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, December 16, 2010

Snow Makes Everything Look Better

I love the way that snow looks softly falling, covering everything in white.  My kids are never happier, outside most of the day, and I have no reason to go anywhere.  Hot cocoa, baking Christmas cookies, no schoolwork, just family memories being created hour by hour.  I needed this.  Thank you God.
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3 comments:

Anna said...

I am glad you are having a good day. It sounds so cozy!

December 16, 2010 at 9:00 PM
Megan said...

Hi Teri. I am so sorry that your daughter is unstable and gaining weight. I know that feeling. I am wondering, is your daughter on anything besides Abilify? The standard protocol that most of the really good psychiatrists follow is a combination of one or two mood stablizers and an antipsychotic. This cocktail seems to produce the best results, not for all kids, but for a lot of them. Lithium is a great mood stabilizer and cheap, and is proven to prevent suicide. Other mood stablizers would be something like Trileptal, Topomax, Depakote, and there are so many more. The CABF website is a good place to find the most cutting edge information on medications, etc. It sounds to me like your daughter needs different meds, or something added to the Abilify. Abilify can cause weight gain, but sometimes adding in Topomax or Amantadine can decrease appetite. Ask your new doc obviously, but hang in there. Also, if you haven't read The Bipolar Child by Demitri Papolos, you may want to grab a copy as a reference guide for meds, etc.

December 18, 2010 at 8:43 PM
Megan said...

Terri, I am so glad you find this blog encouraging. That is my hope, that all of what we have gone through isn't for nothing, but can help other families dealing with early-onset bipolar disorder.

December 22, 2010 at 12:47 PM

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