Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
my 4 yr old son
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
my 4 yr old son
by Lana, Feb 25, 2000 12:00AM
I have taen my son to the doctor and explained to them that we have a stable living enviornment and he has tramatic fits, calls names, threatens, hits, and will not toilet train. It's almost like he has no conscience at times. It is an every day thing with him, I am very physically and emotionally tired and it is causing stress on my marriage. Could you offer some advice as to signs of Bipolar in children so that when I go to the doctor again I will have a better understanding of the disorder, aso can you tell me some medications that are used to treat children with this disorder? Thank you for any light you may be able to shed on the suject.
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS-M.D-HG, Feb 28, 2000 12:00AM
Dear Lana
I can understand your concern about your son. I can not say that your son has bipolar disorder with the information that was provided. But I can give you some information about the bipolar disorder in children. Bipolar I disorder is rarely diagnosed in prepubertal children. The onset of this disorder can be as early as 8 years old. The diagnostic criteria for a manic episode include a distinct period of an abnormally elevated, expansive or irritable mood that lasts at least one week. In addition, there should be at least three of the following - inflated self esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, pressure to talk, flight of ideas or racing thoughts, distractibility, an increase in goal directed activities etc. Childhood manic episodes can present in a different way. Lithium (Eskalith) has shown good results in the treatment of Bipolar disorder in children. I hope this information is helpful to you.
Sincerely
HFHS-M.D.
I can understand your concern about your son. I can not say that your son has bipolar disorder with the information that was provided. But I can give you some information about the bipolar disorder in children. Bipolar I disorder is rarely diagnosed in prepubertal children. The onset of this disorder can be as early as 8 years old. The diagnostic criteria for a manic episode include a distinct period of an abnormally elevated, expansive or irritable mood that lasts at least one week. In addition, there should be at least three of the following - inflated self esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, pressure to talk, flight of ideas or racing thoughts, distractibility, an increase in goal directed activities etc. Childhood manic episodes can present in a different way. Lithium (Eskalith) has shown good results in the treatment of Bipolar disorder in children. I hope this information is helpful to you.
Sincerely
HFHS-M.D.
Sorry I didn't read this sooner. I have an extremely similar
situation with my 4 yr old son (he is a triplet). We have taken
him to a child psychiatrist who prescribed depakote. This
medicine made him worse. The doctor refused to prescribe lithium, saying that he was too young. He suggested that we go see a counselor and try other methods to deal with his refusal to
obey etc. We are seeking a second opinion from another child
psychiatrist and hope that he will somehow sedate this child. The tantrums, backtalk, hitting are endless. He seems to be bi-polar and shows MOST of the symptoms. The clinginess to his
mother is blanketing but he only exhibits this behavior when his mother or father are present (or both). He has been on various
other medications (inderol, dexadrine, reperdal, tegretol) and
has been seen by neurologists, neuro-psychologists and LCSW's.
What experiences have you had and has it gotten any better?
You can email me at Marc.***@****