I might have had bipolar since childhood

I know that bipolar is now considered to be overdiagnosed in children, but I seemed to exhibit some signs of bipolar when I was a kid in the early 90s, which I think is back when they rarely diagnosed kids with bipolar. According to my old records, I had major issues with emotional lability, anger, and aggression, and 3 types of medication were tried, Mellaril, Ritalin, and lithium. According to the records, lithium greately improved my mood, making me less agitated, and for a long time I was continued on just the lithium.

I certainly think it's possible for those with BP to have had symptoms of it in early childhood as well. The norm is that it starts showing itself in late teens and early twenties, but I see no reason why it wouldn't show earlier, and I'm sure there are many here that will say they exhibited their symptoms really early as well.

I do think it's over-diagnosed in children however. And what I disagree with even more is giving them medications for it. Medications are very powerful and adults have trouble tolerating most of them and have long-term effects. Giving a strong medication (medications which we don't fully understand their effects) to a young brain that is busy quickly evolving, is not a good idea in my book and is reckless. It sounds as though being on lithium was a good thing for you, but I still worry and disagree about such decisions when it comes to small children.

- EGD.

EarlGreyDregs wrote:I certainly think it's possible for those with BP to have had symptoms of it in early childhood as well. The norm is that it starts showing itself in late teens and early twenties, but I see no reason why it wouldn't show earlier, and I'm sure there are many here that will say they exhibited their symptoms really early as well.

I do think it's over-diagnosed in children however. And what I disagree with even more is giving them medications for it. Medications are very powerful and adults have trouble tolerating most of them and have long-term effects. Giving a strong medication (medications which we don't fully understand their effects) to a young brain that is busy quickly evolving, is not a good idea in my book and is reckless. It sounds as though being on lithium was a good thing for you, but I still worry and disagree about such decisions when it comes to small children.

- EGD.

One thing I noticed about my bipolar is that I've never seemed to have a clear manic state--though I did become psychotic at age 14. It seems like I've had these irritable mixed states more than anything else throughout most of my life.

And I can clearly remember "ideas of reference" from my childhood.

Never medicated.