Childhood Bipolar Diagnosis?

I enjoy reading "My life as being a bipolar person", and she's given me permission to share a little from her blog. She's been doing some research about children with Bipolar disorder vs. ADHD that I wanted to share here....

Both disorders share many characteristics: impulsivity, inattention, hyperactivity, physical energy, behavioral and emotional lability (behavior and emotions change frequently), frequent coexistence of conduct disorder and oppositional-defiant disorder, and learning problems. Motor restlessness during sleep may be seen in both (children who are bipolar are physically restless at night when “high or manic”,though they may have little physical motion during sleep when “low or depressed”).

And the differences are;

The destructiveness that are in both disorders may seem the same but they are very different. A child with ADHD often breaks things carelessly while playing, where as the destructiveness with a bipolar child is not a result of carelessness, but usually out of anger. The duration and intensity of the angry outbursts and temper tantrums in the two disorder differs. A kid with ADHD usually calm down within 20 to 30 minutes wheras a kid with bipolar will continue to feel and act angry for over 30 minutes to 4 hour. The energy that a child with ADHD puts out during the anger outburst could be mimicked by an adult, If an adult tried to mimick a bipolar child would reach exhaustion in a few minutes.

You can check out more at her blog, linked above...

Don't forget to change your clocks back one hour this Sunday!!!

Looking for someone similar?

There are so many different networks online - it's amazing! Most everyone knows the "classics" like MySpace and FaceBook, and then there are all sorts of niche networks as well, ones that I'm sure I've never heard of. I think that they are fun, but I lose interest quickly, and they require some time to keep up. I've found a neat one today that is new to me - maybe you've heard of it already. It's called MyTrybe. It's easy and once it's set up it kind of does the work for you, which I like!! I've got their Similar People widget on my sidebar right now. It is meant to expose your blog to people like you. It allows you to express your sense of style, humor, art, music, food, and so on. It shows your "similar people" and what they like best, and it even has a similarity indicator that shows visitors how similar they are to you. I signed up today - it only took about ten minutes. Anyway, check it out and see what you think... Learn more & get the widget, then maybe I'll see you around - maybe we'll turn out to be "similar people" :).

Fall Allergies

My younger daughter has a doozy of a time with fall allergies. I guess it's the mold in the leaves. The only way that she can get through it that we have discovered so far is Benadryl at night and Claritin in the morning... I'll be glad when we have a real cold spell; then she'll be fine and we can lay off the medicine!!

I got a great email from TriVita specifically about fall allergies, so thought I'd share :)...

This can be a difficult time of year for many people. It is the time when autumn plants bloom outdoors and mold spores bloom indoors. Both of these trigger allergic responses in people prone to allergies.

What are allergies? Why do some people get them? And how can you find relief if you have allergies?

What are allergies?
Allergies occur when a plant or animal protein or a synthetic substance contacts your mucous membrane and your immune system reacts to reject the irritant. These irritants can include:

• Mold
• Pollen
• Dust
• Animal Dander

When your immune system senses one of these irritants it creates an antibody. The antibody protein is rushed to the site of the irritation and “pops” a mast cell. This releases histamines, which create inflammation in the area surrounding the site. This in turn attracts white blood cells and plasma fluid from the lymphatic system, causing heat and swelling. At the same time, blood vessels in the area dilate, causing redness. This irritation may also cause pain.

Although trigger proteins often come from pollen or mold spores, they can really come from anything. For instance, the most common food allergy in North America is milk. Here, the allergic reactions happen within the intestines, where the milk antibody protein (casein) pops the mast cells in the intestines similar to the way a needle pops a balloon.

Something interesting about the nature of mast cells is that they seem to be connected in groups. The H-1 (histamine-1) receptors line the sinuses, intestines, skin, joints and lungs. So, when ragweed pollen triggers mast cells in the nose or a milk protein triggers mast cells in the intestines, all the body’s H-1 mast cells react. That’s why milk allergy is related to asthma, ragweed-induced asthma is related to eczema, and mold-induced eczema is related to arthritis.

Why do I have allergies?
A more important question than “What are allergies” may be “Why do I have allergies when others do not?” A little story might help us understand where we are in the course of health in North America and around the world.

Many years ago, coal miners took a canary with them into the mines to check whether the air was safe for them to breathe. As long as the canary was alive, the miners knew that the air was safe. However, if the canary began having breathing problems, the miners knew that the air was toxic and that they had to immediately leave the mine. Today coal miners use sophisticated air-quality sensors to test for toxic air.

People with allergies are like canaries in the coal mine: They suffer sooner than others. But make no mistake – toxic air affects everyone sooner or later! Those watching world health trends are seeing incredible increases in rates of hay fever, asthma, arthritis and many other allergy-related disorders.

Therefore, we can easily say that there are only two kinds of people:

1. Those who have allergies today
2. Those who will develop allergies tomorrow

Health research from around the world confirms this startling trend.

What you can do
Allergy protection is possible when you approach the problem from two perspectives: isolation and insulation.

Isolation
This means keeping your environment as allergen-free as possible. You avoid foods that may be allergy triggers as well as keep your indoor air as clean as possible. It may also mean you stay indoors when allergen counts are high.

