http://drdrew.blogs.cnn.com/

Now,  am I the only one thinking… Conversion disorder??

Really?

These girls all attend the same high school.  They are all around the same age.  In all of them this illness came on suddenly and is now life altering.   To me, there is such a miniscule chance of this being conversion disorder and psychologically based.  This is some kind of toxin (be it a virus, a bacteria, a metal, a mold, a fungus) that these girls were all exposed to and is affecting them neurologically.  And someone needs to help them find out what it is. Now, may stress be exacerbating the symptoms?  Sure.  But that is not what is causing this.

And I’m really upset that they so far are leaving it to the State of New York to rule out physical causes.  That’s like leaving it to a pharmaceutical company or the FDA to tell you if a drug is safe or not.  Let’s get some real, unbiased help for these girls.  They deserve it.

As far as the show itself goes, here’s the part that really disturbed me.  As the show and interview were taking place, one of the girls fell to the floor in a seizure.  As the show rolled on and the burden was on the girl’s mom to care for her seizing daughter while continuing to answer questions on camera, Dr. Drew was very concerned for the girl and was visually distressed by the situation and concerned about the seizing girl’s well being-which was reassuring.  He continually asked how the girl was doing and showed great empathy for her and her mom’s situation.  Dr. Sharp [the Psychiatrist from Harvard Medical School], on the other hand, not so much.  Maybe it was just that he was trying to answer Dr. Drew’s questions, but Dr. Sharp continued to talk on through the crisis and through the seizure about how this is probably psychologically based and is caused by a disturbance in their psyche(s).  And he seemed to just think the seizure this particular girl was having right then and there was caused by the emotional stress of the interview, thereby affirming the hypothesis that this could be caused by conversion disorder.

To watch these girls and this family go through this horror and then be brave enough to share about it on television only to be told by a Harvard Psychiatrist that this is a psychological reaction to… what?  School stress?  As the girls are literally seizing and having massive tics and falling apart right there on camera.  Ughh.  It was terribly sad to watch.  And really disheartening.  And doesn’t speak very well for psychiatry, if you ask me.

It was unforgettable.

Going forward, I really hope these girls and their families get some high quality medical help from this exposure. Someone needs to step up and get these families some true comprehensive help.

We met with the new psychiatrist this week.  Or what may become the new psychiatrist.  I say ‘may’ because I have also made an appointment with another psychiatrist so we’ll see who we like better.

So, how was he?  Well, ok, I guess.  This one is fairly young.  He’s less than 10 years out of med school and he’s young, energetic and tried really hard to be ‘hip’ and connect with Rye.  And Rye seemed to like that.  As for me, though, I was a little more leery.  I tend to like older, more tried and true doctors who have seen it all.  Rye’s previous psychiatrist had well over 35 years of experience (he technically could have retired if he had wanted to) and I felt like he was very good at what he does and was very mellow as well.  He didn’t get all hung up in the vernacular of things and was good at seeing the bigger picture.  The new pdoc?  Well, he’s newish in his career and associated with a hospital (he’s on hospital staff) so he has to follow a bunch of criteria whether he wants to or not.  And he has to answer to a bunch of people whether he wants to or not.  And that can get kind of annoying.

For example, he does not like to use the term ‘bipolar’ and feels unsure that Rye really has ‘bipolar’ because after all, he has known us for all of 2 minutes now and do we, as a society, really know what bipolar looks like in a child?  So, he uses the term “Mood Disorder NOS” and gave us a whole mini lecture about it.  Dude, wtf, who the crap cares what you call it? If it makes you feel better to call it Mood Disorder NOS, go for it.   Call it ‘Der Wienerschnitzel’ if you want but let’s not mess with what’s working.    And honestly, let’s not debate what bipolar looks like in a teen.  If your child gets so hyper that they can’t attend school, can’t concentrate, make terrible decisions, engage in dangerous behavior, have no peace of mind, racing thoughts, racing speech, superhuman strength, can’t sleep, can’t relax, get delusional, get paranoid, hear things, see things, have debilitating nightmares…it’s not just a case of the ‘hypers’.  For peet’s sake.  Let’s not reinvent the wheel here.

