It's Really Difficult Being A Manic Teen = [

[Teashop]

I have sever mood swings. None of my friends are aware that I have bi-polar. I found when I was 15 years old and I am about to turn 18 on December 27th. I am taking Lithium and it works for maybe a few days, and even with my taking it regularly, it stops working and I feel very depressed, self contious, and lonely. What do I do? I don't even like being alive anymore.

[shes_a_super_freak]

hi, i'm 14 and i think i am bipolar
i ave really bad phases of depression inc. slef harm bullimia and suicidal thoughts as well as phases of hyperactivity and huge screaming rows
i get hyperventilation panic attacks and afterwards sit silently for hours in a sortof trance or sit in a corner screaming over and over as loud as possible
• Separation Anxiety
• Rages & Explosive Temper Tantrums (lasting up to several hours)
• Marked Irritability
• Oppositional Behavior
• Frequent Mood Swings
• Distractibility
• Hyperactivity
• Impulsivity
• Restlessness/ Fidgetiness
• Silliness, Goofiness, Giddiness
• Racing Thoughts
• Aggressive Behavior
• Grandiosity
• Carbohydrate Cravings
• Risk-Taking Behaviors
• Depressed Mood
• Lethargy
• Low Self-Esteem
• Difficulty Getting Up in the Morning
• Social Anxiety
• Oversensitivity to Emotional or Environmental Triggers
i found these on a site as most common features of teen bipolar. they all aplly to me... even the social anxiety..i always thought it was normal to feel sick when u dont know people or embaressed at talking in fron tof people or eating nor anything
i get violent easily and am in psychotherapy? idk wot its called for depression
but the counsellor only ever sees me when im sad
this is ruining my home life school life and social life and i find it hard to wake up every day. ive styarted bunking off school
how can i tell my counseklllor that i tihnk im bipolar without him thinking im an attention seeker
i really cant take any more of people just thinking im a brat

[marsha_ann]

Heavy stress ... LOL ... that's what I have almost daily with my boys !!!!  But I havent noticed any food triggers.  I have tried to watch for that before.  Couldnt find anything... except for eating too much chocolate.  But I dont eat as much of it as I use to (trying to lose some weight now).  

[Crystlas]

Magnesium therapy allowed me to come off of my migraine meds.  I still have break through headaches now and then so I have maxalt on hand and some other dissolvables, I forget the name.  They are in my little migraine care kit I carry around with me.  My doctor gave me samples.  Anyhow, magnesium is all natural.  It is inexpensive too.  I love it.  I have gone from 2 headaches a week to 2 or 3 a year!  Usually heavy stress related or a trigger food I did not watch for.  Hope this helps!

[marsha_ann]

Wow, I've never heard of the Magnesium therapy.  Can I take it while I'm taking migraine prevention meds daily?  Guess I might need to talk to a pharmasist first.  I take Amitriptyline (Elavil) 25mg, and Gabapentin (Neurontin) 300mg  every night.  Well, lately I have been taking the Gabapentin every other night (they cost more than the other one, so I make them last longer).

[Crystlas]

I am a migrainer too!  But, I do not get migraines on wellbutrin.  I am so glad.  It works great for me!  Maybe he can try prozac?   I did not get migraines on it either.  BTW, a natural method for getting rid of migraines is magnesium therapy.  You can get it anywhere there is a pharmacy in the suppliment section.  Take 250mg in the morning and 250mg at night.  It kicked my migraines in the rear starting three years ago, recommended by my nurse practitioner!

[marsha_ann]

He hasnt tried Prozac yet.   Zoloft was the first & only anti-depressant that he's tried.  He was on it for 7-8 mths (cant remember exactly).  

I tried Wellbutrin years ago to help to quit smoking.  It caused me to get bad headaches daily, so I had to quit taking it after a few days.  My friend was on it to help her quit smoking, and she gave me some she had left over... because it wasnt working for her.  I have a history of migraines, so I probably cant take anything that has a side effect of headaches.  Austin has had 2 migraines so far too.  I hope he doesnt continue to get them!!!  I dont wish migraines on anyone !!!!  They are aweful.

[Crystlas]

I am glad he is ok and that you guys were there!  Has he tried Prozac?  I know it is one of the Anit-Depressents prescribed for children.  It is a much older med but every effective.  You have to give AD's a chance.  They can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months for the full effect to kick in, depending on the level of depression.  Mine was so deep and I started Wellbutrin end of January.  I am still not feeling the full effects, but tons better.  I remember the first time I used it and felt fabulous, so I know it is on its way!  

