As a former Bostonian I just wanted to correct one little detail here. Boston's main NPR station is WGBH. I share your sentiments regarding Janet.

Exactly. Wozniak's words are in reality insulting to parents; and this is what I wrote about in another post. This quick to judge commentary if ANYONE questions children on meds. I must emphasize here, being that I HAVE navigated these waters with my daughter: It is NOT unusual for the parent's intent to be scrutinized, when questioning the meds/or diagnoses.
It is COMMON to hear phrases such as this :"I am the professional, I am the doctor." Hell, I was told that when my daughter turned 18 and was then a legal adult. I lost even more ground to fight for her, and when I did speak up it was up against doctors, therapists, staff, social workers, psychiatrists, all attempting to silence me and my questioning of the diagnoses and the medication efficacy.

I feel there is a large movement still burning like a wildfire out of control to keep these "professional" opinions alive and well.
The pharaceutical companies are fuel in that fire, as well as many clinical researchers, etc.

I find it personally sickening, that this self-appointed elitist group of professionals are still backing their stories with harmful words, that keeps the fear instilled in parents: to never question the doctor. That is plain dangerous.

Keep this in mind:

"Janet Wozniak, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital."

At one time, and possibly now was/is on the :

Professional Advisory Council
at CABF (Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation) bpkids.org (which receives Big Pharma Money).

I feel, and this is a strong opinion; that once a child gets into the psychiatric system, the system makes it VERY hard for a parent to remove their child from the system.(meds, psych appts., etc.)Keep in mind that many of these kids go to school on medications that must be reported to the school nurse, and staff, and can end up being part of a master plan of education called an I.E.P. This adds MORE exterior input from another group of professionals, who then also will/can/did and do question parents if kids stop taking, shift, or change medications. I had to have monthly appts booked throughout the entire school year with a psychiatrist for my daughter as part of the conditions of the IEP accomodations.

After all that is said and done--does anyone want to know how freaking hard it is to be a parent such as myself who went against the current, all of these years with SO many groups of professionals.

Sorry parents, but once youre locked into this psych world, good luck getting free from it.

Regarding children's brains: they are still growing, and no one can EVER assure being placed on these medications will not leave long-term damage.

I find it personally sickening, that this self-appointed elitist group of professionals are still backing their stories with harmful words, that keeps the fear instilled in parents: to never question the doctor. That is plain dangerous

I would just "ditto" this remark--but add that (1) this elitist group has set themselves up for self-perpetuation by limiting the size/number of medical schools; (2) the 'ol' boy' network is alive and well, and functioning in medicine perhaps even better than it does in politics; and (3) it is NOT just pediatric/psych doctors that use fear and elitism to control patients.

Today's medicine by the numbers has made those "square pegs" who cannot be rounded enough to fit in medicine's "round holes" outcasts.

Just try questioning a doctor; you'll find first that "you are not trying hard enough--give the medicine a chance." If that doesn't work, "it's the disease--sometimes this (whatever "this" is) just happens." And next, "if you don't trust ME, you better find another doctor."

Shall we now discuss Hippocrates . . . or compassion?

"These Children"? Do any of you HAVE "these children"? Well I do. My five year old son was diagnosed bipolar a year ago and is on a mood stabilizer and a "powerful antipsychotic". He had been expelled from three preschools for agressive behavior against other students and teachers. We couldn't keep a babysitter because he abused them so badly. He bit one in the stomach five times one day. He would rage and destroy his room within five minutes, overturning furniture twice his size. He was completely out of control. I was totally housebound. I couldn't leave the house because I have a younger child as well (now two and a half)and handling them both in public when my bipolar son was manic was simply not safe. I never knew if he would take off in a parking lot or whatever. He would bite me, head butt me, kick me, scratch me, and was becoming a serious danger to his baby brother. (He pushed him down in the hall and caused him to lose a tooth, among other things). We were at our wits' end. The decision to have him evaluated by a neurologist was agonizing to begin with. Ackowledging the possiblity that our sweet, sensitive, creative, gifted, handsome first-born child (because, yes, he is all those things too)had something wrong was terribly painful. But he wasn't able to socialize. He was too dangerous for play dates- too unpredictable. We were approaching real school age and he wasn't outgrowing these behaviors. I couldn't even let him play with his baby brother. I didn't want to shirk my responsibilities as a parent; on the contrary, I was reading every book I could get my hands on. I was becoming an amateur behavioral therapist! But when I say nothing was working- I mean NOTHING! Finally the diagnosis came. Then the med trials. For those of you who think we parents and the psychiatrists just grab a bunch of pills to throw at the problem, think again. We went through two doctors with very differing opinions and so far there have been five failed meds trials. And that's only since last May. You people live in a world where everything is black and white. Decisions are easy: right or wrong. I live in a tangle of grey. You think meds make parenting easier. Well they don't. Parenting a bipolar kid is exponentially more complicated than neurotypical kid. I can say that because I have one of each. Even when my son is stable, he is more intense, thinks more deeply, is more creative and profound than any neruotypical five year old playing tee ball you know. But in addition to the non-pharomcological coping skills I will need to equip my son with, I have to agonize over side effects, stigma, and battling my own gut-level fear responses to do what's truly best for my child. Just last night we spent eight hours in the emergency room with him because he developed an extremely atypical toxic response to a low starter dose of a new mood stabilizer. He had only been on it for three days- a total of four doses. It was terrifying and totally unpredictable. I am just as horrified as any human being to read of the death of a child, probably more so because there, but for the Grace of God, go I. So, sit if you choose, from the sidelines and judge, but you are by no means qualified to do so. You do not have the degree, you were not elected to the post and you do not know the facts of the case.

