sweetsouthern Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 dd FINALLY got in with the psychiatrist here in our new state! YAY! she had psychological testing done this past monday (aspergers test, learning disabilities, and IQ). the new psych here confirmed her adhd diagnosis that shes had for years (she takes intuniv 4mg for it)... he said we will add in adderall again down the line to help with attention. he also gave her a PDD-NOS diagnosis for now pending the aspergers testing. he also gave her a mood disorder diagnosis (bipolar runs in the family and she exhibits it). so he started by adding in abilify. he wanted to start at 5mg (she almost 11 and 88 pounds), i panicked a bit so he wrote the script for 2mg and said i could even break it in half and start at 1mg. so for the last 3 nights before bed i have given her 1mg. each morning when she wakes up she rages from about 9am till about 1 pm and then seems to calm down more to her "normal" self. she also says shes a little bit dizzy when she stands up (this im assuming is normal for the early days of the med). but any ideas on the raging??? i mean its only 1mg even! i would hate to have seen if we started with 5mg!!! any thoughts! thanks so much! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) Agitation/aggression can be a side effect of Abilify. We ruled it out right now for use in my DD (AS with mood disorder) because my DH's family has a history of aggression issues, my sister is bipolar. We are trying something different, but it's to early to tell if it will make any difference. I would contact the psychiatrist and see if they wish to continue the medication. Dizziness from orthostatic hypotension is also common but usually isn't a concern. Edited July 21, 2011 by melmichigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Abilify sent ds1 into terrible rages. And, just so you know, Geodon was even worse. Ds1 just takes generic risperidone (Risperdal) now and it's working well. Normally, the newer, "better" meds are better, but that wasn't our experience with atypical antipsychotics. It turns out we're not alone. Our pediatric neurologist said he'd had several cases like ds1's where risperidone worked and the supposedly safer meds caused horrible side effects. I'd stop the Abilify immediately and call the doctor to try a different med. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetsouthern Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 ok thanks! i wont give it to her tonight and call the doc in the am.... melmichigan, what does your dc take if you dont mind my asking?? for that, i would love to know what others take as well for mood disorders ;) thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieH Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I have bipolar 2 disorder and have tried all these drugs..and I weigh more than twice your daughter. Abilify and Geodon at their lowest possible doses made me into a zombie. I started at 2mg of Abilify and couldn't even open my eyes in the morning. Geodon was way worse. I would exercise extreme caution with any of these drugs, especially with kids. My personal opinion is that these drugs are way over prescribed..for adults and children. It almost makes me angry! Both my brother and I have bipolar 2. We both take Depakote as our "staple" mood stabilizer. My son (9) exhibits signs of a mood disorder and they were about to start him on a small dose of Depakote but it never happened because he got a concussion and we couldn't start him on anything new until he was at baseline. At that point, I decided not to go the medication route for now. I have taken Depakote for 6 years now. We also needed to add something so I take Trileptal. Both are anti seizure meds that are also used for mood stabilizers. They don't knock me out like every other drug I've tried and have really been a great fit for me. Also, at times, I have taken small dose of Risperdal and that has helped. Definitely call your doctor..always..when you have a concern. My son is now 9 and has add/adhd, aspergers, anxiety disorder, and probably a mood disorder. He was dx with a mood disorder when he was 6 but I disagree with their testing method and his current psychologist and myself believe it was flawed. He goes for counseling, ST and OT and is not medicated right now. We've tried Concerta and Strattera and he has horrible side effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moriah Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I would ask around and see if you can find a psychiatrist that treats ONLY autism, developmental disorders and ADHD. Many psychiatrists even child psychiatrists have no idea how to prescribe for these kids. I work in mental health and the first to remember is mental health is not developmental disabilities. They are two different specialties. Most psychiatrists are trained for mental health concerns and that is what it appears that your doctor is leaning toward to me. I have a ds age 11 that is High Functioning autism and ADHD. Yes, he has mood swings, but they are not bipolar. They are part of the spectrum disorder. Most kids on the spectrum have issues with anxiety and they respond to anxiety meds which are for the most part antidepressant medications. They can have OCD (obsessive compulsive behaviors which include needing things the same, obsessive thinking or difficulty with change), anxiety and sensory issues which any of those can cause lots of emotional turmoil. I would suggest using the ADHD meds and evaluate your child with a therapist (who is experienced in spectrum disorders) and an occupation therapist who can eval for sensory integration disorder. You want to find out why your child has symptoms because that may decrease the number of meds you try and fail with. Many kids who are on the spectrum do not take meds other than for attention. Make sure if your child is not sleeping well to deal with that number one, because sleep difficulty can make a child look much more behaviorially disturbed and more ADHD than they really are. (try getting a couple hours of sleep for a few days and see how you feel!) I have had to fight to get a perscription for my son for sleep and I give it just a couple of times per week. He has lots of anxiety and does things like pulls feathers out of his pillow because he can't sleep and the room will be a mess by the next AM. Kids on the spectrum notoriously don't sleep well. I would stay away from the mood stabalizer (abilify) family of meds as use it as a last last resort unless you are truly dealing with huge behaviors like hitting or huge temper tantrums etc. I tried looking back at your posts to see what kinds of behaviors you are dealing with but I didn't see. kids are all different on the spectrum. write and tell us what you are dealing with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 (edited) Ok, I know this sounds a bit off, but I would SO visit a Doctor (like with an MD) that practices Chinese Meds. Just a thought. Since you're at such a low dose, this might be a good time before you totally go Western Meds. Just a thought. We just visited with a DR on Monday, and when listening to him talk, I just thought, "wow, I wanna visit you before trying Western meds... like... always :))" I'm totally not against Western Meds, but think that sometimes diet and Chinese meds can seriously work. Especially with Bipolar, where it seems that it's something that you could alter the body and get decent results. No pressure or judging... just another idea :) Just one blog about Eastern Med for Bipolar Edited July 24, 2011 by NayfiesMama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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