6 year old w/ bipolar? | ADHD Information

Ok I think the 'best' thing to do is ASK a 'real' DR. Is there a DR. on this message board that can answer this question? I 'was' bipolar (quite my meds a longggggg time ago and decided that I wasn't going to DIE if I didn't take them - that's another story) anyway I 'had' to have blood work done BEFORE they could administer meds...also everytime I went they took more blood...perhaps to see how the meds were effecting me? Dunno...but this also might help. I was told by my DR. that the only way that you can even begin to get a diagnosis is through the blood; which I'm sure is just only 'one' test of many.

http://www.mydna.com/ great site here for 'anything'. http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/index.jhtml?product=bipolar&am p;source=google

These links are great...but I didn't see 'anywhere' where it said you must have a blood diagnosis. Hmmmm...was "I" just being told this so the DR could get blood????? My husband also had to have the blood work done also though.

Oh my gosh this is a 'great' site for CHILDREN with bipolar. Just found it...have a look it goes into detail for ya. http://www.allaboutdepression.com/gen_19.htmlThanks so much for all the input guys. I am just thankful that doors are finally starting to open where at first no one knew where to send us or where to start. I will just be glad when at least I KNOW what is going on with my son. Some people have suggested diet. Some really believe DIET DIET DIET is the key. Well, not that I want to medicate my son. But I do have a friend who is bipolar. Its not a pretty sight when he doesnt take his meds. Thanks everyone! I really do appreciate any info you find. I have a binder I keep all the websites and information in that I find.

I am not sure this is the message board for me anymore. My son has been going thru lots of things (see past posts) Doors have finally opened. He is now being seen at a new clinic. After one 2 hour interview the Dr has suggested he may be bipolar. His hot/cold attitude etc does have some symtoms of bipolar. We will do final testing, EEG etc in 2 weeks. Has anyone heard of bipolar in children so young? I guess I was misled to think this was a young adult/adult disorder. Any information would be quite helpful. Thank you!

http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Bipolar/Site/transcr ipts/Diagnosis_Treatment_Bipolar.htm

This site will 'blow your mind'. It does talk about people being mis-diagnosed with adhd when in fact it is bipolar.

Yikes

well take it from, i am a tean with BP & ADHD but lets back trac to when i was 18 munst old...... i olwas wold throgh fits. . we didn't get me dignost intill i was 9.

AHHHHHHHHH

sary about my spelling

Coming from a loooooong line of bi-polar disorder-there is no blood test for bi-polar. I wish there was because that would make the diagnosis so much easier for family members and those who suffer from it. It can take poeple with bi-polar disorder years to be properly diagnosed as adults. They may have been checking your thyroid level when they drew boold as thyroid dysfunction can create mood swings similar to bi-polar.

Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder

Like other mental illnesses, bipolar disorder cannot yet be identified physiologically—for example, through a blood test or a brain scan. Therefore, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder is made on the basis of symptoms, course of illness, and, when available, family history. The diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder are described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).3

Can Children and Adolescents Have Bipolar Disorder?

Both children and adolescents can develop bipolar disorder. It is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the illness.

Unlike many adults with bipolar disorder, whose episodes tend to be more clearly defined, children and young adolescents with the illness often experience very fast mood swings between depression and mania many times within a day.6 Children with mania are more likely to be irritable and prone to destructive tantrums than to be overly happy and elated. Mixed symptoms also are common in youths with bipolar disorder. Older adolescents who develop the illness may have more classic, adult-type episodes and symptoms.

Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents can be hard to tell apart from other problems that may occur in these age groups. For example, while irritability and aggressiveness can indicate bipolar disorder, they also can be symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, or other types of mental disorders more common among adults such as major depression or schizophrenia. Drug abuse also may lead to such symptoms.

For any illness, however, effective treatment depends on appropriate diagnosis. Children or adolescents with emotional and behavioral symptoms should be carefully evaluated by a mental health professional. Any child or adolescent who has suicidal feelings, talks about suicide, or attempts suicide should be taken seriously and should receive immediate help from a mental health specialist.

What Causes Bipolar Disorder?

Scientists are learning about the possible causes of bipolar disorder through several kinds of studies. Most scientists now agree that there is no single cause for bipolar disorder—rather, many factors act together to produce the illness.

