bipolar children given ADHD meds.. | ADHD Information

Hey Sheri M....

I know it's been a little bit since you first posted this, unfortunately I don't get on here as often as I used to. My apologies.

Let me start by saying that I understand where you're coming from. I have a 6 year old who's been dx'd bipolar non-responsive, and he too, is medicated, and has been given adhd meds in the past.

The reason my son was prescribed the adhd meds was because you can show traits of more than one disorder....in laymen's terms, his dr. says he's "bipolar with a side order of adhd" ahahaha. Here is what I've learned, and I hope it helps you some:

When you are treating a bipolar child who may or may not also show symptoms of adhd, you must first treat the bipolar, or as you have witnessed, the adhd meds can make the child manic. (Happened with mine) That being said, there have been no documented cases where an adhd med has caused any long-term damage to a bipolar child. Most of these meds circulate in and out of the bloodstream at a fairly rapid pace, and an individual's metabolism also plays a part in how fast the med in question is absorbed into the body. In my son's case, when he was prescribed Ritalin, behaviorly he was an angel, trully an angel, however, his mania involved his motor senses, and he started gnawing (not chewing, but gnawing, like a rat!) on his fingernails, fingers, toes, etc. It was awful. He was only on it for a week, and I, too, questioned any long-term adverse effects, but have never seen any.

I hope this helps in some way. Feel free to email me anytime.

PJCofer127

i mean long term ..... i truly beleive that the ADHD meds that was given to my bipolar son has caused damage to him...i'm just wondering if anyone know the answer to this question? what is the long term affect of giving a bipolar child ADHD meds? i know it can make them manic but can it cause them to never come out of the manic state? the reason i ask this is dillon was on trileptal and risperdal in the very beginning and was doing really good on them..but the doctor thought he was still very hyper so he took dillon off the risperdal and tried him on adderal...and then ritalin... oh my god BIG mistake...anyways long story short the trileptal and risperdal stopped working and none of the other meds seem to work like they should.. just wondering   

you mean the behavior that the child will show for a long term, or the effects of a child on a medication for a long term?

 

Once its out of your system it cant really affect anything I dont think

If it has he's the first.

 

(i think)

It's HIGHLY unlikely that Ritalin would cause any kind of long-term damage, especially over a short term (less than a year or two). It's a short-acting drug that is processed by the body in a matter of hours, and its safety has been demonstrated by 50+ years of use on young children.

Your son's change in reaction to his previous medications is far more likely caused by the fact that he's only 4. He is still in the early stages of mental and physical development, so it's not at all surpsising that his behavior and response to drugs would still be in flux.

In fact, I'm skeptical about diagnosing such a young child with a psychological disorder and putting him on any medication at all, unless he has major, debilitating problems. Hyperactivity and mood swings are normal at that age, and IMO at 4 years old it's just too early to tell if that kind of behavior is part of a disorder or not.

He's 4?

I didn't know it was safe to put kids that young on those meds.

Oh I'm sorry, I got mixed up. I thought I was visiting "adhdnews.com", but it looks like I ended up on "sherimskidsnews.com" instead. My apologies.I'm as confused as you are man.

that is the responses i would expect from new members who have no clue about my son... if you have the time read some of my other threads to educate yourself about my son before questioning me about medicating my son...  thanks...

here is one of my 1st threads... there have been many more but i won't waste your time..

http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5804&K W=toddler

sheri.m38885.3076967593

Well, I'm sorry I don't log on to the internet with the intent to study and learn all about other peoples children, but hey thats just me.

i do not feel i was being rude to you two in anyway... and if i came across as being rude i am sorry.... i just get very upset when someone questions my son being medicated... many of the senior members know my sons condition so i wasn't expecting to get questioned a bout medicating...  i do not feel i deserved the rude remarks that came from the two of you...i am here for help for my son... so if anyone knows the long term effect ADHD meds can cause a bipolar person please let me know... thanks sheri.m38885.7871296296uhhh we ruined what and how?Do you mean "RUDE"? If so, your response did very much come across as being rude. I answered your question to the best of my knowledge based on my extensive research of ADD medications. You didn't like the response (which makes me wonder why you bothered to ask in the first place, since you already seem to be convinced that Ritalin somehow caused long-term damage?), so you disregarded it and made a smartaleck comment.

My comment about diagnosing & medicating such a young child was out of concern for your son, not out of rudeness to you. I was under the impression that you were soliciting information and suggestions on how to help him. But it seems like you already know everything and have all the answers, so I guess none of us here shouldn't bother you with our insights anymore.