Hi all, it has been a long time since I have been here to NT and I think this may be the first time to this particular forum. Anyway, I do know some here at NT and that is why I have decided to post this here as I need some of their wise advise and who ever else has any input.

I have a 15, well 16 in August yr old son who is diagnosed as Bipolar with severe anxiety and ADD not to mention anger issues. He is having a terrible time with school. Getting pretty much all Es. He has a tendency to wait until around grade time and when push comes to shove then clamps down on his work, if he doesn't like a teacher or thinks a teacher doesn't like him he won't do his work, if he doesn't feel good he puts his head down and sleeps, he vomits almost every morning before school and most days during school due I believe in large part to his anxiety. His teachers all know he is intelligent and when he likes them they like him greatly. Everybody in the school knows him for some reason or another and he has a great amount of friends and is hugely liked, feared also he will not tolerate a bully. He is having to go to summer school because he has already gotten behind by two classes, failing last year, and needs to make them up in order to go to Skills Center in fall to take a couple of hours of Production Development which I think will be wonderful for him and he is looking forward to. He had a lot of people pull a lot of strings for him to be able to take this class because he really "legally" does not qualify for it. Grades are too bad. So yesterday I finally got final grades and he has 4 Es, 2 Cs and an S.

I know this is alot to tell you but this is the whole thing, I am thinking of taking him out of mainstream and letting him go to adult ed. Not so much for the GED but his diploma. When I did it, I am also Bipolar but type 2, I took the GED but scored so high in the nation that I got enough credits on it plus a couple class credits that I earned my diploma and my GED. Now I know things have changed and you can't do it that way but there is a way it can be done. Now his father and his grandmother, where he stays because it is too chaotic here, say that there is no reason he should not be able to finish high school, it is not that hard. His grandmother says if he does not stay in high school he can't stay there. This summer school thing started today. He had a nervous breakdown at school and already has had to drop one of the classes. So now he is going to be even further behind. I am at a loss. He is getting further behind. Getting sicker. We just had an upper GI done and he has the beginnings of an ulcer, a small lesion on his duodenum and on the upper part of upper intestine.

So any ideas???? I am really sorry this is so long but I tried to give you as much info as possible without giving you the whole life story.

Thanks guys for reading.

Hi,
I hated high school. Plus my family moved a lot so I got my GED too. Then I went to college.

1. Your state probably has rules about the GED -- like he has to be a certain age (16 maybe), has to be officially withdrawn from the school system, and some other stuff. He might be able to take the test and pass it right now with out the adult ed classes.

2. Your state might have an online public high school. He can take classes over the computer.

3. He probably qualifies for various visiting teacher programs -- the teacher comes to his home to work with him once or twice a week.

It sounds like he might not be able to manage summer school. Can he manage adult ed?

I've got no good ideas about the grandmother. 'Sorry that you have to deal with that.

You might get more answers if you post below in the regular bipolar section. People don't look here much.

Mari

But we had no bipolar or conduct disorder to deal with.

The ADD and anxiety responded to EFAs and some nutrients, enough so that my son could stop using Ritalin and Clonidine (which he had for 5 years). We could stop the Ritalin in 9th grade.

High school was tough for him, see the post below from Bizi, on Thomas Szasz. (I have some details there) I was just going to remove it when I saw this.

I had to deal with alot of his anger and resentment towards other kids in high school. He used to wait up for me when I worked nights, and we'd have a little session, where he could vent and I could help him with reframing.

I see you live in Flint? Actually there? or in nearby Grand Blanc? My husband sometimes has to commute there for
audits, and we used to have an aunt who lived there. Today however, Flint is so economically depressed, that there must be alot of hassels with the kids, and other discipline issues in the school.

I can't see any school in Flint being adequate even or worth staying in. Not the way Flint is today.

I think now that you are into major problems, this solution will be more difficult than say if you began in middle school, with interventions.

I don't know how to advise you since there are many factors here. Firstly, I'd have several conversations, to see what your son's goals are...does he realize that no education means poor future? If he feels so out of control, he most likely will need some counseling.

Ulcers do not come from stress. They are infections, by H. pylori most commonly. So there may be some organic problems which make him feel sick, and then that leads to being impaired in school, and it snowballs into a huge issue, when in fact the trigger is something else.

Ulcers in the upper duodenum can often happen when people use NSAIDs for pain or aspirin. This is the classic burn area when the stomach empties. My mother and my neighbor both had semi-fatal bleeds in that location.

In our case, the most important thing for my son, who was always rather reactive and hard to focus was communication.
I didn't realize how much we were doing it until he left for college and it became very quiet around here! LOL I can laugh about it now, but I realize his nightly talks were very draining on ME ...but also very HELPFUL for him.

I hope you find a good doctor for the ulcers.
Other causes of GI problems can also be traced to gluten intolerance (as well as the ADD problems), so you may want to research our Gluten forum stickies for links. Changing diet for ADD is often very helpful to remove foods that cause
CNS irritation.

