Bi-polar??

Question

Whats the youngest age a child can be diagnosed as bi-polar?? My son displays many of the traits of it, but has been diagnosed oppositional Diffiency Disorder. He is just 7 years old, but his mood swings for happy to angry and if anything bad happens he will fret over it for days and blame himself.

Answer 1

It is unusual for a child to be diagnosed as bipolar, as children have poor impulse control and mood swings NORMALLY. Children have been diagnosed with it though, so if you do suspect, it's worth discussing it with your doctor. Giving him the label unneccessarily may be damaging, but obviously if he needs treatment, get it.

Answer 2

There is no set age for the diagnosis of bipolar. However, it is best to wait until the child is school-age to ensure that the behaviors do not only occur at home. As a therapist, I've seen children as young as four with the diagnosis of bipolar.

In order for a child to receive the diagnosis of bipolar, he or she must have several sequential days of a very depressed mood as well as several sequential days of an elevated mood where he or she is very happy or euphoric.

My suggestion to you is to read up on ODD more because the symptoms you have described sound like he only has ODD. Children with ODD often go from very happy to angry and destructive.

Answer 3

It is hard to say how young. My son is 16 and was diagnosed almost a year ago. Best thing to do is to find a support group in your area, and get all the information you can find on the net. That is what I did. My son went from one doctor who prescribed 7 medications, another doctor gave him 3 meds and the doctor is now working on getting him down to 2. Good luck, and don't just take one doctors word....look around get 2nd and 3rd opinions if you have to.

Answer 4

I don't think there's a "youngest age", but I guess the older the child, the better able they are to communicate how they are feeling, and what they are thinking. My sister suffers from Bi-Polar (what used to be known as manic depression) so I really empathise with you - hope your son gets the help he needs.

My sister's symptoms are very similar to your son's behaviour: she has mood swings from being hypo-manic (overly happy) to ultra depressed. She tends to blame herself and fret/worry about everything. And she feels like she's a failure. She started exhibiting Bi-Polar tendencies in her teens, but it took some trauma in her twenties to trigger the development of full-blown symptoms.

I think there is a real issue in the UK with the unfair stigma attached to mental health disorders. After all, if someone suffers from diabetes or heart problems, they get given medication and people make a fuss of them and feel sympathy. But people who suffer from mental health disorders often get confronted with "Pull yourself together!", as if it's their fault and they can just snap out of it if they tried hard enough!

It is a very real and life-changing condition, so I hope you continue to work with your mental health team, and whatever they "label" your son's condition, be sure to ask lots of questions, and research prescribed drugs thoroughly before letting your son use them. My sis had all kinds of problems finding the right combination of different medication and doses. I think it's a constantly changing situation, so he needs to have regular checks and an ongoing care plan - insist on that. Good luck and hope he manages to keep on top of it.

Answer 5

bipolar most commonly develops in adolescense to young adulthood. however everyone is different..i was diagnosed at 12 but there isn't a time i can remember when i felt okay. i wouldn't jump on it yet, because getting diagnosed is not an easy thing, especially at 7. the medications are not good for children, or anyone for that matter. i struggle with side-effects and the meds are always changing. its like a never-ending battle. good luck

Answer 6

My son is 7 yrs old and has had bipolar in writing since age 4. We started out with a pdd diagnosis and he was set up with play therapy and a tss worker who came out 5 days a week and we pin pointed "cycles" once that was done the dr changed his diagnosis to bipolar and we started meds. There is a history of bipolar in the family so it was likely.. if you are worried just set him up an in take with your local mental health clinic or ask for a name from the PCP for a child mental health unit

Answer 7

MY very best friend was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 12, but after looking back on the situation, her parents realized that she had been exhibiting very telltale signs of it since she was at least 8.
So pretty young kids can exhibit the signs, I guess, but maybe it's not technically diagnosable until a little later.

Answer 8

Not sure. I'm 25 and have just been diagnosed as cyclothymic. Which was described to me as the baby of bi polar. But the docs couldn't do it you have to go to a shrink for an actual diagnosis. But to be honest I've been like this for as long as I can remember. Maybe docs just don't like to label kids. Especially as they probably think it will upset/annoy the parents? Maybe?

Answer 9

nicely. if he punches himself then there might definitly be something there. I war with BiPolar. that's different for each individual like my uncle (who died 2 weeks in the past from a fulfillment and run) he might get suicidal, delusional, and in basic terms undemanding frightening my cousin sounds lots like your brother. different than he gets delusions. like god despatched him to do stuff. now it has gotten to the component that if he would not take his meds-he is going right now to reformatory. BiPolar is an exceedingly severe undertaking. the faster you capture it-the extra useful might he be open to seeing a psychiatrist in basic terms as quickly as. to work out what he thinks. additionally he could take anger managment training. medicine for anger problems- i comprehend temper stablizers help very lots. and there are some different excersises he can do if he can experience himself attending to a snapping component i might attempt to communicate him in to seeing a consultant-even though if its in basic terms as quickly as so which you adult men could have an theory what you're doing upload: whoever mentioned BiPolar swings arent that speedy is faulty. the swifter they are-the extra volatile he would be. I surely have seen people who purely have a considerable swing some situations a three hundred and sixty 5 days. yet I additionally comprehend many people who in good shape the comparable description as your brother

Answer 10

That is a pretty fancy diagnosis. Maybe he has P.A.D.
(parental affected disorder) Most cases involve "only" children, or cases where the parents are quite old and especially when the child was a "mistake" and has siblings that are much older.

If this is the case, try not to overparent, and get him a mentor of an appropriate parental age.