bipolar disorder in children?

Question

My son is 4 years old and completly out of control. He is extremely violent and hyper. His doctor had diagnosed him with ADHD, but it doesn't stop the violence. He has always been very to himself unless you know him extemely well. He has choked himself and tried to hurt himself numerous times. I have talked to his doctor and he refered him to a pych. but no one will see him beacause he is only 4. He has 2 older sisters that he constantly hurts all the time. I am really concerned and don't know what to do.

Answer 1

i some what know what u r going through. i was having trouble with my oldest child when she was younger. the doctor said at first she was adhd. then they said she was bi-polar. she was put on medicine and i mean several meds. that did her no good.so then one day i told myself i'm not giving her anymore meds. because i had to hold her down to give her the meds and i seen no reason to do that if it was not helping her. she was very mean to everyone. she dropped a t.v on her sisters head, cut her face by throughing a toy at her face.so now we have took her off her meds she is 100% better now. it might be the meds doing alot to do with it. just be carefull. because once some one is labled it is ver hard to get that label tooken off.

Answer 2

Bipolar is a very complicated and severe disorder and making that diagnosis requires symptoms and criteria that can be extremely difficult to determine in children that young.

Does he have inflated self-esteem or grandiose tendencies? Much more talkative than "usual"? Flight of ideas? Distractibility? (this is seen in ADHD as well)... increase in goal-directed activities that may often be very unrealistic? Excessive involvement in harmful but pleasurable activities such as spending sprees, drugs, sex, etc.? These are all symptoms needed to meet criteria for Bipolar Disorder. How do you know if he does or doesn't? He's only four, and some of those can't even apply to 4-year olds.

Making a diagnosis of Bipolar is risky and presumptuous for you or even a psychiatrist at this age. Most clinicians would give him a more ambiguous diagnosis such as Intermittent Explosive Disorder. This is not so strictly defined, but encompasses the behaviors you're seeing.

ADHD is an extremely common diagnosis in children because the hyperactivity and impulsivity is so easily observed. It looks like he needs some intensive behavior-modification therapy and, since he's so young, that'll take the form of parent-training... even if you're an excellent parent. Contact your health insurance provider to find out where you're covered for mental health services and look for someone who can help you treat a young kid with soem troubling behaviors. Best of luck.

Answer 3

I have one very important piece of advice-if you think your child's tantrums are beyond what a normal 4 year old exhibits (and they sound like they are) do not give him meds for ADHD as the stimulants can terribly exacerbate a Bipolar illness if that is what is going on to begin with. I would also highly recommend that you try and videotape or record on a tape recorder your son during one of his episodes and take the tape to the psychiatrist/clinic. Parents of Bipolar children often have difficulty convincing professionals about how bad it gets and this could be helpful-proper diagnosis is the first step.
Second, try a psychiatric clinic that specializes in treating children as there are very few psychiatrists in private practice that treat children, especially those that young. As a last resort, try a children's hospital-they can at least minimally refer you, but children's services are in very short supply.
Lastly I would direct you to the book "The Bipolar Child" by Papolos and Papolos-it truly is the Bible on the topic. Here is the link to their website where you can sign up for the free newsletter for parents: http://www.bipolarchild.com/
The link for the actual newsletters is: http://www.bipolarchild.com/newsletters/index.html
Lastly, here is the link to another informational site which may help with referrals and other info:
http://www.bpso.org/showinfo.php?topic=children.shtml

I am not an expert in this area and have worked with adolescents and adults rather than children most of my career, so I would be outside my expertise to offer any suggestions beyond this.

Answer 4

This is only my experience please don't be offended if it's not of help to you. My daughter was 18 months when I noticed that on days when she had wheat, she was a little monster. She couldn't follow directions that she did on other days. She would have more temper tantrums and was less able to speak. After doing an elimination diet, I took her completely off wheat (very hard in this society). Every couple of months I let her have some again to see if it was true and after about 9 months the reactions stopped.
Then when she was about 3 1/2 years old, she started having awful temper tantrums and horrific nightmares and night terrors where she didn't wake up but just screamed and growled; asking for me yet unable to see me with her open eyes or feel me rocking her. We went back to a naturopathic diet: simplifying what we ate, rotating whole foods, keeping track of moodiness. After alot of trial and error, it turned out to be food colouring! We eliminated it for several years before she could eat it occasionally without reacting. At the peak of her sensitivity, toothpaste with colour in it gave her problems even when she spat most of it out. It is tough but not impossible to eliminate. Watch out for juice, pancake mix, candy, pop. Most foods with artificial food colouring in them are bad food choices anyway with refined flours, hydrogenated oils and preservatives, etc.
I sometimes wonder how many other kids have these symptoms, perhaps more subtly, and the parents just think they are "spirited" and there is nothing to be done about it.
I hope you find your answer for your family.

Answer 5

Don't give up. Go to other doctors, keep pushing. I went through all of this with my son he was 3 yrs when it got really bad. He was voiolent, yelled you name it and he would self inflict pain.Even broke my nose 2 times. Be a pa n the butt and make the doctors really look. Start keeping alog of the outburst or behaviors. That will be your biggest tool. Write down times days what fix when it happeend. It also keeps see any kind of pattern. Good luck