Mom of Bipolar teen

Cathy - posted on 03/26/2012

My son has been on Abilify now for over a month and it has worked miracles with his temper and I feel I have my child back. He has always been a picky eater but since this medicine he has had an huge appetite and now I am worried about weight gain. He isn't heavy at all and if it is just a matter of him eating and keeping active that is fine but afraid it piles weight on you no matter how you eat. Anyone been on this and had weight change and was it a problem. We feel so lucky that he found this it has just given himself a calmness and his personality back.

AMY - posted on 02/24/2010

hey everybody I am new to this bipolar stuff. My son is 12 and was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4, he was jus diagnosed with bipolar a month ago and let me tell you, I am bout going out my mind. They put him on risperidal and he gained 16 lbs the first month. He is starting abilify today so i got my fingers crossed we have had some bad luck with meds lately the stimulant meds for ADHD were causeing facial tics so they put him on blood pressure meds to stop the tics and took him off the stimulants to stop tics anybody with any suggestions for me would be a blessing

Autumn - posted on 02/23/2010

My 9 yr old daughter was diagnosed at 8 w/BP1,ODD,ADHD,anixety disorder,and conduct disorder,depression and since birth asthma and allergies.Like many others we have tried several meds but now she is on Lithium,serquel,trazadone,vyvanse,prozac and her allergy and asthma meds.and also levothroxine for her thyroid from a side effect from lithium..But that combo seems to be ok for now..Her serquel just got raised because she was manic for two weeks straight and I think its just now bringing her down to level..She has been hospitalized several times but has been home since last aug.and is doing ok..She has an IEP and special ed resources and doesnt go to school until 920am because she was having a lot of am problems so waiting untill her meds have kicked in has helped a lot.My daughter and 13yr old son do not get along for the most part but i think its due to equel behavior not just one or the other..She smoothers my step son whom is almost 2.We cant get her to leave him alone.

My dad dosent know how to handle her,she does not listen to him at all..I remarried last summer bfor she came home and she listens to my husband.My husband and I dont always see eye to eye because half the time he thinks its just her behavior and not her disability..He is getting better though...I found out today that she quilified for SSI(my first time applying) but mine and my husband's combined GROSS income excedes the guidlines..So didnt get it..Good luck to all of you I know its not easy..I was single when the worst was going on b4 meds and even now being married its still hard...

Adrienne - posted on 02/22/2010

My 15 yr old daughter was recently diagnosed Bipolar, ADHD, Social Anxiety & PTSD. We are working on the meds, currently on Lymictal, Abilify, Zoloft & Intuniv. So far we are still feeing it out. She has good and bad days but when the days are bad they are really bad. Unfortunatly we are still dealing with a huge trauma from November, she was raped by a boy at school. She is a cutter and now has taken up punching walls. The odd thing is she is still an honor roll student thru all of this. School is the one thing she can control. She cannot handle the social side but the academic side is her strong point. We are looking into homebound schooling for the remainder of the year.

In all honesty I am here because I am frustrated, confused and just plain worn out. My husband and I are just not sure what to do here....

P.S. she goes to therapy once a week & her psychiatrist every three weeks.

Dawn - posted on 10/28/2009

Hi, Lisa -



Sorry for the delay in answering back - I must have forgotten to check this posting... I'm not so very efficient at this Facebook stuff yet...



My son responded VERY well to Depakote. It really stabilized his moods well. A few years later he took both that and lithium, along with Adderall or Concerta. He had a major reaction to Abilify - but that is NOT to say that your son will. What I have found out over the years is that every child seems to be different in their ability to tolerate different medications and medication combinations... and it takes time to find the right combinations for them, unfortunately.



I really relate to what you said about your son telling you he "wants to be normal." It breaks a mother's heart - I remember well, when Brad was about 8 or so - that I knew he had something going on that I wasn't going to be able to fix... if there had been a way, I'd have done anything to "fix" him from that point on.