I am sorry that you are having these problems with your son.
Has he ever tried a gluten free diet?

What does he want to do?


sorry I don't have any children....
how are you doing thru all of this?
((((HUGS))))
bizi

Thanks Mari, I will repost in the other and see what happens. I would rather he got his diploma as opposed to his GED. His summer class is only six weeks for 3 hours a day, 4 days a week one class. He had the second but just couldn't hack it. At this rate he will be doing summer school for the rest of his life lol.

Mrsd we live in Flint but because his dad lives in Carman Ainsworth school district my son goes there. I would have tried to get him in there through school of choice anyway. He started in FLint but as he got a little older I was quick to get him out. He has a therapist and takes medication and qualifies as an IEP student though he does not outright take any real special education classes except for a study skills class because he is not really learning deficient. He is capable. It is hard to explain. As for his stomach, yes he was taking an antibiotic, Doxycycline for like 2 years for his skin and his new skin doctor just took him off of it because he was showing signs of toxicity and his doc who did the upper GI said that may have been the cause we will wait and see. He is full aware of what no education means and that is not the life he wants. It is the pressure, the crowds, the chaos, the bullies, the racial intolerance, the unfairness when it comes to authority figures, I know the teachers and principals have final word but I have seen the unfairness first hand. It is all too much and he has a tendency to take it personally.


There is more but I am getting back to this after midnight and am in a lot of pain so I am getting off of the puter. Thank you for your input.

Uh Duh on me lol, MrsD, I just read the small print on your post and realized who you were lol. Wow I had no idea you were so close. I have read many of your posts on BT which is where I usually am.

I know exactly what you mean about those evening talks. Often when he was supposed to be going to bed he would come to my room and lay on my bed and we would just talk about everything, and laugh. Yes it is often draining and always past bedtime but I let him do it because I knew he needed it and I always wanted to keep those lines of communication open. Now he calls me all the time when he is upset, happy, has new news, beat a game, heard a funny joke, is bored or just to see what I am doing. He knows he can tell me anything. He is exhausting to be around but never boring lol.

Bizi I remember you from BT, and hoped I would hear from you and Mari, you two were a great source of comfort to me there. He wanted to go into the military for the longest time and I dreaded it. Now he is of the belief that since he has such severe flat feet that he can't yes that would be my fault. With his severe mental illness I don't know if he can. These days I am not so sure.

He would like to get into something to do with the computer gaming industry or something along those lines. He is a whiz at video games and there are few that he can't beat in a very short time. It has become a waste of money to buy him video games because he beats them in 24 - 48 hours. Now we make him rent them before we buy them. He is really looking forward to his Video Production course in the fall and maybe that will be something he would like to incorporate into it.

What I am thinking of is him doing like a fast track high school completion course and then a skilled trades type degree. I don't know if with his illness if he would qualify for anything like that or if there is anything available. I honestly think for him that would be ideal. Small classes, maybe online even, work at your own pace type of thing. He is intelligent enough to do that.

I don't know I just wish there was an alternative for him and people like him.

Gluten Free would be a big time fight and would be huge stress. He is almost of age to be on his own so I can see him running away until he is old enough to eat what he wants then coming back home lol.

Oh I have got to get off.

I will check back in tomorrow

Is a HUGE depleter of nutrients from the body.

Severe acne can be treated with EFAs...that is what worked for my son---and that is how we accidently found they fixed his ADD!

Many drugs upset the body's ability to either process the nutrients we need to live, or they actually deplete them, which then requires extra dosing and attention.

YOu don't mention the other drugs...so I cannot address those.
Here is a list of documented effects just for the doxycycline!

Bifidobacteria bifidum
Lactobacillus acidophilus
(both are needed for normal bowel function)

Calcium
Iron
Magnesium

Biotin
Inositol (low levels of this increase anxiety)


Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
Vitamin B3 (niacin)
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
Vitamin B12

Vitamin K

People with acne typically are low in zinc. Especially males.
Low zinc and low B6 cause a condition of severe anxiety
called pyroluria. There is a long thread on BT on the vitamin forum about this condition. You test it with a special urine sample sent to special labs. Once it is fixed with high dose zinc and B6, the moods settle down.

I think your son is in a tough place. No quick one pill solution.
And some of the solutions may be uncommon and not well understood by your doctors.

So I think some homework will help you both. And patience, as it takes time to heal the body. At this point you don't really know if he has all those diagnoses, or maybe just the pyroluria which masquerades as mental illness!
http://www.drkaslow.com/html/pyroluria.html
First off, start with some good organic yogurt. Stonyfield yogurt has good cultures in it.
Some Krogers carry it, and most health food stores.
http://www.stonyfield.com/
If he absolutely will not eat it...the new flavors are very good...
Then get a good probiotic with at least 4 or more strains listed on it. These are typically
kept in the frig in stores, and some online places, package them with nitrogen to keep them fresh.

