Friday, May 7, 2010

Bipolar Mysteries

I'm sure most of my readers have already seen Bipolar Mysteries on Discovery Health last night. I DVR'ed it and watched it this morning. I was crying like a baby.

Why?

One, because it's heartbreaking to see those kids (and parents) hurting so badly.

And two, because that is our life. That is SO our life. From the little girl Sammie crying on the floor to Chase raging in his bedroom to the older children saying they don't fit in or have friends. If someone were to come in and videotape our existence, that is what it would look like. Wow. It was eye-opening and incredibly sad.

What was interesting to me was that out of the four families, 2 were adoptive and 1 was a grandparent raising her grand-kids. And in two of the families the kids had been abused. Which proves my point that mental illness is a far greater risk for children in foster care.

What did you think? Did anyone else see themselves in that show?


***Does anyone know where I can find the entire show online? I want to send it to some people to watch.

12 comments:

  1. I hadn't watched it yet but I am prepared to cry through it as well. I plan on watching it tonight.

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  2. I wish I had cable! I heard that they were doing a week long series on mental illness. If you so happen to find where you can watch it online, could you send me the link as well? I would really like to see it.

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  3. I just love your blog! I am a parent of an adopted child with FAS and Bipolar. I wish I could watch this online too!

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  4. There are four little clips on hulu, which are also available on discovery health's website. http://www.hulu.com/search?query=bipolar+mysteries&st=0

    any idea how to contact or send a message to the families?

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  5. The show will be aired again June 13th on Discovery Health...I was one of the families in the show...it was very difficult for us to do...as you can see, I'm still out here looking for any kind of help/advice I can...I've heard many comments regarding the editing on the show...unfortunately I worked with them for 1 1/2 years and they could only squeeze it into 15 minutes...my daughter does suffer other symptoms, but they had to pick and choose what they would show...the cards and letters I've received seemed to be that those that are dealing with bipolar were let down, hoping more symptoms would be depicted...those that are not dealing with bipolar seemed very touched and had no idea and appreciated learning more about the disorder...

    This is a great site...nice to see others being able to connect!

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    1. MY HEART ABSOLUTELY BROKE FOR ALL OF YOU PEOPLE! I would love to offer any support and assistance you might possibly need as I was also diagnosed at the age of 14 with Bipolar Type 2 as well as ADHD. However, I was misdiagnosed and today, at 35 years of age, am medication and symptom free for over 10 years now and I would love to share with you my story and insight on how this was achieved. I understand the sensitive and confidential nature of wanting to remain anonymous and therefore am going to give you my contact info for you to reach out to me if you feel comfortable at some point to do so. My name is Jason Key and my email address is jason.key@me.com. I will continue to pray for your family and all the other families shown in the documentary. Just now this one thing. You are not alone in your time of hurt, pain and suffering. GOD see's your hurt, and GOD will not let you suffer this trial alone. MAY GOD BLESS YOU and Heaven smile down upon you in your time of need!!

      Jason Key

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  6. I didn't see this show but a friend of mind did. She said if felt like she was watching me talk. We have a son who was diagnosed at 4 1/2 with ADHD and PDDNOS (on the spectrum). I questioned the diagnosis at the time and later, when we went back after he started kindergarten, asked if he could possibly be bi-polar? Because he didn't have all of the symptoms of bi-polar, she said "no". It is now 2 1/2 years later and my son has been to 2 hospitals and many, many, many drs. appointments with many changes in medicine. He still doesn't have every single symptom of bi-polar but he is bi-polar. It is so sad to me that because of the age of the child they won't even consider this diagnosis. They completely overlook the fact that he showed pretty much every other symptom. Not so say we didn't get help right away and do everything we could. We are and still do and we struggle every single day, sometimes every single minute with this sad, sad disease. My son has suffered for many years fighting back his rage and then when we think we've got everything under control...well, it changes again. I also want to mention that he is my biological son and there has been no abuse. My oldest son and him are completely opposite, so parenting was the same (as much as it could be) and it is NOT the parents fault. I do believe however that a traumatic birth could have done something to help cause this.

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  7. I relate to this, in that I was adopted in 1969 through the State. My biological mother was bipolar and my biological father was schizophrenic. To make matters worse, I was conceived in a mental institution. I was very lucky to not have inherited either disease and I sympathize with those who have to live with this mental illness. I wish you all the best,

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  8. Hi, this is Sammie's mom. I was just searching the web about our show and ran across your blog. I really appreciate you taking the time to discuss it and share your experience with parenting a child with these special needs. Sammie is six now and I can't even begin to explain the last almost 2 years. I can however tell you it looks almost identical to what you have been through with your little Taz. Choosing to do the show was not an easy decision and even after they were done filming I had so much anxiety over how people would view it as they did not capture even a quarter of what we go through. These posts reasure me we did the right thing. Thank you.

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  9. I just watched the rerun of the show and was shocked at how much it mirrored my life about 20 years ago. I never thought anyone else went through it like I did. My son (the 2nd child) and my youngest daughter (the 4th and last) had the exact same symptoms. We went through a hard time with them. My son started about age 7 and my daughter started about 18 months. They are now 29 and 21. They are both left-handed, too. And extremely smart, genius IQs, gifted, etc. My son turned to drugs early, ran away a lot, my daughter became focused on school and is doing well in college, ironically studying psychology. Bipolar was never brought up, never thought of. I was in and out of doctor's offices, hospitals, whatever I could do to help them, but no one could. They didn't offer any medication, either. I hope and pray that these children can be helped to become mentally healthy adults through the exposure that is coming out and people willing to share their stories.

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  10. Does anyone know if the show will air again? I have it recorded, but my daughter's doctor wants to see it. Kelsey reminded me most of my daughter (who is 10). She can be so sweet at times. We are still trying to get her stable with medication. I too wonder about the traumatic birth thing. I hear that a lot, but no doctor will ever say that has anything to do with it. But, she is our biological child and there has not been any abuse or family history.

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  11. Many US children were misdiagnosed Bipolar NOS and should not have been on psych meds. That is a fact which is no longer debateable.
    The Chair of DSM-IV Dr Allen Frances has stated this many times, and in May 2012 the APA itself conceded it.

    The more frightening aspect of this saga is that they didn't know what to do with these symptoms then, and they still don't now.

    DSM V revamped Bipolar NOS to first to "Temper Dysregulation Disorder" and now to "Disruptive Mood Deregulation Disorder". The DSM approach still does not identify the true root cause of the aggressive behavioral outbursts and thus, does not provide accurate, preventative treatment.

    The true root cause of the vast majority of these misdiagnosed cases was identified by a couple of doctors practicing in clinics in the field. They call it Immature Adrenaline Systems Overreactivity (IASO).

    Sadly few people hear this news because discoveries in the field only make it to blind study clinical trials if there is a chance to make money. (IASO will not make money for anyone.) Meanwhile, such discoveries are systematically dismissed by academia and big name medical authorities because they didn't discover in their labs or read about it in their books (because there was no clinical trial study to quote.)

    If know families needing true relief from this problem, or want to learn more about this area, search on the book and website named Hope for the Violently Aggressive Child by Doctor Ralph Ankenman. The site includes links to all the information referenced above.

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