Another thing, because this psychiatrist is on hospital staff, he has no say in his schedule.  In other words, we saw him for an hour for our initial appointment and going forward we will only be able to see him for 20 minute increments for med checks.  Even if we wanted to see him for hour long appointments and pay out of pocket to get more out of the experience or get more help, we can’t.  He’s not allowed to do that.   So, our fate rests in the hands of someone who knows us not at all and who really can’t get to know us either, even if we wanted to.  Even if we wanted to pay extra for it.  I don’t like the inflexibility of that.

Also, he asked for records.  All of Rye’s records from the dawn of time.  Why?  Because apparently he is going to look them all over and decide if all of these ‘diagnosing’ doctors (his colleagues with much more experience than himself) are right in their diagnosis .  And, because he says it will take their hospital staff 100 years to get the records if we leave it to them (not very reassuring), I need to do it all myself.   Apparently it is out of the question to just pick up the phone and call Rye’s previous pdoc for 5 minutes to get the run-down, colleague to colleague.  And to this end, getting Rye’s records is a pain but overall no big deal and all sounds good and great but let’s think about this…given the fact that we have now already had our allotted one hour appointment and from now on we get 20 minutes every month or up to every 3 months (our choice) to see him in total every year, this record seeking journey hardly seems worth my time.  When is he going to look these records over and when is he going to discuss his findings with us?  In the 3 hours total a year he sees us (of which we’ve already used 1 hour up)?  It’s never going to happen.  Also, he expressed concern that Rye’s learning disabilites may be causing his ‘bipolar’ like behavior.  Ummm, no.  Let’s not be ridiculous.  Learning disabilities don’t land kids in hospitals with crazy erratic behavior and audio and visual hallucinations, etc. etc, etc.

Anyway, the good news?  He is very nice and personable.  And I know he means well.  He appears to be a sweet person.  And Rye really likes him.  And he’s close to our house.  And he’s covered by insurance.  So, we’ll keep him in the running.  And, most importantly, he didn’t change the meds or even ask about changing them.  So that’s good.

Let’s not try and fix what isn’t broken.

I’ll admit, because we do not watch much television I had no idea this show was on until I read about it on the internet.   And my first thought when I saw that the show was coming on was, What happened to HIPPA and Children’s Right To Privacy?  I really don’t understand why these apply to insurance companies, schools, medical facilities, correction facilities and the court systems but not to the internet and social media.

Anyway, on to the show.   I did not watch the whole show.  I did, however, watch all of the clips available on Oprah’s  website (www.oprah.com) and read the transcripts that are available.

What did I think?

Well, wow.  I’m not really sure what to think.  The show itself was a bit unclear to me as to what Zach’s actual diagnosis is and what the family is doing to help him until I read this.  This is a comment posted by the mom, Laurie, in reaction to some comments on one of the clips:

Posted: Sat 2/19/2011 5:42 PM

LaurieFerris : This is Zach’s mom. I’d like to clarify a few things. He was diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder, Severe ADHD, Unspecified Mood Disorder and Tourette’s. Zach was on a variety of psychotropic drugs in the early years which for the most part did not help. He has been off of all medications for the past year and 1/2. We are strong believers in alternative and holistic approaches to helping these children besides using drugs. Proper nutrition, exercise and limited exposure to television, computers and violence are also important. The reason he is living away from home with me is so that he can attend a special school that utilizes alternative approaches such as energy work, yoga, vegetarian diet, meditation etc. to help him with his attention and focus issues, which are also greatly improved. The tics are a result of his Tourette’s, and they are actually much milder than they used to be several years ago. What has helped Zach the most has been “energy work” that he has done for the past two years with an extraordinary counselor who taught Zach to shift his thoughts from negative to positive ones. We believe that Zach is an “energetically sensitive child” and that he has great potential to do wonderful things in the world as long as he stays positive and in the light. Thanks to all who have taken the time to post comments on Oprah’s site.. For more information, you can contact me on facebook at SavingZach or at laurie@energeticallysensitivechild.com.

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/An-Explosive-Child-Learns-How-to-Cope-Video

So,  Zach was having terrible rages, was violent towards the mom (hence the title of a 7 year old trying to kill his mom), destructive towards the house, etc., etc.  A fairly typical story of an unstable child with a mood disorder.  And especially typical of a child with other brain impairment issues/autism spectrum issues in addition to a mood disorder.  I guess they tried psychiatric medicines and those didn’t work like they wanted [remember, these medications are made for adults, not children, so this often happens - and often times the medications that don't work well on children work really well on those same individuals as teens and adults].  Mom now feels like Zach has holes in his memory due to the meds he took [note: this memory loss could be from the psychosis itself which can cause periods of blackout] and that the meds impaired his learning so they only want to use natural, alternative methods to heal him.  They now rely on Zach (still a child) using visualization techniques and encasing himself in white light to protect himself from the ‘creepy’ voices that tell him to do bad things [voices that can morph into the same voices as his parents and caregivers which adds a complex dimension to trying to shut them out].

