Hi everyone. I'm Donna and I feel like this is a lonely room at times.

I know that Pam, Mari and a few other adults from the bipolar room help
me keep a eye on when a post shows up. But I also know that at times
when it looks like not to many parents are posting, you worry your the
only one.

Its definately not true. Honestly a lot of the adults that post in the Bipolar forum. Either have friends with kids with disabilities, or like me have
a child or two with disabilities. I have one with bipolar undiagnosed and
one with anxiety and hallucinations that are controlled as of now.

There are also some that are college students or younger adults. They
can give some good insight as to what might be going on too.

SO what I'm trying to say is. Post in here, but please come and either
say Hi in bipolar forum, or start a new post.

We want to help. And if nothing else we are really good listeners. And
there are about 4 that can look up just about anything. And sometimes
that comes in handy.

SO your welcome in the Bipolar Forum, your technically wanted in the room.
If you have a child with the disorder your needed.

So come by and have a cup of coffee with us. Or what ever it is you drink.

Donna

We adopted a child as an infant that was eventually dx'd with this disorder.
It has been many years of ups and downs. A roller coaster ride if you will.
I come here often and am grateful for receiving a lot of help. My heart goes out to all of those w/ this disorder and also for the parents who are doing their best to help and are often at a loss trying to make sense of it all.
Prayers for strength and wisdom all around. Thank you Donna and a big (hug) as well.

Vowel Lady

It takes a special family to raise these children. It also takes special
people to adopt period. You are one special lady.

Thank you for taking on the battle. I know many who have adopted.

Donna

Hi Donna, wonderfully inviting welcome.

My dear friend and acupuncturist Selena, has two adopted kids, both with major challenges. The younger daughter Grace, has been receiving treatment for BP- dx for several years. Selena is a single mom and between the kids, work and simply living she has her plate full.

I have mentioned the value of the wise folks, along with highly educated links, on this site. She asked me to begin a query, helping her to investigate the most recent specific issue challenging Grace.

Lately Grace she has been experiencing fairly intense heart rate increase as an ongoing symptom. She is on strattera 60mg, seroguel 450-500mg, and zoloft 25 mg. Her pulse is running around 135 upon waking in the am. Selena took her to the ER and they ruled out thyroid issues.

Grace has an appointment very soon with a cardiologist. One who is well respected, and a bit traditional, (I see same dr.) She re-visits her psychiatrist this Monday. I should mention she is on Medical/Medicare so options are somewhat limited.

I suspect this symptom is related to her rx and wondered if it could also be nutrient/ electrolyte- imbalance/deficiency. Neither of us have had the experience of doctors being much on the ball with most cases of side effects or deficiencies. (Nothing new in this!)

Both of us have learned to find more updated information from research and alternative medicine. This is a situation needing some expertise from those who have been there. (BTW Grace is almost 18 and normal weight/height with normal teenage habits of diet-etc... not so great... )

Any help would be appreciated. I will forward links etc... to her. I hope she will find this site as beneficial and supportive as I have. Thanks for your help. Best wishes TT

Not sure how to help with this one. But for one thing wondering how long
she has been on so high (to me) a doseage of seroquel. That is one
of the first things I would have checked out. I also would have blood work done to check her blood sugar count. I know that when my blood pressure
started going high I should have been watching mine closer.

But with a pulse that high, is it right as she wakes up? Because I would
also wonder if she has had some kind of dream, and she is still in it to a degree.

Donna

HI,

The company's web site lists fast heart beat as a side effect of Strattera.
http://www.drugs.com/strattera.html
The ER docs should have caught that.

Are her bipolar issues mostly under control?
She might not need Strattera and she might be miss- dx'd ADD.
It's not a good drug to use until after the moods are stable.


Seroquel's web site mentions heart rate but I am not familiar with Seroquel myself:
http://www.seroquelxr.com/index.aspx
In a google search, various patient web sites mention heart palpitations with Seroquel. Is that what she is experiencing?

Again when I google "Zoloft heart" I get stuff about heart palpitations. Is this what she is having?


Here is my favorite web site:
It is run by a psychiatrist.
http://www.psycheducation.org/index.html

Here is another very good web site:
http://www.crazymeds.us/
http://www.crazymeds.us/strattera.html


Straterra is an NRI: http://www.crazymeds.us/nri.html

My suggestion:
The mother can call the doc who gave the daughter these meds and ask if the daughter can taper off Stratterra. These drugs are pretty much given to us and then taken off by trial and error. Also, sometimes a certain dose causes a problem when another dose is fine.

With our meds, whenever we have ANY kind of a health problem, the meds are almost always the problem. The meds can be adjusted/ removed / changed.

Here is a patient talking about drinking Gatorade to help with the groggy feelign from Seroquel: http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/in...se-depression/

Even though the daughter is almost 18, her mother can still benefit from info regarding adolescents:

http://www.bpkids.org/site/PageServer

Here is a very good book that many people find wonderful: The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood's Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demitri Papoloand Janice Papolos
The authors have a web site:
http://www.bipolarchild.com/

Good luck to your friend and her family;

Mari

Thanks Mari

I was just coming back after looking up Seroquel. Because I thought
I remembered this being a side effect. But with this being a double
if not triple side effect I would definately want to get ahold of the
doctor.



Keep us updated.

Donna

Hello,

I just read Donna's post.
I agree that the Seroquel dose seems high. But the Seroquel web site says ok. And sometimes high doses work.
http://www.seroquel.info/Seroquel-in...856044&nav=yes
Can your friend check with a pharmacist about these three meds? Most pharmacists are good with this stuff.

Again regarding Donna's post, make sure that the daughter is being monitored for diabetes.

M.

Yes please, My son takes 50 mg a day of seroquel and his blood sugar
is monitored at least once a year.

If he was having this kind of problems the blood sugar test is one of
the first that would get ordered.

Donna

Hi all,after forwarding your info to my friend Selena, I called to check in. The awful news that the state is cutting her adoption support payments by two thousand bucks was taking it's toll at the time. This is completely over the tipping point of how to take care of herself and her family. Will check back in soon, and also encourage her to write in here for support and further sharing. Thanks for the support so far. Ill get back to ya! Best wishes TT