[goldenme]

I have a 9 year old daughter that we have struggled with for as long as I can remember. Finally, we decided to take her to see a psychiatrist to discuss what was going on with her. He simply called it a "mood disorder" becasue he did not want to label a child with bipolar disorder so young. He prescribed her zoloft and risperdone. We have noticed a couple of things. She is not "blowing up" for as long. She used to be uncontrollable for hours sometimes when she threw a fit. But now it seems like she is having mood swings more frequently. Literally one minute she is saying she hates me, and the next minute she is talking about puppies or something. Her teacher says she is doing well in school. I dont know I feel guilty about having her on the medicine in the first place, but now Im starting to wonder if she is even on the right medicine?

[blueoctober]

Hi goldenme;I'm sorry that both you and your daughter are struggling with this. How long has she been on the medication? I would speak to her Psychiatrist about the symptoms you have been observing. You may also want to track her mood. There is a great one online at: http://www.medhelp.org/land/mood-tracker

[Bipolarmother]

I'm sorry you are suffering as well. I understand I have a 14 yr old son who has PDD. He goes through these "rage cycles" I dont see the depression side just hyped up anger always at the end of the day like the "witching hour" time when they were babies. So since I have the bipolar I am sure the pdoc has thought about it but they dont want to label them.

And all medications have their honeymoon effect, then they sort of wear off so it might be she needs some tweeking with the meds... good luck

[madisgram]

golden, it could very well be you would benefit from calling daughter's pdoc. yes, they are very hesitant about using the label bipolar with children and have come up with a term re anger something. can't remember the term, but i do know that bipolar disorder has a genetic component in families. most importantly contact her doc.

[bridgie]

i would thouroughly research the effects of both zoloft and risperdol and any medication considering to be given to children. i would be scared to give my child either of those drugs untill have run out of every other option for treatment available. the longer you can go without putting your child on medication the better. until it is absolutely necessary i would hold off. just my opinion.

[VickiesPath]

This is only my opinion but prescribing SSRI's for children under 18 is risky business even if the dx of bipolar is correct. Plus, if you give someone with bipolar an SSRI (Zoloft) you MUST also give them a mood stabilizer such as depakote or lithium or they will most certainly have more mood swings into manic or hypomanic states. SSRI's w/o mood stabilizers will induce mood instability. I would go back to that doctor and question the medications and specifically ask about a mood stabilizer.

PS. I've been bipolar all my life and i'm 58 years old and medicated successfully.

Best of luck to you and your daughter.

[Bipolarmother]

I agree that giving a child medication is controversial but there must be a balance in the family dynamics that should allow for a somewhat healthy environment for everyone.

My son who is 14 and autistic(PDD) high functioning with developmental delays but has adhd issues, he has been on meds for that which clearly helps him stay clam, focused and have the ability to think aprropriately. But we still have the behavior issues after the meds wear off and for that he is given a smaller dose of adhd meds which cuts his craziness in half but then at night time he is just a lunatic.

So is it side effect of meds? No we tried not giving him meds and that didnt work so instead we are living in a very volatile life with him with the rest of our children. And for myself, I am bipolar, suffering for 4 yrs trying to find a med to work or not give me very bad side effects like the one I just had of life threatening pulmonary embolisms. They told me I should not have survived, but I did and I suffer myself and I/we suffer with my sons rages and frustrating behaviors.

If I could find a med to work for him I would give it to him without any regrets....

[gow13]

My 11 year old daughter is bi-polar also, her shrink sucks, but our insurance doesn't have anyone else.

[littlepieceofheaven]

Don't feel guilty for getting your daughter medication that she needs to live a stable life. If your daughter was diabetic would you refuse to treat her with insulin? Unfortunatly mental illness is very hereditary in my family and I have a daughter who is 16 now but started on meds when she was 9. She has Borderline Personalitly Disorder. It is good that they did not put a "label" on here right away. When my daughter first saw her pdoc at 9 they thought she had ADHD. We put her on stimulant medication and man did she react bad! It took several years to get her stable and it is still a stuggle but at leaset I know I am helping her live as normal as a life as possible.

I also have a 10 year old that has MI and right now she is on 3 meds daily. She has OCD. it is not the kind that people think, like washing her hands. She has very intrusive thoughts about hurting herself and others and they are very real and scary to her. She is on Zoloft, ablify and trazaone and is finally getting relief.

Keep your chin up! you are doing good and what is right.

[bridgie]

Shouldn't feel guilty but I was a young child put on antidepressants and had very bad reaction it actually made me more suicidal. I was that young bipolar girl trying to get things figured out. I just am cautious and concerned to start so young due to my own personal and scary experience. That's why I think do the research and get multiple opinions just to see all the options and then if medication is the way to go then by all means. Because of my experience I just get a ltl scared for kids on some of these meds. I just want every one to be safe.

