In the late 1990s and continuing on into the past decade, bipolar disorder started being diagnosed more and more in children. This became a problem only because the criteria for bipolar disorder in children have never been firmly established. Researchers developed their own set of criteria which contradicted the official diagnostic criteria for the disorder. The research criteria basically did away with the need for a manic or hypomanic episode, and instead replaced it with irritability and anger.
Coincidentally, a few pharmaceutical companies also released a set of medications — called atypical antipsychotics — which can be used to treat certain symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Doctors started diagnosing bipolar disorder in children with a looser set of criteria, and felt more at ease prescribing a treatment for it because these new medications had become available.
This set of circumstances led to a reported 40-fold increase in the past decade of bipolar disorder diagnoses in children. This suggests a pretty obvious problem in the diagnostic criteria, since nothing has changed so much in the past decade to offer a reasonable explanation for this sort of increase.
This issue has gotten more attention as of late because of the DSM-5 revision process. This is the perfect time, after all, to ensure the research criteria match the official diagnostic criteria. Such an effort can put a halt to too-liberal diagnosing of children’s simple bad behavior as a “disorder.” ((We don’t much care for the fast-and-loose way some have diagnosed bipolar disorder in children or the disagreements in the research.))
The result?
A new proposed diagnosis called “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.”
Symptoms of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
A. The disorder is characterized by severe recurrent temper outbursts that are grossly out of proportion in intensity or duration to the situation.
- The temper outbursts are manifest verbally and/or behaviorally, such as in the form of verbal rages or physical aggression towards people or property.
- The temper outbursts are inconsistent with developmental level.
B. Frequency: The temper outbursts occur, on average, three or more times per week.
C. Mood between temper outbursts:
- Nearly every day, most of the day, the mood between temper outbursts is persistently irritable or angry.
- The irritable or angry mood is observable by others (e.g., parents, teachers, peers).
D. Duration: Criteria A-C have been present for 12 or more months. Throughout that time, the person has not had 3 or more consecutive months when they were without the symptoms of Criteria A-C.
The disorder must also be present in 2 or more settings (just like ADHD), and the symptoms must appear between the ages of 6 and 10 (I guess 2 to 5 year olds simply can’t be diagnosed). The diagnosis cannot be made in adults.
Is this a good step forward, or one step back?
Something needed to be done about the mis-diagnosis and over-diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children. Clinicians, pediatricians and family doctors have simply been ignoring the official DSM-IV criteria, and making up their own to justify most of the increase of childhood bipolar diagnoses. This situation needs to end.
Some fear the new proposed disorder is simply too squishy:
[Janet] Wozniak, who opposes the new mood-disorder diagnosis, said she fears that its focus on temper and irritability may capture too many normal but volatile children or delay what might be an appropriate bipolar diagnosis and treatment. Accepting the proposed disorder, she said, is “misguided and unconscionable.”
Wozniak is one of the lead researchers and proponents of kids just being diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder. She, along with Joseph Biederman, believe that a child’s irritability and aggression is just a different form of mania. Talk about stretching the definition of words…
Luckily, reason and logic has won out in the DSM-5 revision committee, and the proposed new diagnosis recognizes that trying to stretch the adult criteria for bipolar disorder simply doesn’t work very well.
Some other local clinicians applauded Leibenluft for challenging what they describe as excessively flexible criteria used to diagnose bipolar disorder in children, leading to an explosion in new cases. They said clinicians should consider other complex causes for severe mood problems, including family trauma or developmental delays.
And that’s the key problem with childhood bipolar disorder diagnoses today — the criteria already are too squishy, and yet are being used to diagnose hundreds of thousands of children.
It’s likely that the proposed diagnosis, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, would help solve this problem, and bring some much-needed sanity back to this area of childhood mental disorders.
Read the full article: Proposed new diagnosis for bipolar disorder divides psychiatrists
31 comments
Yay, can finally comment on this post. I just wanted to say coming up with quaint names for life issues is just wrong. If I am the only one who has the fortitude to say it, the APA is a lost cause. As I have debated with another colleague at a different post, trying to label typical psychological behaviors/experiences as illness is only about medicating them.
