This is your son, go in there and demand that you want some changes or some work up on him. A good thing keep a record of all the stuff that happens, when he takes his meds, his moods, temper what he eats how the enviroment is. the fact that he has been on so many different meds you really don't know what he is suffering from, cause the meds have behavioral and emotional side effects. But ADD does not sound like his problem. Do some research on your own. If you need to get a different opinion. It is not only you suffering think about how fustrated he must be. I was not diagnosed with bipolar till my adult years but I see my past and I wish I had gotten treatment earlier. You have that chance, don't quit till you son tells you he feels better. I don't want to sound harsh but I have seen earlier intervention. My daughter is actually going to be evaluated tomorrow. I also know she shows sighns of it because she lives with me and I am very bi polar and it affects her. But there are also other sighns that she is doing that concerns me. Just think keep going through hell because after that it can only get better. I know with my bipolar. I have taken so many different meds and it so hard to find the right combination. Then just to top that off it seems like I become immune to them after a while so then my doctor has to start all over again. But there are many people that can find the right meds and be great. I believe because I did not recieve any medical when I was younger it is taking me a long time to learn how to live with this. I hope this shows you what you need to do. Just think about how your son is feeling and what he is missing. Don't settle.

They should really put a lot of time and energy into studying a child's behavior before making a diagnosis. A kid is a kid is a kid and they are going to act like a kid. They are so quick to declare that they have ADD or ADHD at such young ages. They will throw them on ritalin or addral--which makes them stand out in class as a weirdo. When tehy see that the child continues to act out into their teens, they really get them checked out and it turns out that they have some severe mental illness. They were doing this to children all of the time when I was going through school. A good percentage of those (inluding myself) that were diganosed with ADD/ADHD due to their obscure behaviors are now diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and even Schitzophrenia.

Thanks graceY! My Mom often says she wishes she had taken me to get help when I was young....I haven't given up the fight and never will. I DO remember what it's like growing up nnot knowing what's wrong with you - and with me being bipolar, hell, he gets it either way...but we talk and are really open with each other - always have been! LOVE IS NEVER SHORT IN THIS HOUSE! Neither is acceptance! Thanks for your support and confidence and good luck tomorrow with your daughter! Best wishes always!

Hi RubyRed,
You should definitely request that the doc reevaluate her for bipolar disorder. My daughter was recently dx'd with bipolar after being misdiagnosed over and over again with the initial dx being ADHD when she was 7, she is now 12. Additionally, if they treat him for ADHD and/or depression when he is actually bipolar it can make his symptoms worse. For example, my daughter was initially dx'd with major depression and put on Lexapro (antidepressent) and Seroquel (for insomnia) this seemed to work well for a while but later they took her off of the Seroquel because she gained 80 lbs. and her cholesterol was over 230 in a matter of 4 months. They prescribed Trazadon for the insomnia which is also an anti-depressent. The thing is the Seroquel is a mood stabilizer and in some cases if you treat someone that is bipolar with antidepressents and don't also incorporate a mood stabilizer it can make their bipolar symptoms worse. In my daughter's case she went into ultra rapid cycling, she would cycle between giddiness, rage and sobbing depression within an hour. The story and our experiences with the different meds goes on forever . . .
I am learning a little more each day and the recurring theme that I come across is that Child/Adolescent bipolar is different than adult bipolar and is often misdiagnosed. One of my DS friends recommended two websites that have been very helpful bpkids.org and bipolarchild.com

I would definately talk to the pdoc. My son is autistic with very limited speech, so I cannot tell what goes on with him. He too is 13 and larger than I am and when his meds begin to not work, watch out! At the ripe age of five he started out on risperdal. It was a miracle drug for about a year, then it was like giving him candy. He was recieving an adult dose at 7 years old! He then started on serequel, trileptal, and another andtiderpessant. I wasnt impressed at all with the serequel, it again was like giving him water. The pdoc realized that these families of medications did not help him. He was placed on Abilify, and let me tell you what, he's absolutely amazing right now. I couldnt be more happy. He still takes Trileptal for his proneness to seizures but yes, look into the meds, the family of meds he's been on and pray. Best of luck, mother to mother.

