Re: diagnosis's

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy. Sending some cyber hugs your way. It sure sounds very overwhelming.

Did they give you information aside from a bunch of diagnoses? How does she

have anxiety disorder NOS and OCD? Since OCD is an anxiety disorder, isn't it

specified? It seems to me that she might not show symptoms of ODD if the other

diagnosis were being controlled. Maybe the ODD is part of the bipolar. What is

PDD-NOS? It just seems like there is a lot of overlap in some of the

conditions you list. I don't think it is hopeless. She just needs the right

meds,

spoken from someone who has struggled to find the right meds for my daughter, at

least ones she tolerates well. Will you be using them for treatment? Or do you

have to start over with someone else? I wish you and her the best of luck

finding the right treatment, but don't give up. Take Care, Kim

In a message dated 5/30/2006 6:38:26 PM Central Standard Time,

jchabot@... writes:

Hi everyone,

I just have to vent. I got the results from the study my daughter

participated in. This was her first one. Does anyone else have any experience

with how

accurate studies are?This was done at MA General Hospital, so I'd think it

would be. I know they don't go on her medical record though

Anyway, I'm in shock. the doctor told me my daughter has

OCD,Bipolar,ADHD,ODD, Anxiety disorders nos, and PDD-NOS.

I can't believe this!!!!!! I don't know what to do now! It seems totally

hopeless! What do you do with all of this??? Anyone??!!!

Hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/30/2006 7:38:24 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

jchabot@... writes:

I can't believe this!!!!!! I don't know what to do now! It seems totally

hopeless! What do you do with all of this??? Anyone??!!!

Judy

No experience with studies here -- but, I would think now that you have

results, there would be a doctor from the study willing to meet with you & go

over all this information that has just been dropped in your lap. Sometimes

when handed a " list " of something like this, it seems/feels so much worse. If

someone sits down & goes over, item by item, with you & what each means, etc.,

it can really take the edge off.

I suggest calling the group that did the study & asking to meet with someone

to go over all this information with you. Keep us informed.

LT

[Guest guest]

" I'm in shock. the doctor told me my daughter has

OCD,Bipolar,ADHD,ODD, Anxiety disorders nos, and PDD-NOS. "

Wow, Judy, this kind of surprises me as well, based on what you've

written about your daughter; mostly the PDD part. I am by no means an

expert, but I have a nephew with PDD and believe me, you know he has

" something " . I'm sure there is a broad spectrum within that dx, but

with my nephew, his speech, mannerisms, and mental ability are all

affected.

I feel for you, can't imagine how it hurts to hear so many labels

thrown together like that. Hopefully you'll get the better answer

about " now what? " soon. I have nothing else to offer you, except

support and empathy.

Hang in there.

nna.

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy -

I totally understand where you are coming from. My almost 11 year

old son has been diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, and bipolar disorder. He

is also boarderline for anxiety issues and aspergers. I felt

totally overwhelmed in the early days of trying to figure out how to

handle this. OCD is the only thing he doesn't have! He tells his

sister that the OCD was saved for her as he had enough other

stuff! :-)

My biggest advice to you is to read up on the many disorders (high

level stuff that explains the symptoms) and write down the pieces of

each that your child shows. Then note where the overlaps are. Also

note which symptoms are the most troublesome (top 3 usually works -

too many more and it is overwhelming). Lastly, look at the list as

a whole and try to guess at which symptoms may not be an issue if

other symptoms were helped. For example, my son can be so forgetful

and disorganized (ADHD) but when his mood is more stable he doesn't

have that issue. It is also good to list any triggers. From all of

that, you may get a more clear picture of which diagnosis(es) fit

your child and which to focus on first. I think you'll find that

treating the main symptoms/diagnosis(es) will often lessen other

issues. We now treat my son medication wise as if he is bipolar.

For him we found that making sure his moods are stable will often

lessen or remove the other ADHD, anxiety, ODD issues. Aspergers is

a different situation however as many times aspergers children need

social skills training. It sounds as if the study is listing off

everything your child fits the criteria for rather than looking at

your child and trying to say what is the primary issue and what is

secondary. Often kids with bipolar have ODD and ADHD tendencies.

Many are also borderline Aspergers. The main thing is to determine

what is the primary thing that is throwing your child off kilter as

we say in our house. Treat that and often the rest becomes less of

an issue.

If you aren't familiar with www.cabf.org or the book " The Bipolar

Child " , please check one or both out as they give great information

on childhood bipolar disorder. That will help you determine if mood

instability may be the main cause of symptoms or help you rule it

out. Trust your gut instinct - you know your child best. Try to

find a good child psychiatrist that can look at the study results

and help you medication wise. Or see if the people doing the study

can help you with the meds but then work with you via phone/email

for med changes and you only travel to see them once per month.