Oh, and by the way, I hear from a colleague that there are studies trying to validate the use of opiates to treat depression. What?!
Hi Joel:
I agree. This is absolutely ridiculous! When I first read about the acceptance of the DSM-5 and its release date of May 2013, I realized we are not progressing, we are digressing. The field is becoming an embarrassment to many of us rather than something honorable.
Pathologizing “normal” behavior will do nothing but distract mental health professionals from the more severe illnesses that require our attention. Children will be labeled with “mental problems” based on a poorly defined and under-researched criteria in the DSM-5. The DSM-IV was already a “creation” that resulted in controversial diagnosing, now we have DSM-5. Where is the progress?
This new edition will require clinical insight, discernment, and intuition to properly diagnose and identify illness. The hard part of this, however, is that the DSM is often used to bill for services, so many people will be labeled inappropriately (for minor issues) just for billing!
This is outrageous. You have forgotten what it is to be human, to be normal. These hyper regulators want to define what you are supposed to be like as a child. Instead of leaving children and their parents the room to learn to be human, the hyper regulators are there to interject their supposed expertise. Can’t we find a pill to give the psychiatric union to regulate them instead? Hyper Regulation Control Disorder.
Perhaps those of you who think this is a frivolous diagnosis and this is simply “what it is to be human”, have never experienced a child in the throes of being completely out-of-control. We have been working with professionals since our son was 3 1/2 years old. He is now nine and has started some meds for ADHD which has helped at school. Not so at home. Last night he decided he didn’t want to do something and got upset over a not-so-important matter. He threw pillows -and punches- at his father, said the usual how much he hated us, we’re not his parents (he’s adopted), and pretty much wrecked the living room and hallway. He was screaming loud enough for him to be heard up the street and the doors and windows were closed. Once I was able to calm down, he kept saying ,”I’m so bad, I’m so bad. I can’t control it.”
I don’t care if it has one name or another, it’s still semantics. But please don’t say it’s normal childhood behavior. We are living in hell while we try to help our son.
Let me share some of my own experiences. I too have a son who has the same behavior issues as your son. At first it appeared to others (relatives, neighbors, etc.) as just bad behavior. As my son got older, it got worse with anger episodes. And contrary to what the others that have left comments above believe, there very well may be an issue here. After several months/years searching for an answer, a competent medical professional and hours of research, we came closer to an answer. Once early in our journey, my son was put on the psych drug (Risperdal) at a large hospital’s children’s Psych Unit which resulted with an angry doped up child who woke up every morning screaming in anger. After numerous therapists, psychologists, social workers and psychiatrists our journey continued. At some point our son was diagnosed with Asperger’s which sort of made sense. My son did not figure out how to make friends until he got into the 7th grade. But determination and the belief that he was not bipolar and did not need to be on Risperdal led to a Psychiatrist who was open to thinking and made the decision to treat my son for OCD. Needless to say after some increases in medication, he went from having a meltdown on a daily basis to once a week to once every few months. In a couple of months his behavior improved 200%. Now in the 10th grade my one concern is his ability to control his anger and keep his friends.
In summary, after a few years, the main thing I did learn is that most professionals in this field are mediocre diagnosticians, at best, and if it weren’t for a new diagnosis they would not know what to do.
I would like to offer some suggestions but this is no way stating you should not be under the care of a professional or that your son has the same condition my son has. I would be glad to contact you and share some of my own ideas. I am trying to encourage my wife, a writer, to write a book on the whole experience and maybe someday it may be used to enlighten and/or supplement the psychiatry population during the early years of their education.
Nick,
your comments ring true for me. My grandson has many of the behavioral characteristics that you have described in your son. He has been subjected to countless diagnosis and medications. His current medications have mitigated some of his anger but he cannot remain on them long-term due to the side effects. What has been most amazing to my daughter and me is that the “professionals” often rely on us to suggest medications and then simply write prescriptions. Apparently that is what psychiatrists do these days. I am amazed at the mediocre quality of people in this field!
