Zoloft question

[Guest guest]

Dear Amy,

It's possible! My daughter improved immediately when we put her on

Celexa. The very next day she was HAPPY again, and by three days later she

was better than she has been in years. I know it's unusual, but apparently it

does happen! The changes in mood are what we noticed immediately, and the

lessening of the real O's and C's comes a bit later. But the anger

disappeared the first day - and that is one of the hardest symptoms for the

entire family to deal with.

I hope it is a lasting change!!!

[Guest guest]

Dear Amy,

It's possible! My daughter improved immediately when we put her on

Celexa. The very next day she was HAPPY again, and by three days later she

was better than she has been in years. I know it's unusual, but apparently it

does happen! The changes in mood are what we noticed immediately, and the

lessening of the real O's and C's comes a bit later. But the anger

disappeared the first day - and that is one of the hardest symptoms for the

entire family to deal with.

I hope it is a lasting change!!!

[Guest guest]

Dear Amy,

It's possible! My daughter improved immediately when we put her on

Celexa. The very next day she was HAPPY again, and by three days later she

was better than she has been in years. I know it's unusual, but apparently it

does happen! The changes in mood are what we noticed immediately, and the

lessening of the real O's and C's comes a bit later. But the anger

disappeared the first day - and that is one of the hardest symptoms for the

entire family to deal with.

I hope it is a lasting change!!!

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy, a few times when starting a new med my daughter would be very much

improved right away--then a week or two later the med would seem to " stop

working " and her symptom level would return to its previous level. Continuing

with the med, we would notice another improvement in symptom level around six

weeks-two months in, but this was never as wonderful as the initial reaction and

sometimes was downright disappointing. I have no idea if this is common or not,

but I have more often heard of negative side effects beginning almost

immediately, such as hyperness, mouthiness, insomnia, etc., and many times

worsening of OCD symptoms.

Kel's pdoc explained this via downstream effects, which I don't really

understand except that apparently SSRIs almost immediately affect the

functioning of seritonin receptors, and the changed functioning of these affects

other parts of the brain in some way. Apparently it's waiting around for all

these downstream effects to appear is why the usual approach is to wait several

weeks to evaluate the effectiveness of an SSRI.

I *have* read of the occasional person who has an immediate and lasting

wonderful response to an SSRI--I hope your daughter is one of these!

I suppose your daughter's OCD could have coincidentally decided to wane the day

after started the SSRI--I never put anything past OCD!--but imo this seems

unlikely.

In any case, enjoy! :-)

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

From: olsenglen2000

Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two or

three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed the

change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back! The OCD is still

there, but she's much better able to stand it this week and fight

it.

Now, here's my question: can I attribute this remarkable change to

the meds, even though it happened so suddenly just the next day after

starting it? I've always heard that you need to give meds at least

two to six weeks to take effect, so could this change simply be the

disorder itself waning again?

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy, a few times when starting a new med my daughter would be very much

improved right away--then a week or two later the med would seem to " stop

working " and her symptom level would return to its previous level. Continuing

with the med, we would notice another improvement in symptom level around six

weeks-two months in, but this was never as wonderful as the initial reaction and

sometimes was downright disappointing. I have no idea if this is common or not,

but I have more often heard of negative side effects beginning almost

immediately, such as hyperness, mouthiness, insomnia, etc., and many times

worsening of OCD symptoms.

Kel's pdoc explained this via downstream effects, which I don't really

understand except that apparently SSRIs almost immediately affect the

functioning of seritonin receptors, and the changed functioning of these affects

other parts of the brain in some way. Apparently it's waiting around for all

these downstream effects to appear is why the usual approach is to wait several

weeks to evaluate the effectiveness of an SSRI.

I *have* read of the occasional person who has an immediate and lasting

wonderful response to an SSRI--I hope your daughter is one of these!

I suppose your daughter's OCD could have coincidentally decided to wane the day

after started the SSRI--I never put anything past OCD!--but imo this seems

unlikely.

In any case, enjoy! :-)

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

From: olsenglen2000

Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two or

three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed the

change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back! The OCD is still

there, but she's much better able to stand it this week and fight

it.

Now, here's my question: can I attribute this remarkable change to

the meds, even though it happened so suddenly just the next day after

starting it? I've always heard that you need to give meds at least

two to six weeks to take effect, so could this change simply be the

disorder itself waning again?

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy, a few times when starting a new med my daughter would be very much

improved right away--then a week or two later the med would seem to " stop

working " and her symptom level would return to its previous level. Continuing

with the med, we would notice another improvement in symptom level around six

weeks-two months in, but this was never as wonderful as the initial reaction and

sometimes was downright disappointing. I have no idea if this is common or not,

but I have more often heard of negative side effects beginning almost

immediately, such as hyperness, mouthiness, insomnia, etc., and many times

worsening of OCD symptoms.

