9 yr old neice diagnosed with Bi-Polar Posted: 03-24-08 11:03am
My neice has been diagnosed with bipolar -
she is 9. I think the diagnosis helps
explain alot of her behavior; crying ALL
day long, lives in a make-believe world,
had problem making friends, serious
problems at school, extremely hard time
settling down, very hard on herself. They
just put her on new meds. She was on some
for ADHD, but I think they made it worse.
What behavior can we expect to see? What
do the meds do?
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CarolDiane
Moderator
Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 2390 Location: ,
Thanks: 110
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Posted: 03-24-08 16:35pm
It is such a shame to hear of a child that
young suffering from this disorder. Bad
enough we that have it as teens and older
years. Mood swings are the most common
with this. Trying to live out of reality
is another.
It is very hard to determine what meds
will work for her. Lets pray these will.
And if in fact they do help, you should
see a major chance in her in a few weeks.
Her mood swings will decrease and her
crying will also decrease. Now, I am not
saying she is not going to have her bad
days that we call "cycles". But, they may
not last very long. It depends. You should
find her a happier child and a more social
child. Her attention span at school should
also improve.
I just need to tell you that Bipolar meds
are not the same for everyone. Sometimes
it takes more then one try to find the
right one that works. The one that I am
on, I did have a little problem with. But,
then decided that the effects were not
from the drug at all. Side effects with BP
meds should be watched for. Any skin
changes etc. Although in most cases very
rare.
I hope that this is the med for her and
she will live a happier and more
productive life. There are many of us here
(as you can read) that deal with it every
day of our lives. She will soon have a
happy life with friends to share it with.
Keep in touch and let us know how she is
doing please.
BTW: How did you find this site?
Best of luck,
Carrie
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Muthoni
Supporter
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 747 Location: From Kenya, Now in Canada
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Re: 9 yr old neice diagnosed with Bi-Polar Posted: 03-24-08 22:12pm
MommaOf2Girls
wrote:
My neice has been diagnosed
with bipolar - she is 9.
I am sorry to hear that.
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acountrygirlcansurvive
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 32
Re: 9 yr old neice diagnosed with Bi-Polar Posted: 03-24-08 22:29pm
Yes, sometimes it takes a trial and error
of meds and as she gets in her teens they
may change and as she has kids etc.. A
friend of mine has this and was
undiagnosed for years. She was raising her
daughter now, 8, all on her own with BP.
It wasn't until she had her son 2 years
ago that she was finally diagnosed when
she had what they thought was the baby
blues which was way more than that. I was
scared for her and the kids. I believe
Her daughter who may also have BP, should
be seen and mom has finally decided to
have her seen by a therapist and
pediatrician regarding this. I hope she
doesn't but, atleast if she does it'll be
caught early and she'll have a better life
than her mom did at her age and alot more
understanding people in her life.
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antigone
Moderator
Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 899 Location: IL
Thanks: 43
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Posted: 03-25-08 02:06am
My nine year old son has bipolar disorder.
Medications help with the symptoms of the
disorder. Raging, irritability, agitation,
depression, silly and giddy behavior, and
other behaviors can be helped with
medications.
Frequently medication for ADHD will
exacerbate symptoms of bipolar disorder as
you have observed in your niece.
Medications take time to work. Many
medications take 4-6 weeks to reach
therapeutic levels. It is not uncommon to
have more than one medication prescribed.
A book that is really helpful on all
levels for parents (aunts too!) to read is
The Bipolar Child by Demitri Papolos.
There is vital information about pediatric
bipolar disorder in the book. It is
considered by many parents, me included,
to be the bible of pediatric bipolar
disorder.
Please feel free to private message me if
you want more information or support. I
will try to answer questions and lend a
hand. All the best to you and your niece.
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MommaOf2Girls
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 17 Mar 2008 Posts: 9 Location: , LA USA
Posted: 03-28-08 10:17am
Thank you all for your advise and support.
I will go purchase the book that anitgone
mentioned. I don't live in the same state
as my niece, so it is hard for me to see
how well she is doing on her meds, but we
are planning to have her visit us this
summer.
