Bipolar Disorder and children.

[rjmclaugh]

Reading a book about ADD, I came across an interesting chapter about Bipolar Disorder. It talks about how doctors did not reconize children could have Bipolar Disorder until 1995, so many people with Bipolar Disorder were misdiagnosed with AD/HD, personality disorder, post-dramatic stress disorder and other things.
When I stop to think about it, I can remember a time, in Elementary school, that the school tried convincing my mom that I had AD/HD. She did not believe them on account of the fact that they were overdiagnosing people at that time, in my area, as having AD/HD. It's good thing she didn't take her word, seeing as stimulants such as ritalin could be harmful for people with Bipolar Disorder. It wasn't until college that I got a correct diagnosis of having Bipolar Disorder.
So anyway, my question is, did any of you get misdiagnosed in Elementary School? If so, how did they try and explain your manic episodes?

 

[dark struggle]

They always suspected that I had some sort of attention hyper active disorder but dad didn't believe in drs or counsolers. So I went all the way through school battling all of this stuff that I didn't understand. On day I was running all over the place interupting and coudn't sit still to the next being in this rage where I would break things through desks over turn chairs ect, and sometimes I wouldn't even remember doing these things so when I told my dad that I never did such things and there they had me on video doing them I was confused and dad thought I was lying to him. So it sounds like its a good thing in a way that dad didn't believe in drs. or counsorlers because thats what they put by brother on was ridlin

 

[Alive again]

If you look into the research. There is a portion of people who have a dual diagnosis of ADHD and BP. However, it is greatly known that you get the bp medicated with mood stabilizers before adding the ritalin or other ADHD meds or you can trigger manias. It is also true that antidepressants can trigger manias, so for those of us who have a predominence of depressive syptoms you also need to stabilize the mood before adding antidepressants. Again, you can trigger manias, or worse, give someone enough energy without improving the mood and increase the risk of suicide. Just my two bits. I for one, and my son (as a child), were misdiagnosed with depression-but our diagnosis is only as good as how honest we are with the docs, and what we are willing to look at and accept. No quick little blood test or xray for a diagnosis, it is symptom based, thus self reported.

 

[dark struggle]

Wow, You sure know alot about this stuff. Thanks because I don't know much....When I was In highschool they gave me antidepresants and It put me into a rage that I couldn't even begin to tell you, for weeks I would go into these and they were more frequent and lasted longer than my normal anger spells.

 

[4Everloved]

Anti-depressants alone make me worse too.

I have a good friend who has bipolar and ADHD and takes medicine for both. Apparently, she was stabilized on bipolar meds first. She was diagnosed at age 15 and does very well for herself. She's attending college and hopes to be a social worker and get off of disability for the first time in her life.

I wish that people in general would be more understanding of mental illness, especially mental illness in children. A lot of innocent children get hurt by misdiagnosis...sorry to hear what you went through as a young girl, dark struggle.

 

[dark struggle]

thanks I survived wich only made me stronger?... I think.

 

[4Everloved]

My Human Behavior prof says, "Anything that doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

And I actually think it's true.

 

[Bellicus]

The teachers at school wanted my parents to check me for ADHD. I guess I was bipolar already then.