Kel's pdoc explained this via downstream effects, which I don't really

understand except that apparently SSRIs almost immediately affect the

functioning of seritonin receptors, and the changed functioning of these affects

other parts of the brain in some way. Apparently it's waiting around for all

these downstream effects to appear is why the usual approach is to wait several

weeks to evaluate the effectiveness of an SSRI.

I *have* read of the occasional person who has an immediate and lasting

wonderful response to an SSRI--I hope your daughter is one of these!

I suppose your daughter's OCD could have coincidentally decided to wane the day

after started the SSRI--I never put anything past OCD!--but imo this seems

unlikely.

In any case, enjoy! :-)

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

From: olsenglen2000

Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two or

three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed the

change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back! The OCD is still

there, but she's much better able to stand it this week and fight

it.

Now, here's my question: can I attribute this remarkable change to

the meds, even though it happened so suddenly just the next day after

starting it? I've always heard that you need to give meds at least

two to six weeks to take effect, so could this change simply be the

disorder itself waning again?

[Guest guest]

Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two or

three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed the

change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Amy,

My daughter, Chelle, 16 years old, has quick reactions to medications also. She

was on Prozac 60 mg daily for at least a year. We started weaning her off 10 mg

per week and added 25 mg of Zoloft. Continued for several weeks until she was

only on 150 mg of Zoloft.

I didn't really notice much change during the med changover, but the first week

that she was on 150 mg of Zoloft alone, she was a miserable mess; cranky,

disagreeable, etc. The doctor added another 50 mg, putting her at 200 mg

Zoloft per day. I can see a definite change in her attitude and behavior. She

is more compliant, easier to get along with, laughing more, seems more relaxed,

and just much more pleasant to be around, even more so than when she was on

Prozac. Personally, I like Chelle much better on the Zoloft than Prozac.

Perhaps because she was on Prozac for 2.5 years and it had worn out its welcome.

Time will tell if this is going to work for her.

She's not doing any E & RP officially, except once in a while I throw something

her way that is exposure to something that she is avoiding because of anxiety.

It's amazing how once the initial anxiety is faced how much it dissipates and is

reduced. It is that first time of doing something that seems to be the worst.

Progress, one child at a time.

Phyllis

ppepe40@...

[Guest guest]

Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two or

three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed the

change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Amy,

My daughter, Chelle, 16 years old, has quick reactions to medications also. She

was on Prozac 60 mg daily for at least a year. We started weaning her off 10 mg

per week and added 25 mg of Zoloft. Continued for several weeks until she was

only on 150 mg of Zoloft.

I didn't really notice much change during the med changover, but the first week

that she was on 150 mg of Zoloft alone, she was a miserable mess; cranky,

disagreeable, etc. The doctor added another 50 mg, putting her at 200 mg

Zoloft per day. I can see a definite change in her attitude and behavior. She

is more compliant, easier to get along with, laughing more, seems more relaxed,

and just much more pleasant to be around, even more so than when she was on

Prozac. Personally, I like Chelle much better on the Zoloft than Prozac.

Perhaps because she was on Prozac for 2.5 years and it had worn out its welcome.

Time will tell if this is going to work for her.

She's not doing any E & RP officially, except once in a while I throw something

her way that is exposure to something that she is avoiding because of anxiety.

It's amazing how once the initial anxiety is faced how much it dissipates and is

reduced. It is that first time of doing something that seems to be the worst.

Progress, one child at a time.

Phyllis

ppepe40@...

[Guest guest]

Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two or

three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed the

change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Amy,

My daughter, Chelle, 16 years old, has quick reactions to medications also. She

was on Prozac 60 mg daily for at least a year. We started weaning her off 10 mg

per week and added 25 mg of Zoloft. Continued for several weeks until she was

only on 150 mg of Zoloft.

I didn't really notice much change during the med changover, but the first week

that she was on 150 mg of Zoloft alone, she was a miserable mess; cranky,

disagreeable, etc. The doctor added another 50 mg, putting her at 200 mg

Zoloft per day. I can see a definite change in her attitude and behavior. She

is more compliant, easier to get along with, laughing more, seems more relaxed,

and just much more pleasant to be around, even more so than when she was on

Prozac. Personally, I like Chelle much better on the Zoloft than Prozac.

Perhaps because she was on Prozac for 2.5 years and it had worn out its welcome.

Time will tell if this is going to work for her.

She's not doing any E & RP officially, except once in a while I throw something

her way that is exposure to something that she is avoiding because of anxiety.

It's amazing how once the initial anxiety is faced how much it dissipates and is

reduced. It is that first time of doing something that seems to be the worst.

