Jeckle and Hyde - when hungry

[LetaB]

  Tomorrow we will be spending the day at Mayo looking for a mental diagnosis for my 12 year old son. I came home from a rehearsal tonight early because I knew he hadn't eaten at lunch time and there was no instant junk food that he might eat on his own without me being here. I found him in tears with a swollen and bruised hand. He had been upset over a game and had hit his hand on the side of my bed punching the mattress.
  When I was in hospital I was told that there were two other people there who were bipolar. One was a young man who was adorable, generous, kind, and cheerful (like my son is almost all the time) ...untill...he...got...HUNGRY!!! It was a real Jeckle and Hyde transformation! Is this common? The boy I met then was a teenager. My question is is this a recognized phenomenon and when he's done growing (if he is b.p.) will he stop being so instantly triggered by hunger? Does anyone know?

[bernie40]

What an interesting thought!  My son who is 12 is the same.  His mood changes dramatically when he is hungry, he either gets hyper or agressive.  I get snappy when I haven't eaten.  I don't know whether this is a BD thing though, I've always put it down to the body needing nutrients, energy etc.  A little like diabetics who can have severe mood changes if they do not eat or if they miss their insulin etc.  I am not diabetic but I do have to be sure to eat regularly.

Regards,

[ILADVOCATE]

Ask about various developmental disabilities and medical conditions related to a compulsion to eat or to reactions to various nutrients or ingredients in food. Its strongly possible he has bipolar as well and when manic of course people want to eat a lot but there must be something else going on and that's a possibility.