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!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

When Illness Messes Up Medication Regimens

When your bp child gets sick, and can't hold down their medications, what do you do?  Last night Caroline got a stomach virus and couldn't keep down any of her night time meds, many of which are the mood stabilizers and the sleep inducing drugs (insomnia has been a life long issue.)  So she was up the WHOLE night because she couldn't fall asleep, and in the morning she was high as a kite, manic as I have seen her in ages, laughing uncontrollably, really sassy, feeling way too "good."  That's the problem with mania--it feels really good:  a ton of energy, silliness, an "expanded" mood as they say.  But it is dangerous.  I gave her the morning meds with a little extra added in to counterbalance the lack of meds last night.  Then she acted like she was going to throw them up, but I had put Zofran in the mix.  She turned out to be OK.  Now she is asleep and will likely sleep for hours.  If her stomach virus had continued to be an issue in the morning and throughout the day, resulting in 24 hours without meds, I would have had to take her to the ER for phenergan so we could get it under control enough to restabilize her.  So complicated!  But I know it isn't much different when a diabetic child gets sick and can't eat.  Then they have blood sugar issues with which to deal.  That is no fun at all and can damage their organs if it gets out of control.  I am not enjoying my Saturday thus far.  Going for a workout.  Endorphins are needed.
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