I’m curious if anyone’s child has been diagnosed with pediatric bipolar disorder?
My son has been diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety and Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. The more time goes on I question whether or not he has been misdiagnosed.
What medication regimens have you found to be successful? He just turned 11, and the past five months have gotten much worse. Before that he had a better five months or so.
Yes my oldest daughter who is 13 but they don’t like to call it pediatric bipolar they diagnose it as mood disorder (she’s been listed as mood disorder since age 8 ) when they are younger since turning 10 it’s now listed as bipolar disorder. My daughter is currently in long term residential through our school district to try to stabilize her.
I purchased a genetic prescription test to figure out what works best for her without her being the experiment. She has been on risperdone, Abilify and anxiety medications but none of those work. She is currently on seroquel and seems more stable.
also they cycle normally during fall and spring with behavior or mood. There is a period and they get better and it gets worse and then they start all over again.
Can you explain the mood cycling or point me where I can learn more from a decent source? I have been in a few support groups, but I mostly see posts about breaking things and how to stay calm as a parent. I have googled DMDD, of course. This is the first thing, mood cycles, that sounds familiar.
In our experience all these diagnosis have many areas of overlap...mood disorder is connected with adhd as well as autism level 1 in our sons case. They are connected...the labels help up to a certain point but in our experience it's been helpful to understand more what part is effecting what. Mood disorder is caused by dysregulation or anxiety he is feeling from being overstimulated. So if we can address one area, which is typically overstimulation, then the rest follows suit. Medication also helps tremendously. In our case it's been guanfacine and sertraline.
I wonder if puberty is also playing a role 🤔 We started with Strattera to target anxiety and help a little with ADHD. The rest is only therapy right now 🤷♀️
I recently read a very thorough explanation of the differences & similarities between bipolar and ADHD from ADDitude magazine. Here's the link if you haven't read it:
additudemag.com/adhd-vs-bip...
Dr. James Greenblatt recommends very low dose lithium (orotate) for irritability/anger/aggression associated with ADHD if the child's lithium levels are low and/or if they have a family history of bipolar or substance abuse. Here's an article about it and I recommend reading his book Finally Focused.
finallyfocused.org/low-dose...
In our case, we tested my son's hair with an HTMA test and his lithium levels were barely detectable. Since we have a family history of bipolar, we started him on 1mg lithium orotate per day and it's made a huge difference. His big explosions have vanished.
so is your son diagnosed bipolar? Or adhd?
I’ve asked our doctor about lithium , she said it’s a last resort because it’s really hard on the body!
His diagnosis is severe combined type ADHD. Lithium has a bad rap for its historic use as lithium carbonate (a different formulation) in really high doses (600 - 1200+ mg per day). I’d encourage you and your doctor to read Greenblatt’s article as well as the research he references.
The lithium levels in drinking water have been negatively correlated to violence (more lithium, less violent crime). Low-dose lithium has been shown to be neuroprotective and to prevent dementia. I’d be happy to send you links to research articles as well if you’re interested.
is the article you are referring to the Additude one?
We are struggling so bad right now trying to find something that helps his mood, anger/aggression. We are desperate for something to work. He started Serequel last Wednesday and we already had to stop it as of today. He was having extreme restlessness…
Yes, it was the ADDitude article.
I’m so sorry you’re having such a hard time right now. I’ve been through such desperate, depressing times too. I hope the support you get here helps you persevere - you are not alone!
By any chance, have you done the genetic screening to help with determining which medications are likely to work? Your pediatrician can order the test from Genomind (or another company). Testing is just a cheek swab.
In our case, that test showed us that methylphenidate drugs like Ritalin were unlikely to work for my son. It also showed he has a relatively common genetic mutation that makes it harder to use folate, which is critical to neurotransmitter production. Having that information for your son may be useful. For us, we just started a high dose B vitamin supplement with methylated folate that seems to be really helping.
we did genesight a few years ago! Nothing really significant shows up.
How long did it take the lithium oronatw to be effective? Is it only a 1 mg dose? Is it prescription or over the counter?
Lithium orotate is an over the counter supplement. We've been using the KAL brand liquid drop-ins because Greenblatt recommends liquid. Amazon stopped carrying it but you can buy it direct from KAL:
kalvitamins.com/products/li...
I give my son ~1/3 of dropper (~1.5mg) in the morning only (we have not been successful with afternoon supplements) but Greenblatt recommends a 1/2 dose in the morning and a 1/2 dose in the afternoon to even out the effect. We saw significant improvement in our son within 5 days of starting the lithium.
what else does he take for his adhd. Sorry I’m asking so many questions, just trying to help my son. We are desperate!!
He’s currently taking a lot of supplements. Some we’ll phase out (probiotic and enzymes) and others will be long term. I’ve listed everything below but I want to emphasize that we tested my son’s hair, urine and finally blood (and genetics) so we knew what he needed. I’d recommend a blood panel for magnesium, zinc, copper, lead, iron (ferritin), lithium, folate, Vitamin D and Omegas. If you can’t get that, you can order a hair test (HTMA) from Optimal Health network for ~$100. It’ll at least give you a sense of your child’s mineral levels and heavy metal levels.
EnLyte (prescription multivitamin with methyl folate, other B vitamins & iron)
Lithium orotate, 1-2mg
Omega 3’s (ProOmega 2000 Jr)
Vitamin D, 1000 IU
Zinc, 11mg
Therbiotic kids chewable probiotic
Therbiotic Vitalzymes Enzyme (to breakdown yeast biofilms)
Magnesium citrate, 200mg
The two at the top have made the most obvious improvements for my son but I think the Omegas, Zinc & Vitamin D help too.
Trying to find a combination of medicines that don’t cause irritablity. 
New to Group - always looking for advice. 
My son was recently diagnosed
Meds only somewhat effective 
Son with ADHD, mother with BPD
