Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D. - 3/19/2006

Question
Hi,I was just told my son who is 5 years old suffers from bipolar, prior to this diagnosis 2 years ago I was told he had a mood disorder,he is only 5.He has been on risperdal for the past 2 years and after his evaluation he was changed to zyprexa I know these drugs are both in the same catagory can you tell me what the difference in the 2 is? also can you give me any information on childhood bipolar he is only 5 and even though each day has been a struggle with him bipolar seems to be a little far fetched for any 5 year old to be diagnosed with.If you have time I was also wondering if you could tell me how exactly this drug zyprexa works and what symptoms it treats in those people who have bipolar. Thank you for your time,1 hour session with a dr, just is not enough time to get all the information a scared mother needs to know.

Answer
Hi . . .

While I am a psychiatrist and an expeet on Bipolar Disorder I am not a child psychiatrist and have limited experience diagnosing and treating children.

For lots of information on children with Bipolar Disorder you might go to www.amazon.com and order a book with the title "The Bipolar Child."

As a psychopharmacologist I try to minimize the use of antipsychotic medications such as Risperdal and Zyprexa as they can cause ,permanent damage to the brain. See:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tardive/tardive.htm
Rather than use antipsychotic medications to control the symptoms of Bipolar Disorder, lithium and a number of anticonvulsants mood stabilizers offer safer alternatives.

Lots of good information about Bipolar Disorder in children and adolescents may be found at:
http://www.bpkids.org/site/PageServer

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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