Interesting.

In agreement with Laurie, I would argue that all bipolar children and/or autistic and/or spectrum children are “energetically sensitive”.  No doubt about it.  These kids are more in tune with the energies around them and the emotions of those around them than anyone other than them can even imagine.   And this is why it is so incredibly important how one parents these kids and why the environments they are in on a daily basis are so important.   That said,  no child can live in a bubble.  And no parents can be perfect.  And no school can be perfect.  And no environment can be perfect and perfectly stress free.  And Laurie herself admits that Zach used to rage for hours literally no reason at all.  So how is one to control that?

For them, they say a special school, a special diet, no computers, no tv, yoga, mediation, and visualizing the white light are the answer.

Does this seem dangerous to me?  Yes.  Will it work in the long term?  Only time will tell.  It is my personal opinion that leaving a psychotic child’s fate in his own hands and counting on his ability to be able to outsmart and/or out think his mental illness is not an option. After all, prisons, residential treatment centers and psychiatric care facilities are full of people that have tried to do this.  Is it ideal to hope that he can control his own mental illness?  Yes.  Do I understand where mom and dad are coming from in not wanting to use psychiatric drugs with many side effects on their son?  Absolutely. We have been there and did just that.  We took our son off of medications for years from 6-12 years old with success [that said, our son's behaviors were not anywhere near as extreme as Zach's at that age and our son was not hearing voices].  And it worked for us until puberty hit.

As he is still young yet and has not hit the teen years and early adulthood, I think we have not heard the end of the story with Zach.

When I watched Oprah interview Zach and watched her really press him about the voices he hears, poor Zach seemed to be really struggling.  He was extremely tense and did not seem ‘calm and relaxed’ at all, in my opinion.  And he seemed to have a lot going on in his head.  It made me wonder what the voices were saying to him at that moment and I felt really bad for him.  I then felt even worse when Oprah talked about how he is such a positive kid with such good positive energy and how sometimes she interviews really bad, negative people in prison.  People who have tried to kill people.  People who have killed people.  Wait…you mean like Zach?  After all, he is on the show for trying to kill his mom.  He hears voices that tell him to do really bad things.  Things so bad he won’t share with Oprah (or probably anyone else, for that matter) what they say.  And don’t think for a minute that Zach didn’t pick up on that.  These kids are smart as whips.  As are their voices.

Herein lies the danger of these interviews.

Anyway, I wish the best for Zach and his family and I hope for their sake and for Zach’s sake that their chosen treatment method works for them.   We all want what is best for our children and it is true that not all children are significantly helped by psychiatric medications.  Especially ones with complex psychosis.

For us?  We are sticking to the psychiatric medications that are working for our son.  I am grateful every single day that our son is stable on the meds he takes now and he is living a great life.  And I love, love, love it that Brit came on and gave such a good message of hope for Zach and his family.   Brit has bipolar disorder and was apparently on Oprah years ago as a child for exhibiting behaviors similar to Zach.  Brit now says that due to getting a correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder and being on the right medication he is stable and happy and in college living out his dreams.  You can see the clip here:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Brits-Triumph-Over-Childhood-Mental-Illness-Video/topic/oprahshow

Brit is an inspiration and a true success story.  And I wish only the best for Zach and his family.

Oh dear.  I cannot even express to you how horrified I am by this column.  I started with his advice on Serotonin Syndrome and it went from there.  Here was my journey:

_________

Reader Question: What antidepressants help serotonin syndrome sufferers?

Dr. Raison Answer:

The answer is: Try an antidepressant that does not have appreciable serotonin activity. The most obvious choice in this regard would be bupropion (brand name Wellbutrin), an antidepressant that affects the norepinephrine and dopamine systems, but leaves serotonin untouched. Another option would be an older antidepressant called desipramine (brand name Norpramin).

