Posted by Solstice on February 21, 2012, at 11:27:23
In reply to re: Desperate - Part 2 - Please no anti-med posts » Solstice, posted by SLS on February 21, 2012, at 9:19:25
> > I wish I understood the varied 'faces' of bipolar depression in adolescents.
>
> EXCELLENT!
>
> Pediatric and adolescent depression does look different from depression seen in adults and is characterized by irritability.
>
>
> Signs and symptoms of depression in teens:
>
> Sadness or hopelessness
> Irritability, anger, or hostility ****CHECK****
> Rage ****CHECK****
> Tearfulness or frequent crying ****CHECK****
> Withdrawal from friends and family
> Loss of interest in activities
> Changes in eating and sleeping habits
> Restlessness and agitation ****CHECK****
> Feelings of worthlessness and guilt
> Lack of enthusiasm and motivation
> Fatigue or lack of energy
> Difficulty concentrating ****CHECK****
> Thoughts of death or suicide
>
>
> Can you list all of the symptoms that your daughter is currently experiencing here? That might help us get a handle as to how much depression is going on to indicate whether we are looking at dysphoric hypomania (mixed-state) or depression only.
>
>
List: I put ****CHECK**** by the ones that apply. Please let me know what you think.
Just got home from the PDoc.
THYROID; Dr. said there is no way that it's her thyroid, because the thyroid problems in the family are hypothyroid, and it would need to be hyperthyroid. That said, she said we need to check her thyroid anyway because of the lithium, so we'll do that in 2 weeks.
LATUDA: Dr. said it's falling flat. Daughter goes off of it tonight, and starts a Saphris trial.
LIHIUM Daughter's lithium level was .7 and dr. says it needs to be much higher. She wants to continue the lithium at the same level for now, while we see how things go with Saphris
ANTICONVULSANTS: I was just floored. I brought up Zonegran, Topomax, Trileptal, etc. She said 'absolutely not.' She said that there are no scientific studies proving that they work any better than placebo. She said she did use Topomax when it first came out, but doesn't think it was effective. She said Lamictal and Depakote are the only anticonvulsants she's willing to use. :-(
STIMULANT: She is certain the stimulant is NOT impacting her hypo/manic episodes. She said that in her practice (which is huge, includes lots of pediatric, and has been going 20 yrs), it has been extremely rare and has only happened in males that were diagnosed as young children. Interesting.
So... I'm hopeful that Saphris will work.. and somewhat discouraged by her unwillingness to consider other anticonvulsants.
Solstice
poster:Solstice
thread:1010739
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120221/msgs/1011085.html