Better Living Through Chemicals 239hour coverage and typically do not affect the sleep of
most children. Lithium can cause sedation, nausea, diar-
rhea, thirst, increased urination, mild tremor, and weight
gain, and must be monitored closely. Valproic acid and
carbamazepine may cause sedation, nausea, diarrhea,
heartburn, tremor, and weight gain. Valproic acid can
also cause liver toxicity, and carbamazepine can be asso-
ciated with a decrease in white blood cell count and
aplastic anemia, so the use of these agents requires peri-
odic bloodwork.
Less traditional agents such as flaxseed oil and fish oil
have also been shown to have promising mood stabilizing
effects. Indeed, some children may benefit from nontra-
ditional, natural, or homeopathic agents. Although it’s
fine to be open to the use of such agents, it’s important
to note that they do have a chemical effect on a child’s
body (we have a tendency to view “natural” agents as
somehow more benign), can produce undesirable side
effects, often have not been carefully studied (of course,
the same can be said about many of the traditional psy-
chiatric medications presently being prescribed for chil-
dren), and must be taken under the supervision of a
qualified professional.
At the risk of redundancy, it should be clear that the
most crucial component in the psychopharmacology pic-