My Response:

According to the Mayo Clinic, Wellbutrin can be a prime contributor to Serotonin Syndrome. As the Mayo Clinic describes:

A number of over-the-counter and prescription drugs can lead to serotonin syndrome, especially antidepressants. Illicit drugs and dietary supplements also can cause the condition. These drugs and supplements include but aren’t limited to:

• Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), antidepressants such as citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine, paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft)
• Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), antidepressants such as trazodone and venlafaxine (Effexor)
• Bupropion, an antidepressant and tobacco-addiction medication (Wellbutrin, Zyban)
• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), antidepressants such as isocarboxazid (Marplan) and phenelzine (Nardil)
• Anti-migraine medications such as almotriptan (Axert), naratriptan (Amerge), sumatriptan (Imitrex) and zolmitriptan (Zomig)
• Pain medications such as fentanyl (Sublimaze), meperidine (Demerol), pentazocine, (Talwin) and tramadol (Ultram)
• Lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid), a mood stabilizer
• Illicit drugs, including LSD, Ecstasy, cocaine and amphetamines
• Herbal supplements, including St. John’s wort and ginseng
• Over-the-counter cough and cold medications containing dextromethorphan (Robitussin DM, Sudal DM)
• Anti-nausea medications such as granisetron (Kytril), metoclopramide (Reglan) and ondansetron (Zofran)
• Linezolid (Zyvox), an antibiotic
• Ritonavir (Norvir), an anti-retroviral medication used to treat HIV/AIDS

My bet is with the Mayo Clinic.  How about you?

__________

Reader Question:  How can I stop using Paxil without the side effects?

Dr. Raison Answer:

The good news is that only about 20 percent of patients who take antidepressants experience these type of withdrawal symptoms when they discontinue the medications, and when experienced, these symptoms are usually mild and resolve in a week or two…

But remember that most people can stop an antidepressant cold and won’t have symptoms.

My Response:

This advice is irresponsible and horribly misleading.   Antidepressants are more often than not quite hard to discontinue.  And some people never are able to discontinue.   Most people cannot stop them cold and have no symptoms.  And especially not Paxil.  Just ask all of the thousands of people at www.paxilprogress.org or Phil Lawrence who made an entire documentary film about this called Numb.  Search the internet for Effexor withdrawal or Zoloft withdrawal.  Search YouTube for video accounts.  Read the accounts of people trying to withdraw on Furious Seasons or Beyond Meds. Read accounts of people discontinuing at www.crazyboards.org

And to make someone asking for advice feel like “most people” can discontinue with no issues is unethical and immoral.  Period.

_____________

Reader Question: My son hears suicidal voices.  What can I do?

Dr. Raison Answer:

I’ve seen thousands of patients over the years, and I can assure you that the most powerful factor in good outcomes for people with serious mental illness is the commitment of family members to keep on trying…

When you do feel discouraged, try to imagine all the patients I have treated, or advised on, who had their lives turned around for the better when the right treatment for that particular patient was finally found and instituted.

My Response:

As a mom of a child who has heard voices, I feel particularly drawn to this question.  First, Dr. Raison gives no actual advice or help here but tells how childhood psychosis is uncommon and urges the writer to keep trying to get help.  This in and of itself shows the ridiculousness and dangerousness of even having these serious questions and answers in an online advice column.  Second, if your son is hearing suicidal voices and you have no treatment plan of action with your home psychiatrist, your child is in grave danger and you need to get the child to the hospital where they can be evaluated.  The voices could have an organic origin, they could be caused by medication prescribed for a psychiatric diagnosis (they mentioned ADHD in the question).  It could be a number of things.  But the child is not safe.  Dr. Raison never once says this.  The child is not safe while hearing these voices.  I know.  I’ve been there.  And you would expect a sound psychiatrist to point this out.

As for the end of his response when Dr. Raison tells the parent not to get discouraged and to think of all of the patients he has seen over the years and how they have all been helped.  How does this help this parent?  Especially when he has offered them no actual advice but to keep trying.  This response is so incredibly arrogant and disgusting it is almost mind boggling.   The ego that has to involved for someone to write this to a parent whose child is hearing voices telling them to kill himself is so vile it makes me sick to my stomach.  Obviously the family involved does not have the right treatment right now or they would not be in this predicament.  If they had the right treatment, they would know what to do when this happens.   And mistakenly they are writing to Dr. Raison for advice regarding help on how to get a plan.

I guess if the child goes ahead and kills himself it is due to the parents just not trying hard enough.

_____________

These were only the first three questions and answers I happened upon as they were linked to each other.

I didn’t have the heart to read more.

