I have seen this on another forum and just had to bring it up here to see what you think. I am outraged by these irresponsible parents and think they should be in jail, I also think that somewhere the system let this child down by not catching on to her parents bad behavior. How many of you have had your children dx'd at so young of an age? I suspent my son might have Bi-Polar but the p-doc we see doesn't want to put that DX on him yet and he's 10 going on 11.

Here's the link to the story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070324/...ugged_to_death

Be warned it is upsetting and a horrible tragedy. I didn't see anything on it here and thought that it was worth posting about because it really upset me a lot and I want your feedback on this and the other question I asked about age of DX's.

There is always a lot of concern with medicating children. Today more and more children are being DX'd as bipolar, and many are concerned about that. Bipolar disorder is a major mental illness, yet many people you talk to consider it a mild social disease; it is not. It is the 2nd worst of the mental illnesses, and all mental illnesses come with with a lot of social stigma attached.
When the child reaches adulthood, do you want them to own up to having a mental illness, and not get insurance, or employment because of it.
The drugs for bipolar are powerful drugs tested for use on adults, not for use on the growing brains of children.
Yes, of course, there are children with these diseases, but why is the rate of DXing them skyrocketing??

I worry about medications my son takes to manage his seizures and behaviors and they are indeed powerful drugs. But this particular case they say that they gave this mother a ten-day supply and that was 35 pills, which to me says one pill twice a day and one and a half at bedtime. The night she died they apparently gave her two and a half pills of clonidine.

It's not a case of the child being overmedicated by the dr's prescribing too much medication, but rather the parents taking it on themselves to overmedicate their child to keep them out of their hair. That is what has me angry, that the parents outright overmedicated their dd to the point of OD'n.

My own son takes one and half of clonidine at bedtime and it helps him sleep, it's not a behavior medication, its a blood pressure medication giving to help keep a child calmer and give them a better chance of being able to control themselves as far as I understand the reasons of it being given at least to my child.

oh dear lord. This is horrible. My son is on 0.1 mgs of clonodine for his blood pressure and sleep. He went from 157/99 to 118/69. It helps his sleep (not much better, but it helps.)

He can barely walk at night after he takes it with his Klonopin. *which is also part of the reason he takes both, he sleep walks.* I can't imagine a parent over dosing a kid on purpose!

And my pdoc wouldn't dx Wes until he ended up having a psycotic episode at 12 and even then they were cautious. Extreme monitoring and sometimes weekly visits and weekly blood draws.

I guess you just have to have a great psyc team. I feel so fortunate!!

I think this is criminal. UGGGH

Every child, no matter what the illness, can learn coping skills. It just takes alot of very hard work and lots of therapy. Why does everyone think there is a magic pill that will make our kids "normal"? Evil.

Wes was very rambunkious. Very curious. Tantrummy and screamy. And in retrospect, he was halucinating. I would never think to have put him on the meds he's on now when he was 4. Never. Unless a child is a harm to themselves or others, just like any of us grownups, they shouldn't be medicated to that extent.

Oh UGGH.

If my son wasn't being aggressive and hurting himself and others I wouldn't put him on anything, but that's an ideal world and with an ideal situation. My son is autistic and would not sleep without the medication he takes at night nor would he be able to concentrate at school. He would be having seizures galore and God knows how bad the brain damage would be from uncontrolled seizing. It breaks my heart that we have to give him medication, but I know firsthand how much of a difference they can make in a person's life once you've found the right ones.

It sounds like your son too needs his medication to help him sleep well and to get through the days Mrs. Bear, I really understand the internal conflict about it and hope that someday my son can go without medications, my cousin outgrew seizures and so maybe my son will as well, just after puberty. I know they like you to try no medication, weaning you off it if you don't see any seizures for two years, we almost made it that far but he had two seizures last year and one this year, so we've got to wait a little longer before trying to get him off the lamictal he takes for controlling them.

I feel fortunate too to have a great team of dr's to help me with my son. I don't know that this family had the same kind of support that you and I have for our sons, but they surely did sound like they were abusing the drug with their kids. I agree it is criminal. But like you said, there really isn't a magic pill that will make our kids "normal" and I have accepted that he will always be autistic, yet I have hope for him to get off medication when he's older because the first psychiatrist told us that it IS possible he can learn coping skills and not need anything anymore once he gets around twelve or so.

This is the response I used on the other forum where it was origionally posted, but decided to use it here as well. What happened to this girl was HORRIBLE; but I worry that its going to be used as an anti-medication stand for those opposed to medication.

Nothing irritates me more then a stranger asssuming they know more about my child, his diagnosis, and his medications then does his doctor, pdoc, mother, father, and people who have lived with said child and said child's bipolar disorder.

My child is bipolar. My child required these "strong and overprescribed" drugs for a number of years. I thank god that these drugs were available, and my child was able to recieve help. To heck with anyone with a differing opinion because quite frankly, they dont know squat about my child and his individual needs.

My son is not currently on the zyprexa for the first time in 4 years; but I wouldn't hesitate to use it again if the need ever arises.
Bobi

PS my son was DXed at age 6 - but the symptoms started in infancy. I would not of DXed him that young - but it was helpful in determining a DX in the first grade.

I understand your concern. I have people tell me all the time about how my son shouldn't be taking such "powerful and dangerous" drugs.

But they don't walk in my or my son's shoes. It took us years to get to this point where the meds are right. And this could change at any moment or any day. Wes is so fragile, we have no choice. None.

Neither does your son.

Neither do I.

My response to these people is usually to try and educate and induce empathy for any one who may be in my son's situation. And if they don't get it? Screw em. They aren't worth my time. But maybe I have left them with something to think about.

These two "parents" need to have their kids taken away and under the care of someone who can properly medicate them. Once the parents are re-educated and can show they understand how serious this disorder is and how the meds can help their children function, maybe maybe they could be with their kids again. My greatest hope is that the news coverage will continue after the trial. Show that the kids are well on the proper dose of their medication. And hopefully show that the parents were able to be taught and get their kids back. But I am afraid that won't happen.

I just get so mad because I fight so hard for Wes. I fight for him to have the right to go to school. I fight to keep him alive and with me. I fight to keep his meds at the lowest dose with the highest theraputic value. I am fighting for his life.

So do you, Bobi. I know you do.

PS: Wes was diagnosed with ADHD and depression at 7. He went psycotic from the ritalin at 10. But the docs played around with bipolar until he was 12 and the schizto-affective until last year. And yes, in retrospect, his symptoms manifested in infancy. It is a long and painful road. I wish this on no one.

(Newcomer...)
As to why people try to rely on a magic pill that will make our kids "normal"...
Typically it's because we're so desperate, that we'll try anything! Obviously, we should NEVER go above and beyond what the doctors order, but sometimes that in itself can be too much!
Example, my daughter has definitely been testing the limits today. She's been in complete mania all day, with no crashes, so to speak. Whereas we would normally 'only' give her perphenazine once/day in the morning, we had to give her an extra two tonight, just to calm her down enough to get her in the bed. Here it is, 2 a.m., and she's still awake, and now she's asking for food.
PLEASE don't think I'm trying to say that over-medicating is a good thing. Our prescription states 1-2 up to three times / day. We just hate giving her a single bit more than necessary. My response is solely on why we TRY to rely on meds to make our child more normal. I can understand that feeling, because our daughter is so out of control. If I could somehow take her place and give her a more regulated life, I would do so in a moment. As much as we've TRIED to do, it hasn't been enough, and she suffers, at only 9 years old.