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Finally joined today after lurking here for a year or more :)
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 428357" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>Welcome! It is nice to get to know you now that you know us!You probably have read our initial advice many times. Above all else, trust your instincts.</p><p></p><p>If I were you I would go and get a copy of the Bipolar Child by Papalous. It is one of the best if not the best book on bipolar disorder in kids that I have seen/read/heard of. It has the medication protocol that is approved by the board of psychiatrists and a ton more other help. I would jump first to the medication section and ask the doctor why prozac if he thinks she is bipolar? Prozac is NOT a good choice for someone with bipolar who is not currently stable mood wise. It can cause mania in children whether they are bipolar or not, but esp bad in those who are bipolar. It can take a LONG time, past the time the medication is stopped, to get the mood cycling to stop. I am constantly confused and irritated by docs who want to give a diagnosis of bipolar but not treat bipolar. It seems to be common to try SSRI/SNRI medications first if you think a patient is bipolar. Why? No doctor has EVER had a straight answer that wasn't a lot of double speak for I don't know but the drug rep said it was good for everything that exists. I have asked at least five different docs, including one for myself (and there is no way in Hades I am bipolar - simply does NOT fit but is a popular diagnosis and we have one psychiatrist in town who gives everyone the current popular diagnosis whether it fits or not, grrrrr. ) Take the book and some notes on what you want to discuss with you to your appts.</p><p></p><p>Trust your instincts. If they scream NO about something, then make NO happen. These docs are experts in a field of study but YOU are the expert in your child. They see her for maybe an hour for the first visit and maybe an hour a year after that. You see her for hours and hours each day. Don't let them tell you that something is or isn't happening unless it is true. They will try, but you have to stick to your instincts and what you know about your child.</p><p></p><p>Go to the link in my signature and create a parent report. It is a document all about your child, a way to organize everything about her in one place at your fingertips. It can be a PITA to keep up to date, but it is more than worth it. Esp as you go from therapist to psychiatrist to reg doctor to school to ... You can give them each what they need to know and keep them up to date. Docs also tend to put more weight on the written word than the spoken, so oftent hey will read it and get back to you with something you had asked about and been given the brush of f about, or that happened with me several times. </p><p></p><p>From what you describe it does sound like bipolar or hwatever the common term in now. Esp the sex words, obsessive dark and morbid thoughts, etc.... So if you feel it is the right diagnosis, I urge you to learn about the appropriate treatment and push her docs into giving it to her. The approp medications start with mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics like risperdal (a flat out MIRACLE drug for my son for several years) and once her moods are stable (will take at least 6 weeks at a therapeutic level of mood stabilizers to be fully stable) then deal with any symptoms that still exist with very small doses of things like prozac, stims, etc... always watching to make sure they don't send her moods cycling. If the doctor doesn't want to put her on these medications, make him give you a good reason why he won't go with the approved medication protocol for the disorder.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 428357, member: 1233"] Welcome! It is nice to get to know you now that you know us!You probably have read our initial advice many times. Above all else, trust your instincts. If I were you I would go and get a copy of the Bipolar Child by Papalous. It is one of the best if not the best book on bipolar disorder in kids that I have seen/read/heard of. It has the medication protocol that is approved by the board of psychiatrists and a ton more other help. I would jump first to the medication section and ask the doctor why prozac if he thinks she is bipolar? Prozac is NOT a good choice for someone with bipolar who is not currently stable mood wise. It can cause mania in children whether they are bipolar or not, but esp bad in those who are bipolar. It can take a LONG time, past the time the medication is stopped, to get the mood cycling to stop. I am constantly confused and irritated by docs who want to give a diagnosis of bipolar but not treat bipolar. It seems to be common to try SSRI/SNRI medications first if you think a patient is bipolar. Why? No doctor has EVER had a straight answer that wasn't a lot of double speak for I don't know but the drug rep said it was good for everything that exists. I have asked at least five different docs, including one for myself (and there is no way in Hades I am bipolar - simply does NOT fit but is a popular diagnosis and we have one psychiatrist in town who gives everyone the current popular diagnosis whether it fits or not, grrrrr. ) Take the book and some notes on what you want to discuss with you to your appts. Trust your instincts. If they scream NO about something, then make NO happen. These docs are experts in a field of study but YOU are the expert in your child. They see her for maybe an hour for the first visit and maybe an hour a year after that. You see her for hours and hours each day. Don't let them tell you that something is or isn't happening unless it is true. They will try, but you have to stick to your instincts and what you know about your child. Go to the link in my signature and create a parent report. It is a document all about your child, a way to organize everything about her in one place at your fingertips. It can be a PITA to keep up to date, but it is more than worth it. Esp as you go from therapist to psychiatrist to reg doctor to school to ... You can give them each what they need to know and keep them up to date. Docs also tend to put more weight on the written word than the spoken, so oftent hey will read it and get back to you with something you had asked about and been given the brush of f about, or that happened with me several times. From what you describe it does sound like bipolar or hwatever the common term in now. Esp the sex words, obsessive dark and morbid thoughts, etc.... So if you feel it is the right diagnosis, I urge you to learn about the appropriate treatment and push her docs into giving it to her. The approp medications start with mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics like risperdal (a flat out MIRACLE drug for my son for several years) and once her moods are stable (will take at least 6 weeks at a therapeutic level of mood stabilizers to be fully stable) then deal with any symptoms that still exist with very small doses of things like prozac, stims, etc... always watching to make sure they don't send her moods cycling. If the doctor doesn't want to put her on these medications, make him give you a good reason why he won't go with the approved medication protocol for the disorder. [/QUOTE]
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