Stimulants/mood stabilizer meds

amother

Periwinkle

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 5:07 pm

Ds is on guanfacine, adderall. Are these mood stabilizers?

What is the difference between mood stabilizers and stimulants? Are they the same?

Ds has ADHD. Is a mood stabilizer mean my child has a mental health issue? I feel like all of sudden I'm seeing my child as a crazy individual. That he's mentally unstable. That he must have meds to keep him from doing stupid things and to behave.

I feel so sad now. Aren't mood stabilizers for people who are mentally unhealthy? Society looks down at them, they don't have a regular shidduch. Marry people with similar issues and have a much harder time in life.

It all hit me like a ton of bricks now. I feel so crushed. But he's a genius in other ways. He has a good heart and wants to please.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 5:19 pm

I’m honestly sad for your child that you feel this way. Adderall is not a mood stabilizer and guanfacine is used specifically for ADHD and hypertension, but it doesn’t matter. Children with challenges are not broken. They just need a little bit of assistance. If your child gets wind of how you see him, he will start to see himself that way. That would be disastrous. Please get help if you insist on thinking like this. It is more important that a child have a healthy childhood and healthy self image, than withholding these treatments because of real or imagined shidduch issues. I had shidduch issues because my father died. People have shidduch issues because they’re overweight or unpopular or shy or have a sibling OTD or are perfect but can’t find the one for them. You can’t control for all the variables in your life. You just have to deal with the challenges dealt by HKBH the best you can.

greengrapes

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 6:08 pm

Those medications are for plain old adhd. They are not mood stabilizers. Your son is not crazy or have a mental health issue. The readon why mental health is such a stigma in our community is from ppl who think like you. Ppl who go onto those medications are the ppl we need to look up to. Thise are the ppl that are taking care of themselves and trying to be a healthy individual

amother

Plum

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 6:17 pm

I likely have ADHD that was never properly treated. You could also call me a "highly sensitive person" or whatever else you like. I have always felt emotions very intensely, making it very very hard to do things like stay calm under stress and have healthy relationships.

A couple of years ago I was prescribed a mood stabilizing medication. It was a total life changer (for the better.) I used to think there were terrible things wrong with me because of the things I wasn't able to cope with. For example I used to think I had the worst middos when I would lose my temper, I thought I had no self control and would beat myself up for it... now I realize there was nothing wrong with my middos, it was just that I was being hit with experiences that were too much to handle.

I think there's a possibility I won't need this forever. It could be that after experiencing enough practice of dealing with manageable life, I'll be able to handle more, or maybe my body just needed a break from the extreme level of stress it had before. I'm not sure. But if I do need to be on the medication forever, I really wouldn't mind - I can see clearly how much it helps and I'm grateful for it.

B"H I didn't have any significant side effects, the medication I'm on is much less prone to side effects than things like antidepressants and stimulants, and my dose isn't very high. I have not found any need to raise the dose over time, as some people say they do with antidepressants if they get too used to it. I'm happy my doctor thought of this for me.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 7:30 pm

I’m going to add one more thing. I’m considering mood stabilizers for my own child. She does not have ADHD. She has something that may require actual mood stabilizers. If I don’t do this to help her, I’m dooming her. She cannot currently function. It would be a disservice to leave her as she is because of shidduchim. Frankly the way her behavior is right now, I wouldn’t marry her either. She’s so volatile and she frequently hates herself because of how she feels compelled to act. I’m going to help my daughter for herself, and worry about marriage later.

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Apr 17 2018, 6:35 am

amother wrote:

I married someone on mood stabilizers for an actual diagnosed mental health condition. And I have never taken any medications.

DH is definitely the more normal and mature one in our relationship.

There is no need to project fears onto the future.

Thank you so much for your response. I think I was freaking out. Actually the logical part of me kind of got lost, emotional part of me just won on the moment.

Ds has great sides to him. I just watched a shiur of dr Lieberman on these issues and boy did I get a wake up call.

amother

Babyblue

Tue, Apr 17 2018, 9:31 am

amother wrote:

What a horrible post.

No mood stabilizers are not for crazy people. They are for people, like my daughter, whom Hashem sent a medical challenge - she has a chemical imbalance that causes her to feel highs and lows, and medication helps her to function as a normal teenager.

No mood stabilizers are not for people who are mentally unhealthy. They are for people who want to be healthy, nothing more or less. Like people who are hearing impaired and need hearing aids, and people who are sight impaired and wear glasses or contacts.

My daughter is a popular, well-liked, easygoing teen. She has a medical condition that we keep private because of people like you - so that she can be seen for the wonderful girl that she is, instead of being defined and labeled because of her medical condition.