Because bipolar disorder tends to run in families, researchers have been searching for specific genes—the microscopic "building blocks" of DNA inside all cells that influence how the body and mind work and grow—passed down through generations that may increase a person's chance of developing the illness. But genes are not the whole story. Studies of identical twins, who share all the same genes, indicate that both genes and other factors play a role in bipolar disorder. If bipolar disorder were caused entirely by genes, then the identical twin of someone with the illness would always develop the illness, and research has shown that this is not the case. But if one twin has bipolar disorder, the other twin is more likely to develop the illness than is another sibling.7

In addition, findings from gene research suggest that bipolar disorder, like other mental illnesses, does not occur because of a single gene.8 It appears likely that many different genes act together, and in combination with other factors of the person or the person's environment, to cause bipolar disorder. Finding these genes, each of which contributes only a small amount toward the vulnerability to bipolar disorder, has been extremely difficult. But scientists expect that the advanced research tools now being used will lead to these discoveries and to new and better treatments for bipolar disorder.

Brain-imaging studies are helping scientists learn what goes wrong in the brain to produce bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.9,10 New brain-imaging techniques allow researchers to take pictures of the living brain at work, to examine its structure and activity, without the need for surgery or other invasive procedures. These techniques include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). There is evidence from imaging studies that the brains of people with bipolar disorder may differ from the brains of healthy individuals. As the differences are more clearly identified and defined through research, scientists will gain a better understanding of the underlying causes of the illness, and eventually may be able to predict which types of treatment will work most effectively.

EastWest38511.605775463

many people are very reserved in diagnosing a child as bi-polar. I used to work in special ed, and I myself am not comfortable with that, but I cant say its not possible.

[QUOTE=adtsmom]

[/QUOTE] Would you believe that bi-polar is quite COMMON? I sure didn't. I flipped...but I do now that it 'is' a chemical imbalance that can be diagnosed through the blood. I've been reading more and more on bi-polar because of 'our' son (he's almost 7) as well. Goes 90 miles an hour then has a melt down for some 'small' (that we think is small anyway) reason and then in a few minutes even forgot about what he was 'wigging' out for. I'll be really interested to keep up with your results. Would you mind posting some things that actually made you take him to the Dr.? Does he have many friends? Does he listen in school and pay attention? Does he have ANY interest in sports?

That link was alot to take in. But had some interesting points. Scary too! Has anyone with a bipolar child or adhd child ever heard of a salt craving? Just another little tidbit that goes on w/ my son.

I didn't know there was any kind of blood work that would suggest bipolar! What kind of test is it?You MUST do bloodwork in order to have a 'proper' diagnosis FOR bi-polar. It 'is' a chemical imbalance - the 'only' way to make SURE that it's bi-polar is by testing the blood. Now I'm no Dr. so I don't know 'what' test it is...but it 'must' be done with testing of the blood.[QUOTE=adtsmom]

REPLY: I gotta tell ya that even 'we' adults do the same but we have learned to 'control' our behavior. It's TRUE: we want what we want when we want it. This isn't SPOILED: This is just the way we are; but as we grow up we realize that we must control our behavior or we'll end up God knows where.

It has gone from mild outbursts EG: pouting that it is not time to go outside at school. To EG: Threatening the teacher with chairs, crawling around the room growling, hitting himself in the head.

REPLY: Interesting you mention 'growling'...my son does this BECAUSE he watched SPONGE BOB do it. He actually 'acts' out characters that he's seen on TV. Ohhhhhh and yes Sponge Bob, Jimmy Neutron, etc. hits themselves in the head when they 'flub' up.

He spends more time out of class than in. They have gotten a one on one from the school district to come in and sit with him. He has even tried to hit/kick/bite her. Every day I am going to the school. Has gotten to the point where his one on one has had to restrain him.

REPLY: Now I gotta say THIS situation I would most certainly WORRY about. Restraining him??????? Something MUST trigger this. It can't just happen to happen...something HAS got to trigger this behavior.

This happens at home. Just not as bad, although it is always a reason behind why he is set off. Such as not getting his way, saying NO, doing chores whatever reason. What they are describing to me is that he is sometimes going into these rages for no reason. He is so hot and cold. Some people will read this and say o, he is just spoiled. Not the case. He will go into an absolute rage. Then in the next few minutes he is saying sorry for being mean. He has said there is a bad side and a good side of his brain. Says there are three Alex'. A good Alex a bad Alex and a funny Alex. That surprised me.