YES.Tania,
My daughter was diagnosed childhood bipolar at age 11 in 1999.
Read her story here and here and here just for a start. She is now 19 years old, and the same frustration and questions and pain you feel are the same one's that I had, for 8 years.
Psychiatric medications chemically alter the brain. Period.

Tania,

Please read these posts on my blog as well, and know that you are not alone. I understand what you are feeling. The fear, the frustration, and feeling defensive that you are a good parent. I have walked this path before you, and I am here for others as a result. No child is the same as another, but I offer a buffer here. It is terribly difficult to feel this way. Please take care, and please research as much as you can regarding the medications.

Read here
and
here
and

here
and

and here too.

Take care-Stephany

"Antipsychotics Carry Risks For Children"

Tania,

Though I risk humiliating myself for exposing my extremely long comments; I wish to direct you back to this post Philip wrote last May 2006. I had not yet started writing my own blog, and my daughter was residing in a psych ward at age 18. She was not home for nearly a year at that point.Also, this was 3 weeks before she had an MRI that discovered an organic brain malformation. This is hard. I believe that it is okay to think outside of the mainstream psychiatric box regarding the Childhood Bipolar Disorder paradigm.

Stephany, I am truly sorry for your experience and your daughter's. We all have to tread our path. I don't doubt your beliefs, but I have done my research and I take calculated risks that I believe to be in my son's best interest. I believe stability is his best shot, and I do believe he will achieve it. I am sorry your daughter is so ill. I don't believe it is through any fault of yours. I'm not even sure it is through the fault of the drugs, to be honest, but I know that is probably an incendiary thing to say to you. There is no way to know. Of course these meds alter brain chemistry- they have to. Believe me, I don't love that my child is a guinea pig...and it is a fact I am keenly aware of. But I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I could feel my child slipping away, and when he is medicated, I see him coming back. I pray that I am doing good and not damage and I have faith in his psychiatrist. But we all just do the best we can. I follow my gut. I inform my brain, but I follow my gut- no questions asked. By the way, I am a bipolar guinea pig too, so I don't ask my kid to take meds I wouldn't take myself.

Tania,
I understand your rock and hard place. I have to add something here. Once I started taking some of the medications that my daughter had been given [for a wrong diagnosis]I felt even worse that I never understood how bad she was feeling when she would have hand tremors, vomit and go manic, or walk like a zombie. She attempted to jump from moving vehicles on freeways while on an adverse reaction from Zoloft, and once that was removed she stopped. When on a 5 med cocktail of Trileptal,Haldol, among others, she did jump from the car, after stopping it cold by grabbing the steering wheel. I do believe in medication induced psychosis, and behaviors.
I also understand wanting to have a sick kid be well again. I am not anti-med; I take Lamictal and Xanax. I also believe adult medications can alter a growing child's brain permanently.

