In the past 10 years, I've seen countless of overstimulated or dysregulated children who were misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder; some were given heavy duty antipsychotics, experienced weight gain, and saw no improvement. My experience has been that when children have frequent meltdowns or tantrums, are oppositional, and/or aggressive, a bipolar label is slapped on them because no one can figure out why they're so sensitive.
I use an environmental adjustment approach as a key strategy with my patients, whether they are truly bipolar or not, and focus on normalizing sleep first and foremost. This can be achieved with mild mood stabilizers or natural sleep supplements, and removing anything that might disrupt the circadian rhythm (the list is long) FIRST before using anything heavy duty. For more information on this topic I offer a free mini course at www.drdunckley.com/video-games/
My passion is to make the world aware of this toxic but treatable influence.
Unfortunately, the case of being undiagnosed and untreated can be just as devastating as being misdiagnosed and over-medicated. I started cutting myself at age 8, having delusions at age 10, and having hallucinations at 11. I went along undiagnosed and suffering until I was 37 (first diagnosed as bipolar and then schizophrenic). Of course, back in the early 60's, maybe there was not much that could have been done anyway...except for being stigmatized and possibly institutionalized. And neither of those would have done me any good.
Nevertheless, I am well-adjusted now. But I sure could have used some help as a child.
Hi Donna,
Certainly, missing the diagnosis can have devastating consequences, and I don't want to undermine that risk. My point was really that the electronics' influence worsens mood disorders in general, and that removing video games and computer use for a few weeks causes dramatic improvements whether the person is bipolar or not. I'm finding a lot of my patients who have been put on antipsychotics for "bipolar" disorder, when they didn't need heavy duty medication, and that those who are bipolar have trouble stabilizing until we remove those offenders.
Ten years ago there were about 50,000/year insurance claims with bipolar as the diagnosis, and now there are 800,000/year. We need to learn how to tease out who has true organic illness vs environmental overstimulation, which is particularly difficult in children.
Just curious- were you seen as a child with those complaints and they were ignored? or did it just not get addressed until you were older?
Glad you're doing so well, and again I hope I didn't offend!:-)
Dr D
Oh no -- no offense. I didn't realize you were talking about overstimulation by electronics. I thought you were talking about medications that caused overstimulation...which can happen.
I do think that there are "popular diagnoses of the day" and certainly bipolar disorder might be considered to be one of those. Perhaps along with ADD and autism. I think sometimes the base of a diagnosis widens so much that it ends up including people who are still by far within the normal spectrum of actions/reactions to life. So that it becomes easy for physicians and psychiatrists and mental health professionals to slap the diagnosis of bipolar on just about anyone who seems temporarily out of control or depressed and may vary between the two. And thus the demon of overdiagnosis is born. It takes attention away from the people who are really suffering and places it on celebrities and others who often self-diagnose and often "excuses" their excesses.
I was not diagnosed or treated as a child because I did not let anyone know what was going on. And because I only had depression then. I didn't have my first really manic episode till I was about age 17 through 20, although I can look back and see indications that it was coming. As in definite changes in my sleep habits and severity of depression increasing to a suicidal level. At 37 when I began to also have increased psychosis, I was diagnosed first as bipolar. And then when my manic episodes came under control (or I came down off my "high") the diagnosis was changed to schizoaffective and then chronic schizophrenia. Isn't it funny how diagnoses can change? Seems to happen so much of the time with so many people.
Zyprexa (with bad side effects) controlled everything to the point where I was no longer hospitalized, but left me impaired with both lingering symptoms and the consequences of side effects. Now, I have been on Saphris for about a month and feel like an entirely new (and well) person. Such a relief after all these years.
Thank you for your column and input. I feel at home in the bipolar, depression and schizophrenia connection sites, having had symptoms of all three. Maybe we will meet again!
Thank you for sharing that. Good to hear about Saphris- I haven't used it yet. Were you able to take off any weight from it? (although I realize it's only been a month) I almost never use Zyprexa anymore for the reasons you mentioned.
I'm new to this community, but glad to hear you feel supported, and yes, I hope we run into each other again too!
Take care,
dr D
No weight loss yet on Saphris. I think maybe it messes up my blood sugar a little. After not eating for about 3 hrs I suddenly feel faint and sick and have to eat something substantial to feel right again. So I am eating more calories than I intend to. I would like to stick to about 1400 cals/day but can't seem to be able to sleep at night w/o eating before I take the Saphris. Also made the mistake of thinking all my weight problems were over and stocked up on things that have ALWAYS tempted me, even before Zyprexa. And so stuff has been here in the pantry (and in my belly) when it would have been better left on the store shelf. It is kind of like retraining yourself to do anything. There is a period of trial and error when you are trying to catch your breath and your balance and not overdo or underdo. Guess you know what I'm talking about. Was the same way when I started exercising again.