Growing Up Bipolar and Raising Your Bipolar Child

Most of the time when people hear the word Bipolar Disorder they immediately think of a border line, or maybe even not so borderline crazy person. They do not think of a normal acting person, and they most certainly are not think of a child. It is true that most of the people in the United States that are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder every year are adults over 25 years of age. But, now due to the advances in medical technology diagnosis is coming at a much earlier age.

I am one of those people that could not be happier that these medical advances finally took place. I myself was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and ADHD, after my son was diagnosed, mind you. I had been in and out of psychiatrists and counselors officers for minor offenses most of my teenage life. I was constantly angry and confused about life, and wanting to know what was always wrong with me. I wish I had found that one person that would have had the guts to make the diagnosis way back when, when it maybe would have did me the most good, then to have had to wait for 10 or so more long years to get it.

Let me give you a little insight into how I came to bring my son into the specialist for an evaluation in the first place. I actually worked at this Pediatricians office full time as a receptionist at the time. I later worked my way through the ranks into ICD-9 coding, but this is another story. Dr. Cook, as I will hereby call her, is a highly specialized Pediatrician that works with very specialized diseases and disorders that most doctors no nothing about. She is the doctor that most other doctors are referring you to when they have run out of tests and are standing there scratching their heads.