Im new to this site

[jessica30]

My name is Jessica and I have 4 children. My one daughter is 8 yrs,old and she has been diagnosed with ADHD/ Bipolar. I noticed when she was very young that something was not right. She was a very agressive with others, she had a lot of trouble siteing still and was very distructive!! I started noticeing this when she was about 2yrs. old. The doctor said it was the terrible two's then he said it was the trying threes. It seemed to be one excuse after another. When she was 5yrs.old she had set the trash can on fire while we were all sleeping this happened at about 3am. I had fell asleep holding my 3 week old son in the recliner. She had started screaming she had tried to put the fire out herself and her night clothes had started to melt to her chest. She had tried to put the fire out by herself. Her screams woke me up, the house was filled with smoke and the trash can had started to melt to the carpet. I got the fire put out and cried. First thing in the morning I called her pediatrition, he saw her the same day and I came out and told him that he had to do something. That I was scared something much worse was going to happen. I had told him about the trash can and her not being able to sleep. And he refered her to a doctor that deals with bipolar and adhd. Since then it has been medication after medication, abilify, depikot, risperdal, seraquel, geodon, lamictol, clonidein (ECT) just to name a few. Nothing has really made her normale, she has suffered very bad side affects from some of them and still does. They say some of these side affects may never go away. It got so bad at home that I had to take Abby to a mental facility. They kept her 3 weeks and when she came home it was the same thing all over again. They did not seem to help her at all. Now she is on medication that is not even for adhd or bipolar I had taken her to her dr appointment and the advice they gave me was to call the cops on her or take her to the same facility so that was my only option. I knew that putting her in a juvinille facility was not the answer. I knew they would not help her there. While she was in the psychiatric hospital, the violince continued she attacted the staff and other children, she bet her head off of walls, she would hit anything she could get her hands on. I was glad she acted like this while she was there so they could see how she acted at home with her brother's and sister and also with kids that were outside. It seem's like no one cares they just pass the buck on to someone else. They dont want to fix the problem or at least try and put her on the right medication to help calm her down. Where do u go when u hit rock bottom? People say god never gives u more than u can handle. Im begining to dout that!!! I have a ticking time bomb on my hands. For anyone that has any advice I would be more than willing to read them.

 

[BusynMember]

Hi, Jessica. I'm sorry you had to come here and are going through this. I have a few questions that will help us help you. Perhaps you want to do a signature of your family like I did below. by the way, I think that calling the police on an eight year old is a goofy idea, no matter what. She needs help, not juvy hall for elementary school kids! I personally would dismiss whichever professionals told you to do that as incompetent. JMO, but I would look elsewhere.

1/Who diagnosed her? Was it a psychiatarist who sees kids who have all disorders or somebody who specializes in ADHD and bipolar. I have a bias against doctors who "specialize" because in my opinion they tend to see their disorder in most kids so the kids get THAT diagnosis and are not tested for all disorders. Many of us here in Conduct Disorders World prefer NeuroPsychs for testing as they spend hours doing all sorts of tests and are not biased toward any disorders. Many of us have gotten more concrete answers about how our children are wired than elsewhere. It may be an option for you since you are having so much trouble and the doctors haven't helped her so far. in my opinion makes sense to get a fresh perspeective. Young kids are often misdiagnosed. This happened to my son many times.

2/Are there are psychiatric disorders or substance abuse (which is a red flag for self-medicating) on either side of her biological family tree? This includes dad even if she has never met dad because 50% of her genetic makeup is biological dad. I have adopted kids so I know how much biology matters.

3/How was her early development? Did she make strong eye contact with you and others as an infant? Most babies will stare at strangers and smile from their shopping carts or at least peek. Some kids with certain disorders will not make eye contact even with mom and certainly not with strangers. Did she do well in public places? Did she speak and do her motor skills on time? Any articulation problems? Did she always seem to "get" how to relate well to her same age peers? Is she overly precocious and almost like "a little professor?" (This is also a red flag for a disorder). Any special interest in letters and numbers or reciting television shows or books verbatim? Does she have any quirks such as lip smacking, turning lights on and off, staring into space, flapping her arms, rocking back and forth, etc? Does she have one or two obsessive interests? Can she transition well from one activity to another or does that cause a meltdown? It is quite possible that they are mistaking a neurological difference for a psychiatric problem. That happened to my son. Not saying it's the case, but it's possible.