What I had to come to terms with was that "fixed" is a relative term - "fixed" compared to what? A quiet child? A good student? A wonderful athlete? Or "fixed" to be who he was created to be - not normal, but close enough to that for him. Enough to hold a job. Enough to have social relationships. Enough to drive a car. Enough to not punch his fists through walls anymore.



It is very difficult - but Brad knows that he is blessed to have us as his parents, as it would have been very easy to be tougher on him than was necessary. Stability for these kids is extremely important!!! I wish you the best of luck - and, BTW, if you are lucky enough to have found a good child psychiatrist, get all the work-up and testing you can!!! Ours moved away - no one around here anymore:(

Kandy - posted on 10/28/2009

My sons Dr just added Depakene to his mix of meds, Pray that it works and that he does'nt get any side effects. I worry so much about the side effects.It scares the hell out of me reading all of them. Has anyone used that before?

Vicki - posted on 10/21/2009

I have a soon to be 13yr. old daughter who was diagnosed and on meds by age 6. We also have a grown daughter with the same she wasn't diagnosed until she was an adult. She has taken many meds and refuses to take some, she also doesn't receive consistent counseling. She struggles a lot with making good choices and mood swings. My 13yr old is amazing. She has many diagnoses,ADHD, CPAD, Bipolar,Autisium and etc. What we have learned is not to except the diagnoses as who she is. She sees a therapist twice a month (use to be twice a week) and doctor for meds once a month. One thing she has been so blessed with is great professionals, she also receives speech once a week with a woman who is very experienced in all areas. We have home schooled for 3+ years to help meet her learning needs better. She is now nearly reading at grade level which is a miracle. Yes she has been on many meds. An important thing we learned early on was that stimulant meds were not at all helpful and they caused her to be agitated. She is now taking Geodon, Celexa, Stratera, guanficine, and Trazadone. We are happy to say we finally found the right doses and mixtures of meds. And now we have added the her monthly friend to the list so she is learning to deal with this as well. She really does amaze us, she desires to have control over all of these issues and works very hard. But it has not always been pretty and I'm sure you can imagine. I will keep you and yours in my prayers.

Christy - posted on 10/20/2009

You have to take it one day at a time........my son has been in the hospital 4 times since he was 7......he is what they consider one of the most severe types.......he is taking medications dosages that most adults dont take or cant take.......i have three other children who are just fine........my oldest son hates his brother because he has unfortunately had to grow up faster than most and has had to see me control my son while he was helping with his baby brother and sister........it's not easy at all.......but it is not all bad either......they can teach you alot about yourself

Chartrand - posted on 10/20/2009

It took along time to get him meds correct. For my son going off the anti depressants, staying on the Metadate CD. And a small does of Risperedal worked wonders, he's been stable two years now! If it's not working tell his doctors, they don't know everything you are the one who see's him day in and day out. Having a doctor who will listen works wonders. Took quite awhile to find one of those also!



Best of luck to you

Kelly - posted on 10/20/2009

Hello. Im a bipolar mommy of a 2 1/2 yr old son. That sounds kind of funny but im only 22 years old and i was diagnosed when i was 13. Ive tried lots of different forms of treatment and medications. The side effects to the meds can be very severe, for me they were. Lithium seemed to make a difference (had to stop meds when i got pregnant). Also, seroquil really helped me sleep. Just thought i could help. If you would like to know anything else please feel free to ask.

Cheryl - posted on 10/19/2009

I have 2 children with Bi-polar Disorder/ADHD/ODD. A daughter & a son. They have been on everything under the sun. Unfortunatley my daughter lost her fight over this disorder on December 31, 2007 she was 15 years old. My son who turned 16 years old yesterday has been somewhat stable on Lamictal,Metadate CD, Seroquel and Clonidine. He has every side effect under the sun. He's already been on depakote, trileptal, abilify, concerta, ritalin, adderall, tenex, remeron, datrana, strattera. I'm hoping this round of medication cocktail will be the answer. He's fine at home, school is the problem now. He just started a theraputic day school last week!!! we'll see how it goes..

