I love my almost-nine-year-old daughter with all my heart. I'm not saying that most people don't, but I can quote one doctor at stating that we have "an incredibly close relationship." I've never forgotten that. It breaks my heart with all she goes through. It's really hard to be the tough love parent that has to fuss at her, when I know she's going through so much pain, but somebody has to do it, and God put me in charge of it.
C. came from a family with a bad history. Yes, I know that bipolar is genetic, so maybe I shouldn't question it. I've known since the beginning she had some odd behaviors, but in the beginning I thought I could help her beat it. Then she was diagnosed with bipolar. We "know" she has IBS though she hasn't seen a doctor for it. She truly suffers with bipolar.
Now, however, I'm hearing that she might be having side effects from Depakote. We've been knowing that her hair seems thin, but we never knew it could be related to her meds. Now I'm scared. That's why I got on here and tried to find out whatever I can.
I was AMAZED to find somebody who was Dx'ed with both bipolar and IBS! I'm a testimony to what vitamin B12 shots can do for you, if you can get somebody to give them to you! I get nerve pain down my leg, and I used to get shots for it, that would actually help.
I'm REALLY curious now if she's low on B12. Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if we could get her OFF this terrible medicine based on simple things like vitamins! We tried the sugar thing. She's never really been in to sugar, besides a very rare exception. She gets stomach aches from sugar, so she stays away from it. But yet I hear it all the time, "You need to cut down on her sugar!" She isn't sugared-up; she's manic.
One of the posts asked why more people don't pay attention to simple things like this. I think because they miss it, unless they're searching! I never would have thought of vitamins, but when you said you had two diagnoses that my daughter does, THAT struck a chord! I'm running right out tomorrow and getting her on vitamin B12! I'll give it a few weeks, and then I'll try to re-find this place and give you an update.
Thank you so much for this info!
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Originally Posted by Lily
Hello, I am recovering from a long long term B12 deficiency that it took FOUR doctors and what seemed like an eternity to diagnose. The peripheral neuropathy began as numbness and tingling in my hands and feet. After awhile there was burning pain at the right of my spine and it turned into an electrical current that went into the base of my skull and made my face numb. The reason that they couldn't seem to diagnose my deficiency was that the labs showed B12 at the extreme low end but not below what they consider normal. The damage to my spine and brain did not show up on the MRIs. Because of that I was completely written off. I was told that I have bipolar disorder, irritable bowel, and to take a montly B12 shot. Now I am fighting to find the cause of the malabsorption, but even the gastroenterologist doesn't believe that B12 deficiency can cause that amount of neuropathy before the B12 level goes below that ridiculous low value. Somehow I will find the cause of the deficiency, but it has taken years and I have lost chances at the career of my choice. For anyone who has neurological damage and is/was not believed, you are definitely not alone. Unfortunately for me I now have a "label" in my medical file as not being mentally well because I came into the doctor's office with mood swings, mental confusion and memory loss.
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