I have been following the recent research on Ketamine for Bipolar or similar disorders. NIMH is currently recruiting children (ages 6 – 12)for a study and I have found some very knowledgeable professionals associated with this program. Unfortunately, the cohort they are recruiting is in the Northeast and we are on the West Coast. When I discussed my discovery of this program with “professionals” here they professed no knowledge of the work that has been done to date and seemed really quite uninterested. Never-the-less, they were ready to provide another diagnosis if that would help my grandson enter the program.
I too have been struggling with my sons out of control outbursts, verbal rages, physical aggression towards me. I have just been told he has DMDD after 12 years of looking for help for him. I would be very interested in what medications you have tried and what may have worked for your son. We have tried so many things over the years. I want my son to have a better life than this. This has been 12 years of pure hell for both of us.
I agree with Smitty.I’m living a hell with my teenage son.he bullies me, calls me names, punches walls in and is always irritable. Its another job for me to deal with him as a single Mom. I’m happy to see some progress made in new diagnoses as psychiatrist do not like to make bipolar diagnoses before a child turns 18yrs old. This is frustrating because I don’t have a definitive diagnoses other than ADHD and conduct disorder. I am happy to say that he is now taking taking Adderal and I have seen some change so far and I hope it gets much better. Any med takes a good month to show its real effect on a person. I pray you find answers Smitty.
Nick B. above has hit at least one nail on the head. Severe anger and sadness can come from many places, and figuring out where they’re coming from is key. Unfortunately it’s also the hardest part. I’m afraid giving it a separate diagnosis is going to let a lot of psych professionals simply diagnose the kid because they fit the criteria and not go deeper into what is actually causing the problem.
Back in the day, I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. That’s where they used to put angry girls and then they stop looking for other problems. I’m still in therapy, and when I have told any of my psych professionals about the borderline diagnosis, I get this funny “huh??” look from every one of them. It doesn’t fit, but it was a diagnosis and that was good enough.
My question is what happens when these kids become adults? Our issues don’t magically disappear at age 18. If the persistent anger and sadness aren’t mixed episode bipolar disorder, what diagnosis do adults with similar symptoms get? I don’t think it’s a good idea to give kids a diagnosis that automatically disappears in adulthood.
I too have a son I adopted at birth, he is now going on 13. I have tried every day of his life to help him and to get answers to what is wrong with him. He is not a (Normal) child. I did Foster care for 13 years before I adopted him, once I took him I had to give up Foster care because it took all of my energy just to care for him. DMDD is a real disorder.
My daughter has had an emotional problem her whole life. Crying, and anger/rage. I finally discovered DMDD and this is exactly what she has. She looked to be out in space most of the time. And was so irratible. She is on Citalophram and Wellbuterin. BRAN new person! Thank God!
I know exactly how you feel. My daughters fits are literally out of control and her irritability on a daily basis is not normal. Looking at her you would hink she is a psychopath, then she’s saying how she’s just so bad and a bad kid, I’m not sure if the diagnosis is right because I always felt she was bipolar but when this came out they slapped her with this. So for the time being we are actually doing mobile therapy where her therapist.comes to the house to.work with her and the family together so that we can learn how to handle her and deal with the situations when they come up. She has ADHD, DMDD & an Anxiety Disorder and is only taking medication for her ADHD.
We are not talking about normal behavior issues here. Thèse are kids WHO get so angry they punch holes in walls, tear up classrooms, throw chairs Have to brestrained to keep from hurting themselves or someoneeelse. We see glimpses of our children and them they turn into feral children. I Have holes in ever wall of my house hes 10. I dont care What u call it research it figure it out and give us answers
Thanks for your comment. My family struggles with a 14 year old biological child who has been dealing with this his whole life- this is NOT typical in any way. It is frightening and disruptive, even dangerous at times. I am thankful to read about this diagnosis that is REAL.
