cardiofitness

Sources: buy cheap Seroquel

When my son was 4 he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). This was a very tough time for him and us to go through. If I had only known then that it could get a lot worse.

My son had been through play therapy and sessions with a child psychologist. We had tried behavior modification with no success. He was put on medications. We tried all the different kinds. Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and Strattera. We tried different doses.

He was still having difficulty. He was not learning in school and was having major behavior problems. One minute he would be crying like his world was ending and the next laughing hysterically. He was lying, even stole all of our rent money and playing with fire were just some of the things he was doing. He was also not using the bathroom as he should have been. He was using it in his room, on the floor. He talked often about killing himself.

This was so hard for a mother to hear. He was only seven for crying out loud. I felt like a failure and the worst mother in the world. It must have been something that I had done or had not done and I had failed my son in some way.

The school system said he was depressed and that I had to do something. I had been doing everything I could, but it just was not good enough.

My sons pediatrician put him on a low dose of Paxil, an anti-depressant safe for kids.

The week after that my son got much worse. He was hearing voices and talking to people not there. He was paranoid. He was hiding under tables and telling the teachers that there were cameras in the vents recording him. He had been suspended from school for a week for this behavior. His principal had to physically restrain him and said that he probably would not be able to be in any school

I immediately stopped the anti-depressant Paxil.

Back to the psychologists we went. After many sessions with her, she had her ideas of what was wrong. She sent us to a child psychiatrist. After many tests, MRI's, blood work and discussion the psychiatrists said there were two different things it could be. Schizophrenia or Bipolar.

This was so hard to hear, but it was something. Something that could be managed and it was a little relief to know that it was not something I had done as a parent.

He was placed on two medications. He was placed on Risperdal for schizophrenia and Depakote for Bipolar.

After some observation, he was weaned off the Risperdal and schizophrenia was ruled out and we had our diagnosis.

It is so hard to learn that your child has something as serious as Bipolar, also known as Manic Depression. No one wants to ever hear this. He has already been labeled as ADHD and ODD.

Some of the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder fall under the Bipolar symptoms. We had hoped that those were two 'labels' we could remove from my son, but unfortunately that is not the case. We tried weaning off of the Adderall XR, but his behavior once again became uncontrollable.

The rapid mood swings he was going through, one minute crying the next laughing, that is 'cycling'. When an adult has bipolar they cycle and it can last weeks and months. You can see them and they will be depressed and it lasts for a while and they are low. When they go high in the cycle they can act as if they are invincible, like nothing can hurt them. Spend money like it was nothing and put them self in debt. Gambling. Seem manically happy. Both of these can last weeks or month. There never really is an in between, a level of emotions. (Unless they are going through treatment and are on medication)A child cycles rapidly, hundreds of times a day. I could not imagine going through so many emotions, so drastically in moments.

He was considered a problem child, one with discipline issues. Having ADHD and ODD, you have the hope that your child can outgrow these and live a normal happy life. I had caught him one time with the gas can for the lawnmower and matched outside of our house. We had my sister in law living with us at the time. She had premature infants and one was on oxygen and had a tank that would blow up.

Hearing that is is Bipolar, those dreams and hopes come to an end. At least for me they did. I wondered how we could handle this and what this means for the future, his future. Would he ever be happy? I had been diagnosed with depression when I was younger. Did I do this to him?

Since this has been diagnosed, we have had some rough times. He still has problems and sometimes forgets to take his medication in the mornings. Those days are pure hell. We even tried taking him off the Bipolar medication as he got older hoping that he had 'outgrown' it. It got so bad, I almost admitted him into a hospital for help or let him go live with his father.

You may wonder how someone could ever consider doing that to their child. Put him into a hospital? Make him move out? It was so hard thinking about it and almost doing either one of those.

When he was off of his medication he went back to playing with fire, was uncontrollable, lying, laughing manically in my face as I was begging him to please stop. As I had to hold him down to make it stop before he hurt himself or someone else. He had tried to runaway from home. I was at a loss. I was so afraid he was going to burn us all to death in our sleep. I felt so hopeless and helpless and alone.

He went back on his medication and things got a lot better. Things still are not perfect. I am resigned to the fact that they never will be. But things can be okay. We can live with okay. I could not live without my son. I know if he had not been placed on medication he would have hurt himself by now, or would have hurt someone else. I KNOW this. I can feel this in my heart and soul. I KNOW I am doing the right thing for my son.

Now when reading over this it sounds as if i have spawned the demon child. I do not want to give this impression, even if it may seem that way at times. He is a loving, caring, and affectionate child. He is very artistic and loves drawing and creating things. His feelings get hurt so easy. He loves his family and would do anything for his little sister. He is 13, but seems he is younger. He is not slow in the mentally retarded (I hate that phrase) way but his behavior and condition has retarded him in some ways. He is still behind in school and is on an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). He is no where near responsible enough to be allowed to do things other 13 year olds do. He does not trust easy and seems anti-social most of the time. It takes a while for him to get use to someone and to trust them enough to open up.

He swears he will never leave me. That may be true. I know he would not take his medication if he were out on his own, then I would be scared every day about something happening to him.

All I want is for him to be happy. Whatever it is I have to do to see that he is as happy and as healthy as he can possibly be, that is what I will do.