Amy - posted on 10/19/2009

Ladies please try the gluten free diet and no foods with red dye--it is amazing the difference

Amy - posted on 10/19/2009

my daugther has bipolar she is now 23 we have been riding a roller coaster since she was about 6yrs old-the key is the doctor-must have one that totally understands the disease- she was on lithum and that worked fab until thyroid went wacko-abilify is also another good one--She continues to suffer because she believes she doesn't need it-that is what alot of bipolar people believe-Her brother had ADD but out grew it and is doing well -please have patience.

Pam - posted on 10/19/2009

Melissa, What did they give him so that he could stay on Abilify.

Denise - posted on 10/19/2009

Quoting Dawn:

Oh, ladies! I wanted to encourage you girls that there is hope! My son is now 21 years old. His diagnoses are ADD, bipolar II, ODD and OCD. Therein lies a clue - often when children have one diagnosis, it is running concurrently with one or more other diagnoses. Finding the correct combination of medications is very tricky and can be time-consuming, but I want to encourage you to stay in the search!

If you have family or lifestyle issues, then therapy is good. It is a VERY hard time - but remember you are doing all of this for the good of your child as well as to alleviate your own pain!

We also knew that our son was "wired differently" from birth. I know the pain of turned down play dates, gossip, teacher bias, church misunderstandings, his making poor choices, hitting walls, etc. Try to remember that your child doesn't want to have these issues, either - but is surely frustrated as well as unable to handle his emotions! It is a whole another kind of pain to have a child who IS disabled - but looks normal - and even handsome - on the outside. That's a whole another story!!!

My son is now doing as well as can be expected:) He is even third shift lead manager at a huge grocery store chain at this time! Is he making good choices? Is he as normal as I would like to see him be? At this point, I am happy that he is doing as well as he is!!! There was a time when I would have doubted to ever see this day! So - hang in there! If one day is too long, then hang on for 1/2 day. If that's too long - then just a couple of hours. Research and medication continue to make strides - if you stay educated about them. And don't forget that you are your child's advocate:)

Good luck - God bless:):):)

 

Amen to your statements!  Best of luck to you and your family!  Denise C

JoAnn - posted on 10/19/2009

Dear Amy,

My son is Bipolar he was diagnosed when he was in 8th grade. He now 20. It has been trying on the family, he was in and out of hospitals. I Blessed to say he is doing well. I know that meds that are a combination of ADD meds and depression did not work for him. It made him worse for some reason. Do your research on all the medcations that the doctor wants to put him on. Play an active roll in his care. Be patient, let him know that you are there for him and that you both will get through this. God Bless you both.

Kandy - posted on 10/19/2009

Quoting Amanda:

I have a child that was dx with bipolar 6 months ago, he is nine. It runs in my family very strong. We are doing great, the medication that is given to my son has just totally changed our lives.

What medication is he on?

Denise - posted on 10/19/2009

Hi Amy, I am a 46 yr old mother of 4. All my children are out of the house now either married or in college. My oldest daughter who is 24 now was diagnoised with bi-polar when she was 16 and then with boarderline personality disorder when she was 17. I have so many stories to tell. She has been on many meds and non seem to really work and the side effects have been horrific. The best times in her life is when she is pregnant (hormonal I'm sure). She has had 4 children now, one of which I am raising. We pray every day for a mircle. She has been homeless for most of her adult life, she is her own worst enemy and she likes chaos in her life.

When she was young we didn't know what was wrong, she was Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hide. !st came ADD with ritalin, then came anti-deppresant drugs, then came lock downs and mental hospitals, suiside watches, and finally out on the streets. Her 1st child lives with dad, 2nd with me, third was adopted out, and the 4th she has with her and she shows signs of improvement at the moment but I believe it's because of hormone levels, so we pray it will last.