I have been going through this with my son as well. As a parent I have always struggled with the ” is this just normal kid behavior vs is there actually something wrong with my son” . He has been on ADHD medications since 2nd or 3rd grade and they have helped so much with the hyperactivity and some of the anger outbursts. His issues seem to be worse at school. Something so small, such as not having the right pencil for math (when really it doesn’t matter what pencil he has as long as he has one) can trigger an explosive reaction. Throwing desks,chairs, screaming, yelling hiding under desks to the point where other children have to be removed for there safety. It is unbelievable, stomach turning anxiety everyday wondering if your going to get a phone call from school about what he’s done now. He has made a lot of progress with medication and therapy but still experiences these outburst once in a while and he is now 11. I am pleased to see something else I can at least consider besides them saying yup he’s bi-polar. I do not believe my son has bi-polar there is definitely something else going on and it’s nice to have something else to at least consider. I wish you luck in your journey from one stressed out momma to another, just know that your doing the best you can, I work in the health care filed and it’s easy to give advice but when it comes to your own family it’s easy to second guess your decisions. GOOD LUCK!
I used to teach dancing and had a few students who had mood disorders, mainly from crack addicted Moms.
Hard to work with but really nice kids.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, hospital stays for childhood bipolar disorder increased by 434 percent from 1997 to 2010.
Experts have posited that this is proof that the diagnosis of bipolar disorder is therefore erroneous and driven by greed.
Let me remind you that a prepubescent person could NOT be diagnosed with bipolar disorder until 1994!
Now, think about that for a minute. Do you think that suddenly, psychiatrists who were trained and then practiced in a time when there was no such thing as pediatric bipolar disorder instantly became converts and saw bipolar everywhere? Remember, these are the same bunch of psychiatrist who did not accept the concept of “adult ADHD” and still believe that ADHD magically disappears after puberty! Really?
Alternatively, I would posit that the old school psychiatrist have been slowly and steadily replaced by doctors trained in the modern era, and so children with bipolar disorder (zero before 1994)have been increasingly identified.
If you look retrospectively at adults with bipolar disorder, and one categorizes their childhood behaviors, then it becomes obvious that these bipolar adults showed uniqueness as children. Bipolar disorder did not magically appear when they became adults.
Now, is there misdiagnosis?
Let me answer the question this way. In a study of the diagnostic accuracy of the ER physicians in Harvard training hospitals it was found that diagnostic accuracy was approximately 75%.
For all the people who like numbers, that means that 25% of patients were misdiagnosed by arguably the smartest doctors in the world.
In regard to bipolar disorder the DSM-5 is going backwards, and that, by any definition, is not progress.
jrd
I understand your concerns,as I too worry about the over diagnosis of simple parenting issues and whatnot contributing to a lot of these cases. However, I can see what they did here. My son has self harming uncontrollable behavior. I thought that he would grow out of his behavior. He continued to get more angry. Discipline was a constant in the home, it almost seemed like “too much”, though we balanced camping trips and such, to try to keep the child – parent bond. It was so severe we started weekly counselling which led to a psychiatrist as well. Still increasing, it led to short term treatment facilities, medications, group counselling. The behavior still increased and he was in a behavioral modification residence for mental illness for troubled kids for 8 months with no improvement. The point is, it was hard as hell to get him help for this without the diagnosis of early onset bipolar disorder, which we did end up getting. In fact, because there was aggression instead of mania, he was diagnosed, ODD, Conduct disorder, mood disorder NOS, ADHD, ADD, schizoaffective, just to list a few. If you are to combine the symptoms of these you get a lot of the present symptoms of bipolar, minus 10 (there are a lot of symptoms to meet the criteria of bipolar btw). If you, lets say move for instance, and you bring that said child with you and try to access help, they look at you like a deer in headlights wondering why a child has been diagnosed early – onset bipolar disorder and you have to start therapy from the beginning stages (which actually aggravates any progress that was made). True story. I am now in school myself giving lectures about the toll bipolar plays in the homes of many. And I must say this again, this is not your average tantrum you are dealing with. This is severe and disturbing behavior that causes harm to others and themselves. Also, no amount of discipline will fix the problem. This is what DMDD is, and I am glad that others now have a chance to get support. Unfortunately for our family, it is too late.
