60 Minutes on bipolar

[4sumrzn]

Without watching the show.... I agree with busywend! So many things go unsaid when it comes to these topics. I feel that nobody knows what it's like or what they would do unless they were walking in MY shoes every day! Just as it would be if they were walking in yours! Each child & family is different....some benefit from medications & some don't. I also think it is very sad that there isn't enough help "out there" or at least there aren't enough resources to figure out how to get it if there is. My area lacks help, I have been looking for it for years now.....respite, supports groups, special needs camps, special needs childcare, special needs sports.....it's not there. And, I'll add....what about the parents that have to quit their jobs to take care of their difficult child & float paycheck to paycheck??? THAT probably wasn't mentioned either! Oooops.....I wrote a book! Sorry about that! I'm even off the topic because I didn't watch the show. Sorry.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

Well that's just the thing. There have been specials that address those issues. Not nearly enough, by far. This one specifically addressed bipolar, over-diagnosis-ing it in very young children, the backlash, prescribing off-label medications to these kids, and overmedicating. Every show cannot address every issue.

 

[busywend]

But, no matter the aspect of the disease; ie medications, behavior mod, school, etc. - there needs to be more support for families that have children with these special needs. More support might mean a 24 hotline that people can call to discuss possible side effects of a medication. It means more places to get the information on side effects. In some cases it means in home services to help the entire family learn how to act and react with a BiPolar (BP) child in the house. It means more respite so parents can go grocery shopping without torturing the child by making them go, too.

 

[flutterbee]

I didn't watch the episode, but I wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be more awareness, education, support for families, better facilities, etc.

But what REALLY burns me up are the people criticizing the PARENTS for medicating their kids. Hello? The doctors are prescribing the medication, not the parents. Parents - lay people - count on the doctors and their training and expertise. Yes, there is a responsibility on the part of parents to educate themselves, but in the end it is the doctor with the training to make these decisions.

It's not easy to go against a doctor for a lot of people. I had to stand hard and firm with a pediatrician doctor who was insisting on an antibiotic injection for difficult child's strep throat over oral antibiotics (difficult child plus shot = meltdown). It went like this:

Dr: You're going to let a child make this decision?
Me: She's not. I am.
Dr: Well, you're the mother, but I'm the doctor.
(Here's where I put my foot down)
Me: You don't trump me.

Most people know a little something about strep throat. So, imagine how hard it is for parents to contradict a doctor about something most people know very little about: mental illness. In addition to THAT, child psychiatrists are in such short supply that parents are literally desperate and feel like they have no other alternatives. Some psychiatrists will refuse to treat a patient who questions them. I've had it happen to me.

Ohhh...don't even get me started. :nonono: