"Thank you for all the input - how do I even begin a gluten free diet?? That is what overwhelms me. I once again wasn't clear about my son. He has been diagnosed bi-polar by his psychiatrist but she just wanted me to set aside the label and not get too focused on the label itself, hence the mood disorder "label"! He has really stabilized in many ways on the wellbutrin. Didn't see a big difference on tri-leptal, nor all the adhd medications, which is why I'm considering diet now."
I would never discourage anyone from trying diet changes or considering what might be considered non-traditional causes of the behaviors we see in our children. These behaviors have many different causes and thus many different "cures" or treatments. The big problem is finding out what's wrong with our individual children.
That said, you posted that your son is "stable" because there are fewer rages but then go on to describe his (increased?) cycling. If he is cycling, he is not mood stable and that is true espeically for a child who has been secretly diagnosed bipolar.
Stims will not help a bpkid who is not mood stable on a first line mood stabizer. They will likely make him worse.
I'd bet the farm that your son was not on a therapeutic dose of Trileptal and wasn't on it for the weeks or months that it takes for mood stabilizers to work. But I won't bet that if he was he would have gotten stable. Just being on a first line mood stablizer (if we are considering Trileptal that) at a therapeutic dose for the appropriate period of time is not a guarantee that it will stabilize moods. What mood stablizers usually do is reduce the number of mood swings and lessen their severity, not eliminate them. And, unfortunately, they all don't work for all people; Trileptal may be the wrong one for him. Or he may not be bipolar.
And finally, Wellburtin is not approved for use by children nor is it recommended, let alone approved, for use to treat bipolar disorder. In fact, psychopharmacologist, the American Psychiatric Association and the FDA warn against using just antidepressants to treat bipolar. The doctor's advice to set aside the bipolar "label" and call it something else is not good medical advice because she isn't properly treating the disorder she's diagnosed.
