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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dr. Bob on May 29, 2001, at 23:01:54
[from http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010522/msgs/64562.html]
> My son is 14 and has been diagnosed as BP, which is not surprising since his aunt is also BP. He also has Tourettes (mild physical tics)including the ADHD/OCD. His most debilitating problems are his mania along with fears of heights and leaving the house to play (the phobias have been improving lately.} I stopped the ADHD meds (Adderral) because they made the tics worse; it just wasn't worth the trade off. After many changes in meds (luvox/tegretol and now seroquel)(wellbutrin/paxil and now back to wellbutrin)he is taking 300mg of Seroquel 1X/day and 150mg of Wellbutrin 2X/day. I like his psych doc a lot but that doesn't mean she is competent. Is it normal for this many drug changes till the right combo for him is found or am I just impatient? It has been about a year since the BP diagnosis. Is anyone out there taking Seroquel with Wellbutrin and Clonodine for BP and possibly Tourettes? I just want my son to be happy!
Posted by Sulpicia on May 30, 2001, at 17:54:43
In reply to Redirected: Seroquel/Wellbutrin/Clonidine, posted by Dr. Bob on May 29, 2001, at 23:01:54
> Argh!
You've got the full spectrum here, don't you!
As you yourself indicate, the bipolar disorder is the most serious.
ADHD can be severe enough to ruin a life but normally there is some
flexibility in treatment, and it's never an emergency.
Adderall works very well for it but can and often does trigger mania,
not to mention increase tics and OCD stuff.As for the musical med situation, in my experience with bipolar/ADD/HD daughter,
you're about average, or even below average in med switches. I can totally sympathize since
it does take a bit of doing to achieve stability.
My daughter uses 300 mgs of wellbutrin along with lamictal, a mood stabilizer --
and it *did* seem like ages until she stabilized.If your son is doing well don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
I imagine that you've found some sort of talking therapist too? It's essential
for ADHD and bipolar, especially when it includes education and specifically
learning how to recognize mood shifts and triggers thereof.
Good luck to you and BTW, have you found a good on-line site for support?
I can recommend a few if you're interested.
Best,
S.
Posted by mdemaio5602 on May 31, 2001, at 1:09:36
In reply to Re: Redirected: Seroquel/Wellbutrin/Clonidine, posted by Sulpicia on May 30, 2001, at 17:54:43
As for the musical med situation, you're about average, or even below average in med switches.
After I posted my message and then read others I realized I had left out some meds I had forgotten that he had even taken.
it *did* seem like ages until she stabilized.
My son has not stabalized as of yet, at least it doesn't seem that way to me. I guess the big question is: what are reasonable expectations! He has a short fuse, and has trouble keeping still. He has been crying lately but I am presuming it is because the Wellbutrin did not kick in yet.
I imagine that you've found some sort of talking therapist too? It's essential for ADHD and bipolar, especially when it includes education and specifically learning how to recognize mood shifts and triggers thereof.
You are right about going. We have not been seeing a talking therapist but I know we should. As of lately his condition has been stressing me out so much that I have getting ill and I never get sick. My insurance allows me to go to one group in town and I had so much trouble with them, they were so incompetent. I will have to find someone else and pay the 40% out of pocket.
I can recommend a few if you're interested.
Yes, I can use a group that has similar obstacles. I was going to ask his pdoc if she knew of a group. She has started a group at her office for teens, but I would like a group that I could attend also.
Thanks, M.
Posted by Sulpicia on May 31, 2001, at 16:52:17
In reply to Re: Redirected: Seroquel/Wellbutrin/Clonidine, posted by mdemaio5602 on May 31, 2001, at 1:09:36
>
>
> My son has not stabalized as of yet, at least it doesn't seem that way to me. I guess the big question is: what are reasonable expectations! He has a short fuse, and has trouble keeping still. He has been crying lately but I am presuming it is because the Wellbutrin did not kick in yet.
>
It took my daughter 6 months to stabilize. A short fuse and hyperactivity and tears may drive all concerned nuts but he's not in danger of killing himself -- be grateful. :) Ok, now that you've sworn at me in your head,
it goes without saying that you should have a good enough relationship with the pdoc to question stuff. If he's been on wellbutrin for x number of weeks and shows no improvement, speak up. If a higher dose or a longer trial
is recommended, find out why. Many pdocs go slow the AD meds for fear of setting off mania, but if your kid is horribly depressed you probably need to push a bit. Close communication with the pdoc is also essential. Weekly [or
more frequent as warranted] appts prior to stabilization worked well for us, as did planned phone calls 2 and 4 days after any med changes. When things were *really* hairy he gave us his home phone #, tho no doubt all pdocs
have coverage.
> I imagine that you've found some sort of talking therapist too? It's essential for ADHD and bipolar, especially when it includes education and specifically learning how to recognize mood shifts and triggers thereof.
>
> You are right about going. We have not been seeing a talking therapist but I know we should. As of lately his condition has been stressing me out so much that I have getting ill and I never get sick. My insurance allows me to go to one group in town and I had so much trouble with them, they were so incompetent. I will have to find someone else and pay the 40% out of pocket.
>
The most important thing that talking therapy did for her was to begin the educational process of what bipolar is and how to live with it. We can't get inside her head and see when she's slipping off: she is learning to recognize
some of the triggers and more importantly, she's learning how to deal with her unique needs for sleep and nutrition. It also helped US too to have the pdoc's reassurance that things were going well. The fact that he respected
her and validated her efforts to deal with her disorder really made a difference.
>
I can recommend a few if you're interested.
I know the woman who runs this board and she's fabulous.
Ask all the questions you want.
>http://www.angelfire.com/wa/support/bipolar.html
NAMI is essential reading
http://bipolar.nami.org/helpline/bipolar-child.html
Take what you find on the forum here with a grain of salt; the home
page articles are reliable.
http://bipolar.about.com/health/bipolar/cs/menu_kids/index.htm
This site will also lead you to support groups, all dedicated to BP kids
http://www.bpkids.org/
Select bipolar forum here. An excellent online support forum.
http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.eduhttp://www.ndmda.org/
scroll down [left side] to support groups: they are listed by state
and have parent contacts.Last point: as far as I can tell, no pdocs of any worth will work with our
*behavioral health provider* where I live. If I had followed their instructions
my child would be dead now. As soon as I realized what a worthless option this was I
simply found the best pdoc and paid him. Ouch, but worth it.
40% sounds good to me....
> Hang in there! It does get better. BTW, is he able to go to school?
S.
Posted by mdemaio5602 on June 1, 2001, at 0:39:45
In reply to Re: Redirected: Seroquel/Wellbutrin/Clonidine » mdemaio5602, posted by Sulpicia on May 31, 2001, at 16:52:17
Hang in there! It does get better. BTW, is he able to go to school?
I have been home schooling him along with my other two children for the past three years but have decided to send him to public high school this fall. He needs to socialize with kids his age. It has gotten to the point where he does as little as possible which is ruining our relationship. I don't know if it's because I'm the one who is asking, the fact that he is 14, or the BP/ADHD etc...
Good news is that we are going on vacation tomorrow for a week and he seems as if he is looking forward to it. Had to but him computer books as a bribe.
Thanks for the links. They will be my new reading material. Sometimes I feel as if all of my pleasure time reading is going towards psych stuff.
As for his pdoc. I have no problem questioning her and she is always willing to explain everything to me. In fact she is very cordial to me every time I show up there with my papers I have downloaded from a psych or med site/book.Take care, will be back in a week
M. :-)
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