WOW–
Thank you for the response. I appreciate it.
Firstly, I never insisted you kid is BP, I insisted that he might be and that every possible avenue should be explored to rule it out.
You say you’ve consulted with ‘every type’ of professional. Great! Does that include a psychiatrist? That’s an M.D. with a 4 year residency in psychiatry. If you have, why on earth didn’t you say so earlier? If not, then you havent consulted with ‘every type’ just with ‘some types’ of professionals and I, therefore, contend that ‘this particular type’ should be consulted with. They are the ones who can make the diagnosis.
Besides, even if you saw a psychiatrist that ruled out BP, I would still say get a second and maybe 3rd opinion about the matter. Again, as I stated before, BP is too destructive of an illness to not diagnose and psychiatrists are notorious for underdiagnosing it. It would be great if there was a special test that can be ordered to diagnose the illness, but there isnt, so you need to rely on the doctor evaluating your child.
WOW–I never said taking a pill was the entire answer. You made that part up. It is a vital first step (assuming your kid is indeed BP). The meds will calm the rage, lift the depression, improve the mood and subsequently allow for good judgement. At that point, and at that point only, therapy and everything else mentioned here becomes both imperative and very effective, but you can’t skip the meds and go straight to therapy.
Next, saying he never had a manic episode means he’s not BP is amateurish and misguided. Who told you that, your family doctor or therapist? Both are clueless if they think that way. Many BP’s never have a full manic episode. There are many forms of BP and some forms don’t involve full scale mania. There is a phenomenon called a ‘mixed episode’ which involved mainly rage, irritability and poor judgement, all on a very grand and pathological level. Your son may or may not have this.
WOW–and others on this board,
I want to point something out here. I think it is obvious that there is a lot more at play here than just going OTD. There are plenty of teens who veer far from what their parents or rabbi’s tell them to do, but they do it with at least some level of respect and sensitivity. Many are too embarrased to admit they are no longer frum. The relationship with the parents may be strained, but it in no way resembles what WOW has been describing here all along. A few posts ago she describes not being able to take away the android because “he would destroy everything in the house”. OTD? Try acutely ill. You’re living in fear in your own house! You’re being bullied by your teenage son! This is a FAR CRY from merely being OTD. What I’m trying to get you to see is that the mere fact that your sons situation is so intensly dire provides grounds for believing that we are dealing with an actual medical condition, not just consequences to having a poor encounter with a rebbe or some low life classmates. The fact that you’ve essentially dedicated 90% of your energy in resolving this issue and have produced no results at all should alert you to the possbility that this is truly a case of someone ill–someone trapped in the prison of his condition who can only be helped by a drug. My line of reasoning is so much more sound than yours!
Have you ever tried argueing with an athiest or evolutionist about how life started? Despite the mounting evidence and logical conclusions they persist in their arguments, often resorting to acrobatics just to defend their position. What I am saying is that to explain your sons outrageous behaviour from a medical standpoint makes a lot more sense that conjuring up some mythical understanding of how several negative encounters at school can create such a monster. Nasty, constantly irritable, not sleeping at night, smoking, steals alchohol, destructive rages, hatred etc. etc. etc from someone who comes from a fully functional family and two stable loving parents???……which sounds more believable?: a) this child clearly has an underlying mental disorder and should be properly diagnosed and treated
b)he’s just upset and needs someone to talk to.
I pray I’m getting through to you.