Bipolar Medication For Children Dubai | Only An Expert Must Start, Continue Or Stop These Controlled Medicines
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: Importance of expert decision, antimanic, mood stabilizing and emergency medications
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: Please invest a few minutes of your time to watch the video. Or if you prefer to read, then feel free to skip the video and go straight to the text below:
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: To receive information to help your child send me a WhatsApp message on +971525608641
Parents are always very worried about giving medication, especially mood altering ones to children.
Hence the first most important thing is to ensure that a proper procedure has been done to come to a diagnosis of Childhood Bipolar Disorder.
The decision to give medications is not to be taken lightly. On the other hand, appropriate medications given in proper dosages can result in a dramatic improvement in the child’s and the family’s life.
Children who suffer from Childhood Bipolar Disorder and their family experience significant problems in social, emotional, and academic functioning.
As indicated in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Practice Parameter for the treatment of Childhood Bipolar Disorder, “a comprehensive multimodal treatment approach combining psychopharmacology with adjunctive psychosocial therapies is almost always indicated for early-onset BD”
Thus medications form an integral part of the treatment of Bipolar Disorder of childhood.
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: To receive information to help your child send me a WhatsApp message on +971525608641
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: Types of medications
The medicines are divided into three categories:
1. Antimanic medications
These are medicines to reduce the child’s explosive meltdowns, irritability, and other manic symptoms.
2. Mood stabilizers
These medicines help to reduce mood swings and prevent the intense up and downs in moods. They prevent the return of both manic and depressive episodes in bipolar disorder.
3. Miscellaneous
- Emergency medications: Usually short-term benzodiazepines are given to reduce intense mania
- Medicines for Comorbid or associated conditions in Bipolar Disorder like ADHD and anxiety
- Medicines to avoid in Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: Key points
There are key points to note before and after starting medications:
- Correct diagnosis
- Constant medical supervision– it is important to take medicine as your doctor suggests to improve your child’s health and may prevent future problems. If the medicines are not taken properly, you may be putting your child’s health at risk.
- Regular blood tests
- Keep an eye on side effects
Bipolar Medication For Children Dubai
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: To receive information to help your child send me a WhatsApp message on +971525608641
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: AntiMania medications
These medications are important to reduce manic symptoms in children. These include protracted and explosive tantrums, oppositional behaviour, rages etc.
Antimanic medications include lithium, atypical antipsychotics like risperidone, Aripiprazole, Olanzapine, and Quetiapine. Unfortunately, many of the medications are not approved by the FDA(US Federal Drug Administration) for children below 8 to 10 years. However, the doctor can prudently use these medications ‘off-label’.
These are mainly atypical antipsychotics and they help to reduce manic and restless behaviors. The first-line treatment for mania in children and adolescents is an SGA or second-generation antipsychotics. If the child or teen is at suicide risk he may need to be hospitalized and started on SGA and benzodiazepine.
Some of the common side effects are weight gain, metabolic problems like increased triglyceride or lipids, thyroid problems, and diabetes.
The weight gain noticed with SGA is the least with Aripiprazole. In fact, the metabolic side effects are minimum in this particular SGA.
Starting with very small doses is the key to avoiding side effects.
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: To receive information to help your child send me a WhatsApp message on +971525608641
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: Mood stabilizers
These prevent mood swings and particularly reduce bouts of depressions.
Mood stabilizers used are mainly antiepileptics or anticonvulsants like Carbamazepine, divalproex sodium, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine and topiramate in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder.
Traditionally, mood stabilizers with or without antipsychotics have been used in treating children and adolescents with bipolar disorder. Mood stabilizers balance certain brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that control emotional states and behavior.
Mood stabilizers, especially lithium, valproic acid, and carbamazepine, may provide relief from acute episodes of mania or depression and can help prevent them from recurring.
Lithium has problems because its safety blood levels and effective blood levels are very close. Hence blood tests are needed frequently. Valproic acid seems to work better than Carbamazepine as a mood stabilizer. Common side effects of these medicines include nausea,
Common side effects of these medicines include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, trembling, increased thirst and increased the need to urinate, weight gain in the first few months of use and drowsiness.
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: Conclusion
To conclude, medications are an important part of the treatment of bipolar disorder. Usually, the benefits of the medicine are more important than any minor side effects. These side effects may go away after the medicine has been taken for a while.
It is important not to suddenly stop the medications. If you do not feel comfortable about them discuss it with your child’s physician and either he or she will change the medication, lower the dose or if you really want gradually terminate it.
They must be used in conjunction with therapies and behavior management.
Bipolar Medication For Children Dubai
Bipolar medication for children Dubai: To receive information to help your child send me a WhatsApp message on +971525608641
If you like what you have seen or read about bipolar medication for children Dubai, please share it with your friends by clicking on one of the social media buttons below.
Go from bipolar medication for children Dubai to Pediatrician Dubai homepage
