Raising Bipolar

Sherry posted this in the comments section and I thought I’d post it here because it’s an important story to me.

She wrote:

Here is a cause of psychotic behavior in teens that I was not aware of–Lyme Disease!

I am a member of an online book club that has long since evolved into more of a friends chatting kind of thing. One member has shared with the rest of us the terrible experience of her 11 year old daughter. This child began experiencing a number of mysterious physical symptoms that their doctor struggled to explain–muscle tremors, fevers, aches and pains, fatigue–test after test was negative.

Then all of a sudden, the child began experiencing extremely high levels of anxiety. She could not function in school, was terrified to leave her house, developed a number of phobias that she had never had before–a complete puzzle. It all came to a head one night when she became hysterical and could not be soothed or calmed, saying that she “saw things” and that “people were talking in her head”, screaming, crying–just a terrible situation.

With no other choice, her parents took her to the ER and from there, she ended up spending three weeks in a psychiatric unit. The little girl was given several different drugs, something for anxiety, an anti psychotic, anti depressant. As her mother put it, she didnt so much get better, but rather, got quiet. She was released.

While in the office of a neurologist, questions are asked about the child’s activities, symptoms, etc. More tests are ordered. A few days later, a CT scan reveals lesions on the front temporal lobes. Neurologist orders an MRI, and contacts a specialist in Lyme disease, says he just has a hunch.

Tests are positive. His hunch is right. The infectious disease specialist is convinced that all the psychiatric symptoms are caused by the Lyme disease and they have discontinued all the psychiatric drugs. The little girl will receive IV antibiotics for two months and I think the decision on after care is antibiotics for a year.

She has returned to school and all of her other regular activities, or as many as possible.

After hearing this story I looked up Lyme Disease and Psychosis and found the following among the many articles out there on the subject.  Apparently Lyme Disease is commonly misdiagnosed as Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, and Anxiety, among other psychiatric presentations.

Title: Lyme disease: a neuropsychiatric illness.
Authors: Fallon BA, Nields JA
Source: Am J Psychiatry 1994 Nov;151(11):1571-83
Organization: Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons,
Columbia University, New York.

Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: Lyme disease is a multisystemic illness that can affect the central
nervous system (CNS), causing neurologic and psychiatric symptoms. The goal of
this article is to familiarize psychiatrists with this spirochetal illness.
METHOD: Relevant books, articles, and abstracts from academic conferences were
perused, and additional articles were located through computerized searches and
reference sections from published articles. RESULTS: Up to 40% of patients with
Lyme disease develop neurologic involvement of either the peripheral or central
nervous system. Dissemination to the CNS can occur within the first few weeks
after skin infection. Like syphilis, Lyme disease may have a latency period of
months to years before symptoms of late infection emerge. Early signs include
meningitis, encephalitis, cranial neuritis, and radiculoneuropathies. Later,
encephalomyelitis and encephalopathy may occur. A broad range of psychiatric
reactions have been associated with Lyme disease including paranoia, dementia,
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, major depression, anorexia
nervosa, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depressive states among patients
with late Lyme disease are fairly common, ranging across studies from 26% to
66%. The microbiology of Borrelia burgdorferi sheds light on why Lyme disease
can be relapsing and remitting and why it can be refractory to normal immune
surveillance and standard antibiotic regimens. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatrists who
work in endemic areas need to include Lyme disease in the differential
diagnosis of any atypical psychiatric disorder. Further research is needed to
identify better laboratory tests and to determine the appropriate manner
(intravenous or oral) and length (weeks or months) of treatment among patients
with neuropsychiatric involvement.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread35017.html

As well as:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1168285-overview

http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=3887

Definitely something to checked out if your child is displaying these symptoms.