I have a mood disorder and am starting to feel it is overly diagnosed in young kids, although some kids do have them. Is there bipolar on the family tree? Do you think your daughter is hearing or seeing things that aren't there? Does she have an imaginery friend who talks to her in her head? The reason I'm asking a lot of questions is because her behavior is severe and she has been hospitalized very young and I want all of us to get a good picture so we can offer up good support and suggestions.

My first thought is to get thee to a neuropsychologist and see what he or she thinks is going on. Is she getting any school interventions?

Sorry for such a long post. Your precious little one touched me and I hope we can help you.

 

[flutterby]

Hi and welcome to the site.

I don't mean to pick, but could you add paragraphs to your post? I have some visual spatial issues and I get lost on the page when it's all one paragraph.

You'll find a lot of support and years of experience here. We're a very welcoming group.

 

[jessica30]

Hi, Jessica. I'm sorry you had to come here and are going through this. I have a few questions that will help us help you. Perhaps you want to do a signature of your family like I did below. by the way, I think that calling the police on an eight year old is a goofy idea, no matter what. She needs help, not juvy hall for elementary school kids! I personally would dismiss whichever professionals told you to do that as incompetent. JMO, but I would look elsewhere.

1/Who diagnosed her? Was it a psychiatarist who sees kids who have all disorders or somebody who specializes in ADHD and bipolar. I have a bias against doctors who "specialize" because in my opinion they tend to see their disorder in most kids so the kids get THAT diagnosis and are not tested for all disorders. Many of us here in Conduct Disorders World prefer NeuroPsychs for testing as they spend hours doing all sorts of tests and are not biased toward any disorders. Many of us have gotten more concrete answers about how our children are wired than elsewhere. It may be an option for you since you are having so much trouble and the doctors haven't helped her so far. in my opinion makes sense to get a fresh perspeective. Young kids are often misdiagnosed. This happened to my son many times.

2/Are there are psychiatric disorders or substance abuse (which is a red flag for self-medicating) on either side of her biological family tree? This includes dad even if she has never met dad because 50% of her genetic makeup is biological dad. I have adopted kids so I know how much biology matters.

3/How was her early development? Did she make strong eye contact with you and others as an infant? Most babies will stare at strangers and smile from their shopping carts or at least peek. Some kids with certain disorders will not make eye contact even with mom and certainly not with strangers. Did she do well in public places? Did she speak and do her motor skills on time? Any articulation problems? Did she always seem to "get" how to relate well to her same age peers? Is she overly precocious and almost like "a little professor?" (This is also a red flag for a disorder). Any special interest in letters and numbers or reciting television shows or books verbatim? Does she have any quirks such as lip smacking, turning lights on and off, staring into space, flapping her arms, rocking back and forth, etc? Does she have one or two obsessive interests? Can she transition well from one activity to another or does that cause a meltdown? It is quite possible that they are mistaking a neurological difference for a psychiatric problem. That happened to my son. Not saying it's the case, but it's possible.

I have a mood disorder and am starting to feel it is overly diagnosed in young kids, although some kids do have them. Is there bipolar on the family tree? Do you think your daughter is hearing or seeing things that aren't there? Does she have an imaginery friend who talks to her in her head? The reason I'm asking a lot of questions is because her behavior is severe and she has been hospitalized very young and I want all of us to get a good picture so we can offer up good support and suggestions.

My first thought is to get thee to a neuropsychologist and see what he or she thinks is going on. Is she getting any school interventions?

Sorry for such a long post. Your precious little one touched me and I hope we can help you.

