The psychiatrist rate - is average, and you don't see them the whole hour, so probably billed for 15 minutes, etc...

Seeing weekly? When changing meds, to try and find one - so the weekly, is to figure out if working, not working, getting better or worse... or they can do that inpatient and monitored .

NAMI.org has lots of family info including children. America is the only place on earth labeling children.....

Personally - being bipolar and 50, and a rotten kid - I do not agree at that children can be dx bipolar.

Manic - not sleeping a week, depression not getting out of bed a month - can't imagine an 8 year old doing either, so if rage and lack of attention is your big indicators, those are not bipolar traits - or they are a tiny part...

Wishing you strength and wisdom during your difficult journey....

I don't agree with children being diagnosed with bipolar either - unless they show exactly the same symptoms as adults - that includes 7 days of sustained mania, delusions and hallucinations.

Rage is not mania.

If he has been put on meds, especially anti-psychotics it's likely to make things worse. No one knows the effects of these drugs on children.

I'm waiting to see the latest DSM but there is likely to be a disorder that replaces "juvenille bipolar" and that requires a diferent treatment.

Well there is a school of thought that says that in bipolar children mania can manifest itself as rage/anger. Not all practitioners subscribe to that theory, but it's becoming more prevalent. Aside from theory though I have quite a bit of data now that clearly shows that his mood cycles with a 2 week rhythm and also fluctuates during the day. Also he responded really well to both Intuniv and Abilify very well which are used for bipolar folks. I'm BP/50 as well by the way, but had my onset when I was 28, so much later, Whatever you call it, he has two major moods and he's cycling during the day and also over two weeks. The bigger problem is my wife always getting into a power struggle with him which leads to escalating fights, instead of de-escalation. She doesn't listen to me though. That's another reason we need a one stop shop doctor who can iron out those interaction traps.

hi, don't want to argue about this, but an awful lot of people are now questioning this. As said it's expected the new DSM will basically delete juvenille bipolar. Most coutries outside of the US don't accept it.

Abilify has many effects and is being used for many things.

I'm expecting in the USA there will be major class actions in the future. There are already a number of class actions for adults regarding causing diabetes onset.

I've said my bit.

I hear you, acuriousfish. I'm not too hung up on diagnoses as long as he gets the help he needs. Dr. Greene's CPS model actually ignores diagnoses altogether and just looks at the lagging skills that the child exhibits. The only curious thing is that sometimes he has the skills and sometime's he's not able to use them.

It may be beneficial to check his diet... some foods (rather, chemicals IN some foods) have been the culprit in some circumstances ..
Ie: anything hydrolized,
high fructose corn syrup
Some dyes (red,especially).



I'm not so sure as an 8 yr old could be diagnosed with bipolar I have a daughter who is pretty sensitive to things of the above mentioned items. It's as if they flip a switch in her. Nearly a Dr. Jeckle/ Mr. Hyde scenario... might be something to look into...

I feel your pain. My son is 15 now and was recently diagnosed with bipolar 1 NOS. Doctors and therapists have thrown around the term bipolar with him since he was five. He has many of the same symptoms you describe with your son for as long as I can remember. He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 3 or so. Since that time we have been on one medication or another and have been in every type of therapy you can mention. Art, Water, Equine, Talk, etc..... he is now depressed, suicidal and has begun to stay up all night long......it seems like one step forward and two steps back most of the time. We just keep trying to find solutions, but, the rages are the worst and I have come to the point of needing my own support to get through it. I don't know if you can diagnose kids with bipolar or not (it is in my family also, a brother) but I do know the illness is real and the solutions, treatments are elusive at best. I don't care what the label is, like most who love their family member with mental illness, I just want to find whatever helps. I recommend NAMI and of course these types of discussions. Always keep an open mind.

It may be beneficial to check his diet... some foods (rather, chemicals IN some foods) have been the culprit in some circumstances ..
Ie: anything hydrolized,
high fructose corn syrup
Some dyes (red,especially).



I'm not so sure as an 8 yr old could be diagnosed with bipolar I have a daughter who is pretty sensitive to things of the above mentioned items. It's as if they flip a switch in her. Nearly a Dr. Jeckle/ Mr. Hyde scenario... might be something to look into...

My son is 6 and the word bipolar has been thrown around by a few psychiatrists as well. No matter how bad it is I refuse to give him antipsychotics. I don't think its right to do that to a child so young when in reality it could be a number of different things. Just be strong its hard trust me I know, it is damaging to child and the family. I've almost admitted my son a few times but there are other ways it can be "controlled". not in all cases, but in mine :)

Seeing a psychiatrist once, twice or even three times a week is often a good idea---both for medication management, therapy, intervention and on-going therapeutic relationship.

Have you considered checking for food allergies?

Many foods---sugar, wheat and anything containing gluten, dyes, corn, beef with hormones, cheese can cause "irritation" and behavior issues.

Also---get an MTHFR genetic test for your little tyke-o-terror. MTHFR is an enzyme that helps B12 and folate cross the blood brain barrier. You can do it yourself for him at 23 and me--and it is a saliva test for multiple things...and private.

https://www.23andme.com/store/cart/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search-Branded&utm_term=mid200&gclid=CKGdn6ivrbgCFe-DQgodwgUAXg

MTHFR can be treated...PM me if you need more info.