She is currently taking abilify celexa risperdal. she is showing signs of bipolar disorder. Could she have been misdiagnosed?
My 15 yr old daughter has been diagnosed with mood disorder. Her meds dont seem to help?
- Posted:
- 7 Oct 2010 by ladybreez617
- Topics:
- abilify, celexa, risperdal, depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, schizoaffective disorder
Details:
Answers (9)
Anonymous 7 Oct 2010
I was recently diagnosed with bipolar w/ mixed episode's, it took along time to get the right diagnosis, initially i was told it was depression,& put on antidepressant's they didn't help, the mood swing's were a nightmare,so is the lack of sleep, but i tried Serequalxr, it helped alot with sleep but not the mood issue's, but i devel. a reaction to it & had to stop,i'm also ADHD, now i'm on Lithium & Adderall, the lithium has really helped the mood's, and i'm not as anxious, or aggitated, for me it's working , and since we've increased the mg it's now helping with sleep, my advice is talk to your dr. again, if the med's aren't working or there are characteristic's coming out, then they really need to addressed, so she can get on the right med's. to help her.
neison7110 Oct 2010
Without a doubt don't hesitate to get a second or third opinion on this, not only regarding the diagnosis, but also the meds. Mood disorders (there are many),
is a serious diagnosis, and if the Dr. is WRONG she will be labeled with that and that label will stick. If after seeing one or two other Drs. and they're conclusion re: diagnosis and treatment is the same, then you can trust she's got the right diagnosis. If her meds don't seem to help, then you have to persist until you succeed in getting her on the medication regime that works for her. You're probably going to have to develope a thick skin and assertive/aggresive attitude on this, but it will be well worth it.
One of the MOST important things is to be informed... of the diagnosis, and the meds and the outcome these meds are supposed to have as opposed to what they are having.
neison71
10 Oct 2010
By the way, I'd be interested to know in what way she is showing bipolar symptoms. Just as the person before me stated, it took years until I was correctly diagnosed with this disorder, and once I had the correct diagnosis, so many questions were answered, correct meds were ordered and my out of control life began to get much better. The 1st or even 2nd Dr. don't always diagnose correctly!
HPoole11 Oct 2010
Let me just add a couple suggestions, since I've been through almost every mood-stabilizing medicine... Lamictal 200mg twice/day is great for mood dis. especially b/c it has fewer side effects... which i've experienced with a number of mood stabl. Also, topamax 1-200mg twice a day is also very beneficial in creating a balanced mood.if anxiety is a component of mood dis, compazine 5-10mg 3-4x a day is just the right amt. hope this helps a bit. abilify did absolutely nothing for me. I hated celexa b/c it made me more depressed and caused excess hunger. and risperdal i found too sedating, making me feel 'out of it' and constantly groggy. you want your daughter to get to a point where she is so balanced out by her meds that she can't feel them. my philosophy: if you can feel your meds, you're on too much or the wrong combo. my suggestion for anti-depres in place of celexa: ssri-prozac or ssnri-cymbalta or effexor/xr; wellbutrin.
JULIEJCC21 Oct 2010
Not only could she have been misdiagnosed, but she could also be underdiagnosed (if that makes any kind of sense). I was diagnosed at nineteen with bipolar disorder. Turns out that at age forty I found out that that was only PART of my diagnosis. I actually have Borderline Personality Disorder which umbrellas many other disorders, such as Bipolar Disorder and Oppositional Defiance Disorder, which masks itself as ADHD. Please do not think that I am diagnosing your daughter as Borderline as well, just a thought or something you may want to look at.
stopdrugg...15 Mar 2011
Yes, she could have been misdiagnosed. What 15 year old does not have moods? Its quite normal because her body is going through a lot of changes as she grows up from teenager to a woman, Psychotropic drugs can be very harmfull and have nasty side effects, Having her every mood analysed is damaging to her natural developement. Let her be a teenager and grow up naturally. She will be much healthier without constant drugs in her body.
1 Nov 2011
My first concern is whether medication caused her to be bipolar and if she didn't show these signs before then she needs to be taken off the meds that is most likely the source. You don't want to lose your daughter completely mentally. Sometimes with children if they experienced anything traumatic it may be that a temporary abduction, a molestation, a rape, incest, Or poor education, poor communication with family members, could be the cause. I would try to find out if a crime has been committed against my child, whether i need to put my child in a better school system or give them supplemental work in addition to class work, listen to my child more before inflicting harsh discipline, which a parent may find at times that one could be in error; give them an outlet of self expression like music, dance, art, or writing, sports, and pray with your child and feed them plenty of water and balanced meals, even counseling before concluding that the child needs medication. Im living today because i didnt take every word from a doctor as a word from God.
slattery2 Nov 2011
Yes I am with you, godispower. But I will be honest about this also. There actually IS a risk if you have bipolar, in the absence of drugs. You WILL have an episode if it's bipolar I, and you act upon your own instincts, and throw doctor's educated guesses about what it is to the winds.