Hi,
You don't need to explain all the details here.
But the Special Ed accommodations are not always about how capable he is. They have to do with what he NEEDS to be successful.
Public schools hate making accommodations and often need to be pushed.
If you don't know what accommodations would help him, ask the therapist. Then get an advocate (most communities have them but I don't know how to find them except to start with nami) or a lawyer. You probably have local contacts who can help you navigate the school system.

A friend of mine has a daughter who was unsuccessful in school. She annoyed the teachers and hung out with students who were on there way to failing. He got her out in her junior year via the GED and she signed up for a few classes at the community college. She did not do well there either, but now she is a community college drop out instead of a hs drop out -- if that makes any sense.

I have cousin who could not face hs. Absolutely could not face it. His parents were spending a fortune on a private school and he stayed up all night and slept all day. They felt that there was nothing that they could do -- they had him in therapy and so on.
Finally, they withdrew him from the expensive school and then put him in the neighborhood public school. He is doing great now. This school works for him.

A niece of mine was an all around miserable person with various diagnoses that changed over the years. Finally, the parents put her in special ed for the whole day. She is doing well and is happier at home too.


Here is a link about online schools in Michigan:
http://distancelearn.about.com/od/on...iganOnline.htm

It looks like they have several schools.

After he gets treatment for his ulcer he will feel better.

How about his other meds? How does the pdoc treat the anxiety?

Mari

In 5th grade the counselor brought me in to a meeting to
arrange this for my son as he was moving on to middle school.

They told me all his teachers would know about him and his progress since they have meetings, and etc.
Well, it turned out that the Special Ed title for a student brings in special money...Federal funds... and that is all they wanted.
My signature to get money.

When my son's homeroom teacher sent me a nasty letter about my son putting his head down to rest after lunch (this was a med time with a 45 minute adjustment) we found out she had NO CLUE that he was special ed. This was 1/2 way thru the year. This homeroom consisted of non-credit activities and since my son felt "ill", he refused to read. Told her he didn't "have to"... and this ticked her off. (this was back in the "Ritalin days" for him. My son normally did not present negative behaviors in class. )

So my husband read HER the riot act, and I went in to complain to the principal. I had him disenrolled from special ed. He received not one minute of any of the promised things.

It was all about money.

I really think kids have a right to speak up and if something in the school is "not right" parents need to learn it ASAP.

First of all he is taking

Abilify 15 mg 2x day
Concerta 54 mg 1x in a.m. just raised from 36mg
Pepcid AC 30mg 1x this was just given to him by the new gastro, he was taking Zantac for like almost a year and a half which obviously did no good.
Celebrex 100mg 2x day he just started this yesterday for his back and legs. Is it possible for his bowels to be so full that they would press on nerves and cause his back to ache?
He just started Cephalexin 250mg but this will be temporary because the skin doc did not want his skin condition to go into a flare from stopping the Doxy.

He was also taking Lamictal up until September of last year when he stopped all his meds on his own without telling anyone then became suicidal and started back up again but the Lamictal was making his anger issues worse when he restarted.

Funny you should mention the bowel problems because he has been having some bowel leakage and when he had some recent xrays, due to some chronic upper and lower back pain he has been having, his bowels were so full that the whoever read them even commented on it in the report so now he is also on Miralax 1x a day. He also just mentioned to me that the leakage has started again. He still has bowel movements but he admitted that he has a tendency to hold it. His Gastro doc just called me and said she noticed some things in his esophageal tract that looks like it could indicate esophagitis so she is ordering a food allergy test and some blood work.

Mrs. D I am wondering if since he hates yogurt and he takes a mulitvitamin, because his vitamin D levels were low so at doc's orders I bought him a multivitamin with especially hight D levels, if a mulitivitamin that includes probiotics would work. I was taking one but I love yogurt so had no problem with the alternative.


This is so like him and it is severe. His explosive anger would be to the point of blackout. One of the reasons he stays most of the time with his grandmother. Our house is a bit chaotic and my fiance and he butt heads and my being Bipolar also..........well you can imagine. I wonder if his psychiatrist can order a test for this. I will definitely do some research and ask. Doing what ever I can. He has days, hours, seconds where he doesn't want to live and he is getting old enough where he will soon be on his own and I fear for him so I am trying to give him as much of a lifeline as possible. I just wish I had known sooner. We started at the age of 5 but I never knew how severe or even what it was until he took the knife to school . Which in itself is a whole nother story.

Mari thank you for the link. I was all over the place trying to find some info but not really knowing where to look and not finding anything. I do know that he can go to a specialized school with smaller classes and more one on one but he will lose his IEP status. Right now he has the opportunity to step out of class if he needs to for a breather and go to see his counselor, he can work in a special class if he needs to but the class is so small that it makes him claustrophobic so he goes to the media center because it is big and open and does his work but gets in trouble for it. Gets extensions on work, if the teacher decides to follow the schools IEP guidelines. He of course has tutors he can use and opportunity to be put in IEP classes but he doesn't really need/want them.

I know yet again a lot. Sorry