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, May 13, 2010

Problems with Drug Manufacturer of Lamictal ODT

Unfortunately, we may have to switch Caroline back to the regular generic Lamictal instead of the extended release because GlaxoSmithKline is having a problem with manufacturing, exactly what I don't know. This is disappointing because we did notice an increase in effectiveness with the name brand and not the generic. Our insurance wouldn't pay for the name brand Lamictal, which is why we requested the Orally Disintegrating Tablets, which only comes in the name brand.
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2 comments:

Mom With Bipolar said...

I have heard that brand name IS better than generic specifically for lamictal. Do you have a way to get it "pre-approved?" For us, the dr. writes a letter (or fills out a form they have) for the insurance company telling them, in no uncertain terms, that you have tried the generic, this is what happened, you have tried the brand name, this is what got better, and that your daughter requires the brand name for the treatment to be effective. I hope something works out for you.

May 13, 2010 at 10:05 AM
Unknown said...

You can get the name brand from Canada at almost "insurance prices" with a faxed script from your doctor. I was going to do that a few months ago but then my insurance changed at the first of this year and all is cool again.

May 13, 2010 at 11:07 AM

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