Progress, one child at a time.

Phyllis

ppepe40@...

[Guest guest]

HI Amy:

What a wonderful positive response to meds! YOur daughter is lucky.

IT seems she may be one of the lucky few who responds well to small

dosages of SSRIs. Sometimes just doing something about OCD can set

things into a more positive tone and help our kids cope.

YOu are right, most of our kids take months to experience a positive

effect from meds on their OCD. I have seen quicker responses in our

son, Steve, to meds and his major depressive disorder. Sometimes in

less than a week his severe depression was rendered more manageable

and this in turn helped with managing OCD symptoms.

This is a good time to work on CBT, including E & RP, to help your

daughter learn self-management of her OCD symptoms. SHe may be able

to reduce her Zoloft dosage even more or perhaps manage without meds

at all when she knows how to do self-E & RP.

THanks for sharing, take care, aloha, kathy (h)

kathyh@...

> Hello everybody,

>

> Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

> very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two

or

> three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed

the

> change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

> FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back! The OCD is still

> there, but she's much better able to stand it this week and fight

> it.

>

> Now, here's my question: can I attribute this remarkable change to

> the meds, even though it happened so suddenly just the next day

after

> starting it? I've always heard that you need to give meds at least

> two to six weeks to take effect, so could this change simply be the

> disorder itself waning again?

>

> Thanks,

> Amy O.

[Guest guest]

HI Amy:

What a wonderful positive response to meds! YOur daughter is lucky.

IT seems she may be one of the lucky few who responds well to small

dosages of SSRIs. Sometimes just doing something about OCD can set

things into a more positive tone and help our kids cope.

YOu are right, most of our kids take months to experience a positive

effect from meds on their OCD. I have seen quicker responses in our

son, Steve, to meds and his major depressive disorder. Sometimes in

less than a week his severe depression was rendered more manageable

and this in turn helped with managing OCD symptoms.

This is a good time to work on CBT, including E & RP, to help your

daughter learn self-management of her OCD symptoms. SHe may be able

to reduce her Zoloft dosage even more or perhaps manage without meds

at all when she knows how to do self-E & RP.

THanks for sharing, take care, aloha, kathy (h)

kathyh@...

> Hello everybody,

>

> Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

> very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two

or

> three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed

the

> change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

> FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back! The OCD is still

> there, but she's much better able to stand it this week and fight

> it.

>

> Now, here's my question: can I attribute this remarkable change to

> the meds, even though it happened so suddenly just the next day

after

> starting it? I've always heard that you need to give meds at least

> two to six weeks to take effect, so could this change simply be the

> disorder itself waning again?

>

> Thanks,

> Amy O.

[Guest guest]

HI Amy:

What a wonderful positive response to meds! YOur daughter is lucky.

IT seems she may be one of the lucky few who responds well to small

dosages of SSRIs. Sometimes just doing something about OCD can set

things into a more positive tone and help our kids cope.

YOu are right, most of our kids take months to experience a positive

effect from meds on their OCD. I have seen quicker responses in our

son, Steve, to meds and his major depressive disorder. Sometimes in

less than a week his severe depression was rendered more manageable

and this in turn helped with managing OCD symptoms.

This is a good time to work on CBT, including E & RP, to help your

daughter learn self-management of her OCD symptoms. SHe may be able

to reduce her Zoloft dosage even more or perhaps manage without meds

at all when she knows how to do self-E & RP.

THanks for sharing, take care, aloha, kathy (h)

kathyh@...

> Hello everybody,

>

> Last week we started my daughter on 25 mg. of Zoloft. Starting the

> very next day, the improvement was amazing! We have gone from two

or

> three meltdowns a day to just one all week. Everybody's noticed

the

> change. She's much less withdrawn, much more open and outgoing and

> FUN again. I feel like we got our daughter back! The OCD is still

> there, but she's much better able to stand it this week and fight

> it.

>

> Now, here's my question: can I attribute this remarkable change to

> the meds, even though it happened so suddenly just the next day

after

> starting it? I've always heard that you need to give meds at least

> two to six weeks to take effect, so could this change simply be the

> disorder itself waning again?

>

> Thanks,

> Amy O.

[Guest guest]

Hi, how long has she been at the 50mg? (asking that since you

usually build up to a dose) If her thyroid checked out okay, I, too,

would wonder if it was the Zoloft making her tired. It does seem

I've read hair loss can be a side effect for some people when I've

read about different SSRI's (don't recall which particular ones and I

don't think it's a more common side effect).