One year ago today I wrote my first post for this blog.  I remember thinking at the time that I wanted to try and post almost every day but wondered how I would possibly think of something to say or post every day.  Oddly, it really has not been a problem.  In fact, very rarely do I even think in advance about what I’m going to post anymore.  I usually just have so much stuff rolling around in my brain that when I sit down to write, out it comes.   Anyway, in commemoration of this day I thought I would answer some questions that I have been asked  over the past year via email about us and about the blog.   Often times people don’t feel comfortable commenting on this site due to the nature of the subject matter so they just email me.  And that’s fine.   Anyway, here goes.

_______________

Q: Why do you blog?

A: I blog to keep a journal of our lives and to record the stories and events in our lives as they happen.  I blog to let people know they are not alone in raising a bipolar child and that it can be done with dignity and respect for the child.  I blog to share our ups and our downs and hopefully in doing so raise awareness of bipolar disorder in children and teens.  I blog to let people know that bipolar children and teens can be the most wonderful and creative people they will ever know and that they have a great deal to offer this world and the communities around them.  I blog to let people know that bipolar disorder affords our society some of the greatest and most interesting people we have and we should honor and respect our differences and value what these differences bring to our society.

Q: Why do you blog anonymously?

A: I blog anonymously because Rye’s story and Don, Rye’s and my family story are not mine to tell except in an anonymous format.  When Rye is old enough, he can share his own story if he wants to.  And if he never wants to, that’s fine too.  But this way he is protected.

Q: Do you believe that Early Onset Bipolar Disorder exists?

A: Yes, I do.  I believe that it is not common and I believe that it is more common in children that have a biological parent or direct relative that has bipolar disorder or depressive disorder (unipolar). I also believe that it does not always have to be medicated in the early years or even continuously medicated throughout life.  I believe it all depends on the child/teen and how much their emotions and behaviors are interfering with their quality of life, their thought processes, their safety, and the safety of those around them.

And, for people who do not believe Early Onset Bipolar exists, I challenge you to start attending some bipolar support meetings in your area and ask all of the adults there when they feel they began to deal with bipolar disorder.  Most will say in the teen years or early adulthood but many will say they have had bipolar disorder since as early as they can remember – even as a young child.   So this is not a new phenomenon.

Q: How do you feel about psychiatric medications and children?

A: I have mixed feelings about psychiatric medications in general.  And I think some are better than, more researched and safer than others.  Done correctly, the right medications can literally save a child’s life and/or their quality of life.  There is no denying that.  And we see that now with our son.  So in that respect I am for it.  That said,  I also believe that medications can be overused and have been overused in children.  Particularly young children.  I  think we often create bipolar disorder in young children by prescribing them antidepressant [SSRI] and stimulant medication too readily and at too young of an age when the child does not really need it.   I also believe, as our psychiatrist believes, that if your child has a paragraph long list of medications they are taking, at least some of the medications aren’t working and you should rethink your strategy.  Piling psychiatric medication on top of psychiatric medication is not a good treatment plan as your brain reorganizes and accommodates for every psychiatric medication it is exposed to.  Psychiatric medications all come with issues that may not be evident in the short term and the benefits as well as possible side effects and problems created by the medicines should be taken into account at all times.  And all psychiatric medications have withdrawal effects that can be dangerous if not handled with care.

Q: Do you believe in using natural healing methods for bipolar disorder?

A: Yes.  I also think that they work for some people better than others.  I think that treating bipolar disorder is not a one size fits all strategy and that the disorder exists, like everything, on a continuum.   So what works for one person may not work for another.  Also,  what works at one time in one’s life may not work in another time.  One person may be able to completely control their symptoms using natural methods while another may not.  More often than not I think it’s a blending of methods that works best.  Especially in the teen and young adult years when there is a high flux of hormones in a person’s system.  Medication combined with natural techniques is what we use with Rye.

Q: Do you believe in always listening to you child’s psychiatrist?

A: Yes, if you have a good doctor that you trust. And I believe that your relationship with your child’s psychiatrist should be a partnership so that your doctor  always listens to you as well. One aspect of a good doctor is that they are ok with being challenged and they value your opinion as a parent and are flexible.  If your doctor is not ok with being challenged and questioned and is not flexible or does not listen to your concerns regarding medications or your child, get a new one.  As a parent, always, always listen to your inner voice and know that you know your child best.  If your doctor is not working in the best interest of the child or you feel it just doesn’t ‘feel right’, it’s not right.  You are your child’s best advocate and doctors are flawed like everyone else in the world.  They are human.  They make mistakes.  They have a certain perspective and mind set they come from and they are influenced by.   Know that, accept that and work with it.  If a medicine isn’t working for my child, it’s gone.  I’m not going to wait around for it to do permanent damage to my child.   Your doctor can’t fix that once it’s done.