We are noticing signs in her son, the one that lives with us. He is almost 6 and has been diagnosed with ADHD, reactive attachment disorder and ODD. He is a challenge everyday, but we are trying to give him the best life we can.

Our little guy is currently on clonidine and adderall.

My three grown children know what their sister was like growing up, they watched, learned and listen and saw it all. They are well established adults and I believe they are more educated because of what they saw. I did try to keep them away from her so no harm would come to them. However, they are not so understanding with our 6 year old. I think they are tired of it and don't want to deal with it anymore. Can't blame them!

Best of luck and if you want to talk I would be more than happy to.

Melissa - posted on 10/19/2009

Pam i am so happy to of read your post, as we ran into the same issue with tartitive diskenisha and it was soooo scarry! i refused to take him off the ambilify as we saw such a good change in him, we have a md that the dr gave us to help, but i have tried vitamin E and melatonin!

Melissa - posted on 10/19/2009

Hi Amy

I have a 7 year old bipolar son, we have tried meds for a year and no luck, we finally changed psycholigists and WAMN we are on ambilify...works incredible, depacote and clonidine for sleep and metadate for his adhd....we have had a very hard road as i have 4 other children, here in MASS, if you have Mass health they have a critical care team, which has helped us incredibly! Anthony is very hard to deal with on an off day, and we have learned when he is in a rage we all go in a room with a lock and then either me or my husband stays with him

Pam - posted on 10/19/2009

Hi Amy, My son just turned 14 and we have been struggling with this for about 3 years. It is incredibly frustrating because everywhere you go there is a new diagnoses and a new med change. This means new side effects and different behaviors. By far the best med he has been on was Abilify. The problem is that the dosage was upped and he develolped Tardive Dysconesia (facial ticking, etc) which is permanent so they had to take him off it. That was in May and since they took him off he has not been stable. He has been hospitalized twice since then and they still have not found a medicine that will help him stabalize. It is very sad and frustrating because he hates the way he is and just wants to be like everyone else. Right now things are not to bad, but they are still working on the meds. What has really helped also is that we had his program changed at school so that he can take his classes in a smaller setting with more support. He is extremely bright, but was doing no work because it was taking all of his effort to hold it together. I also try to keep things relatively calm and predictable at home.

Amy - posted on 10/19/2009

It is so nice to read about others going thru the same things.....We tried mood stabilizers with gabe but they didn't do anything but make things worse..serequel was horrible,he has been on 8 different meds in the last 3 yrs and the only one that has worked so far is risperdal and that is the med Gabe chooses to be on cuz he says it makes him feel better.We go back on the 18th (we go back to pshychiatrist every 3 months) and I am asking for his risperdal to be upped a mg to 5 mg's a day.He is not learning at school,everything has stopped.We,meaning his teachers and I know that when the risperdal is at the right dose he does wonders and he has been blessed with no side effects......when he was on the dival proex I did notice some improvement but that was for 2 months and he gained the weight and began to get hand tremors.I swear by risperdal,its a wonder drug for gabe and kicks in within 3 days which is so nice.

Lisa - posted on 10/19/2009

A PCA is a personal care attendant. Because of your sons disabilities he is harder to find someone to watch him I'm sure. The PCA at your sons age is basically a glorified babysitter, but they are more prepared to deal with your sons issues. And you wouldn't have that expense, but the younger child throws a monkey wrench into it. The PCA would only be responsible for the older child, so you still have child care expenses for the younger one.

Kandy - posted on 10/19/2009

Yes, We have SSI.They did deny us at first, but the second time we got approved. I still have to work full time,and run the house by myself, I do have a younger child too. What is a PCA?

