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Has anyone ever heard of using this drug in a 6 yr old with Down Syndrome who is NOT Bipolar or Schizophrenic? The doctor who put him on it was supposed to be treating him for ADHD but EVERY health provider has been shocked and some have even gone so far as to tell his mom that she doesn't know what she's talking about until she shows his prescription label. I can find no reference to using this drug in treating children with Down's. Anyone else ever heard of this?

2007-10-21 05:05:16 · 2 answers · asked by inkmama 2 in Health Mental Health

I know it is used for treating bipolar disorder and schizophrenia...I want to know if there are any other cases of using it for treating ADHD in a Down Syndrome child.

2007-10-21 05:47:56 · update #1

2 answers

I suspect that the doctor is attempting to treat hyperactivity as "mania", a symptom associated with bipolar disorder. Doing so would not be unheard of, but it could take people by surprise. Too many people are too caught up in diagnoses and medications for specific diagnoses. They want to understand why someone is receiving a medication, and they should, but explaining medical procedures are only now being taught in medical school or any other school. Thus, many doctors feel little need to make their decisions clear to anyone, even the patient. Sometimes it is just a hunch based on years of experience and we pay for those hunches, but how do you explain a hunch? Wouldn't that make the patient uneasy? The patient wants to feel the doctor KNOWS what he is doing, but often the doctor is being a scientist trying things out, looking for the answer.
Also, medication was developed to treat SYMPTOMS of a disease or disorder, not to treat a DIAGNOSIS. There is a big difference that the general public does not appear to understand. Giving diagnoses and treatments to meet diagnoses are often done just to receive insurance payments. Diagnoses do not define realities. This doctor may be treating a symptom that a PERSON shows, not a diagnosis.

2007-10-21 08:23:37 · answer #1 · answered by cavassi 7 · 0 0

abilify is for people who have bipolar disorder not down syndrome..

2007-10-21 05:10:50 · answer #2 · answered by B 5 · 0 1

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