Q: How do you feel about psychiatric hospitals?

A: I think the treatment model used in inpatient psychiatric hospitals today in the United States is often inhumane, outdated and harmful.  I think psychiatric hospitals should only be used as a last resort as they can cause more damage than they ever help.   I’ve heard more horror stories about psychiatric hospitals than I would ever care to share.   They are not a place for healing.  And ironically teaching hospitals can often be the worst.

Q: Do you believe in therapy?

A: Yes.  I believe a good therapist can help all of us, bipolar or not.  I do not believe, however, that behavioral therapy or psychoanalysis/talk therapy in and of itself can cure or control the all of the symptoms of bipolar disorder in children and teens.  Children and teens do not have the capacity to think their way out of being bipolar and it is important to have a therapist that understands this.

Q: Do you think environment is important in controlling bipolar symptoms?

A: Yes, very much so.  Stress is a major, if not the primary, trigger for bipolar symptoms and controlling one’s environment and mitigating the stress within that environment is very important in controlling these symptoms.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about blogging?

A: It’s fun.  It’s creative.  It’s personal.  And I have met some really interesting people through it and learned a lot.  I love getting emails from people saying they like the blog and feel it’s accurate and helpful.  That’s the best part.  Well, that and looking back on all of stories, happenings, etc.  The recording of our life story.

So, it dawned on me yesterday when re-reading my post that perhaps I should elaborate on what I mean when I say that Rye is stable.

After all, what is ’stability’?

I’ll be honest,  I don’t know.  I mean, what is stability to others?  I don’t know.  We are learning as we go over here and all I can do is tell you what it looks like for us.

So, what it means for us is…Rye is not controlled and consumed by emotion.  His thought processes and perceptions are reasonable and he is functioning at a somewhat normal speed.  He is malleable, teachable, and capable of redirection.  He is more like a neurotypical kid.

Now…does he still get mad?

Yes.

Does he sometimes get really mad?

Yes.

Does he still get sad?

Yes.

Does he still cry sometimes?

Yes.

Does he still get frustrated?

Yes.

Is he happy all of the time?

No.

Is he happy a good deal of the time?

Yes.

Does he rage out of control with unstoppable destruction?

No.

Does he sometimes get overly happy and laugh that ‘over the top’ maniacal laugh?

Yes.

Does he engage in reckless and dangerous behavior with no thoughts of the consequences?

No.

Does he still need discipline?

Yes.

Does he still need structure?

Yes.

Does he always make the right choices?

No.

Does he need a lot of excerise?

Yes.

Does he care about others?

Yes.

Does he show empathy towards others?

Yes.

Can we tell him ‘no’ without him falling apart?

Yes.

Does he still have problems with transitions?

Yes.

Is he able to attend school?

Yes.

Is school still a struggle?

Yes.

Is he able to play group sports?

Yes.

Does he still have some anxiety?

Yes.

Is it crippling anxiety?

No.

Does he still need a lot of sleep?

Yes.

Is he able to sleep without issue for at least 8 hours a night?

Yes.

And that’s it in a nutshell.  As Rye is extremely sensitive to medication, we struggle with him being hypomanic or overmedicating him.  It’s a very fine line because he reacts so strongly to the smallest doses of meds. So for now, we choose to have him hypomanic as long as he does not hurt himself or others.

But it’s always in flux.

What does stability look like for your family?

These posts are not written for compensation as I make no money from this site [note: I am an affiliate of Barnes & Noble through Google Affiliates so if by chance you buy a book from a link on this site I do make a percentage of that purchase price.  It has yet to happen so to date I have made no money.  I do enjoy Barnes & Noble though and I love books so I like to encourage both].   The guest posts are voluntary and are done simply out of the kindness of the poster’s heart to help me and other parents of bipolar children/teens understand the disorder.    They are paying it forward, if you will.  I am extremely grateful to all participants who take the time to help with this project.

If you are bipolar or have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and would like to help with this project of understanding, please email me at meg@raisingbipolar.com.