One thing I would like to add here, is that though I have strong opinions; in no way do I judge or question another parent, and I hope I don't sound like I am.

parent bashing

Stephany,

You don't sound like you are parent bashing and your comments don't humiliate you. Because of your daughter's age, you have been on the cutting edge of this diagnosis and unfortunately it has cut you. She sounds like she has really been a test subject for these psychotropics. It also sounds like she is a very difficult case. The sad truth, the tragedy really is, you will never know why your daughter is the way she is. My great aunt was diagnosed "paranoid schizophrenic" back in the day when that was what they called anyone with psychosis. These days she would likely be bipolar, schizo-affective type with comorbidly occurring MAJOR OCD. She was a brilliant child- a violin prodigy. But things started to go wrong at about 16. She ended up having a psychotic break in her late twenties after many, many episodes that everyone tried to sweep under the carpet. The fact is, all this happened WITHOUT meds. She was born that way. She came from a good family, everyone loved her, she wasn't abused and she still was completely lost. And you think the meds are bad now? By the time I knew her she had been hit with the chemical equivalent of a sledge hammer. She might as well have been lobotomized! I don't tell you this to belittle your daughter's condition- not at all. Only to remind you that sometimes this happens for no reason at all. I lost a baby at 24 weeks gestational age for no reason at all. Sometimes tragic things happen. It would be nice to blame someone or something. But frankly, even if there was a scapegoat, it doesn't change the outcome. Look at how litigous our society is. Look at all the million dollar settlements people get. What does it solve? Whom does it bring back? It only serves to prolong the pain and bitterness. There may well still be answers out there for your daughter, but you have turned your back on the only lifeline you have. I understand that the doctors you have had have been lousy. I get that. There are a lot of lousy doctors out there. But your daughter needs you. You need to find the needle in the haystack: a psychiatrist who is willing to listen to the considerable knowlege you have amassed and to work with you. Someone who is creative and willing to think outside the box. That person is out there, but you will never find him or her spending all your time and energy posting your venom and vituperations against the psychiatric community here. You have a responsibility to your daughter. You are her mother whether she is four or eighteen. She can't do this alone. I understand your pain. I hope you understand why I want you to find your faith and get motivated again.

Stephany, if you want to read an amazing story about a kid not unlike your daughter, go to starfishadvocacy.com and see a post called "John...a message of HOPE". You might be surprised what is possible...even for the severely afflicted.

Tania,

I DO have a psychiatrist who thinks outside of the box w/ my daughter, she has a mental health case manager, and thank you for saying I spew venom. I have not turned my back on "the only life line" I have. I've been to 9 appts. in 15 days getting her help, and do NOT spend all of my time posts anti psych venom here. I must say, if you have paid attn. to anything Ive written, Ive spent a solid 8 yrs working with 9 psychiatrists and pay one 260 bucks a month to help me continue to find the "right solution" for her life, so she may have one.
I dont care if shes on meds or off of meds. I take meds.
Spewing venom all day on this blog. WOW.
Thanks a lot.

Tania,
I also do not need to be reminded that bad things happen for no reason. My daughter out of three is actually my 4th, because I had one die before birth the same as you did. My best friend of 43 yrs died in her sleep. My daughter was dx based on med reactions, and has a questionable brain misformation. You are the type of close-minded thinker example I avoid when finding a psychiatrist.

Now I get it. Tania, you are from CABF spin-off of Donna Gelcher's new parent forum Starfish advocacy. Those ex CABF posters show up at conduct disorders dot com as well. I am sure I know what "John" you are speaking of: I posted to his mother quite often on CABF boards back in the day. He was quite an extreme case, I agree.
I'm sure cath, debbie and all of you love how Ive started exposing this.
Good. Keep reading, because Im not the only one who thinks this way.

One more thing Tania, I never skipped a day when I was losing hope. As a matter of fact, she has seen top of the line psychiatrists at medical centers that are world-known. As a matter of fact, she and her case manager are working alongside one another to ensure she succeeds in the mental health community.
If you read my blog and saw me write about wanting to give up--that's natural, and Ive had not had one day off in 2 solid years, driven 30,000 miles to 4 psych wards, had several neuro surgeon appts., advocated to gain 2 MRI's of her brain, and still set her meds out in the morning.

She takes 300mg. of Clozaril; 1500mg. of Lithium, Cogentin 3x a day; 2 stool softeners for constipation from Clozaril, and benedryl for icing on the cake.

She has never stopped seeing a psychiatrist since 1999, and I'm the one who has driven her to every single appointment.

What I do with sharing her story, is try and show how tragic over-medicating children can be; and hope that another child like Rebecca Riley doesn't die, who was on the same meds my daughter has been on. Depakote and Zyprexa were given to mine at high doses at age 11, and have caused permanent polcystic ovary syndrome from the Depakote use; that was verified by 2 Chief of staff specialists at Children's hospital with 25 years of experience under their belts.

Read my writing as venomous, and not taking care of my daughter as an implication---piss off then.