[farmgirl]

I agree you shouldn't feel guilty. We have 4 children ages 16 thru 22. 2 of them have depression, 1 has ADD and the other has panic disorder and SAD. I also have Borderline personality disorder, depression and panic disorder, my husband has ADD, depression and anxiety. It's very hereditary on both sides of our families. We have always been very open about MI in our home, it has helped my kids alot. They have been medicated since they were young also. I had to be very aware of the medicines they were on, some do not work!!! They have all turned out well, 2 in college, 1 even graduating as the valedictorian in his class. I remember my mom saying that if they known they would have defianately got me help and I could have had way less struggles than I did. My best advice is to communicate well with the Dr. don't be afraid to call if you notice anything unusual, we have to be very careful with these medicines and kids. I just wanted you to know that there is hope and you are doing a great job as a mom for getting help for your daughter.

[VickiesPath]

Originally Posted by VickiesPath

This is only my opinion but prescribing SSRI's for children under 18 is risky business even if the dx of bipolar is correct. Plus, if you give someone with bipolar an SSRI (Zoloft) you MUST also give them a mood stabilizer such as depakote or lithium or they will most certainly have more mood swings into manic or hypomanic states. SSRI's w/o mood stabilizers will induce mood instability. I would go back to that doctor and question the medications and specifically ask about a mood stabilizer.

PS. I've been bipolar all my life and i'm 58 years old and medicated successfully.

Best of luck to you and your daughter.

All of the replies above are good ones and please note that I was speaking only of SSRI's and only of children under 18. Welbutrin is approved for depression for children under 18 and there are probably others by now as well. However, the rule of thumb about SSRI's vs. mood stabilizers in bipolar treatment is pretty standard. Open communication with your doctors is the best advice and also, researching these diseases on your own is the best way for you to keep yourself abreast of all of the changes in medication routines and in news about the diseases themselves. I wish you the best in finding a solution for your family.

[DancingAlone]

just a couple of sites, the first actually lists medications (further down the page) given to children with Childhood Onset Bipolar Disorder (COBD), the second is a [guide for teachers working with COBD children].

The first also mentions conditions that can and often do co-exist with the COBD dx: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder.

Children with COBPD, (also lists medications):

http://specialchildren.about.com/gi/o.h ... larch.html

Preparing the Teachers/School:

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/bip ... school.htm

i wish you and your child well.

[goldenme]

I do agree that the Zoloft is not working, I actually think it is making her worse. She seems to be more hyped up. We are going to take her to someone else. I was prescribed Paxil by my OB after having my son, before being diagnosed with BP and I was a ball of anger and really made some bad decisions. I worried from the beginning about putting her on the SSRI, so we have taken her off.

Originally Posted by VickiesPath

This is only my opinion but prescribing SSRI's for children under 18 is risky business even if the dx of bipolar is correct. Plus, if you give someone with bipolar an SSRI (Zoloft) you MUST also give them a mood stabilizer such as depakote or lithium or they will most certainly have more mood swings into manic or hypomanic states. SSRI's w/o mood stabilizers will induce mood instability. I would go back to that doctor and question the medications and specifically ask about a mood stabilizer.

PS. I've been bipolar all my life and i'm 58 years old and medicated successfully.

Best of luck to you and your daughter.

[goldenme]

I do agree that the Zoloft is not working, I actually think it is making her worse. She seems to be more hyped up. We are going to take her to someone else. I was prescribed Paxil by my OB after having my son, before being diagnosed with BP and I was a ball of anger and really made some bad decisions. I worried from the beginning about putting her on the SSRI, so we have taken her off.

[goldenme]

she has been on it for only a month, we did get a mood tracker from the psych at my hubby's work.

Originally Posted by blueoctober

Hi goldenme;I'm sorry that both you and your daughter are struggling with this. How long has she been on the medication? I would speak to her Psychiatrist about the symptoms you have been observing. You may also want to track her mood. There is a great one online at: http://www.medhelp.org/land/mood-tracker

[blueoctober]

I hope the new Psychiatrist helps. If there are many to choose from (easier said than done I know!) see if you can find a Psychiatrist that specializes in mood disorders and treating children. Keep us posted.

[Ree-Ree123]

Hi, my name is Akaree Anderson, and I'm a new member. I'm interested in bipolar disorder in children because many of my friends children as well as a child of mine seemed to have suffered and still may be suffering from this disorder.

[Cole Thornton]

We have been down the same road, so I feel your pain. We knew our 8 year old son was bipolar, becasue he has the same issues as my wife (BPD2 rapid cycle). We tried everything short of meds we could, but when two psychiatrists came to the same conclusion of BPD after carefully ruling out ADD/ADHD, we decided to go the med route.

We did not want to see our bright, creative little boy turned into a walking zombie, and that has thankfully not happened. He is much happier on meds. Depakote sprinkles helps him alot with the mood issues, but any meds to help with attention issues have the opposite effect. Kids are hard to treat.

It took us two years to find a good pdoc. I wish you luck!