[marsha_ann]

Glad you liked the bubble wrap !   I thought it was neat, & fun.  Its crazy what people can make on the web.  I popped several bubble sheets today myself.  

As for Austin, I figure that by the next time we see his doctor ... if he still feels like he's depressed, she'll probably add an anti-depressant to go along with the Trileptal.  He's tried Zoloft before, and it didnt do anything.  Maybe it wasnt a strong enough dose. I dont know.  But she never increased it.  I know there's other anti-depressants she can try with him too.  

He did have an interesting incident this evening.  Austin was climbing a tree ... and got his leg stuck.  Really stuck.  I didnt know about this until it was all over (I was cooking supper).  But my husband, father-in-law, & brother-in-law had to get a rope & the tractor out to free his leg.  They tied the rope to the limb, and pulled the limb down some with the tractor ... until Austin could get his leg free.  Of course, he thought it was funny.  We're just glad that this didnt happen with no adults around.  If he had lost circulation for hours, he probably would've lost his leg.  

[Crystlas]

OMG, I LOVE the bubble wrap link!  I bookmarked for stress relief.  I have this fetish with bubble wrap.  I can not contain myself from popping the bubbles when I see it!!  Hee hee..and it has MANIC MODE!   Thanks (((giggling)))

[Crystlas]

I can hide my depression really well and no one knows that I am feeling awful.  I am pretty good at it and most people were very surprised at my suicide attempt.   At the time, my sister-in-law's mother was put in the hospital and is still in intensive care.  My attempt was in January.  Anyhow, my family asked how come I did not show signs that I was so deeply depressed.  I told them, I hid it from them because I did not want the focus to be taken away from my SIL.  I was told to not worry next time and to tell them.  I hid my depression by doing what I had to do and escaping into my apartment shutting out the world.  So, if he is feeling ucky and having that out-of-it feeling, then he is still having depressed symptoms even if the other ones go away, like hoplessness and feeling sad.  

[marsha_ann]

Well, Austin seems to be doing well on the Trileptal.  He claims that it makes him more depressed (even though he doesnt act depressed at all), and he claims that he cant draw anymore.  He went through a drawing block about a year ago, and got over it.  I'm sure it's the same thing again.  He just wants to blame it on the medicine.  He's still very defiant ...but I know the meds wont fix that.  He doesnt want to take the med anymore, but I'm making sure he does.  I hope the med will start to make him feel better soon, so he'll realize that it does help.  

Oh, just for fun ... I found this website for stress relief.  For those of you who love bubble wrap ... go here & have a blast !!!  
http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf

[Crystlas]

I am sorry this is so frustrating for you.  I am sorry it is causing so much stress.  I do hope they figure out something soon for your son!  Take care.

[marsha_ann]

Yes, Medicaid will pay for psychologists.  There's just not one in our city that will (not that I know of anyway).  I hate driving back & forth to the next town (30min one way).  Especially with gas prices rising.  

Austin is doing well in school right now.  I think he's really trying to make good grades.  Just hope he'll keep up the great work until the end of May.  

[JillthePill77]

As a Special Education teacher, I have always felt that labels are not nearly as important as treating the symptoms.  A lot of parents feel a need to know what exactly is causing their child's problem.  It's much more important that Austin's behavior and emotions are dealt with in a consistant way and that he is getting the right meds to help him control his problems.  If the doctor is helpful otherwise, you really don't have to agree about the diagnosis so much.  Can you get Psychologists on Medicaid?  Mine is wonderful: and so much more helpful than a my Psychiatrist.  She has plenty of time to listen to EVERYTHING that is happening.  I wouldn't recommend further testing, but therapy would be great.  The big advantage with my Psychologist is that she understands the interaction between medications and my behavior and she really helped me learn to structure my days in a positive way.  She has a much greater ability to influence my Psychologist, too.  A conselor works for the Psychiatrist or the school district and they often can't make candid suggestions to the doctor.  My Psycholist works for me, and has my best interests in mind.

How's everything going at Austin's school?

[marsha_ann]

I do understand all that you're saying.  I know it's got to be difficult to diagnose anyone.  He had psychology testing done 2 yrs ago and here's what that dr wrote up as the Diagnostic Impressions:
*Oppositional Defiant Disorder vs. Conduct Disorder
*Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety and Disturbance of Conduct
*Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS – Asperger’s features
*Generalized Anxiety Disorder
*School Problems
*Parent-Child Relational Problem
*Personality Disorder NOS with antisocial and narcissistic features

That dr also wrote that Austin is “quite egocentric”, “quite distraught”, and is “extremely pessimistic”.  And he disagreed with my question of Bipolar at that time, but he said that it could be a possibility in the future (since it ran in the father’s side of the family).

