Is it possible that my 8 year old could have bipolar

[hell1971]

Hi My 8 year old girl has always been a difficult child since birth, until she was three we were told she had milk and soya intolerance, she used to cry for hours and clench her tummy, her mood seem to run in cycles, good one week, terrible the next, eventually at three when her tantrums were hours long and she constantly complained of tummy ache neck ache shoulder ache and she got very upset and scared all the time she was diagnosed with sensory issues with an GAD anxiety disorder, yes she suffers from anxiety but only when she is going through a bad period, now 8 and still we have periods of very low mood she complains of symptomatic complaints, withdraws from friends, doesnt want to go to school ect.. then she can cope better and starts doing normal kid stuff but is still very contrary, one minute happy next having a 1-3 hour meltdown, she is irritable, tired and very aggressive to her siblings. During her really bad times since she was five she has expressed that she wants to die and says she wants to kill herself, She is being assessed again and they have said its not typical behaviour for anxiety, she is having an eeg. She is an A student and she has very little problems at school ect.. sadness and not wanting to join in but thats all. we have been reassured that they are going to investigate everything this time as like us they feel it has gone on too long. We have three other children who do not suffer like her. As parents we find it hard to understand and manage her whilst ensuring the other children dont become overwhelmed by the situation, we have been told that they will also do some work with the younger sibling as she is most effected, they have put it to a board and have said they have further assesments to do. I think she is baffling them also, when they do an assesment they expect her to respond in a certain way and she doesnt do what they expect so they arnt saying much at this point and I feel helpless. I feel that she has waited long enough to grow out of it and I am concerned what impact this will have on her long term. She is a very lovable child with an outstanding forward thinking intelligence, I think sometimes this is some of the problem, she doesnt have the emotional maturity to cope with her thoughts, she describes her worries as heaps of moving bugs in her head and she knows what some of them are but not all of them, she also has hullucinations when she is really overwhelmed but we are unsure if these are a coping/justifying method for behaviour or she really does think she sees scarey people. Does anyone have any possible theories as I have looked at all childhood disorders and no one fits. Thank you

[shortcircuited]

Have you considered she might have some degree of autism?  The allergies remind me of my good friend's son who is autistic and has many food allergies.  He seemed fine until vaccination at age 2 (which contained egg albumen--he's allergic.)

Plus, there are several autistic kids in our area schools who behave similarly to what you described.

She could have more than one thing going on.  I know people with autism, bipolar, and seizures all together.

[hell1971]

Hi

Thank you, I hope you are right. Although my instinct is telling me different. My son was a full on boy who also was at times an emotionally volitile child now 17 he has also mellowed, my 14 year old girl is a perfectionist and is in the gifted class also has some anxiety and my youngest is a free spririt and nothing much gets her down, all my kids are differrent but with my 8 year old she is one of a kind and her behaviour is very very different from anything I have ever encounterred with my other children or friends children, we have been working on behaviour modification and anxiety control for 4 years and it has made little difference, something I have noticed is that with her you can not make a meltdown happen, even if you push all the right buttons this is why they beleive it is not behaviour problems as such, something happens internally and she changes then thick and fast she becomes depressed, anxious and very distressed. She was having cognitive behaviour therapy just recently, they first thought she had some hidden underlying reason for her behaviours, they dont think this is the case now as her behaviour is so inconsistant. What they have said is that with anxiety it is usually consistant even with generalised anxiety its not something the comes and goes like it does with her, the only thing that is consistant with her is her inconsistancy and this rapid change is confusing them. I hope its just something that can be fixed with therapy and time but as time is going on we can see it developing and feel helpless at this stage to stop it. Thank you for the hope

[therese83]

I had depression and anxiety in childhood and I grew out of it.  She is very young.

Have you researched 'gifted and talented kids'  this is pretty typical behaviour of such a child.  She is probably a highly sensitive child whos emotional maturity is behind the thinking as you said.  But chances are it will catch up and things will even out.

My son (diagnosed ADHD/high inteligence) we used behaviour management not drugs.  He was soooo difficult as a child, he is not the easiest teenager (aged 17) and all the other kids, whose mothers used to hide when they saw my son coming, are kicking up goodtime.  Whereas he just mellowed out.

[bernie40]

Yes we do have to stay strong, I admit that at times I end up in floods of tears with sheer frustration but after one of his "goes" he snaps straight into nice kid as if nothing has happened.  He hasn't had a major go for a while, must be at least 4 months, if he does have another violent rage then I shall be taking him back to the doctor.  None of my other children are like him, I have 4.  So I know it can't be my parenting!  What I do want though is help and support with how to deal with him.  The mood swings are daily but as I say the violent swings are getting more infrequent.

It took till I was 24 before I got my first official diagnosis of bp and I then dropped out of the mental health system, it was another 14 years before I got to a point where I couldn't cope and got put on medication.  I won't let him suffer for as long as I did.

All the best, if you ever want to pm me on here please feel free.

[hell1971]

Thank you so much for responding. Its so good to know I am not alone, the docs are taking her seriously as they picked her case up during the last depression so they could see, I think they have spoken to her about her suicidal thoughts and I guess she must have opened up to them about them but they are just assessing and its taking so long, I feel sometimes they dont really beleive me but im sure this is not true. They have asked for video of her behaviours, I have managed to catch one of our chats on camera but I am waiting for the opportunity to get a rage although because this is so crazy and I need to keep hersafe Im not sure how I am actually going to get it on camera but I am trying hard to try and anticipate but have missed a few opportunities, its been a month or so since her last so I know its coming. You could also try and get something on camera, I am happy for them to tell me what I am doing wrong if anything but after all this time we have tried everything and when its going to happen its going to happen, I have learnt that you can not make one happen and thats why I am sure something happens internally that makes her snap and she looses all control, I think no one can know how this feels unless you live it. thanks again I wish you the best with your child, remember its not your fault or his and keep going, I will not let any doc tell me my daughter doesnt need help, im lucky this hasnt happened yet but if it did I am ready...

[bernie40]

I have read all that you and the others have written.  Your daughter sounds a lot like my son, he is 12 with the exception that he doesn't excatly get depressed but he does shut himself in his room and not socialize.  He also shows none of the behaviour at school and they all think he is wonderful, and I think I wish they could see him at home!

His episodes of violent rage have reduced as he gets older but they are worse when they do happen.  He gets verbally aggressive with us all, says we are all against him and that he wishes he wasn't here.  I have found knives hidden in his room but when I ask him about it he pretends to look surprised.

I have tried speaking to our doctor but they just aren't interested, because he is doing well at school and because the violent outbursts are relatively infrequent they don't consider it a problem.

I am bipolar and I truly believe that he is also bipolar and has been since the age of about 2 which is when this all started.

I hope that your daughters outbursts also become less frequent, but yes I can understand completely your worry with regard to the depression.

I'm sorry I haven't given you any answers but I just wanted you to know that you are not alone.

All the best.