Thank you and God bless you.

Meg

I’m fourteen, and after a recent suicide attempt overdose on Wellbutrin, I had to stay at a psych ward for ten days. They gave me Abilify for a few days, which worked, minus stomachaches. The doctors thought it was vital I got off of Abilify because of these stomachaches, and put me on Seroquel. Which has, seemingly, worked. But it really wasn’t. It tore me apart completely, and in the past week I’ve been self-mutilated again and attempted overdose twice. I stopped taking it, and I’m happier than ever.
I don’t recommend seroquel to anyone.

Shila, thank you for your comment.  You are so brave to share your experience and I’m so glad you are doing well now.  I hope you continue to do well.  Please keep me posted on your progress via comments or email.  Stay aware of your symptoms and please get help if you feel yourself sliding again.

Here’s the thing, while Antidepressants/SSRIs [ie Wellbutrin] are made to do a good thing and often do help people they can also backfire and produce highly undesirable results. My son had suicidal thoughts on Abilify (which technically is an antipsychotic but has SSRI qualities).  We did not know about these thoughts until after he was off of the medicine and could look back on it and tell us.   Shila attempted suicide on Wellbutrin and Seroquel.  These reactions, although highly undesirable, are not uncommon especially for children and teens.  As for Seroquel, I have no idea why it is advertised as or used as an antidepressant.  Seroquel is a very heavy antipsychotic that works great for some people as an antipsychotic or sleep aid but on the street Seroquel is known as baby heroin and I’m guessing there’s a reason for that.

For anyone interested in looking into possible effects of antidepressant medications, I find the website SSRI Stories, Antidepressant Nightmares to be a great resource.  It gives an easy to read, sortable spreadsheet that documents people’s negative reactions to antidepressant/SSRI medications.

And these stories are just the tip of the iceberg.  These are the very extreme reactions that make the news.  Every day there are many people who have undocumented negative reactions to SSRIs.  Often times these people don’t know the negative feelings they are having or the behaviors they are exhibiting are coming from the antidepressant they are taking and are not organic in nature so they continue to take the medication or up the dose.  Or add another one.  And this can be very dangerous.

Withdrawal from antidepressants can also be extremely difficult and dangerous.  I can write a whole post on that and will soon but suffice it to say that withdrawal from antidepressants should be done extremely slowly and with much care.   Otherwise, the withdrawal effects can be excruciating and/or lethal.

Anyway, I am glad my son is currently doing well and I am glad Shila is now doing well.  I hope they both continue to do well.

As parents, it is important to be aware of the dangers of the drugs we give our children and to give our children/teens a voice in their treatment so we can adjust the treatment accordingly.  Many of the medicines used on children and teens today can have tragic effects and although depression, psychosis, and other psychiatric symptoms are never to be ignored or taken lightly, one should also not take the use of psychiatric medicines lightly and should use them with much care and caution.

There is no ‘magic medicine’.

I mean, do these doctors know what they are doing?  I know they try but so many symptoms in children and even teens can be misread, misunderstood, misdiagnosed and overpathologized.  Much more so than with adults.  I know every psychiatrist we’ve had when I’ve really pressed them with questions and really drilled down to the nitty-gritty of what they are treating and how, they really don’t know.  It is all a guess.  And ultimately they will admit this, if you ask enough questions.  And to a point, that’s ok.  Let’s face it, the brain is far too complex for a simple psychiatrist to know what is going on or even the collective psychiatrist as a profession.  Especially since every person is different.  And then when you consider that the experience base and the spirit and soul of the patient is all intertwined with the chemistry of their brain, well that is far beyond any doctor of our time.  Especially in a developing child.

And yes, it’s true, psychiatrists can often help.  Many do the best they can and they help to the extent they can.  The good ones admit their limitations though.  The arrogant doctors, on the other hand, will reduce it all down to brain chemistry.  Oh yes, they will say, it’s all a matter of brain chemistry that just the right drugs can fix.   And in part, this may be right.  There is a chemical element involved.  However, I challenge any person whose child is seeing a doctor for a brain chemistry issue to really drill the doctor down about the specifics of what they are doing or treating.  If your doctor has a definitive answer, they are lying to you. After all, even the makers of the drugs will admit that they don’t know how the drugs really work or what they really do.  You know, they will say, it’s all something to do with neurotransmitters.  But which ones?  Oh well, serotonin,  dopamine, norepinephrine and oh and then there are those newer ones that only the ‘really good’ doctors know about.  Yea, right.  And if we can all be reduced to a chemical reaction, what is the value of human experience, emotions and spirituality?  And why do all of these elements effect us so much and impact our chemical reactions?