Kandy - posted on 10/19/2009

Quoting Lisa:

risperdal isn't a mood stabalizer, it's an atypical anti psychotic as is Abilify. I hope you didn't just take him off the Abilify. He should have been wheaned off it slowly, but if you did it it's too late to change how it was done now. Depakote worked very well when my son was young, but like I said it does require monthly blood draws due to possible liver damage. I've lucked out and never had a med that medicaid didn't want to pay for. the Abilify they paid over $1000 a month for. Trileptal is the mood stabalizer he's on now. Many of the anti seizure meds are used off label as mood stabalizers (they may be on label now) because they discovered that they worked wonderfully in stabalizing people who suffered from seizure disorders and mood disorders.
I know how it feels to be all alone with a challenging kid. My son's father hit the road the day I told him we were going to have a baby. Have you applied for SSI for your son? It can take a long time to be approved and you will most likely be denied on first application, but appeal their decision. The money will help so you don't have to work all the time and also you won't have as much paperwork/trouble dealing with medicaid if he receives SSI.
Boy do I remember when puberty hit! I really thought I was going to wind up in a mental health ward myself. We still have our ups and downs, but most of them are up now.
Also, does your son have a PCA? You can get one through your county public health.

Amanda - posted on 10/18/2009

I have a child that was dx with bipolar 6 months ago, he is nine. It runs in my family very strong. We are doing great, the medication that is given to my son has just totally changed our lives.

Kathy - posted on 10/18/2009

hi, my 15 year old has a rare chromosome disorder that has caused alot of things to be "missed" they tend to blame it on the disorder- he was diagnosed last year with moderate autism, and has sensory integration disorder, OCD, and developmental delays of about 7 years, a vocal tic ( brought on by exposure to ritalin, aderall, stratera)and as of early last week Bipolar Disorder. He has been taking Risperdal and Prozac for many years to help control impulsiveness and anxiety, and we have just started with trileptal. The doctors were worried that the risperdal was causing him to gain weight but that has leveled off - he has in fact lost about 20 pounds this summer. His biggest troubles have been with school recently- he was ok- at first - not many out bursts, but now has "tantrums" during which he hits, kicks, throws things, scratches etc- we're hoping the trileptal with the others will help him. I just wish the school would give it a chance to work.At first we were seeing a peds neurologist and with in the last year and 1/2 have been seeing a peds psychiatrist that specializes in autism.I told him the other day that I felt like an osterich with its head in the sand for not putting 2&2 together and realizing that there was even more going on than what we thought- he laughed ( bless him ) and said- don't feel bad- it took me awhile to figure it out too! My son is at a private school that works with ed/bd/ld/ and autistic kids( paid for by our school district). THis last few weeks have been hard for them though- since he started having these tantrums= they are hoping that the new med will help- but the first day back after he started taking it wasn't the "dream day" they hoped for- I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will give him time....

Anyway- Thanks for sharing your stories- as you all know its a really rough road we're on and just knowing that there are others that have similiar things happening helps tremendously. Bless you.

Nancy - posted on 10/18/2009

our daughter is almost twenty one yrs old she has bi polar mia is on depikote, it works wonders and so does prayer and counselours and her therapist.

Lisa - posted on 10/18/2009

risperdal isn't a mood stabalizer, it's an atypical anti psychotic as is Abilify. I hope you didn't just take him off the Abilify. He should have been wheaned off it slowly, but if you did it it's too late to change how it was done now. Depakote worked very well when my son was young, but like I said it does require monthly blood draws due to possible liver damage. I've lucked out and never had a med that medicaid didn't want to pay for. the Abilify they paid over $1000 a month for. Trileptal is the mood stabalizer he's on now. Many of the anti seizure meds are used off label as mood stabalizers (they may be on label now) because they discovered that they worked wonderfully in stabalizing people who suffered from seizure disorders and mood disorders.
I know how it feels to be all alone with a challenging kid. My son's father hit the road the day I told him we were going to have a baby. Have you applied for SSI for your son? It can take a long time to be approved and you will most likely be denied on first application, but appeal their decision. The money will help so you don't have to work all the time and also you won't have as much paperwork/trouble dealing with medicaid if he receives SSI.
Boy do I remember when puberty hit! I really thought I was going to wind up in a mental health ward myself. We still have our ups and downs, but most of them are up now.
Also, does your son have a PCA? You can get one through your county public health.