Maybe as a mental health professional you see this as a step back. As a special educator and a parent of a child recently diagnosed (she is currently 8 but has shown signs since she was 2 1/2) I see this as progress. It is real. Having people that have no idea what I do as a living tell me that I need to learn to parent and discipline made me sick to my stomach. The school was no help. If her grades were still Honor Roll grades why interfere, even though her behaviors involved a constant interference of the classroom routine. I’m very lucky to have contacts through my job with good psychologists and a BCBA because her school has been zero help. All they’ve done is refer me out to people that have shrugged us off. It’s an ongoing struggle at home over silly little things. Two to three hour tantrums ensue. With friends, a small disagreement becomes cause for a future meltdown. I’m sick of having people refer me to books for a “difficult” or “strong-willed” child. Sick of people telling me to control my child. I have training, a lot, in behavioral methodologies, due to my field. There has always been an underlying mental health component with her, now this diagnosis is a very small step forward. To those in any field that wish to disagree, I invite you into my home for one week. Tell me this is normal.
I see this exact disorder in a child I know. He has received a diagnosis of ‘mild autism’, which frankly I find laughable and at best, inadequate. There are children who do not fit a diagnosis of autism, Aspergers, ADHD or bipolar. This description fits the bill for me. Children who are constantly annoyed, difficult and prone to frequent meltdowns for no explicable reason.
As with any disorder though, what is the point of a diagnosis without appropriate treatment? Diagnoses may make parents feel temporarily better but the crux of the matter is that these children need tailored treatment because they are destroying their own lives and the lives of those around them in the meantime. They need help so that they can function successfully in society and become happy individuals with a chance at a normal life.
First, I agree that BPD is highly over-diagnosed. Having said that, this new diagnosis is just one more way for mental health professionals to move towards more accurate diagnoses. (We must also remember that the diagnosis can only be as accurate as the patient allows, in some cases…if symptoms go unreported or are inaccurately reported, it would take quite the skilled diagnostician to see through the veil.)
I am writing as the adult daughter of a middle-aged parent with this disorder who was never diagnosed with ANYTHING because my family “didn’t believe in that stuff – they weren’t crazy…” and while I am certainly not a professional myself, I have done enough research to satisfy myself,on both this NEW diagnosis, and fetal alcohol syndrome, in addition to his actual learning disabilities and spectrum personality disorders (which are essentially covered here.)
He has refused to get help. As an adult, that’s his choice, just like it was my choice to remove him from my life when I gave him an ultimatum and he made that choice. Finding this diagnosis to explain his behavior, the reason for it, AND the reason I made the decision I did is both affirming and satisfying after 35 years (of my life) feeling like all explanation was beyond reach.
This is why words matter – just so you know.
I am reaching out tonight to anyone. I thought my grandson was just “angry” after his mother and father divorced. I thought because he was too little to express his feelings because he was 4 that he was “acting” out. Tonight after Levi was taken to a hospital last Thursday for his angry outburst he has been diagnosised with Disruptive Mood Disorder. He is now 6 years old. They are wanting to start Tenex. I guess I am not wanting to believe this diagnosis and had hoped they would have an anger management class, I suppose. It is hard, it is hurting my heart for this little one, who has his whole life ahead of him to be categorized and labeled. What is happening in this world? What happened or was there ever family therapy, play therapy, constructive outlets for angry. Levi’s angry didn’t happen overnight but was a gradual transition. Once recognized by his mother, she was told it would be 6 months before they could see a psychologist. In the meantime she was given crisis interventions, which fortunately or unfortunately lead to his admission this past Thursday. I just wanted to vent. In a way I want to put a name to what he is doing but MOST of all I want a constructive way to treat it. It is too bad in our society, a pill fixes everything!
