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, February 18, 2010

Insomnia

Caroline didn't sleep through the night AGAIN last night. How aggravating. Thankfully she has a pdoc appointment tomorrow. She takes two different sleep meds so I am wondering if she has developed a tolerance to one or both of them. No sleep means no school, obviously not a good thing. With hours of daylight increasing every day as the spring approaches, meds often have to be adjusted. I think of bipolar disorder as being very similar to diabetes. Treating diabetes is a constant balancing act. Treating manic depressive illness is also a constant balancing act, tweaking this and that as the seasons change and hormones change.
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1 comment:

Cinda said...

Of course! Swings and sways and dips and bounces. I wish you were here at this conference with us!! You are an incredible mom and must keep a shred of care for yourself!

February 18, 2010 at 11:51 PM

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