Kandy - posted on 10/18/2009

Several doctors diagnosed him with a mood disorder along with adhd, It was a child physcatrist finally diagnosed him with bipolar, the others said they did not want to label him at such a young age.We have tried ( just for adhd ) adderall, metadate, vyvance,daytrana,and ritalin.(these are all i can remember.) As for the mood stabilizers, we have only tried 2. The first one was risperdol which did not work at all, but the ablify we started about 4 months ago. We had a big fight to get medicaid to pay for that one. It worked great at first , everyone noticed the difference right away. But like I said, he started gaining alot of weight ,and always hungry,even after eating a big plate for dinner, he would go into screaming crying fits to eat more. He ate so much one day he threw it all up and wanted to eat more.As soon as he wakes up he wants to eat all the way untill bedtime. He would even come home from playing so he could eat. I just recently stoped the abilify, he is just gaining to much to fast.He has out grown his school clothes in a month.

Does the depakote work? I have a hard time getting medicaid to pay for alot of meds. They did not want to pay for the abilify because they said it was not fda approved for children under 10, he was a month shy of that at the time.

I love my son very much, it is so hard to watch him go through all of this, I wonder what kind of future he has. I have been told that it is going to get worse before it gets better.When puberty hits, can't wait fot that!?!He tells me all the time that he wants to be normal, that breaks my heart.I feel like it's my fault somehow.I am a single parent with very little help from the state or anyone else for that matter. So i have to work alot,which he resents. His father can't stay out of jail long enough to bother.So it's just us.

Dawn - posted on 10/18/2009

Oh, ladies! I wanted to encourage you girls that there is hope! My son is now 21 years old. His diagnoses are ADD, bipolar II, ODD and OCD. Therein lies a clue - often when children have one diagnosis, it is running concurrently with one or more other diagnoses. Finding the correct combination of medications is very tricky and can be time-consuming, but I want to encourage you to stay in the search!

If you have family or lifestyle issues, then therapy is good. It is a VERY hard time - but remember you are doing all of this for the good of your child as well as to alleviate your own pain!

We also knew that our son was "wired differently" from birth. I know the pain of turned down play dates, gossip, teacher bias, church misunderstandings, his making poor choices, hitting walls, etc. Try to remember that your child doesn't want to have these issues, either - but is surely frustrated as well as unable to handle his emotions! It is a whole another kind of pain to have a child who IS disabled - but looks normal - and even handsome - on the outside. That's a whole another story!!!

My son is now doing as well as can be expected:) He is even third shift lead manager at a huge grocery store chain at this time! Is he making good choices? Is he as normal as I would like to see him be? At this point, I am happy that he is doing as well as he is!!! There was a time when I would have doubted to ever see this day! So - hang in there! If one day is too long, then hang on for 1/2 day. If that's too long - then just a couple of hours. Research and medication continue to make strides - if you stay educated about them. And don't forget that you are your child's advocate:)

Good luck - God bless:):):)

Lisa - posted on 10/18/2009

Quoting kandy:

My son just turned 10, He was diagnosed last year officially with bipolar and adhd, I have to tell you my life is hell. We have tried just about every medication out there, nothing works for long, The most recent meds are adderal and ablify. The Abilify caused him to eat me out of house and home,and gain 30lbs in 3 months, Which leads to a meltdown when he outgrows his clothes.We have tried therapy , but it did'nt work. He torments his little brother.His brother wished he could "just take a bath and wash away the bad stuff".His mood swings are terriable, he destoys things and curses at everyone, punches holes in the walls.
Good luck and let me know what works for you.

