amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I'm diving into the world of serious and potentially dangerous mental health difficulties with my teen daughter. We're starting everything my area has to offer, and will be ruling out medical stuff. What labs, beyond the regular stuff, would you ask for? Obviously thyroid and D. But I don't know beyond that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I don't know beyond that either. It's a typical age for mental health issues to show up if someone is predisposed to them. I'm sorry you are dealing with that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) My teen was extremely anemic when mental health issues started coming up. It wasn't the cause of those issues but it made them worse. We found out because our doctor ordered quite a bit of blood work before starting medication. I'm not sure what else was tested but that was the only issue that came of it. Edited June 26, 2017 by Joker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I'm diving into the world of serious and potentially dangerous mental health difficulties with my teen daughter. We're starting everything my area has to offer, and will be ruling out medical stuff. What labs, beyond the regular stuff, would you ask for? Obviously thyroid and D. But I don't know beyond that. Be sure, when you have thyroid done, that it isn't limited to TSH; it should include Free T3 and Free T4--not Total T3, not any other T, but *Free*T3 and *Free* T4. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I don't have any advice for you, but I'm so sorry your dd is facing such big issues. :( I'm sending you positive thoughts and I hope your dd is able to get the effective treatment she needs. She's lucky to have a mom who is taking this very seriously and who I know will do whatever it takes to help her. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I would add in Vitamin B and ferritin/iron. Also urinalysis and check for strep/PANDA...the full culture, not just quick swab. Blood sugar tests as well. Our doctor also did an EEG as some forms of seizures can look like mental illness, CT/MRI, and EKG. Sorry you are heading into this. I have been in this world for 19 years now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) Not knowing what you are dealing with, it's hard to make specific suggestions, but I'd encourage you to take a look at William Walsh's research into mental/behavioral health and related biochemical imbalances/nutritional deficiencies. He has a book called Nutrient Power https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=nutrient+power that might be helpful to you. Here's his website, if you are interested in knowing more about him before you order. http://www.walshinstitute.org/ Also, you might want to take a look at this website, both at William Walsh's notes and at other articles. http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/ Edited June 26, 2017 by klmama 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 I would add in Vitamin B and ferritin/iron. Also urinalysis and check for strep/PANDA...the full culture, not just quick swab. Blood sugar tests as well. Our doctor also did an EEG as some forms of seizures can look like mental illness, CT/MRI, and EKG. Sorry you are heading into this. I have been in this world for 19 years now. Her psychiatrist treats a kid with PANDA, but his thought is that we still have to treat what it caused/made worse. We are doing neuro and will look at a new EEG, MRI, and a sleep study (the neuro we might see has a special interest in sleep disorders, and since spectrum kids don't sleep, thought that doc could be helpful). I'll add those labs to my list. I forgot about urine! She is prone to UTIs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 This one is obscure, but impacted my family: bartonellosis. Commonly called "cat scratch fever" but also can be transmitted by an unseen tick or by chiggers. It can cause major mental health issues in teens. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 If she is on the spectrum too ask the neurologist about testing for mitochondrial myopathy....esp POLG 1. Out of the 7 known siblings for 2 of mine 5 has spectrum issues and 6 have mental health issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 MTHFR is a gene worth testing for if you are noticing any anxiety or OCD type symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticmomma Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Mthfr. Also there is a cheek swab genetic test that tells you if you have comparability with psych meds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) Her psychiatrist treats a kid with PANDA, but his thought is that we still have to treat what it caused/made worse. While the underlying causes of pans/pandas will vary, typically there is some form of immune disfunction and/or complicated, controversial infections (e.g. lyme, bartonella, babesia, mycoplasma), autoimmunity. It is much more complex than genetic predisposition plus strep strain. And yet fascinating all the same... On the mthfr, I would run 23andme (which can be done anonymously), just the ancestry portion, then take the data and run it through genetic genie. Way more info and far cheaper than just having a genetic test for mthfr thru labcorp. While methylation is an important process, it is by no means the only sub-optimal genetic process that can be going on and everything is interrelated. Edited June 27, 2017 by wapiti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 b12 deficiency Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 This one is obscure, but impacted my family: bartonellosis. Commonly called "cat scratch fever" but also can be transmitted by an unseen tick or by chiggers. It can cause major mental health issues in teens. Given a few recent threads, I would also want to screen (as much as possible) for tickborne illnesses. Many hugs to you. I hope that a specific treatable cause might be identified. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 Thanks everyone. I am crossing my fingers for something medical and fixable that's at least contributing. I also need to get her on board with diet. Over the years she has had at least one positive gluten antibody test. Since I can cut whatever and maintain a good diet, it's worth a shot. Yes, she's dealing with all the "typical" anxiety and depression stuff. Also have internet and/or video game issues. Not sure if it's just a problem, addiction, or truly her only coping method. Just cutting her off isn't an option right now. At least not until stuff is in place. She's still sleeping a normal amount of hours, maybe a little more, but of course during the day. I think most teens would sleep more than 8 hours if given the chance. I don't think she really ever goes over 10, *maybe* the occasional 12. Our biggest therapist issue is her quirks. She'll answer questions with reenactments from tv shows, or spin off into her hilarious illumminate rant, or some obscure quantum physics stuff, and therapists want to redirect her. She needs someone that can go with it and see the value. She needs an intelligent, seriously geek, experienced therapist. She wants to have serious conversations with geeky humor, or way out there stuff, and not have to explain things, or not have a therapist think she's off topic. Trying to quiz therapists prior to bringing dd in makes me look ridiculous! The whole my kid is a special snowflake crap. But that's not it. It's trying to find a personality match. Both of my kids do not respond to psych meds as expected. But with our luck, they would also respond opposite to whatever med testing showed! Lol. My son tolerates/loses/tolerates/drops meds way too often. We've finally found something for his anxiety, he's way below therapeutic treatment, but it's not being touched. Dd hadn't had the behaviors needed to try the med merry go round. We've tried targeting a "small" thing and shit went nuts. Was it a cause? Complete coincidence and she'd be here anyway? With ds, I can look back to 2 weeks old and see "stuff." At 12, he's still missing some of his diagnoses made official. With dd, there's not a lot jumping out when looking back. Her spectrum dx came after a weird round of testing starting with a likely seizure, to sleep, hearing and speech, and ending at a neuropsych. Somewhere in there is GI, for an issue common with spectrum kids. Quick, painless, and summed her up pretty well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 :grouphug: :grouphug: I hope and pray you get some answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 big hugs...it's very challenging She is lucky to have someone who cares so much to help her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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