graceY has a great idea about tracking his moods and meds this can be a great help to any mantal dx, mabye the attached link will help:

http://www.healthyplace.com//communities/Bipolar/mood_chart_blank.pdf

Thanks so much t all of you for your replies! Each of you have had great ideas and your support and personal experiences have made a huge differencce! The links are great and I will definately be checking them out!
Thanks again!!!!

my son has had mental problems since he was at least a year and a half. THey looked at ocd and adhd and possible MMR and autisum. Well they ruled out MMR he is far to smart, and they Went with ADHD. I took him to a pediatric Nuropsycologist and she ran a battery of tests for 3 days and did so at his attention span abilities... the first time was at 6. then I took him back at 11 or 12- basically about a year ago. He was diagnosed with ADHD and Conduct disorder (maybe ODD) and possible Aspergers but the other symptoms were to strong for the Nuro Psyc to be able to pick up on. One of his teachers that is also a psycologist (degree any how) had pointed out the aspergers as well but I didnt share it with the nuro psyc. I plan to take him back to the Nuro Psyc this summer and have him redx'ed. As kids grow they change and evolve and things either die away or come out more clearly. I Nuro Psyc sole job is Diagnosis. They generally dont even do treatment. Thier JOB is to assess kids behavior through info from parents both mom and dad seperately and the school. As well as the large battery of tests. Now that the Conduct disorder and ADHD are being controled by a controled school enviroment the Aspergers is definantly more pronounced.

Personally I would seek out a doctor whos sole purpose is diagnosis. you can often get a referal from your own doctor. I do this for 2 reasons. At first it was to appess my sons father. He didnt believe there was anything wrong with his son. SO I went to a doctor that had no agenda nor tried to 'fix' the problem with meds or talk therapy... they dont see problems based on thier own veiws of things... its a more scientic way to approach diagnosis. Now I go because there is just that... no agenda. They do usually write up a full history. They go into detail the tests that proved significant and why and then write recomendations for the types of treatment and or modifications that maybe useful to your child in school and at home. They will refer back to the psyciatrist if need be and they think they dx warrents medication. Most psyciatrist know this and so they usually dont have a problem refering. Pdocs spend so little time usually that its hard for them to get a good picture of their client. Plus a second oppinion gives thier treatment validaty and thats always a plus for them.

If you would like more info on this type of doctor let me know. They arent the easiest to find there are only 2 in the metroploitian part of Phx arizona if that tells you anything. They are highly specialized and usually very on the money when it comes to dx. and just remember that your childs dx may even change a lot when he hits young adult hood and then again in later life... so there is never any harm in looking to reevaluate.. in fact NOT to reevaluate is neglect in my book... you can either end up medicating for somthing that is no longer an issue or you could miss a dx that is vital to the stability of your self if your the patient or your child.

I wish you luck and its good to see a parent so willing to advocate for thier child. If you want some one to talk to about your son that understands as I have been there both my self and with my child feel free to message me ;p


((((hugs))))

There is a medeical condition that is characterized by fits of uncontrollable rage coming out of the blue and ending fairly abruptly such that even the person is not really aware of all that happened during the rage episodes.

However, some people have rage because they were born and didn't ask to be (honestly).

You son is entering the hormonal years and it will take more frequent checkups and medication adjustments until his testosterone is level.

But doesn't sound like any medication really worked well.

Hang in there!!!

I would get another opinion, and another and another until you find something that works.

This may be premature to suggest, but in the state where I live there is something called PINS (Persons in Need of Services). this works for minors who get into trouble. It might help you to go to court and apply for this status for your son. That way if he ever does get into trouble and you aren't around, you are protected and they can take him straight to the psych ward instead of jail. I'm not saying he will end up there, but you need to protect him and yourself in case he is say "oppositional" at the wrong place and the wrong time.