We did it again. We outgrew our thread. So please gather here and we'll help each other make sense of this unwelcome visitor that has invaded our children's lives.
Is there any light up there, Tsohl??? My biggest problem right now is differentiating the teen behavior from BP behavior. Those are the times that I wonder if Erin really has BP....I still have my doubts sometimes. Perhaps it is denial????
It's not easy.....I guess what has me doubting is when we got together with other parents in the area. They were talking about some of the stuff that their kids were doing and it made me think....I guess moreso about Kait than Erin. The mom told me how she was really worried about her son....that he had started coming home from school at 3pm totally exhausted and slept from that time through the night. She thought for sure it was drugs. Turns out that she found out that he was getting on his bike and going to his girlfriend's house to have sex each night at 3am each morning. This so happens to be Erin's best girlfriend and her boyfriend was the one that she was mad at for a while and made up with....turns out that another girl was telling them both things each had said about the other which was not true. And how her daughter who is a straight A student and never had problems was going out with Victor's brother and she was worried like crazy about that situation. She went on to tell me how her daughter had stayed behind to support her best friend through her mother being in the hospital with cancer while they went on a family camping trip. The daughter ended up having a party in their home while they were away.
Anyway....it made me think about how things have changed and perhaps what I was sensing as mania was actually the typical teenage behavior of the times???
With Erin....the suicide attempts and depression were real concerns and don't have me questioning it as much. I read alot of similarities here but without psychosis and full rages it is really diffficult to feel 100% sure.
Jules - that's great news about your son! It sounds like all of the intensive help is starting to break through! I wouldn't worry about the bipolar diagnosis until they get further along. It really doesn't matter what the name is as long as he gets help. I also think that everyone experiences BP differently. Zac does not usually have the bouts of depression (although he was more depressed early on), but has exprerienced the extreme irritability and frustration. When he was first diagnosed, it was iffy - maybe BP, maybe not, but as the year went on and all of the behaviors with it, the pdoc became more convinced, as did we. His moods were unstable and that was manifested in a myriad of different ways. I am hoping and praying that this is the beginning of better news for your son and you!
Goody - Zac also worries about OCD. He has told more than one therapist that he has "magical thinking" and is obsessive about some things. You'll see what the pdoc says. I'm glad to hear that Erin has been in a better mood and can't wait to hear what she finally decides about Idol! I can just picture the two of you singing at the top of your lungs! I'm also anxious to hear what the pdoc says at tomorrow's visit.
Tshol- I get optical migraines, too, and they can be scary. The first time I got one I thought I was having a stroke! Hope you are feeling better! I also can't wait to pick your brain about small liberal arts colleges!
Zac had a good weekend. He broke into Semi-finals, but not Finals and was somewhat disappointed. I reminded him that most of these kids have been going to tournaments the whole year and he really missed most of September through early February, so he should be proud of his accomplishment. He was with the best kids in the state and broke into Semis with a piece he has only been practicing for one week! He goes to Districts in 2 weeks.
Tomorrow he starts back to school with 4 classes. He's nervous, but looking forward to it. I'll keep you all posted on his progress.
The Scrabble games continue and I think they are helping keep all of us sane. We haven't had an activity that all three of us could share happily for a long time and we are enjoying the comraderie and the competition. Zac is getting great at it! Has at least one 7 letter word almost every game!
I am so thankful for the "normalcy" we are living with right now. Zac is in his activities, busy, getting a decent night's sleep more often, and in good humor. It is such a gift. It is amazing how the things that other parents with teenagers take for granted is something we all long for. I will always have my antenna up with him, but I am delighted to get some respite from the constant stress and worry. I am praying and hoping and wishing it lasts because I am so happy to see him happy again. The biggest difference I see is that he seems more controlled, less intense and hyper and "on" than before, and he can sit still for longer periods of time. I don't think the Concerta could have worked so well if his BP meds weren't working, but the combination of the three meds seem to really be helping.
Well, it's getting late, but I couldn't let the weekend go by without reaching out to all of you. Good night, my friends, and sweet dreams.
Since I haven't shut down yet, I wanted to respond to your thoughts. My sense is that you have better intuition than almost anyone I know and I don't think it's typical teenage behavior. Although there are elements of typical teenage behavior and some kids are more out of control than others, I think the family history, combined with the sustained difficult behavior, warrants your concern.
With Erin I think it's clearer because of the suicide attempts and the other behaviors, but when you listed everything that had gone on with Kait since she was 14, it certainly seems worth the investigation, especially since she herself is sensing something.
I think all of us sometimes wonder if BP is the right diagnosis, (or any of the other acronyms we learn along the way - ADHD, OCD, PSTD, etc.), but as we start to look at the historical data of our children and the extreme behaviors, it starts to paint a picture that something greater than teenage hormones is at work. With Zac, I didn't know what to deal with first, but I realized that there was simply too much going on at once to consider it "normal".
I don't know if this helps or not, but I wanted to respond because I know how crazy we can all makes ourselves with the "What if I'm wrong" thoughts!
Thanks hope, i am trying not to focus on the bp, i know he has things going on in his head. you can hear on the phone how his moods are changing with such extreme. Im sure its a combination of his missing us, the intenese therapy, the alone time with himself, the meetings where he is listening to lots of people and their life stories. I have to just keep saying that this is a good thing.. He is a good hearted boy, but for the past almost a year we didnt know who he was anymore. really, didnt know who he was..i know that sounds unbelievable, but its true. I keep saying to myself that he is in rehab, not a prison. For sure, if he kept up with using drugs he would have wound up dead or in prison..and that would have broken his soul. Im going to see if maybe i can talk to his pdoc this week. again with him being 20 yrs old, its difficult. He just sounded so depressed. Im worried.
This so happens to be Erin's best girlfriend and her boyfriend was the one that she was mad at for a while and made up with....turns out that another girl was telling them both things each had said about the other which was not true. And how her daughter who is a straight A student and never had problems was going out with Victor's brother and she was worried like crazy about that situation. She went on to tell me how her daughter had stayed behind to support her best friend through her mother being in the hospital with cancer while they went on a family camping trip. The daughter ended up having a party in their home while they were away. 
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