First I would like to thank u for taking the time to read my Desperite cry for help. Abigail that is my daughters name well when she was a baby she seemed to be very detached. She didn't like to be cuddled and she very raerly wanted to be held. Growing up she never really wanted to play with her sister or play with other kids. She liked to go off by herself and play. She would play in closetes a lot and when her sister would try and play with her she would throw toys at her or leave the room. Abby never made eye contact with strangers or with me and the same goes with relatives close to her. She was a very distant infant and child. Even as a baby she would cry untill u put her down. Abby's father had problems also, but was never diagnosed due to his mother and fathers ignorens. As far as drug problems, there are none that I know of. Abby has a psychiatric doctor, a child neurologest ( due to some of the side affects from the medication ) a counceler and a social worker. I totally agree calling the cop's on my 8 yr.old is totally insaine I could not even beleive the nurse practioner would suggest that!!!! It never crosed my mind to call the cops on my daughter. I knew the only thing left to do was to take her to hill crest. What made me take her there was she was causeing harm to the other children in the house hold. I also have a 10yr.old - 5 yr.old and a 7yr.old and honestly I was concerned for there safty. Abby is VERY stronge for her age she is 3 foot 2 and weighs 134 Lbs she out powers me. And the littlest things set her off. Like that morning I had asked her to brush her hair and that was all she wrote it set her off like a bomb. Abby has uncontrolable movements of her arms, hands, she makes odd facial expresions for no reason. She walks in circles, she is on her feet from the time she gets up to the time she goes to bed. She stand's while she eats, watches tv, while she colors, reads , She is constently on the move. Due to the seroquel she has really bad tremors of her head, face hands and arms. They are uncontrolable. Abby's psychiatric doctor has also said she is schitzophrinic but she has to be 18 to be tested for it befor she can be labled with it. But he has spent time alone with her and he has said that the stuff she say's only a person with schitzophrinia could tell u. Abby has told me that her brain talks to her and tells her to do bad thing's. She say's her brain show's her how to do stuff. Like at on point in time she was crying and crying and I asked her what was wrong and she said her brain was telling her to kill me and her brain even showed her how to do this. And that her brain just got louder and louder untill she did what it told her to do and then it would stop. But she was crying cause she didn't want to hurt me. She also use to wet the bed because she said there were snakes on her floor and she could not get out of bed or the snakes would bite her. She use to see bug's to she would scratch at her face trying to get them off she would scratch her face till it would bleed and she would do the same thing with her arms. I do beleive she is also scitzophrinic. Where I live resources are very limited. I thank u very much for ur help and if u need anymore info let me know Im will to give as much info as i can to try and help my daughter and hopfully give her some what a normal life.

 

[BusynMember]

Aw, I feel so bad for you and your daughter. Can you list the medications she is on? If you tell us what state you are in, we can private message you (those who live near you) and maybe give you some resources. We aren't allowed to give specific names here.

How far away is the nearest univeristy clinic? They are awesome, usually on the cutting edge, and they take Medicaid if you are insurance-challenged. It's worth it to stay overnight at a hotel if you have to (even a cheap one...lol). Your child sounds like she has many issues. I think a good neuropsychologist evaluation could help her tremendously...and you too. All of you need a break.

 

[mamabear01]

I just want to give {{{hugs}}} too and offer some support. I also agree a Neuro-Phys should be done so you can see the whole picture.

 

[graceupongrace]

Jessica,

Sorry your daughter is having these troubles. Please make sure you report all the side effects to the prescribing doctor -- she should not have to live with things like tremors. Unfortunately, as you've seen, there's a lot of trial & error involved with medications as you attempt to get the correct combination and the correct dosage.

The others have made some good suggestions. Hope we can help you along the way on this journey.

 

[jessica30]

Aw, I feel so bad for you and your daughter. Can you list the medications she is on? If you tell us what state you are in, we can private message you (those who live near you) and maybe give you some resources. We aren't allowed to give specific names here.

How far away is the nearest univeristy clinic? They are awesome, usually on the cutting edge, and they take Medicaid if you are insurance-challenged. It's worth it to stay overnight at a hotel if you have to (even a cheap one...lol). Your child sounds like she has many issues. I think a good neuropsychologist evaluation could help her tremendously...and you too. All of you need a break.

