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, October 18, 2012

Bipolar Disorder in Children...

...is devastating.  As much as cancer, if not more because no one knows what to say or do when you tell them your child has a serious mental illness.  I still feel very hesitant to tell people that I am getting to know about her disorder.  I have experienced rejection as a result and so has she.  The good news is that the older she gets the less obvious it is that she has bipolar disorder as maturity has kicked in.  Hang in there, it can get better even though it will never go away.  There will be bad days and days that are not as bad and moments of true joy.  She asked me last night why God has allowed this in her life, she always feels like life is against her.  And it does seem that as soon as she gets going, something knocks her down, a med stops working, or side effects interfere with her life, or her education is interrupted by instability.  I get her pain.  I want to make it better.  I can only pray and hope it does.
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4 comments:

Christy said...

Thank you for saying that it gets easier! As the mother of a bp 8 year old dd, I am really in fear of the teenage years, when the hormones kick in. I have been afraid that it would get so much worse then.

October 18, 2012 at 7:20 PM
Cece said...

I feel your pain, I have a 16yr old that is bipolar. She is hospitalized as I type this. She ranaway and was not on her meds. It's an on going battle and I need a break and she needs intensive treatment that I can't give her. She's going to RTC in the next couple weeks. I call her my "big baby" because she requires a lot of love and attention. I can't give up on her, I still have some fight in me left, just wish she did.

October 22, 2012 at 11:45 PM
Loco YaYa said...

i SO needed this today. we have been struggling so much with Lil'K lately. we even have hit the point we have to have a behavioral meeting this friday. i am so close to the end of my rope. and then you slap out a gem like this.

thank you.

it is so hard when your brain tells you no one understands over and over and...

October 24, 2012 at 11:15 AM
Megan said...

I have no idea why I didn't get these comments sooner. I am always glad to hear my posts encourage someone out there! Sometimes this is a very lonely journey. I bawled my eyes out yesterday sobbing which I haven't done in a long time, but when everything seems to be falling apart for your child, it hurts. God bless you all!

October 25, 2012 at 9:00 PM

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