Parent Responsibililty
Thursday February 8, 2007
Over the last few days, the headlines have held distressing glimpses of a story about a four year-old girl who overdosed on a combination of over-the-counter and prescription medications - Parents Charged With Daughter's ADHD Drug Overdose Death … Rebecca's RX … Doctor Halts Practice in Probe of Girl's Overdose Death. A key element in this is the fact that a doctor had diagnosed the child with bipolar disorder. Obviously this story raises a myriad of questions. While the intentions of the parents are still being investigated, this does illustrate some important points for parents regarding their responsibility for the safety of their child:
- Seek a second opinion regarding both diagnoses and prescriptions
- Be familiar with the side-effects and drug interactions for all medications (OTC and prescribed) you give your child
- Review all medications (OTC and prescribed) with both your child’s doctor and pharmacist on a regular basis
- Do not introduce new over-the-counter medications without checking with the child’s doctor and pharmacist
Comments
how can a dr. diagnose a FOUR year old with bipolar? i wish there was a rating system for psych’s. i feel that some dx’s require two pdoc’s experience. such a fine line between a precocious, rambunctious child and, really, bipolar(?). i’m sorry for the family, truly i am.
Children as young as three have been dx’d with bipolar, though, not all have been treated. Bipolar in children is possible, and it generally looks different. Read the Bipolar Child. Read the information on the menu to the left of this page. It talks about bipolar in children. Having had two children with bipolar disorder, you cannot even imagine the horror the parents go through on a daily basis until treatment gets the symptoms under control. The difference can be night and day. I’ve seen it. Once you see it, you will never forget it. My heart goes out to the parents. I don’t know the circumstances, but the parents have got to be besides themselves in grief.
Another important factor is that the Doctors are responsible for clearly discussing the medications with the parents. ie, 1-name, 2-what symptoms it is to alleviate, 3-any common, rare, and fatal side effects, and 4-make sure the parents completely understand dx. I spent so much time with the parents of children I work with, trying to educate them on what specific questions to ask when they are seeing the docs, about the diagnosis and how to further research it. Many times I ask the parents why the medication is being given and they have now clue. Remember it wasn’t that long ago that it was socially incorrect to ask a doctor questions or question their diagnosis and treatment! I am a therapist and their is a rating guide, its called the DSM IV-R (Diagnstic and Statistics Manual) by the time part V comes out it will likely have information in it about pediatric bipolar disorder
I agree about getting the book “The Bipolar Child” I have a step son who was diagnosed with ADHD at 4 yrs old and Bipolar by the age of 7. There is no doubt in my mind he should have been diagnosed with Bipolar at age 4.
I agree it is the parent’s responsibility to know what meds their kids are on. My dd could and should have been dx’ed when she was 3 but wasn’t until 10. I wish she had been dx’ed earlier. I think it would have made a huge dif in self esteme and such if she hadn’t been put through those mental torture years. But it doesn’t really matter as far as the meds. She doesn’t even take the 1st dose of a new med until I have fully researched all the side effects. I know exactly what to look for in a reaction and what the risks are. I also ask both the doc and the pharmacy. They will usually give you about 90% between them, but I always find more info online. It all comes down to, she is my child and my responsibility. I SHOULD be more informed about her treatment than anyone else.
My heart goes out to the parents, this is every parent’s worst nightmare. My ds takes Tenex which is similar to clonidine, but he only takes .5mg once a day. He is 10 and has been taking it since he was 6. I don’t know if .35mg is too high for a 4 year old. I don’t know these people, of course, but as a parent, I agonized over giving any meds to my son and I always wonder if I’m doing the right thing. I can’t imagine these people are any different.