Children and Psychiatric Medications
In the video report "The Medicated Child", child psychiatrist Dr. Patrick Bacon tells Frontline, "It's really to some extent an experiment, trying medications in these children of this age. It's a gamble. And I tell parents there's no way to know what's going to work."
A couple of months ago we asked the question, "Do you worry about your child taking medications?" Penny, a member of this community responded, “When my daughter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 13, my husband and I had to fight our way through the guilt and worry of administering all those meds to her. But, in the last five years since diagnosis, we have all realized that without those medications, our daughter would not be alive.”
As a matter of fact, many parents who have to push through the day to day struggles with a kid who has a psychiatric disorder such as bipolar disorder report significant improvement after medication treatment was started. Clearly the picture is not black and white. What's your take on this issue? Is it acceptable for practitioners to prescribe without solid research to support the use of these powerful medications? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
~Kimberly
Comments
My son was dianosed with Bibolar at age 11. He’s now 21 if he did’nt try medications he would’nt have seen his 21st birthday. It’s still a struggle to keep him on meds. Promblem being he likes to shelf medicate which is a big problem. He is in treatment right now because this past weekend he partied to much and did not take his meds. Now he is Phsycotic.
Dr. Scott Shannon has an article at http://www.moodtracker.com/nutrition.php that describes how nutrition can be helpful in treating bipolar disorder in children. There’s lots of statistics and studies to confirm his claims. He’s not anti-medication either. He’s more on the conservative side where he feels that natural methods should be tried first before resorting to powerful medications.
My son, now 16, at age 14 tried to commit suicide twice within 2 months of each other. First he was diagnosed as suffering from major depression, the second time he was hospitalized they diagnosed him as bipolar. I know in my heart without the meds he’s currently on he would not be alive today. The meds must work because he makes sure he takes them daily. He’s a much happier teen (if that’s possible) on the meds than before.
As a matter of fact, many parents who have to push through the day to day struggles with a kid who has a psychiatric disorder such as bipolar disorder report significant improvement after medication treatment was started.
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joe
Dual Diagnosis
http://www.dual-diagnosis.net
I have bipolar disorder and my son has ADHD. If it wasn’t for the meds i wouldn’t be able to cope with my son and i wouldn’t be able to live with my son. With the meds that my son takes he is a much better behaved child and is easier to work with.