Yes Abilify is terrible when it comes to weight gain.  What mood stabalizers have you tried?  for how long?  It takes at least 8 weeks to get to a clinical treatment level.  Did he take adderal before the Abilify?  did he take adderal without a mood stabalizer in place?  Bipolar kids need to be treated for the bipolar without worrying about other disorders.  Treating with a stimulant will make them worse until they have the correct treatment level of a mood stabalizer in place first.  Who diagnosed the bipolar and who is the prescribing physician, ie was it general practicioner or a psych?  I would never, ever allow a general practicioner prescribe/diagnose a psych disorder/meds.  I love my gp, but he knows very well that he doesn't know what goes on in the brain well enough to even begin to make a diagnosis or treatment.  I have called him to get an emergency med fill from time to time, but when I do it's when I tell him we need this med, this dose.  I love our pdoc, but she is out of town and occasionally we will forget to get a new script for ritalin when we are in her office and they can't fax it due to federal regulations.  Generally she can mail one and we get it in three days or so, but since my son is almost 16 and in charge to getting his own meds out there have been a couple of times he's out when he says oh mom btw I'm out of ritalin.

Kimberly - posted on 10/18/2009

I have three sons who are bipolar . One who is on the depressed end of the spectrum most of the time but when he is high wow. He is 25 now and has been diagonosed since 9.. He refuses to take meds and just self medicates with drugs and alchol and it is horrible to watch. My other son is 18 now and has been diagnosed since he was 7 or 8 He is usually on the manic side and we went through all the meds twice before we found meds that would work for him . He had a safe rooom in our house because his violence got so bad. He is now on Neurontin, seroquel and risperdal. He can not take meds for the adhd because those meds make the bipolar worse so we just handle that . He is getting ready to stat college now and is working, Never thought any of that would happen., My third son is 14 and just got diagnosed and we are having trouble with meds because they all make him sick. So we just keep trying and hopefully we will find one for him that will help him too, So far my fourth son seems fine. It is a long road but there is hope you just have to keep fighting.l

Kandy - posted on 10/18/2009

My son just turned 10, He was diagnosed last year officially with bipolar and adhd, I have to tell you my life is hell. We have tried just about every medication out there, nothing works for long, The most recent meds are adderal and ablify. The Abilify caused him to eat me out of house and home,and gain 30lbs in 3 months, Which leads to a meltdown when he outgrows his clothes.We have tried therapy , but it did'nt work. He torments his little brother.His brother wished he could "just take a bath and wash away the bad stuff".His mood swings are terriable, he destoys things and curses at everyone, punches holes in the walls.

Good luck and let me know what works for you.

Lisa - posted on 10/17/2009

My son was diagnosed with bipolar before he was 7. He's taken depakote, abilify, trileptal and many other meds to deal with his list. He is an only child and I am a single mother, so I don't have a lot of input in how other family dealt with it. My parents are close to my son and it was very hard for them at first, but after they got to know him when he was medicated like him a lot more.

My brother and his family, who are also close to him are question marks, except for his 3 year old who loves him dearly, but is afraid of him because (we think) my son is loud (due in large part due to a combination of bipolar and aspergers syndrome). My brother also has an almost 13 year old boy, who tolerates being around my son but I can't say it's more than that. He also has a 14 year old daughter who was very close to my son when they were younger, but now they're teens who see each other twice a year for about a week at a time. My son is 15 and he and the older two were three peas in a pod when they were 2, 3 & 4, but since they were that young the other two have lived 1200 miles away.

I loved abilify, except for horrendous weight gain. As a matter of fact I refused to delete it for over a year because it was the one med that allowed him to be a 'normal' kid and just go play. We switched that to geodon this summer and although he's not gaining anymore he hasn't lost. He was on it two seperate times. The first time for over 3 years with him doubling his weight (70-150) in the span of one school year. When we deleted it we thought he had matured enough to go without it, but no such luck. After a year he was back on it and gained 70 pounds in 5 months. We couldn't wait around to see if he leveled off on the weight gain like he did the first time.

The drawback to depakote was monthly blood draws. It's been so long since he was on it, thought, that I can't remember more than that, sorry.