Possible Bi-Polar with ADHD

Jennifer - posted on 01/08/2009

Thanks for the info. My son is seven and has already been on Strattera, which made him very very aggressive, Concerta, which had him saying he wanted to kill himself, Vyvanse, which I just took him off of because it really didn't seem to be helping very much, and now they have him on Adderall XR. I am getting very frustrated. This is the third week of Adderall and he has been very difficult emotionally to deal with (which he is anyway but it seems to be heightened on the Adderall), and he's been taking Risperidol with the Vyvanse and now the Adderall. I don't think I have found the right combination.

Shellie - posted on 01/08/2009

Regarding the patch, Our Pediatrician told me it is the same medication as Concerta, but it's for kids who can't swallow a pill yet, or for what ever reason taking the meds orally aren't an option. I thought about switching, but my child can take the meds orally & we have a routine with it now, I figured why bother. A friend of mine has a daughter on the patch and it seems to be working grest for them. Talk to your doctor.

Shellie - posted on 01/08/2009

We have some of the same issues, my daughter was diagnosed when she was 5 with ADHD, We knew before that. Our daughter still has some of the same issues that your child is having. I think a lot of it has to do with being overwhelmed, or excited. I notice it more during the rush of the holidays, or when we have big family events planned, such as vacations, or a visit from grandparents etc. They are excited and don't know how to just say "I'm excited!" Our daughter manifest's in other ways and usually not positive ones, unfortunately. We're learning her "triggers" and try to remind her that these actions are unacceptable , and that she is in control of her, to find a way to pull it together. She's 10 now we feel she should be able to use some self control techniques by now. We talk to her & try not to let her engage us in her frustration, (not always easy expecially for me). If she needs quiet time to chill until she is calm enough to talk then we let her sit in her room, when she is ready she can come talk to us, and we talk about it. If she can calm herself enough at that moment we try to talk to her then, discussing what has gotten her where she is ( to that frustration level, what she can do next time she feels the way she does, instead of the way she acted this time, and we ask what she thinks we can do to help remind her how to act next time. Or what we can to to help her not get so frustrated next time. I'm not a doctor, I know my kid, or at least I'm learning to know my kid, I Hope that our experience has been helpful.

Good Luck & keep smiling.. it'll get better! :D

Amy - posted on 01/08/2009

When my son was in the 2nd grade his teacher thought he may have ADHD and suggested I have him evaluated, which I did right away. He was also having behavior issues, mostly at home but some of the things he would do were really off the wall (especially for such a young child). The DR that evaluated him told me that he didn't have ADHD, maybe a little on the hyper side but nothing to worry about, and then proceded to tell me that he "just has bad kid syndrome & he'll grow out of it". Of course I assumed he was joking, which I didn't think was appropriate, but I continued to wait for him to "grow out of it" and it never happened. (granted this was 14 years ago & there wasn't very much out there about pediatric Bipolar....but still....) If he had been properly diagnosed back then his life would have been so much different! As he got older, when he would go into a down swing he was completely irritable & nothing you did or said made any difference. We tried positive incentives all the way to grounding & taking just about everything he had away from him and none of it made a difference.....until he was diagnosed and put on medication. OMG, talk about a changed kid. Even friends & family members would make comments on how great he was. (Even he noticed the change & was happy about it.) Unfortunately he was never diagnosed until he was in the 7th grade and had pretty much already distroyed most friendships he could make (mostly the parents told their kids they couldn't hang out with him), distroyed most everything he owned, put holes in our walls from throwing things, was getting terrible grades because he refused to do homework (even though he's very intelligent), made threatening statements at school and got himself kicked out twice within 2 weeks. That's when we took him in. We knew that all the counseling we'd done, all the parenting advice we could get, etc. wasn't doing the trick and we/he needed help. I guess what I'm trying to get at with my mini life story here is that having your child properly diagnosed is the key. And then getting them on a medication that works for them....sometimes with Bipolar Disorder it takes several different meds before you find the right one or the right combination. It is common to have ADHD and Bipolar Disorder together so hopefully your DR will be able to tell for sure and go from there. *Nita Gray had some good advice on how to handle the outbursts but don't expect them to work everytime. : ( I could tell how a conversation was gonna go by my first question or statement to him and pretty much trained myself how to talk to him based on that reaction. What made things even more interesting is that my son is a Rapid Cycler, meaning his episodes where up and down all the time. (Most rapid cyclers more so have days & weeks of ups and downs compared to months but my son would be up & down several times a day.) He could be screaming and yelling at me in the morning but then call me up sweet as could be after school (like nothing had happened that morning). Sorry, I realize I'm rambling but I'm definitely a plethora of info on this subject and can give you & anyone else all I can ranging from pediatric to adult Bipolar Disorder (my son is now 21 and goes off his meds all the time!). Feel free to email me at His2Wife@aol.com and put BIPOLAR DISORDER in the subject line so I don't think you're spam. ; ) Sorry if I wasn't totally on the subject matter but I'm all about catching this disorder as soon as possible as it will definitely make a huge difference in all your lives!! Good luck and thanks for reading. Amy

Jennifer - posted on 01/07/2009

I just switched my 7 year old from Vyvanse to Adderall XR because (he takes Risperidone also) because he hasn't been focusing in school...anyone have any more info about that patch Daytrna?

