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!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Don't Want to Take a Chance with Spring Break

We leave in two weeks for spring break vacation at the beach, and I began to think that I would rather increase her Lamictal by 25mg, than just count on the Amantadine holiday and the Progon to work fast enough. I don't want to waste the money we paid for the vacation rental if Caroline can't be stabilized before Easter. The psychiatrist said we could go up on the Lamictal if needed (to 425mg.) So she is going to get the higher dose starting today. We can certainly decrease it after a few weeks to see if the Progon is doing the trick. At least with mania she is usually too "happy" and "busy", and not suicidal and depressed as at the other end of the spectrum. Sounds weird, but I would take mania over the opposite, having been through many episodes of both. The depression is far scarier.

Spring is absolutely my favorite season of the year. Watching the birds gathering nest material is so fun. We have a lot of nesting trees and bushes in our yard, so we have a ton of birds to watch. The cherry blossoms and the bradford pears are almost in bloom. This season is a reminder of the beauty that comes after storms, trials, and darkness. A season of hope, renewal, rebirth, and peace. A reminder of the love God has for us through the gift of his Son.

May you be blessed with peace, if not in your home, then in your hearts!
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love spring too!

Hoping you all have a nice spring break and vacation!

Revisedfully

March 19, 2010 at 3:24 PM
bpmerf said...

Thank you for this blog.. I can't wait to read further. I am faced with the possibility of my daughter, who is 12, having Bipolar Disorder and it is scary and frustrating. I think this blog will help me in many ways..thanks again!

March 20, 2010 at 6:18 AM

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