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, September 20, 2009

Postscript

On Friday Caroline stayed home with back pain, but then spent the morning throwing up a little while after taking her morning meds, possibly because she took them on an empty stomach, or maybe a stomach virus. As a result, she probably got very little of those meds, which has now thrown her into instability yesterday and today, with bad depression showing its ugly head. We are preemptively increasing her Lamictal, which has anti-depressive properties, because she does tend toward depression in the fall anyway (so do I). I love fall weather, but fall means mood lability in a bipolar child. So discouraging!

(Yes, we are getting her doctor's approval for increasing the Lamictal--very important.
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4 comments:

Corrie Howe said...

I read your comment on Raising Complicated Kids. My heart goes out to you. I will add you and your family to my list of bloggers.

Although I'm not really sure how to encourage you, I do wish to be like Jonathan in 1 Samuel 23:16-18...Jonathan went and found David in a cave hiding from Saul. Jonathan helped David find his strength and courage by reminding David of God's promises to him.

September 21, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Megan said...

Thank you so much Corrie, for your encouraging words. This was exactly what I needed today, even the verses. I had been telling God that I felt like he just wasn't showing up, and that I didn't feel his presence, even though I know He is there. This was definitely my cave of Adullum today. Thank you. I look forward to getting to know you and your family. I never do well in the early fall so I hope that with more anti-depressant and the light lamp we'll be feeling better.

September 21, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Accidental Expert said...

I am so sorry things are so tough for you right now. I'm also having one of those moments where the weight of the everything we need to do feels crushing. Unfortunately no encouraging words, just lots and lots of empathy.

I wish we could have coffee too. In the meantime, I'm sending you a virtual Starbucks.

September 22, 2009 at 8:08 AM
Megan said...

A virtual Starbucks sounds great. I am doing better today. Except for the major migraine I woke up with and stayed until about 20 minutes ago. We did manage to homeschool successfully, which was amazing considering my headache and the narcotic painkiller I was one. God's grace.

September 22, 2009 at 3:39 PM

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