27 Nov 2011
First of all, if we neat picked our children they would all have problems wrong with them. Put, they can learn to control their mood swings. With therpy. Breathing and other skills to help control their minds. Like self talk. Good self talk. Medicine should be the last resort. I don't understand why shes on two a-typical antisocidics? Some people NOT kids need two. At her age. She needs proper nutricion diet and exercise. I know its hard to get her to start but once she starts walking, running, bicycling, and other hobbies to keep her busy she will relize that she has nothing wrong with her shes just got to much energy. The reason why young teenagers are so good in sports is because their so horny. I'm not being stupid its the truth. I'm studing to become a D.O. If you can get her to eat proper and get exercise in her life you will see a better result then her just taking medicne. Medicne alone is not enough.
anitalite
29 Mar 2012
jamesjamin1986: you are right on the mark when you say medicine alone is not enough. my nephew was Dx as bipolar and given meds for it. He continued to eat a poor diet, high in carbs and sugars and fats and he got no exercise to speak of. (He and his dad ate out a lot so they wouldn't have to cook at home). When my nephew went to live with my sister for a while, my sister got him on a well balanced, healthy diet consisting mostly of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, gluten-free, and little red meat - mostly white meats. He walked daily with my sister for exercise. It wasn't long before my nephew's mood swings lessened (which didn't happen with the meds) and eventually my nephew went off his meds altogether and was fine... until he moved back in with his dad (who is also Dx'd bipolar) and started eating poorly again and stopped doing his daily walks. Now his extreme moods swings are back and he's not taking meds. It's a real mess.
anabanana...23 Mar 2012
Yes. I would get another opinion. My daughter was diagnosed with Bipolar Schitzo-affective mood disorder. I went to serveral Doctors because I just could'nt except that. My daugther has been on all the medications you have discribed. risperdal was the one that seemed to cause more problems for my daugther, this medication also made her lactate.
15 year olds have a lot going on in there heads these day or not enough, they are very drama dramatic and don't care who they hurt, affend, amoung other things. First I'd get her Hormones checked include with is a lymes desease test, Thyroid and anemia. All can cause symtoms you are discribing. Your daughter is young and most likely very rebellious. Has she always acted this way and continually gotten worst or has she always acted in the mannor that needed for her to go on all these medications?
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I know very very little about bipolar conditions, but have read as well as heard of this sort of thing happening before with kids, as I'm interested in the youth taking medication and the long term as well as immediate effects. The medications at times in some studies seem to do more harm than good, and that by taking out all of the anti-psychotics and anti-depressants, and only taking Lithium as a stabilizer can at times be the simple solution, less is more, but I would imagine that this may only be true in special cases,
i am 14 and trust me she wasnt misdiagnosed, but the thing is u need to make shure u change her meds becuz on risperdal u can gain lots of wait abilify is like a drug nd ppl get addicted to it, and also it can make u think ur bipolar when ur not and the doctor diagnosis ur daughter w/ it then and celexa is very harmful to ur body specially if u take it a couple times a day but yah u should change her meds for her safety...
I am diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder and have done quite a bit of research on it in order to understand what was going on with me and what I should expect. To put it very simply, schizoaffective disorder is like having schizophrenia and bi polar at the same time so seeing the bipolar symptoms in your daughter makes a lot of sense.
The comment addressing Risperdal is very correct and something to pay attention to. As an antipsychotic it does not work as well as one would expect. The main thing it does for me is to help me cope with the symptoms, it doesn't really make the symptoms go away. It is highly sedative and does cause major weight gain and possible hyperglycemia which could lead to diabetes.
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Cognitive therapy, reality checks, and a combination of the right psychotropic meds for your daughter are her best chance at living a fairly normal life. I am happy that you were willing to get help for her early on so that the disorder hasn't had a chance to manifest itself as something highly treatment resistant.
Both my children are being treated for early signs of the disorder and the meds they take seem to be working really well for them.
Your daughter is blessed with a mother who is not in denial about her condition as who is so willing to educate herself in order to help her daughter.