipolar, but my son has calmed down a lot since we have put interventions and behaviors in place, so I'm not so sure about the bipolar any more. </p><p> </p><p>One thing is for sure, your son is an unhappy little guy and he has so much more to offer.</p><p> </p><p>We have not used Abilify. Several people here have their kids on it so they can tell you about it.</p><p>We have our difficult child on Adderall and Clonidine (used off-label). We also use Vistaril at night (an antihistame) for sleep. It is crucial that kids get lots of sleep, especially kids who are bipolar or who are Aspies. It makes a HUGE difference.</p><p> </p><p>So, sleep would be my first suggestion. (That doesn't answer the Q of bipolar--no one here can answer it--but it will help!<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> )</p><p> </p><p>My second would be to have a neuropsychologist evaluation. That means an MD who is knowlegable in neurology as well as psychiatry. Psychiatrists look at things from a biochemical point of view. Neurologists look at things from a neurological point of view. It makes a big diff.</p><p>And, of course, your son could be both, but you can only do one thing at a time.</p><p>I don't know what your ins. will cover in that regard. You have to call to find out. I do know that psychiatrists often like to treat with-medications and try them out and discard them if they don't work. I don't really like that approach. </p><p> </p><p>We've used talk therapy with-a child psychologist for yrs and it has really helped. Sometimes you have to pay someone to say the same things you do, and because it's an authority figure, the kids will listen! </p><p> </p><p>Does he have any ADHD symptoms? </p><p>Putting my son on Adderall was the first big leap we took, after we had cut out dairy and tried to cut out wheat. Once he was on the stimulant, he calmed down and we were better able to implement the new diet. (He would grab anything and stick it into his mouth, and take things from other people's houses. He just wouldn't stop moving). </p><p> </p><p>You don't have to talk through everything to use the ideas in The Explosive Child. One thing I learned was to totally give up certain ideas I had been clinging to, like, having my son look perfect in public. It's amazing how giving up on one thing made a difference. It was once less thing to fight about. Sometimes I would let difficult child go out in his pjs and I'd bring along a change of clothes, and once he spilled something (which was inevitable) I'd say, "Oh, look, I have clean clothes for you!" so he would end up wearing what I wanted him to wear to begin with. Hey, where there's a will, there's a way. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p> </p><p>Also, with-therapy, I learned to spot my son's triggers. As it turned out, he was not raging at just anything. There were and are definite triggers, and I can now see him escalate and stop what we're doing b4 a big blowup. </p><p>You will have to learn how to spot your son's escalation signs, such as tapping his foot, pacing, circles under his eyes, breathing patterns, etc. Then you can learn to back away. If he's got homework, if he's escalating, that is NOT the time to remind him, LOL!</p><p> </p><p>I hope this gives you some ideas and tools ... trying to distinguish whether or not he is bipolar may take yrs. It helps to know if there is any history in the family because it tends to be genetic.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TerryJ2, post: 236117, member: 3419"] Hi Donna, welcome. So glad you found us. Your son sounds a lot like mine! My son has rec'd a diagnosis of Asperger's and may also be bipolar, but my son has calmed down a lot since we have put interventions and behaviors in place, so I'm not so sure about the bipolar any more. One thing is for sure, your son is an unhappy little guy and he has so much more to offer. We have not used Abilify. Several people here have their kids on it so they can tell you about it. We have our difficult child on Adderall and Clonidine (used off-label). We also use Vistaril at night (an antihistame) for sleep. It is crucial that kids get lots of sleep, especially kids who are bipolar or who are Aspies. It makes a HUGE difference. So, sleep would be my first suggestion. (That doesn't answer the Q of bipolar--no one here can answer it--but it will help!:) ) My second would be to have a neuropsychologist evaluation. That means an MD who is knowlegable in neurology as well as psychiatry. Psychiatrists look at things from a biochemical point of view. Neurologists look at things from a neurological point of view. It makes a big diff. And, of course, your son could be both, but you can only do one thing at a time. I don't know what your ins. will cover in that regard. You have to call to find out. I do know that psychiatrists often like to treat with-medications and try them out and discard them if they don't work. I don't really like that approach. We've used talk therapy with-a child psychologist for yrs and it has really helped. Sometimes you have to pay someone to say the same things you do, and because it's an authority figure, the kids will listen! Does he have any ADHD symptoms? Putting my son on Adderall was the first big leap we took, after we had cut out dairy and tried to cut out wheat. Once he was on the stimulant, he calmed down and we were better able to implement the new diet. (He would grab anything and stick it into his mouth, and take things from other people's houses. He just wouldn't stop moving). You don't have to talk through everything to use the ideas in The Explosive Child. One thing I learned was to totally give up certain ideas I had been clinging to, like, having my son look perfect in public. It's amazing how giving up on one thing made a difference. It was once less thing to fight about. Sometimes I would let difficult child go out in his pjs and I'd bring along a change of clothes, and once he spilled something (which was inevitable) I'd say, "Oh, look, I have clean clothes for you!" so he would end up wearing what I wanted him to wear to begin with. Hey, where there's a will, there's a way. :) Also, with-therapy, I learned to spot my son's triggers. As it turned out, he was not raging at just anything. There were and are definite triggers, and I can now see him escalate and stop what we're doing b4 a big blowup. You will have to learn how to spot your son's escalation signs, such as tapping his foot, pacing, circles under his eyes, breathing patterns, etc. Then you can learn to back away. If he's got homework, if he's escalating, that is NOT the time to remind him, LOL! I hope this gives you some ideas and tools ... trying to distinguish whether or not he is bipolar may take yrs. It helps to know if there is any history in the family because it tends to be genetic. [/QUOTE]
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