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!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Great Psychiatrist Appointment

Caroline's psychiatrist agreed that her late afternoon/evening hypomania could be caused by a dip in her Lithium level since we are not using the extended release form. So we got a prescription for Lithobid, the ER form of lithium, and we shall see if it works. Also she needs to get a bunch of blood drawn for lithium and Trileptal levels as well as thyroid and liver panels. Lithium can damage your thyroid, and the anti-psychotics can harm the liver. Poor kids. If their disorder doesn't kill them, their medications can. Not to be flippant and callous, it is just the sad reality of what we live with every day.
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3 comments:

Accidental Expert said...

My daughter has had thyroid problems ever since she was on Lithium. She's been off it for 6 months but still her levels are incredibly high.

November 24, 2009 at 7:48 PM
Megan said...

Wow! So the lithium gave her hyperthyroidism?

November 24, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Cinda said...

Oh....meds/no meds. I hate it! But stability is the goal, right? Daughter is on Lamictal and Trileptol. Lithium was just added to the mix. Dr. hopes to bump up the Lithium and do away with the Trileptol. She told me that taking her meds reminds her every single day that she has BP. She said it would be so easy to be a crazed teenager and completely rebel because it still makes her mad. Wouldn't you just take it all for them? Symptoms, drugs, all of it, if only you could? So, I am going back to the positive side and thank the Lord that we have such treatment available and our children weren't born 100 years ago or in a third world country. How's that for a positive Thankful spin!? Happy T-day, we do have much to be thankful for.

November 24, 2009 at 11:53 PM

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