Insulation
This means keeping your mast cells as tough as possible so they don’t “pop” too easily. All mast cells are made of good fats, such as those in OmegaPrime. In fact, OmegaPrime has specific “anti-allergy” fat called perilla seed oil. Using these fats in a high concentration (two per meal) over time will toughen up mast cells and help prevent histamine release.

Vitamin B-12 also helps protect you from allergies by reducing the total amount of histamines your body makes. According to an ongoing study of B-12 and allergies, it takes about three milligrams of B-12 to break through the allergy process and reduce symptoms. Additionally, there appears to be a long-term effect. People in the B-12 study experienced more allergy relief in their second year than they did during the first.

A few other nutrients play important roles in allergy reduction:

• Maximum levels of Vitamin C (learn about the Vitamin C Flush) act directly to help block histamines
• Calcium assists B-12 in blocking histamine formation
• Probiotics with enzymes (such as those in Digestive Complex) help reduce mast cell triggers found in foods.

What we all can do
The incidence of allergies increases as carbon dioxide increases in our air and toxins increase in our water and foods. Everything we do to reduce these toxins and support organic agriculture decreases the toxic burden that all of us, including our children and grandchildren, are forced to bear. We are the canaries in the coal mine. Each of us must decide for ourselves how to best insulate our bodies, while at the same time, doing our part to help reduce our planet’s toxic load.

Chronic pain

I read an article by the American Pain Foundation that talked about chronic pain in America. It was amazing! One in four adults in our country report having had daylong bouts of pain in the last month, and two in five report pain for a year or longer. Yikes!!!

Some disorders that are accompanied by chronic pain:

• Osteoarthritis
  
• Rhematoid Arthritis
• Diabetic Neuropathy
• Fibromyalgia

Treatment options:

• Medications
• Injectable therapies
• Mind-body approaches
• Rehabilitative approaches
• Complementary/alternative approaches
• Surgery

If you find yourself, or someone you care for in this large group of chronic pain sufferers, your first stop should be your primary physician. You need to really work together in coming up with a plan to deal with chronic pain, and the emotional and psychological pain that can accompany it. Don't give up!!!

Palin on Special-needs Children

"Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.
And children with special needs inspire a special love.
To the families of special-needs children all across this country,
I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more
welcoming place for your sons and daughters.
I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend
and advocate in the White House."

-Sarah Palin

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know?

• The third Friday of October is designated as National Mammography Day, a day on which women can receive free or discounted mammography screenings at participating facilities.
• The risk of breast cancer increases as a woman grows older. The risk is especially high for women age 60 and older.
• A woman’s best overall preventive health strategy is to reduce her known risk factors as much as possible by avoiding weight gain and obesity, engaging in regular physical activity, and minimizing alcohol intake.*

If you are living with breast cancer or have had some form of breast mastectomy, especially if the lymph nodes were involved, your physician may advise you to avoid having blood pressure or venipuncture taken on the arm of the affected side. Many women have a warning to this affect engraved on their MedicAlert jewelry and also include detailed information about their condition in their MedicAlert personal health record.

For more information about breast cancer and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please visit NBCAM.org.

*Source: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month website.

Happiness

"Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but though fidelity to a worthy purpose."

Helen Keller

That's a bit different then the general worldview today, isn't it?

Words of Comfort

WORDS OF COMFORT
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Job 3:1--26

In the early l960s when a Christian suffered from a depression that resulted in Job's kind of thinking and candid admission, you never said so publicly. You wallowed your sorrow. The first book I read on this subject, covering emotional turmoil and mental illness among Christians, was considered heresy by most of my evangelical friends.

The pervasive opinion then was simple: Christians didn't have breakdowns. Furthermore, you certainly didn't say "depressed!" You know what term was used to describe those who struggled with deep depression in the early and mid-sixties? "Nervous." "He's got a nervous problem." Or simply, "She's nervous." And if you ever, God help you, had to be hospitalized due to your "nervous" disorder, there just wasn't a Christian word for it. I repeat, you didn't tell a soul. Shame upon shame that you didn't trust the Lord through your struggle and find Him faithful to help you "get over" your depression.

I remember being told by a seminary prof, who talked to us about assisting families with funerals, that if you did funerals for those who had committed suicide and the deceased was a Christian, we were never to mention that fact. Frankly, it didn't sound right then, and it doesn't sound right today. Shame-based counsel never sounds right because it isn't right! And I didn't know enough to know that Job 3 was in the book back then. Had I known, I would have said, "Hey, what about Job?"

I want to write to you who are reading these lines who may be in the pit, struggling to find your way back. It's possible that things have gotten so dark that you need a competent Christian psychologist (or psychiatrist) to help you find your way. The most intelligent thing you can do is locate one and go. In fact, go as long as you need to go. Make sure that the counselor really does know the Lord Jesus and is truly competent, able to provide the direction you need so you can work your way through your maze of misery. And, I would add, "God bless you for every hour you spend finding your way out of the hole that you have been in. There is hope. Our faithful God will see you through."

Inferiority

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Eleanor Roosevelt