About our Daughter

I am mother to four wonderful daughters, ages 17, 19, 21, and 23, and wife to the greatest husband on earth. God has given us a special child to raise one who was diagnosed with early-onset bipolar disorder at the age of seven, though she showed signs of it from the age of fifteen months. She also has ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder (sensory seeking), Dyslexia, and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder-NOS, all typical comorbidities for a bipolar child. In spite of the trials, she enjoys lacrosse, running (finished her first marathon in October of 2014!), and reading and writing her own books. I will share with you the many joys and sorrows we have faced and will face in the future with the hope that you may find better understanding about this mental illness caused by both chemical and structural abnormalities in the brain. I desire that you will be encouraged by this blog if you are also dealing with a bipolar child. Thank you for reading and sharing in our journey.

How Did You Know She Was Bipolar So Young?

I wrote a long explanation of how we came to this bipolar diagnosis in a child so young under my post of March 19th of 2009. If your child or a child you know bears similarities, please seek out a good psychiatrist and don't wait for "things to get better." Often they will simply get worse, and the longer a child is unmedicated, the more damage their brain can accrue. Early diagnoses and treatment are key to providing these children with a chance at a successful life later as a teen and an adult.
Never change, start or stop a medication without the approval of your child's physician!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

In The Pressure Cooker/Big Med Change

I am in the pressure cooker right now as I try to:  negotiate all of the many events at the end of my oldest daughter's senior year (honors ceremonies, prom, etc) , get her college administrative stuff straight, make sure Caroline finishes all of her large amount of makeup work and tests for the homeschool co-op classes so she can pass into the 9th grade, nag Mae to finish her five space projects by Monday which were due this past Friday, prepare for a graduation party that has gotten much too big, get ready to go out of town on a 5th grade trip to DC this week, and get Caroline ready for a National Lacrosse League tryout of of town this week also, all while feeling pretty depressed myself.  Oh, AND Caroline seems to need a major med change from Seroquel to something else, which will be a new anti-psychotic med called Saphris.  Great.  I am feeling like I am going crazy.  My house is a horrible mess, the work on our kitchen isn't finished at all, or on the back porch where a hundred people are supposed to be on June 11th.  I am just having trouble breathing.  My husband had to go out of town yesterday for a family obligation and I wanted to kill him.  It isn't his fault, he had to go, but I NEEDED him so badly this weekend to help me with the house.   Add to that we are now waiting word on the results of Caroline's placement test this past Friday at the private school, which took her 3 hours to finish instead of the expected 1 1/2.  I am really struggling with anxiety and anger these days, and wondering why in the world I agreed to have the graduation party here at our place in just two weeks.  Just another example of listening too much to a teenage instead of my own instincts.  I wonder if I can change the location or the day, but the invites have all gone out.  Sometimes I am just stupid and am not very kind to myself.   Caroline is much harder to handle lately and that in itself produces tremendous anxiety in both Bill and I.  She is cussing a lot, which is a huge sign of mania for her, and telling some very hard to believe stories, and not being where she says she is going.  I hope the Saphris works, and I will let you know what happens.

8 comments:

Kelly said...

Praying for you!!! What a hard time of year for everyone, but especially those of us raising bipolar children/teens! We tried Saphris with my daughter but only got one dose in her. The side effects were horrible for her. However our p-doc & t-doc have seen some pretty good results in other patients they see. I hope it works for your daughter! Hugs!!!

GB's Mom said...

Paying that the Saphris works. Be kind to yourself.

domandkat said...

Sorry to hear of all these trails! Just to let you know, Dom and I MOVED OUR WEDDING LOCATION 2 weeks before our wedding!!!!! If we can do that for 200 people, you can do it for 100. Sounds like the sanest possible thing to do right now. God bless you sweet sister.

marythemom said...

I've asked our pdoc about Saphris and haven't heard back yet (I hate this pdoc), so I'll be looking forward to hearing how it goes for you.

I finally joined CABF by the way and now I'm involved in fund raisers! *eek!* How did that happen?! Still, really love the support groups and chats. Wonder if I've "met" you there?

Mary (themom)

Anonymous said...

Hang in there, don't worry if everything is perfect or not (I chuckle because this is one of my biggest faults) but if you can have the party as the house is, do it. In the meantime, I hope the Saphris helps, I can understand how the stress levels increase as she gets unstable.

Susan said...

your blog is a life saver for me right now. My daughter is 11 with a mood disorder and has been manic lately as well. I am so sorry you're going through a difficult time but also thankful you are brave enough to tell your story. Your kindness shines through in your posts.

Sending prayers from CT,
Susan

Accidental Expert said...

This time of year is so tough. I too over-commit to things I know I can't handle, but I think its my desperate attempt to at least appear normal.

Hang in there and good luck with the graduation and med change.

Family Times and Challenges said...

I am new to your blog but feel like a friend,so much on your plate...I do hope the new med works. My son has a lot of the same issues and is 12. My prayers are with you, take some alone time even if it's being locked in the bathroom. hugs