Im just curious how I had a 30 year old client diagnosed with this disorder considering it is pediatric only. She is a dual-diagnosis client who have a mental disabilities and an intellectual disability. Is it possible that they diagnosed her based on her cognitive level?
I completely see this diagnosis as real. Looking back at my childhood, if this diagnosis had been available when I was a child, I would’ve been immediately been diagnosed. I was violent with my parents, angry and short with peers and my siblings, would go into rages and then as soon as I calmed down would be so confused and upset and remorseful over what I had just done. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized the toll it took on my family, and it is likely one of the reasons I couldn’t keep friends. My only wish is that those diagnosed now get treatment that will HELP rather than just cover up the symptoms, because the results could be disastrous otherwise.
My son is 10 years old, and at the moment is in an inpatient facility. The doctor changed his diagnosis from ADHD/ODD to DMDD/ADHD. I have to say the DMDD describes him since he was 6 yrs old. Before age 6 he was still highly difficult and had explosive anger outburst. These types of chikdren do exist, and to say it is not a real disorder does these kids a big diservice.
At school my son gets anger management therapy, he has one on one counseling, and since he was 5 he has been under a child psych docs care.we have given him and we continue to get him the support he needs. But he still gets explosive anger tantrums. Still at age 10 he doesn’t understand why he gets mad.
Maybe more research into the brain activity of these children is needed, and more case studies to recognize kids like my son do exist. I would invite any psychologist or child psychiatric doc to live and observe under my roof any day, then tell me this DMDD does not exist!
I’ve always believed that my son was ODD and maybe borderline BPD. This fits like a glove! But he’s now 22. Why is it that they won’t diagnose over 18 years old? It certainly hasn’t gotten any better over the years. Only now, full grown, he causes more damage to others and surroundings. I threw him, bodily, out of the house a month ago because he lost it over not being given $5 for cigarettes. He was verbally abusive, threatened everyone in the house with bodily harm, and broke down the back door after I got him outside. I thought I was going to have to call the police, again. He lived in his car for 3 weeks and couch surfed with friends. Now, trying to go back to school after 4 years of failed attempts, he’s moved into an apartment close to school. But if he fails this time, or gets thrown out of his apartment, he’s on his own. I’m done. I will never live in the same house with him again.
I BELIEVE IN ADULT DMDD!
DMDD describes my 54 year old husband as well. He has been this way his entire life. He gets upset at the tiniest things people do that dis-please him and he gets mad at inanimate objects as well. Then he has a violent explosion totally out of proportion to what made him mad and destroys things and hurts people. He is always angry & irritable in between tantrums which causes most family & friends to flee from his life. My friends do not want to visit and my children’s friends do not want to visit because of his behavior.
After a melt-down, he feels awful that he can’t control himself and is sorry and tries to fix the things he broke, which doesn’t leave time for him to do the things that really need work, because he is always fixing the things he breaks.
I believe that adult DMDD is a reality that happens to many people who had this disorder as a child and then grew up without any treatment.
It is hell for both the victim and the family.
The only other diagnosis that comes close to describing him is Borderline Personality Disorder.
The first weekend we had my step son, he was 6 years old. I imediately knew he had issues, he had been diagnosed with ADHD. He was violent, he has punched and kicked me, not to mention the violence toward my children. But I had never seen a child violent towards an adult. I blames my husband and his exwife for years for bad parenting, I also thought he was testing me. He is 10 now and was just diagnosed with DMDD/ADHD except I’m not sure I agree with the diagnosis. He is very disruptive in class, eats pens pencils crayons, etc throws things at classmates and teaches. He loves to annoy people, but hates being annoyed. He urinates all over his bedroom, bathroom, in laundry baskets, etc. When you ask him why he says, “I don’t know?” He is not as violent as he once was, but I can not play rough or wrestle with him like I did my kids or he will just randomly slap me, as if he can’t disguish between appropriate play and inappropriate. In gereral he is a happy kid, not always angry like this diagnosis says. He is easily angered and will scream at the top of his lungs, or stomp off slam his door then sit there and throw things or hit his walls. He sneaks food at night and hides it, we don’t starve him, but he is not allowed to get his own food because he makes intentional messes. Easter he got up and opened all of the eggs if he liked what was in there, then he took it if he didn’t like the candy he chewed it up and threw it under the couch, he stole a bunch of stuff out of the eggs including his little sisters pink necklaces and bracelets and hid all the eggs under the couch. There is so much more! Does this really seem like DMDD or something else?
