Mood Disorders in Children - The Life of a Bipolar Child

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

David: An audience comment, then another question:

Noele: OK, WE as parents need to find any resource to set up our own group therapy groups of social skills even if its making our kids counselors do this I have been working on this for sometime and I will achieve this it EXACTLY what my son needs and maybe your sons or daughters so Parent UNITE now and lets get on it in schools AEA and in our community.

Victoria: I have a 14 year old boy that was diagnosed six years ago with ADD. When the medication didn't work, I went from doctor-to-doctor trying to convince them that it was more likely to be depression because of the family history. But doctors are reluctant to prescribe antidepressants for children. Why is that?

Trudy Carlson: If your son has bipolar illness, he will need a mood stabilizer rather than an antidepressant. Doctors would be hesitant to prescribe an antidepressant because if he is bipolar, it would make him worse. But if he is clearly not bipolar, and there is no history of bipolar illness in your family, then you might ask if he would consider using a medication like Wellbutrin. That is an antidepressant that has been used to help some people with ADHD. But please remember that I am not a doctor and he needs to get a doctor's opinion. Also remember that if he should be bipolar, that medication may not be helpful.

David: I also want to mention here, there's a big controversy going on right now about doctors over-prescribing psychiatric medications like Ritalin and Prozac to young kids...as young as 2-5 years old. And the pharmaceutical companies haven't done any testing in that area. So, as a parent, it's very important to watch out for that. It is very difficult to properly diagnose children that age.

Trudy Carlson: Yes, unless the doctor first rules out bipolar illness, Ritalin and Prozac could make the child's symptoms worse.

David: Audience responses to the medication issue:

Marili: Good point David, it is so difficult to know if some of the children's behavior is "normal" or just plain ole rebellion!

Victoria: But no one seems to actually make a diagnosis. He is on Effexor right now, which is the same as everyone else in the family.

specialk: They put me on Wellbutrin for bipolar as well as Zoloft and Klonopin.

Funny Face: Trudy, is it common for more than one child in a family to be bipolar?

Trudy Carlson: I went to the bipolar conferences that are held in Pittsburgh every other year. At one conference, I met a lady whose mother and father were both bipolar. In that case, several of the children inherited the condition. If only one parent is bipolar, the occurrence is approximately 17%. Some of the time, children will have another form of depression.

David: If you are interested, you can purchase Trudy's book: The Life of a Bipolar Child: What Every Parent and Professional Needs to Know.

Lou1: How do I convince my 12 year old daughter that she needs to be in a special class? She argues this with me all the time. We've tried mainstreaming, it's just too much for her to handle.

Trudy Carlson: I wonder if your 12 year old daughter would be willing to have some sort of compromise. Would she be willing to be in the special class some of the time and be mainstreamed at other times? Or have you tried this already?

Lou1: Trudy that has been tried already. It didn't work out.

David: Well, I know it's getting late and you're on the east coast.

Trudy Carlson: I can't tell you how much fun it was. I enjoyed the conference.

David: I appreciate you being here tonight. We had about 100 people come in and out of the conference and I think we all learned a lot.

Noele: Trudy, thank you!

Trudy Carlson: If you ever want to chat some other time, I will be happy to come back

David: We will definitely have you back again. Thank you for being our guest and I want to thank those of you left in the audience for coming tonight and participating.

Marili: David, I think this was very successful! I'm glad I was not working tonight! Thanks for your time too!

Victoria: Thank you Trudy.

specialk: Good night all and I will return. Thanks Trudy and David.

David: Good night everyone.

Disclaimer: Please note that HealthyPlace.com is NOT recommending or endorsing any of the suggestions of our guest. In fact, we strongly encourage you to talk over any therapies, remedies or suggestions with your doctor and/or therapist BEFORE you implement them or make any changes in your treatment or lifestyle.

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