Come Tell Your Story / Early Onset Bipolar Disorder / Why Wasn't I Diagnosed Sooner?!

By Chrispy Thursday, June 05, 2008

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I think I'm a bit manic. IDK.... How long are energy drinks supposed to last? Cause I drank it and it didn't make me hyper at all. For 5 hours I pretty much just sat here all calm, then at 11:00pm I started getting really hyper (and VERY annoying to my family) and I can't sleep because my mind is racing. I was expecting this though. My depressive episodes always come before mania. I was depressed for almost two days (which is a long time for someone who usually has cycles in one day). Anways, my main questions are bellow....

I was bored earlier, so I started looking at some information online about bipolar disorder (I'm bipolar l). I was reading some things about early onset bipolar and about how it's misdiagnosed in kids and how bipolar children have tantrums and act out and all. And I was thinking, I think I've been bipolar since I was a child.... I had long tantrums a LOT from a young age (my twin sister who isn't bipolar didn't), I was diagnosed ODD when I was 12 (the same age of my first suicide attempt) and in my first residential, and I can clearly remember having severe mood swings at a really young age. I now found out since being diagnosed a few months ago that my old therapist from when I was 12 suggested bipolar disorder to my parents, but said they should wait.... I was hospitalized (for the 9^th time in my life) and misdiagnosed with MDD like a year ago when I was CLEARLY manic. Months before being diagnosed bipolar my therapist, teachers, and parents told me I was bipolar. I've been on over 20 different medications since I was 12 (some of them were antidepressants which I think caused my cycling to be so rapid). Why wasn't I diagnosed sooner?! I'm 17 and my disorder has only worsened over the years!

Has anyone else had bipolar when they were a child? Did anyone else struggle with being misdiagnosed?

- Chris

Comments (3) | Add comment

HeyJude

6/ 5/08 1:08pm

Hi Chrispy........there's a book you might read called "The Bipolar Child". It may provide some insights into early onset bipolar and misdiagnosis. I read it a couple years ago - it's a good book. Can't remember the author. You can check it out on the web.

Sorry to hear your moods are so cyclic right now. Caffeine and sugar are probably not a good idea right now.

Wish I had some magic answers --- I do not.

Judy

Hopeful mom

6/ 6/08 10:19am

My son was diagnosed ADHD in 1st grade, Bipolar and ADHD in 5th grade,and ADHD without Bipolar in 7th grade. This year he's had 3 different diagnosises: ADHD, Major Depression, Bipolar, and unspecified mood disorder. What it comes down to is this... the diagnosis doesn't really matter. IT's the treatment that counts. Too much caffeine and sugar makes my son act annoyingly hyper to. Too little sleep makes him depressed for days afterwards. Every so often we have to tweak his meds. Usually with enough sleep, good nutrition, and a little tweaking of meds we bring him back to a "stable" place. He sees the therapist when times get rough and sees his psych doctor every couple of months. We usually have at least one phone call to them between visits. It's a balancing act but well worth it to keep him out of the hospital. I'm not sure why kids are more rapid cyclers. My son will be manic one week and a couple of days later he's sleeping all the time and not interacting with his friends at all.

I think reading "The Bipolar Child" is an excellent idea. I found it to be a great resource to us.

byebyebar

6/ 6/08 12:24pm

If it make you feel any better it took a long time to be dx. I started in 2000 with my first hospital visit for depression ofcourse. I was put on prozac. I the more depressed I got the more they up my prozac. well the more med I got the more manic and wild i got. They did not two and two together thati was bipolar. They just kept saying I was MDD and borderline personalty. They had me on sooooooo much medication. My mom and sister did not see borderline personaly at all in me. After being in the hospital soooooo many times. My mom did so research. She found that MASS gerneral hospital has a bipolar reseach clinic. she called them. We went up there, and they told me you are bipolar type 2. I also rapid cycle.. That was 3 year ago that i was dx with it. I t was a ruff road there for a bit. I have a good doctor now. He is going back to Duke Universty to the school of medcine. Where he was named professor of the year. So now I have to go though get a new one. Well that is it for now

Come Tell Your Story / Early Onset Bipolar Disorder / Why Wasn't I Diagnosed Sooner?!

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