Hello, I have a 10 yr old daughter that have been diagnosed with a least five different mental health illnesses. She has also been on 12 different medications in which none worked. For one whole year my daughter was in several hospitals CBATs, ICBATS and ER rooms. Now I was told that the current medication she has been on for a year isn’t the right treatment for her and none of the others worked either. From her behavior to her selective mutism, depression and poor body image of herself its a battle. Her new doctor wants to complete a med wash because he thinks it’s just behavior but I disagree. When medication was added this was when most of this behavior started. She was on Celexa from saying wow she is doing great to oh my God she wants to kill herself and others. A SSRI open the door and now I see my once shy daughter unable to have a happy childhood. Now DDMD is this possibly what my daughter have and is there a way to treat her so she can live a normal life
Medications have allowed me to see my son’s true sweet & caring self. And for the FIRST TIME in his 14 years, they are allowing him to see the world in a positive manner. On his 3rd day of kindergarten, I received a call from his very experienced teacher. Thankfully we had a well established good repore (as she had also taught my oldest son). I had always been impressed with the patience she had for her class full of squirming kiddos. So my phone rings & she bluntly says, “I’m sorry but I can’t do this another day! I have to ask, is he on any medication for his behavior?” He had always been a handful & even a difficult newborn ~ but never considered anything else. As a nurse, I dove straight into the Internet researching ADHD. My son rated off the charts in every on-line quiz I took! I first tried (very expensive) herbals, as I was hesitant to use stimulants. But it wasn’t until the pediatrician explained that the herbals are basically unregulated & unstudied medications, that I agreed to try a non-stimulant ADHD med. He slept for two days (& I actually was able to hold & snuggle him for the 1st time ~ as he sleeping & wasn’t using me as his personal jungle-gym!). On the 3rd day, he woke up. My mom (also a nurse & very hesitant on meds) visited & said, “I feel like I’ve just met my grandson for the first time! I’m able to see his personality instead of just a ball of energy!” Each medication we tried did improve the symptoms we were hoping to help yet he continued to have difficulties. Here’s his list of current diagnosis and the meds currently used to treat:
*ADHD- Vyvance & Adderall
*ODD-
*Depression- Lexapro (started
after being hospitalized for
suicidal ideation at 13yo)
*GeneralAnxiety vs PanicDisorder
(Lexapro dose increased)
*DMDD- Lamictal & Clonidine
*Sleeping Problems- Melatonin
*Asberger’s ? (has been mention-
ed by numerous therapists
but never officially dx). He has seen therapists since he was 5, had group counseling as well as inpatient & outpatient hospitalizations. I would like to add that I feel terrible guilt that it took so long to get him help yet blessed that I continued to trust my gut & persevere. We now feel a glimmer of hope that he finally has a chance at a normal life. In fact, he has done so well this past year that the doctor is talking about trying to wean him off meds over the summer. This absolutely terrifies us! I truly feel meds has saved my son’s life, as we worry that by now, without medications, he would have attempted suicide or run away from home. And I want to mention the other victims of mental illness ~ the siblings. Their families lives are so controlled by the wellness or exacerbation of their brother’s or sister’s conditions. My
oldest has been such a blessing to all of us, but it has taken a huge toll on him too! At 17yo, he told his girlfriend that if anything happens to my husband & I – he may be responsible for his little brother, (worried that he may not be able to live independently as an adult) & wanted her to know that they may be a package deal so if she had any issues with it to just walk away. Now does that sound like kids w/ “poor parenting”? I think not!