I am in XXX, Oh. The medication she is on right now is 100mg of Lamotrigine this is taken in the A.M. and she also takes 0.01mg of Clonidine in the P.M The Lamotrigine is only suppose to be given for a short period of time it is a mood stabilizer. She has been on it for 2 yrs. now. And the Clonidine is to help her sleep. So she is not really on anything for ADHD or her Bipolar. The closest University to me is Columbes. Which is like a 3 hour drive from where I live. I have been checking into it though cause my husband had a heart transplant 3 yrs ago and that is where all his doctors are. He goes there every 3 months for check up's So the trip would not be to bad and I pritty much know my way around the area. Thank u sooooo much for ur help

(edited out hometown -TM)

 

[AnnieO]

Jessica,

I also live in Ohio, so I can (maybe) help find someone a bit closer. It's so overwhelming at first, but once the wonderful people here give you some pointers in the right direction it gets easier. I've only been on since January but it's wonderful to be able to bounce things off everyone here, get some input, etc.

I tried to Private message you but could not - perhaps they are turned off? If so, go to User CP - Edit Options - check Enable Private Messaging and then scroll down and Save Changes.

Side note, I agree 100% with having a neuropsychologist evaluation done. You'll find out lots of information that will help you help your daughter.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}

 

[CrazyinVA]

Lamotrigine (Lamictal) is a mood stabilizer commonly used to treat bipolar, my daughter took it with good results. I just wanted to reassure you that at least the doctor did at least prescribe something that's commonly used for bipolar disorder.

 

[BusynMember]

Lamictal, which I believe is what she is taking, is a good mood stabilizer. I apologize if she's not taking that. I'd not want her on anything for ADHD--that can make bipolar kids even worse and your daughter is struggling too much. I *would* want her on an anti-psychotic, if she hears scary voices in her head. I'm surprised she isn't on one.

YES, take her to the university hospital! People have traveled more than three hours to get help. In the end, it's worth it!

 

[Wiped Out]

Welcome and I'm sorry you are having to deal with so much. My difficult child had a bad reaction to Abilify (Tardive Dyskensia) but we were lucky it wasn't permanent. My difficult child also takes the two medications your difficult child is currently on but not the same dosages and also takes other medications in addition. My difficult child has been on the Lamotrigine for a few years. I've never read that it needed to be short term.

I do hope you are able to make an appointment with a neuro-psychiatric.

 

[jessica30]

Welcome and I'm sorry you are having to deal with so much. My difficult child had a bad reaction to Abilify (Tardive Dyskensia) but we were lucky it wasn't permanent. My difficult child also takes the two medications your difficult child is currently on but not the same dosages and also takes other medications in addition. My difficult child has been on the Lamotrigine for a few years. I've never read that it needed to be short term.

I do hope you are able to make an appointment with a neuro-psychiatric.

My daughters doctor told me that yesterday. ( that it was suppose to be for short term use) When I read up on the info on it I did not read anything like that. I do know that it does work better when it is placed with another medication well atleast in her situation it does. For Abby I don't think the Lamictal works for her anymore. But everyone is different Abby was on Abilify for a long time, she had massive weight gain while on it. I made her doctor take her off of it. Different medications react different in everyone.

 

[jessica30]

Lamictal, which I believe is what she is taking, is a good mood stabilizer. I apologize if she's not taking that. I'd not want her on anything for ADHD--that can make bipolar kids even worse and your daughter is struggling too much. I *would* want her on an anti-psychotic, if she hears scary voices in her head. I'm surprised she isn't on one.

YES, take her to the university hospital! People have traveled more than three hours to get help. In the end, it's worth it!

Yes Abby is on the Lamictal ( Lamotrigine ) is a generic for of Lamictal. It does not seem to work for her. I mean with her only being on the Lamictal she is still very violent. And mood swings from ??? Well u know where. LOL And hyper OOoo wow she bounces off the walls all day LONG she has a hair triger temper though. Even the littlest thing like today for instance she tried to bet her 5 yr.old brother with a chair because he took her .25 cents Any thing and everything sets her off. She goes to see her pschiatrist tommorrow hopefully he can do something. And July 7th she has an appointment in Columbus with another pschiatrist. I also got her test results back today from some testing her doctor did and he say's that he thinks it would be a good idea if Abby went to see a heart specialist. He says he cant put his finger on it but there is something not right with her heart and he want's to see if the medication's have caused this problem. She goes to see this heart specialist July 2nd. It was good to hear from u keep in touch.