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!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Major Mix-Up in the Experiment

Disaster struck today on the first day of school.  Caroline told me yesterday she was having some scrolling vision problems and I made a mental note of it.  Usually that means one of her meds is too high.  I was trying to think if I had double dosed her or something but everything seemed fine in her med box.  Well, off to school she went today and two hours later she was trying to call me to tell me she was having bad vision problems.  I had my phone off because honestly I had gone back to bed after I took everyone to school because I had a migraine the night before and was still tired.  Then I get a call from the school saying she was marked absent for three classes and they couldn't find her.  She had gone to the nurses office but then had left but then didn't show up for class. Oh boy.  Not good.  Then I realized why she was so off: I had forgotten to put her birth control pills for her acne in her med mix, which meant her Lamictal levels probably doubled and that was why she was so dizzy!!! I could have kicked myself for messing up her first day of school!!!! Ugh!!!!  I feel HORRIBLE.  I think I will show up to pick her up with a venti sized hazelnut latte to try to make amends.  I can't believe this happened.   I am worried she isn't going to want to go back.  And what her teachers might think.  I need to email them to explain the problem.  Truly I am so sorry for the mistake I made.  I am praying that she will recover from this.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)