Colby's Story

      Seeing that Colby cracked 3 of my ribs while still in my tummy should have been a BIG sign that I was in for TROUBLE! After he was born he slept all night from the day we brought him home from the hospital.....BUT.....he never took naps during the day so who wouldn't be tired at night?

      My husband and I always thought that something was just not quit right but couldn't put our finger on it. We had an older son who was not near as active and mischievious as this one. By mischievious I mean he would do things like EAT the lights off the Christmas tree because we wouldn't let him have his 10th candy cane off the tree!! He would wait until his brother was just about to beat a Nintendo game he had been working on for weeks and then calmly walk over and RESET the button!!! Oh the tears we have had over this boy!

      Colby went to Preschool with only a few problems but he has always been a totally different child at home, the drs now say he was holding it in as long as he could and had to let it out somewhere and home was the safest place and that we should be thankful he picked home to do it!

      He did start to have academic problems immediately after starting Kindergarten. You know the usual,,,,,,,not following directions, fails to pay attention, not completing work, talking too much, etc. At the end of Kind. it was suggested we have him tested for learning disabilities which we agreed to let them do. Anything to help him succeed in school. At our first ARD we were told there were none, he was a June baby and still very immature and hopefully would mature over the summer.

      He went on to 1st grade were we found out about the middle of the school year that he was in what they called "developmental 1st grade" which basically was the same as reg. 1st grade but things were done at a slower pace and many more manipulatives and visuals were used. He had a GREAT year. He could have continued on to Developmental 2nd grade but our school district decided to go year round at that time and they took away these programs. The 2nd week of his 2nd grade year the teacher called and asked if I had ever considered having him tested for ADHD. Me, not knowing anything about ADHD told her that he had been tested at the end of 1st grade and that no L.D.'s had been found. She informed me that ADHD was a medical condition and something the Dr. would have to Diagnose. I immediately called the DR to see how much it would cost for this "test"......the nurse told me that Colby would need a Psych. eval. and teacher reports before the DR would even consider doing anything.

I went to the library and got a book on ADD and read it and just cried because THEY HAD WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT MY SON WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!! ;o) LOL At the back of the book there was a list of support groups and one listed was in my area. I called to find a cheap place to have my son evaluated (our ins. wouldn't cover it) and was asked why I was asking for this. When I told them about the teachers call I was told that BY LAW....IF THE SCHOOL SUSPECTS THERE'S A PROBLEM, THE SCHOOL MUST DO THE TESTING FOR THAT PROBLEM!!!

A few days later was parent conferences and after I had heard how he wasn't completing work, not following directions, was easily distracted, etc.....I mention this law and suddenly the teacher did not recall our conversation the second week of school or her comment about ME having him tested for ADHD. I was livid,,,,,then they proceeded to tell me there was no one in the district to do the testing. I asked them if I needed to get a lawyer and was told they would look into their options. Before I got home from the meeting there was a message on my machine that they had found someone to test him.

He was tested over a period of 5 months for IQ,Behavior,LD's etc. and it was suggested that he exhibit signs of moderate to severe ADHD and we should contact a DR for options of treating it.

      We took Colby to the DR with our paperwork from the school and immediately started him on Ritilan....it helped but only for a few months, we upped it till DR said we could go no higher then we tried Dexedrine. It helped for a while with us having to up it every few months and then that dose got too high so we switched to Adderall with the same story. Colby has convinced my youngest son he is "stupid retard" because he tells him this EVERYDAY! He fights constantly with his 2 brothers and all the kids on our street. No one would want to be his friend because he is so mean to everyone. Anything he THINKS, He SAYS,,,,,I call it OTM "On the mind, Out the mouth" Poor thing, he just doesn't get it, everything is everyone elses fault. No way does he have a problem, its every one else who has the problems.

      At one time the DR put him on Zoloft for depression. It sent him into a tailspin, our family watched and waited for his head to start spinning and for him to start spitting black blood at us. He was out of control BIG TIME! It was horrible. ....then the DR suggested we go to a Psychiatrist because this was getting over his head....and this from a DR who specializes in ADHD!!

      By now Colby is about to enter 6th grade Jr high. After several visits to the Psych. he is diagnosed with BI Polar Disorder formerly known as manic Depression. This now explained the severe mood swings he was having that we though were caused by him "crashing" off the stimulants he was on. We also learned that a BPer treated with anti depressants and not on "mood stabilizers" will act out the way Colby did. He was immediately started on mood stabilizers and something to help him sleep and lowered his ADHD meds as now he was able to function on a much lower dose.

      Over the past 3 yrs we have had to change meds several times because of bad side effects but as of right now Colby is stable and maintaining decent grades in school. I know that things can change at any minute and he can turn on a dime. I do have hopes for him but know that with the BP diagnosis we will always have to be on our toes and make sure he takes his meds. I don't look forward to the day which is not too far off when he refuses his meds and gives us hard time about his illness, until then we keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.