It’s not an easy answer.

Check out a few of the websites from the makers of the atypical antipsychotics that are/ have been used on millions of  kids in the United States today (mine included) and see how much the makers of the drugs know about the drugs they make.

Risperdal:

The symptoms of bipolar mania are thought to be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain (either too high or too low). These chemicals are called dopamine and serotonin. Although it is unclear as to exactly how RISPERDAL^® works, it seems to help balance the chemicals in the brain called dopamine and serotonin. While it’s not a cure, RISPERDAL^® may help you to manage your symptoms.

http://www.risperdal.com/faqs_bipolar.html#work

Seroquel:

Chemical Imbalances May Lead to Bipolar Depression Symptoms

Bipolar disorder and other mood disorders are thought to be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. These imbalances are believed to lead to the symptoms that you experience with bipolar depression.

Although the exact way Seroquel XR works is unknown, it is thought to help regulate the balance of certain chemicals in the brain, which may help to treat bipolar depression.

http://www.seroquelxr.com/seroquel-xr-bipolar-disorder.aspx?ux=l

Abilify:

The exact way ABILIFY (or any other medication for Bipolar I Disorder) works is unknown. However, it is thought that ABILIFY may work by adjusting the level of certain chemicals (dopamine and serotonin) in the brain. Dopamine and serotonin are called neurotransmitters because they help information travel inside the brain.

http://www.abilify.com/bipolar/pediatric/pediatric-bipolar-treatment.aspx

I don’t know.  Sometimes a best guess is all you have.  And that’s ok.  Sometimes that is enough.

But not today.  Not for us.  We are taking a break.  Rye gained a ton of weight from the meds he took to overcome the psychosis from the Adderall.   He needs to lose that weight and he needs a break from overanalyzing everything and creepy doctors that are trying to ‘bring out’ something in him. Yuck.

We will make an appointment with a neurologist.  And who knows, we may end of back at a psychiatrist eventually.

For now, though, we will just take it one day at a time.  To date we’ve had way more issues when Rye is on the meds than off.  He’s acted way more bipolar on the bipolar meds than off.  And then, of course, ultimately his reaction to the meds just leads to them wanting to give him more meds which then makes him act even weirder.  And I’d say as of late even  the therapy alone without meds has gotten weird as well.

So we’ll just stick with the benadryl, fish oil, multi-vitamin, epsom salts and copious amounts of exercise we are using for now and see where this takes us.

The psychiatrists will always be there if we need them.

He was worried he would get bored homeschooling so, here we go.  We’ll try this school on for size and see how it fits.

Actually to me it’s a bit of a bummer that the transfer went through so fast as we were hoping to go skiing for the day Monday or Tuesday but, oh well.  Best to just have him start if he’s going to start.  Gives him less time to dilemnanize over it all.  And he has a friend from his grade that goes to said school spending the night tonight so that will ease the transition (well, the truth is he has a bunch of friends that go there so that will definitely help.  In theory, at least.  Time will tell how that actually translates to reality).

Anyway, we saw Doc (psychiatrist) today.  It was a good visit.  Rye always gets very anxious before our meetings with him and then he is so relieved and perky when they are over.  I think he worries that I’m going to tell the doctor all of his secrets.  And the truth is, I do.  Well, maybe not all of them.  But enough for Doc to see what’s really going on so he can be helpful to both me and Rye.

We agreed that no meds is fine for now.  To be honest, Rye still has all of the behaviors he has always had.  Irritability, anxiety, hyperactivity, rages, crying, silliness etc. etc.  But the real extremes essentially only happen at home because that is where he feels most comfortable.  And I am getting much more capable.  To me, they are manageable for now.   And I like to be able to see what Rye is feeling so I can help him try and find and recognize his triggers and help him find new ways of coping with and channeling his emotions.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  But I am trying.  And if there is ever a time to do this, the time is now.  Because it will be too late when he is older.  Some day he will have to manage this all on his own.  And he needs to learn what he can now.

And I am always weighing the pros and cons of meds.  And for now I am still a no.

So, Monday we start a new adventure.  A new school.  A new environment.   New teachers.  New classes.  New classmates.

Should be interesting.