I guess I really dont care what 'label' they pick ... I just want to know what exactly it is, and how we can help him start to feel better & behave.  There's TOO much stress in this house !!!

[Crystlas]

Ames is right.  In fact, I went to my local Vocational Rehabilitation today for my Psyc evaluation for my job placement.  Anyhow, the Masters level Psychologist that did my eval got into a conversation with me (I hold a degree in social work) surrounding situations such as yours.  He was asking me if I had symptoms as a child and the conversation took off.  I expressed my concern about children being "pumped" full of different medications and how does that effect their brain development.  He said that sadly, diagnosing children is much more difficult than adults due to their age and the differences of symptoms.  The hardest to deal with is ADD/ADHD symptoms versus bipolar disorder.  Unfortunatly children end up as guinea pigs.  The reason being is that ADD/ADHD can mimic bipolar symptoms and vise versa.  So, the situation you are in is quite normal for you and your son.  If he does not take to these meds and she is not complient in working with the both of you I would recommend switching to a psychiatrist that will provide the services you need.  I hope this helps a bit.  

[ames67]

Just because the doctor did not write bipolar as a diagnosis does not mean they do not think that is going on. Once diagnosed it is on the insurance records. Something like Adjustment Disorder or ADHD maybe a lesser diagnosis to get the help you need without the severity of the label, and may actually be doing you a favor. I would ask them point blank what their diagnosis is and why. They should not have a problem telling you. But yes, there is also the issue of how they respond to the medications, which in this arena, is unfortunately how some diagnosis can be made. It is not a perfect science , yet......

[marsha_ann]

I found out from my son's counselor, that the doctor did not write bipolar as a diagnosis in his chart yet.   That aggrevates me !!!!!!  So, she must still not agree thats what he has.  Hopefully at our next appt (in 3 mths), she'll agree then.  I guess she's waiting to see if the Trileptal helps or not.

[marsha_ann]

Did the Trileptal make any of you tired & sluggish?  That's what he complained of yesterday... but I think he just needs to let his body get use to it.  I think the med might have a 'calming' affect on him & he's mistaking it for being tired.  He just started taking a 1/2 pill Monday night.  So he's only had a total of 2 whole pills (300mg) so far.  I think it's going to take a little longer before we see any results. LOL !!!  

So, if this does help his bipolar symptoms ... then what advice do you give for fixing the ODD behaviors???  Because he is VERY defiant !!!!!

[JillthePill77]

I really like Trileptal.  I went off Depakote and on Trileptal and my mood is MUCH better.  I really didn't want to go off the Depakote, but now I'm sooo glad.  I'll need a lot less blood tests too.

[River89]

Trileptal seems to be the "gateway" mood stabilizer. My best friend and I were both diagnosed bipolar and put on Trileptal. I don't like it that much, but I certainly hope it has better results for you! Good luck!
River

[ames67]

You are most welcome. Glad to know my 12 years of graduate school has paid off! I also worked with a psychologist for 4 years who specialized in neuropsychology and bipolar so I learned a couple things :)

[marsha_ann]

Thanks.  I have emailed 2 members of NAMI around here.  One did reply, but the one in my town has not.  I've written her 3 times now.  Not sure why she wont reply.  

I've heard there are some support groups around here, and I will be checking into those. I definately need some support.  This forum has been a great help !!!!  It's nice to have others to talk to about all of this !!!!  

I'll try to check for messages on here more often.  I've just been busy the past week.  We do have a college here.  My mother works there.  I might get her to look up some psychology professors & see if she knows any of them.  Thanks for that idea !!!!

[ames67]

That msut be so frustrating on the one hand, but on the other, at least there are docs out there who are not overdiagnosing. There is a ton of professional debate on whether or not bipolar exists in kids and determining at what age should the diagnosis be given. In terms of finding the right doc, I would contact doctors and/or therapists in your area regardless of whether or not they take medicaid and see if they can refer you to someone who specializes in it. Also, look for any type of bipolar or depression support group or mental health referral agency in your area, such as Catholic Charities, and see if they can make some suggestions. ANother good resource is www.nami.org the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Also, contact any colleges or universities in your area, especially medical schools, and see if they have mental health (counseling/psychology/psychiatry) graduate programs. If you could find a faculty member that researches it or has research studies on it you may be able to get your son involved in a study with medication trials. Hope this helps, best wishes to you both.