
Family & Friends of Bipolar Support Group
This community is dedicated to parents, siblings, grandparents, other relatives and friends of someone who is Bipolar. The purpose of this community is to help families and friends develop greater patience and understanding, as well as maintain a positive, caring relationships with those diagnosed as Bipolar.
This is what his life is like before the new medicine:
He goes into rages unprovoked, and has to be physically restrained.
He is never happy he is either going through the motions or in a rage.
Everything is available for destruction.
He constantly tells me how he hates his life, he never smiles, never enjoys life, and has more anger and depression than anyone I have ever met. His mood swings are severe, usually 3 or 4 times a day. He has periods of stability (as close as we can get). Stable for him is when he isnt being restrained, isn't angry all the time, and isn't destroying everything in his path. He gets into these moments where he is giddy ( for lack of better term). This is just my observations based on how my son is and assuming his diagnosis is correct.
On the medication:
He doesn't rage to the full extent of his capability, most items are safe from destruction, and he just goes through the motions. I don't think my son will ever be fully happy.
To the question about sugar:
My son is not allowed to have chocolates or caffeine. I watch his diet closely as it was suggested that allergies might be causing the behavior, but have found this not to be the case.
It is also common for children with bipolar to have hallucinations and nightmares or night terrors(my daughter hears voices and suffers from violent recurring nightmares). It is not uncommon for bipolar children to be dx'd with ADHD and ODD at an early age (again my daughter was dx'd with ADHD at 7). So far it is unclear to me if she actually has comorbid ADHD or if the symptoms that led to that dx were actually the bipolar. We never treated her for the ADHD because it never affected her academic abilities. Up until the middle of last year she had always been an honor roll student in advance placement classes.
The last time my son went into one of his rages, he was pulling his hair, and hitting the side of his head but that was the first time he had ever done anything like that. My son was also diagnosed ADHD/ODD/IED. When they changed the diagnosis they changed it to bipolar nos/ADHD/IED. Sometimes i'm not sure even the doctors know what it is.
Do you ever get the feeling they label the child just to put a label on what they don't understand?
Every time they change it I frantically research everything I can find on the current dx!!
I am pretty sure that the bipolar diagnosis is the right one but I am now waiting for them to change it to schizophrenia or something because she is having auditory hallucinations (sigh). The Dr. actually told me yesterday that she didn't think she was hearing voices. The funny thing is that my daughter didn't tell her about the voices it was on her admission paperwork and the Dr. never even talked to her about it!!
She also occasionally smells things that nobody else can smell. Both of these symptoms, from what I have read, are common in childhood bipolar, so I'm not sure why the doc is reluctant to believe her.
I am taking my son for psychological testing next week to see if they can help me as i have heard this is the best way to go.
I understand what you are saying about the doctors too. They drive me crazy with one doctor saying one thing in inpatient, and another in outpatient saying something else. Poor kids no wonder they have such a hard time!
One thing I think is important to note is the unintended neglict of the siblings of kids with bipolar. I know that my parents did the best that they could when Josh and I were growing up, but there were definitly times when all the attention HAD to go to Josh. I remember feeling like I had done something wrong b/c everytime Josh became violent, I was sent to my room. Anyways I could go on with stories for hours but my point is to make sure you spend extra time with your other kids when it is possible. I would be happy to talk to anyone about my experiences with my brother anytime someone wants.
I was always on egg shells not to up set my X, cause his eyes would glaze over and I'd wanna pee myself in pure fear.
Of course the 1st time I seen it, I went psycho on me. I tried to leave the house, I made it outside. Then like a stalker in the night he'd grab me like a hostage and force me back in the house.
I was too scared to leave for 4 yrs. Till I said I am not gonna live like this anymore. He went into a rage then too. I told my oldest son to call the cops. He looked dead at my son and told him "If you do I will personaly break everyone one of your F-in fingers"
Deb- The best thing you can do is spend time with him when you can. I remember often times when I was a kid it was like we had two families. Josh couldn't go to things like my dance recitals b/c he couldn't handle the crowds or the long show, so my dad would stay home with him and my mom would go to the recital with me. Rarely would both my parents be able to come since no one would babysit my brother. When life is calm, make sure he knows that when your daughter goes into a rage and you send him out of the room its because of her, not b/c he did something wrong.