Tracey - posted on 01/07/2009

I am also up for suggestions as I am thinking you have my child.  My child is on vyvanse for his ADHD and now has been put on Depakote because he has inherited seizure disorder.  Depakote also is used for treating Bi-polar so I am hoping this may also help the mood swings he has. 

Amy - posted on 01/07/2009

i have to same problem with my 10y daughter also it is bipolor but becareful the docs dont like to say it is  but they will give the med for it. the meds r very dangerous but very  worth it.

if u want to talk more plz sent an email  amy.grewe@yahoo.com

Michelle - posted on 01/07/2009

So did they figure she was both ADD and bipolar or just bipolar? My daughter is starting to see a behavior health doctor on the 19th of this month. My sister is borderline bipolar and said my daughter's symptoms seem a lot like her. So we shall see!

Ardeliah - posted on 01/07/2009

My 13 year old son has an intake appointment with a pyschologist coming up at the end of the month. He is ADD and they think there may be other things as well. Even with the medication he is openly defiant and rude to his teachers. He also still sucks at reading body language to tell what people are feeling. He has no friends and he worries me so.

Heather - posted on 01/07/2009

My daughter is now 15 and she was diagnosed ADHD then at about the age of 14 she said she did not like the way the meds made her feel- which is normal as they get older - she was taking strattera. She has been seeing a therapist and a phsychatrist for several years and she was diagnosed about 6 months ago as bipolar. She responed very well to the meds then i seen a change in her and found out she was NOT taking the meds cuz she "felt" better and didnt think she needed them - which apparently is normal. So we got her back on them and now she is a new person - she does have her times which is usually during her menstral cycle. Teachers that she has had the last year and than this year state they see a HUGE difference in her. The reasons the dr went this route though is she had alot of the signs but her father was bipolar before he passed and i am border line bipolar.

Stacey - posted on 01/04/2009

I have a 7 yr old boy with adhd and he was on adderal. He was having similar problems after doing some research on medications for adhd I found a patch called daytrna that lasts all day and he has been wonderul on it. You apply it on their hips 1 hr before it needs to start working and it lasts all day for nine hours. They no longer have to take pills and there moods are stable throughout the entire day and the side effects are minimal compared to many of the other medications. My son just made high honor roll this semester in school and we are not having the out bursts that he freguantly was having previously.

Nita - posted on 01/04/2009

I have a bipolar daughter with ADHD she is now 16. Bipolar can show up around puberty or it just becomes more pronounced. From what I understand from my practitioner some ADHD meds can emphasize symptoms of bipolar disorder. If it were me I would have her evaluated for bipolar sooner than later. As for dealing with the outbursts you could try talking with her calmly and nonjudgmental and get her input on how to keep the outbursts from happening. Identify triggers, identify signs it is coming, and then create s space for her with maybe a beanbag or other soft not able to fly well chair. You might also have her pick some soothing music that you can turn on for her. When you or she thinks a storm is coming you agree that she will go and relax in her space until the feeling passes. She needs some input in the solution if your going to get her to corporate, For my daughter these outbursts sacred her as much as they did me. Good Luck!

Lisa - posted on 12/31/2008

He's been on it for a year now and we haven't had those problems. He's actually doing great in school now. We did have some issues with the Adderall though. I think each medication just effects different individuals in different ways.

Michelle - posted on 12/30/2008

Hey Lisa, thanks for your input. Just an FYI, they tried switching my daughter on to Vyvance at the beginning of this school year because it was suppose to last longer than her Adderall. We tried it for 3 months using various doses and no matter what she would have constant breakdowns and outbursts. She would also hardly sleep at all while on it. I had the doctor switch her back to her Adderall XR and right away the outbursts went from happening daily to only twice a week. So I would watch out for that medication too just in case your child starts having symptoms like that.

Lisa - posted on 12/30/2008

I have a 5 year old that had those same problems. He was first just diagnosed with ADHD by his pediatrician, but when that didn't completely solve our problems, he was referred to a specialty clinic. We got the full diagnosis- ADHD, bipolar, oppositional defiancy, sensory defensiveness. He was initially on just Vyvance for his ADHD. For the bipolar, they added Risperdol. It has made a world of difference. I would recommend having her seen by a specialist. He has improved so much in school and with relationships across the board. Definately worth it!! Good luck!

Michelle - posted on 12/30/2008

Thank you so much for the information. Next month we are going to start seeing a psychologist to figure stuff out. My daughter's outbursts are more when she's tired too but her pediatrician won't prescribe anything to help her sleep. Hopefully the shrink will. Thanks again.

Jamie - posted on 12/30/2008

My son will be 13 in a couple weeks. His moods change drastically in a matter of seconds as well. Our doctor said that he may have something else with the ADHD however we tried a medication at night to help him sleep. His "meltdowns" as I call them happened more frequently when he was tired. The best way that I handle it is by telling him that I am unable to speak with him and for him to go in his room, by himself, to calm down. Since taking this night time medication, Remeron (an antidepressant), he does seem to get more/better sleep. Also he is on the lowest dosage possible and the doctor said if it starts to not work we could play with the dosage. Good luck.