The time I spend here is when she is having a break. The rest of my 24 hour day is providing care for her, driving her to bi-monthly blood draws and psych/neuro/case manager appts./and school/ attending school meetings with supervisors to ensure she gets services there, as well as a job.

I think I am done speaking now.

Well, Stephany, you sure did show me you're not full of anger. That's for sure. I never accused you of not caring for your daughter. I also don't understand exactly what you're "exposing" here. As for the Rebecca Riley case, you might want to dig a little. Her meds cocktail is less likely to blame than her fairly clearly abusive parents. There are many means for abuse. Sadly, it would appear, these sick people were using psychotropics. Unfortunately, this case will like be made an example for the wrong reasons. Quite frankly, it's hard to figure exactly where you're coming from. You hate meds and yet you medicate your daughter. You speak out vehemently against the psychiatric community and yet you spend all your resources on them. I understand being conflicted, but this is to the extreme. No one LOVES meds or medicating their kid, but jeez! And I'm sorry, but I DO find fault with the premise that your daughter's dx is solely the result of her meds. How can you say that when you carry a dx and it is shown to be hereditary? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The fact that she is more afflicted than you is perhaps an unfortunate circumstance. Why do you persist in the idea that the decision to medicate her as a young child caused her to be more afflicted and caused her brain malformation? It seems like self-flagellation to me. I'm sure this post will incur more of your wrath. Why not? You don't know me...I'm just a closed-minded easy target.

Oh boy. I hate to get into this discussion here b/c of fueling fire, etc., but since I'm anonymous, eh, I will.

"I never accused you of not caring for your daughter."

I believe she came to that conclusion from this statement: "That person is out there, but you will never find him or her spending all your time and energy posting your venom and vituperations against the psychiatric community here. You have a responsibility to your daughter. You are her mother whether she is four or eighteen. She can't do this alone." It sounds like you're saying that she's shirking her responsibilities as a mother by posting on/maintaining a blog.

"Her meds cocktail is less likely to blame than her fairly clearly abusive parents."

Both are dubious.

"You hate meds and yet you medicate your daughter. You speak out vehemently against the psychiatric community and yet you spend all your resources on them."

Most of us with mental illnesses - except for the few lucky ones who have some miraculous willpower - hate what medication can do. We're not so much against meds as we are the effects that come from them and how debilitating they can be down the road. It's not a coalition of mental health bloggers hating on the psych community; we want doctors to listen to patients, see them beyond their diagnoses, and prescribe the appropriate medication(s) knowing FULL WELL the risks associated and warning their patients in kind. Many docs get their information from pharma reps and don't do their own research. This isn't psych-community bashing; this is reality. As for pharmaceutical companies, they'll do anything they can to get the biggest bang for their buck. Even if it causes diabetes. (See any Zyprexa post on this blog.)

"And I'm sorry, but I DO find fault with the premise that your daughter's dx is solely the result of her meds. How can you say that when you carry a dx and it is shown to be hereditary? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The fact that she is more afflicted than you is perhaps an unfortunate circumstance. Why do you persist in the idea that the decision to medicate her as a young child caused her to be more afflicted and caused her brain malformation?"

Again, please read a Zyprexa post ANYWHERE on this blog. A diagnosis of diabetes or hyperglycemia can SOLELY be the result of medication. Zyprexa is one example. An obesity diagnosis (yes, it's a diagnosis) can result solely from medication. Read any post on Seroquel on Furious Seasons.

When a young child is placed on medication, anything can happen. The entire body is still growing, still forming - you know this. Why do you think that a person who was heavily medicated as a young child cannot develop health problems stemming from those medications? Psychotropic medications are one of the most subjective medications on earth.

One more thing: aspirin doesn't have nearly as many adverse side effects on millions of American people like psychotropic medications do. There will always be cynicism and skepticism about psych meds until the significant side effects decrease and are safe enough to be widely used.

tania and stephany, i'd appreciate it if you both took the personal stuff down a peg or two.

Clarification:[last one]
1. She was dx based on a reaction to Imipramine for bed wetting at age 11. No prior psychiatric issues.
2. She changed into a completely rageful person when the pdoc changed the OCD dx from the Imipramine reaction; to bipolar disorder in 1999 at age 11, without any observation of bipolar symtoms.Yet was loaded up on high doses of Zyprexa, Depakote and Zoloft.
3. Her brain malformation was not caused by drugs. It is a total complete separate issue that can have psychiatric symptoms.[Chiari].
4. 2 things: "venom" "apple not falling far from the tree". Excuse the rants of mine; I will not post on this matter any further.