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!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Solution

Maybe a solution.  The psych doc suggested adding a small dose of non-XR Seroquel to her nightly mix to get her sleeping again.  She thinks that the sleep issues (insomnia) triggered the aggression and explosivity and obsessive-compulsiveness.   So last night was the first increased dose and she did sleep better.  Can't tell yet if it is helping with her angry attitude though.  She has standardized testing on Monday so we certainly hope she can handle it.
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2 comments:

trg said...

Have you ever looked into PANDAS or PANS as the cause of your daughter's bipolar symptoms?

May 12, 2012 at 12:14 AM
Megan said...

I am familiar with PANDAS but we have a genetic tendency for bipolar disorder in our families and she fits every specific symptom on the early-onset bipolar checklist, which is a long one, so we do not think it is PANDAS. But thanks for the input. :)

May 13, 2012 at 8:25 AM

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