Q. I'm new to this whole game here. so please help me out. I have a l6 year old son who was diagnosed with seizure disorder on his 14th birthday. he has taken Depakote in ever increasing dosages, largely dictated by results of blood tests decreeing a certain level be maintained. he has been seizure free since the first viewed seizure. his egg's still are abnormal, showing activity on both sides of brain, whatever that means. no family history of epilepsy although mother had toxemia in pregnancy of his elder brother and seized on delivery table. child always has been "hyper" in laymen's sense. has genius IQ. as he approaches l6, he becomes increasingly difficult to handle. impulse control is good when he wants it to be, but if he doesn't get his way: watch out! very calculated. he calculates his revenge (destruction of physical property of person he is most angry with). performing below level at school. very charismatic, popular with friends. doctor prescribing Risperdol (to go with his Depakote). what I read on internet says the former drug for schizophrenia. my child's preliminary diagnosis is narcissistic, bipolar mixed. I don't have a freaking clue what any of this means. I just have a beautiful, genius child who gets c's and d's at school and always is in a mad mood and goes postal if he doesn't get his way. hope this has been concise enough. only other interesting this is the kid is allergic to penicillin and there is more than sufficient evidence that his birth father has similar problems (sans epilepsy and allergy) in spades.

  A. I would suggest a meeting with your son's psychiatrist to voice your concerns. If this does not alleviate your concerns or if you feel you are getting side stepped, get another opinion form another psychiatrist. You son has a problem that may or may not be fixable, but it is definitely not fixed now. If the current doctor is stuck, move on to one with more expertise in the field. The National Institute of Mental Health will give you a referral if you call to someone in your area with expertise in the field.