REPLY: I recall our pre-school decribing to us that there are 2 sides of the brain...the good and the bad. He heard this and ever since has kept on hearing it on CARTOONS!!! Yes you heard me; cartoons. I "REALLY" think you need to see 'what' he is watching on TV! It's horrible....We 'try' to monitor to the point that he doesn't have access to regular cable unless I plug it in ... and I have to go into OUR bedroom to plug in HIS cable. But he does say that his brain has race cars in it....dunno why he says but his brain told him to. (like for ex: be mean or say hurtful things) and yes then being truly remoresful (as his teacher put it)

REPLY: I gotta say again......our son literally ACTS like he's another person. Even quotes Word for Word some CRAP (excuse the language) on TV!!

Has very very silly outbursts as well. Is overly affectionate towards women. Loves women, all types all sizes and says he has many girlfriends. When he is calm in school there is no attention problem. Does his work etc. He loves sports. Anything outdoors he loves. There are more examples but this is the basics.

[/QUOTE]

Just know that you're not alone....I'm praying for ya.

i just went to yahoo and typed in testing for bipolar. and on every website that came up stated that there wasn't any blood test or brain scan.i wish there was because my son's doctor said he couldn't rule out bipolar. and the reason your doctor is doing a eeg is to rule out seizures(partial complex seizure)that is what the 1st doctor said my son had after 4 other opinions he isn't having seizures.but violent outburst is a sign of complex seizures. keep me posted on how they test your son...and good luck

Most of my sons behavior is at school. Goes into rages over the slightest thing. This could take all day to go into detail exactly why I brought this to a doctor. Forgive my writing if I skip around. It all started around Christmas of last year and has gotten worse since then. Nothing has changed in his life either. No death, no divorce, nothing. It has gone from mild outbursts EG: pouting that it is not time to go outside at school. To EG: Threatening the teacher with chairs, crawling around the room growling, hitting himself in the head. He spends more time out of class than in. They have gotten a one on one from the school district to come in and sit with him. He has even tried to hit/kick/bite her. Every day I am going to the school. Has gotten to the point where his one on one has had to restrain him. This happens at home. Just not as bad, although it is always a reason behind why he is set off. Such as not getting his way, saying NO, doing chores whatever reason. What they are describing to me is that he is sometimes going into these rages for no reason. He is so hot and cold. Some people will read this and say o, he is just spoiled. Not the case. He will go into an absolute rage. Then in the next few minutes he is saying sorry for being mean. He has said there is a bad side and a good side of his brain. Says there are three Alex'. A good Alex a bad Alex and a funny Alex. That surprised me. Has very very silly outbursts as well. Is overly affectionate towards women. Loves women, all types all sizes and says he has many girlfriends. When he is calm in school there is no attention problem. Does his work etc. He loves sports. Anything outdoors he loves. There are more examples but this is the basics.

adtsmom38491.285462963I DO believe that kids can have Bipolar. In fact, my son has it, and he is just 7 years old, almost 8. We knew there was something different about him when he was just a baby. I myself have Bipolar. I see him making the same mistakes that I made growing up. I am scared, and do not know how to handle it. Any advice. I have tried SOOO many things too. He is currently on Seroquel 25 mg. three times a day. I am not sure if it is even helpingamberoneal, hello and welcome to this board.. has a doctor dx your son with bipolar? i have a 3 yr old who is taking trileptal and abilify..both mes for bipolar. because of his age they won't dx him..i was just wondering what your child was like as a toddler?

[QUOTE=djdeshotel]he is as high as a kite in the mornings, when he wakes up, and only calms down after the meds kick in. [/QUOTE]

Aren't bp kids just the opposite?

I am new to this site..... just thought I'd try and get other parent's advice, etc..... My son has severe ADHD and has been on medication for 7 years (he's 12 now) It helps but only slightly and he's taken over the max and tried Ritalin, Concerta, Aderall. We are now seeing a Neurologist who wants to "base-line" him this summer and take him to the minimum does. It's OK since he's not in school, but I have been very curious about Bi-Polar Disorder. After reading the book "The BiPolar Child" I found SOME common characteristics but not all of them. He doesn't have the "cycling" or mood swings but he is as high as a kite in the mornings, when he wakes up, and only calms down after the meds kick in. He is sometimes irritable but no "tantrums", etc.... I wish there was a way to effectively diagnose him or at least rule this out. Any advise? Thanks, djdeshotel