There are options - you just have to find someone you are

comfortable with and will work with you.

Regarding the med change to lithium - that is a mood stabilizer that

requires regular blood draws. Before going that route, see if

another mood stabilizer can be tried first that doesn't require the

blood draws (like depakote or trileptal). If a person is truely

bipolar, they do need a good mood stabilizer before meds for other

symptoms will work. Just something to consider.

I hope this helps. Hang in there as this isn't hopeless at all. It

just takes time to sort out. Email me directly if you want to chat

about this more! I'd be happy to help anyway I can.

- Leanne

>

> Hi everyone,

> I just have to vent. I got the results from the study my

daughter participated in. This was her first one. Does anyone else

have any experience with how accurate studies are?This was done at

MA General Hospital, so I'd think it would be. I know they don't go

on her medical record though

> Anyway, I'm in shock. the doctor told me my daughter has

OCD,Bipolar,ADHD,ODD, Anxiety disorders nos, and PDD-NOS.

[Guest guest]

Just thought I'd send this out, since many of us seem to be grappling with

multiple diagnoses, to lighten things up. A joke:

Did you hear about the guy who found out he had both OCD and ADD? Ya know how he

knew? About 150 times a day he kept forgetting to wash his hands.

Unfortunately, when I told it to my 15-year-old ocd/add/etc. son, he didn't get

it.

-kimz

Re: diagnosis's

Hi Judy -

I totally understand where you are coming from. My almost 11 year

old son has been diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, and bipolar disorder. He

is also boarderline for anxiety issues and aspergers. I felt

totally overwhelmed in the early days of trying to figure out how to

handle this. OCD is the only thing he doesn't have! He tells his

sister that the OCD was saved for her as he had enough other

stuff! :-)

My biggest advice to you is to read up on the many disorders (high

level stuff that explains the symptoms) and write down the pieces of

each that your child shows. Then note where the overlaps are. Also

note which symptoms are the most troublesome (top 3 usually works -

too many more and it is overwhelming). Lastly, look at the list as

a whole and try to guess at which symptoms may not be an issue if

other symptoms were helped. For example, my son can be so forgetful

and disorganized (ADHD) but when his mood is more stable he doesn't

have that issue. It is also good to list any triggers. From all of

that, you may get a more clear picture of which diagnosis(es) fit

your child and which to focus on first. I think you'll find that

treating the main symptoms/diagnosis(es) will often lessen other

issues. We now treat my son medication wise as if he is bipolar.

For him we found that making sure his moods are stable will often

lessen or remove the other ADHD, anxiety, ODD issues. Aspergers is

a different situation however as many times aspergers children need

social skills training. It sounds as if the study is listing off

everything your child fits the criteria for rather than looking at

your child and trying to say what is the primary issue and what is

secondary. Often kids with bipolar have ODD and ADHD tendencies.

Many are also borderline Aspergers. The main thing is to determine

what is the primary thing that is throwing your child off kilter as

we say in our house. Treat that and often the rest becomes less of

an issue.

If you aren't familiar with www.cabf.org or the book " The Bipolar

Child " , please check one or both out as they give great information

on childhood bipolar disorder. That will help you determine if mood

instability may be the main cause of symptoms or help you rule it

out. Trust your gut instinct - you know your child best. Try to

find a good child psychiatrist that can look at the study results

and help you medication wise. Or see if the people doing the study

can help you with the meds but then work with you via phone/email

for med changes and you only travel to see them once per month.

There are options - you just have to find someone you are

comfortable with and will work with you.

Regarding the med change to lithium - that is a mood stabilizer that

requires regular blood draws. Before going that route, see if

another mood stabilizer can be tried first that doesn't require the

blood draws (like depakote or trileptal). If a person is truely

bipolar, they do need a good mood stabilizer before meds for other

symptoms will work. Just something to consider.

I hope this helps. Hang in there as this isn't hopeless at all. It

just takes time to sort out. Email me directly if you want to chat

about this more! I'd be happy to help anyway I can.

- Leanne

>

> Hi everyone,

> I just have to vent. I got the results from the study my

daughter participated in. This was her first one. Does anyone else

have any experience with how accurate studies are?This was done at

MA General Hospital, so I'd think it would be. I know they don't go

on her medical record though

> Anyway, I'm in shock. the doctor told me my daughter has

OCD,Bipolar,ADHD,ODD, Anxiety disorders nos, and PDD-NOS.

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[Guest guest]

>>

>> Hi everyone,

>> I just have to vent. I got the results from the study my

> daughter participated in. This was her first one. Does anyone else

> have any experience with how accurate studies are?This was done at

> MA General Hospital, so I'd think it would be. I know they don't go

> on her medical record though

>> Anyway, I'm in shock. the doctor told me my daughter has

> OCD,Bipolar,ADHD,ODD, Anxiety disorders nos, and PDD-NOS.

