my son now 16 has been medicated (ultimately for bi-polar disorder) since he was three. initially diagnosed as adhd ocd odd and anxiety nos i knew there was a problem from birth because he never slept through the night. with symptoms straight out of a textbook and after exhaustive testing i was finally able to locate a physician who wasn't afraid to medicate my son. no one wants to medicate a child and rightly so! however after the aforementioned textbook symptoms became evidenced on a daily basis there was no denying either the diagnosis or the medication regimen necessary to treat him. to a lesser degree my son also suffers from social phobia and obesity; the former supported in peer interaction and the latter due to medication. last of all he suffers from body aches: all-over muscular-skeletal pain. he has always complained of neck and back pain (originally attributed to growth spurts) which he describes as 'deep and into the bone' rather than something akin to pulled muscles. stretching massage and chiropractic appear to help to some degree; however real sustained relief has never been achieved. unfortunately my son's psychiatrist has not been able to find literature supporting my contention that (his) body pain is also related to his bpd. these aches have been a consistent complaint since my son was first active and able to really articulate his feelings. he is an active teen (basketball bike riding etc. ) and when he comes in for the day he is almost never without complaint. i do believe his body pain is related to either his diagnosis or his medication (he is on six) but i am unable to prove this theory. i also know as my son ages and grows he may evidence other signs and symptoms of this disease. thus far we have been fortunate that he has not suffered any suicidal ideation substance abuse or metabolic syndrome. however as he becomes an adult and is tasked with making his own decisions i can only hope he (we) is (are) able to maintain the status quo.
what illnesses often co-exist with bipolar disorder?