>

>

>

Can I be a bit controversial?

I'm in no way a medical doctor, and I certainly wouldn't want to imply

that I know more than any doctor. However, in my non-expert opinion,

the point of a differential diagnosis is to tease out the variety of

symptoms and figure out exactly what is going on. Just because a child

has they symptoms and meets the criteria for a disorder doesn't mean

she actually has that particular disorder.

The list you gave raises lots of questions for me.

For example, as far as ADHD goes - Assuming a child has PDD, OCD, and

Bipolar that child would most certainly also show all the symptoms of

ADHD, but I would want to know why the doctor felt a need to add the

ADHD label. In fact, if you read the DSM IV definition for ADHD, it

specifically says

" The symptoms do not happen only during the course of a Pervasive

Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder. The

symptoms are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g.

Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dissociative Disorder, or a

Personality Disorder). "

I don't know what benefit is gained by saying a child has ADHD *and*

PDD or ADHD *and* bipolar. In fact, even many kids I know with OCD or

anxiety disorders often have lots of the same symptoms as a child with

ADHD. When my child is very obsessive and engaged in mental rituals,

for example, he can appear inattentive and distracted and even

hyperactive as he begins to fidgit and get nervous about his thoughts.

In the same way, ODD defines symptoms that would most certainly

co-occur with almost all of those disorders. Even the anxiety would be

part and parcel of OCD, bipolar, or PDD-NOS.

And, obsessive characteristics are part of the autistic spectrum, so it

might be that if he has PDD, he doesn't have a separate OCD, but " just "

has the obsessive symptoms that are part of that disorder.

I know that it is so important to catch bipolar at as young of an age

as you can, and to treat it promptly, but that's also a place to tread

carefully. We were concerned about that when my son was younger and

first diagnosed with OCD and TS (actually he has PANDAS). He was very

angry and violent and sometimes depressed. He did have mood swings.

But, as we got the OCD under control and developed a better

understanding of his tics, those things have really disappeared. In

*his* case it has turned out that " all " he has is really Tourette's

with obsessive/compulsive tendencies. The other problems he was having

were either actual symptoms of this, or reactions to the stress of

dealing with these things.

I guess I'm saying that I would want to specifically ask the doctors to

explain exactly why they feel that *all* of these labels fit. I would

also try to prioritize the treatment and see what things improve and

what things don't.

Just my .02.

Jeanne

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy, wow, what a list! I know my mouth would be hanging open on

hearing all that!

Don't feel too overwhelmed. Over time I'm sure some of those will

be dropped. Too many cross over to another with traits/symptoms.

If they treat bipolar first and get that aspect under control, other

symptoms might just go away and turn out to be part of the bipolar.

Sort of like when OCD gets under control, all oppositional behavior

or constant distractions can cease so any thought of ODD or ADD can

be dropped. And then with age/maturity/time passing, things change,

people change, new skills learned, personality changes....

As to PDD-NOS or Aspergers - That's my ! Aspergers Syndrome

or High-Functioning Autism. I prefer AS but the testers said HFA.

That's just due to the question did language problems appear before

or after age 3. (simply put) You can read about autism/PDD but not

everything you read will apply directly to your child. For

instance, is social, he shows caring about others, etc.,

where somewhere you may read that those on the spectrum don't. And

generally, PDD can mean they show traits but don't meet the criteria

for a more specific diagnosis like AS or HFA, etc.

(((hugs))) and hang in there! I know any med changes are always

trying and the waiting to see how they work!

>

> Hi everyone,

> I just have to vent. I got the results from the study my

daughter participated in. This was her first one. Does anyone else

have any experience with how accurate studies are?This was done at

MA General Hospital, so I'd think it would be. I know they don't go

on her medical record though

> Anyway, I'm in shock. the doctor told me my daughter has

OCD,Bipolar,ADHD,ODD, Anxiety disorders nos, and PDD-NOS.

> I can't believe this!!!!!! I don't know what to do now! It seems

totally hopeless! What do you do with all of this??? Anyone??!!!

> Hugs

> Judy

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy,

You and your daughter have been in my thoughts. Don't think differently

about her outlook - she is the same person she was before the diagnosis. I

don't think she should be labeled with all of the conditions just because

she has certain tendencies associated with them. Her doctors, however, will

be able to make better decisions about how to treat her. Hang in there.

Tamara

> Anyway, I'm in shock. the doctor told me my daughter has

>OCD,Bipolar,ADHD,ODD, Anxiety disorders nos, and PDD-NOS.

> I can't believe this!!!!!! I don't know what to do now! It seems totally

>hopeless! What do you do with all of this??? Anyone??!!!