My son was on Celexa for 2 grades and tiredness seemed a side effect

from it. He began it in 9th grade and took it all the way thru 10th

grade. He began napping after school each day, even napping about

the same time on weekends. And I think tiredness usually hit him

some certain period during the day at school. In a Celexa group I

was in, tiredness/wanting a nap did seem to be more common. Now he

still naps. And he's been off the Celexa a while (he's in 12th grade

now) but I figure his body probably got used to it (naps) maybe,

though he is still staying up later at night than he should too

(teens!). He's still quite easy to wake up in the a.m. or p.m. for

homework. Also he was never real energetic before beginning Celexa,

comparing him to my other 2 sons and their " activity " level.

Hate to suggest it but you might want to try another medication due

to the hair loss??

Just some quick thoughts,

>

> Hello,

>

> has anyone ever had the experience of your child being extra

fatigued

> on Zoloft or other SSRI? I have a 14 year old daughter who was

started

> on Zoloft back in July for anxiety disorder and panic attacks. She

is

> on 50 mg. It has worked really well, but lately -- last month or

so, I

[Guest guest]

My daughter was on 100-200 mg. of zoloft over the course of 2 years -- I

don't ever remember her being tired from it. I'd suggest going to your

pediatrician for a good work up and see what else might be going on.

[Guest guest]

My 8 yr old son has been on 25 mg. Zoloft for almost 6 weeks.

After 2 weeks, we started seeing improvements. He was much more

easy-going about things that would have caused him huge

frustrations. Over the past couple of weeks, we've seen a return

of a little frustration. However, there are still improvements in

the big picture. The psychiatrist had told us that there would be

chance that we would increase to 50 mg., but at that time (last

week), I told her I liked what I was seeing on the 25 mg. and

wouldn't want to increase yet. This evening was almost like he

wasn't on Zoloft, but this was the first time in 6 weeks that he's

shown a lot of frustration over little things. The other

few " moments " in the past few weeks, the frustration stopped almost

as soon as it started.

Of course, one day isn't enough to judge, but I'm curious about

other experiences....for those children who are on a SSRI, how much

improvement do you typically see? I know that I can't expect him

to never be frustrated or agitated again....it was just that I

didn't like to see him acting " pre Zoloft " tonight. (He's in bed

right now, happy!)

He does seem to be more hyper with the Zoloft, but at this point

I've been attributing it to him being more relaxed. Ex: His friends

have always come over and hopped off his top bunk to the lower

bunk...he was always too scared to try. Now, he's trying it - a

lot! Makes me a bit nervous, but I like seeing the more daring side

of him, which is why I'm letting him do it. :-)

BTW, he's also on Ritalin during the school week....something that

we might get rid of, but we have to " test " that first.

[Guest guest]

Ritalin can be a big culprit of hyperactivity( even though it's supposed to stop

it). Agitation is also a side effect of Zoloft. Your child must also have ADHD

or ADD also for the doctor to have prescribed the Ritalin, so naturally there

was a problem with hyperactivity to start with wich makes it even harder to

distinguish.

What I think your doctor might do is to first increase the Zoloft to 50mg,

because that is still a low dose for an 8 yr old, and if you see more

hyperactivity, you should probably first get rid of the Ritalin, than see how he

does, and if he's still hyper, you may need to take him off the Zoloft, and try

something else.

JMHO, but I went through this exact problem with my dd with the SSRI and the

stimulant, and that is what was done. You need to distinguish if the Ritalin or

the Zoloft is causing the problem, or both, or it could be that his ADHD is not

under control.

Hope this helps some.

Hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

Ritalin can be a big culprit of hyperactivity( even though it's supposed to stop

it). Agitation is also a side effect of Zoloft. Your child must also have ADHD

or ADD also for the doctor to have prescribed the Ritalin, so naturally there

was a problem with hyperactivity to start with wich makes it even harder to

distinguish.

What I think your doctor might do is to first increase the Zoloft to 50mg,

because that is still a low dose for an 8 yr old, and if you see more

hyperactivity, you should probably first get rid of the Ritalin, than see how he

does, and if he's still hyper, you may need to take him off the Zoloft, and try

something else.

JMHO, but I went through this exact problem with my dd with the SSRI and the

stimulant, and that is what was done. You need to distinguish if the Ritalin or

the Zoloft is causing the problem, or both, or it could be that his ADHD is not

under control.

Hope this helps some.

Hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

Yes, we're testing the Ritalin over the next couple of weeks because

we never saw a huge difference with focusing while on it. I'm not

so much worried about the activity. At least at home, it's " happy,

controllable activity. " If that makes sense, lol. As long as he's

not acting up in school, I'm fine with that. Before Zoloft,

frustration and agitation were our biggest problems (anxiety and OCD

coming in second). The Zoloft made the frustration so much better.

I was just wondering if the return of frustration is a reason to

increase meds, or if I need to expect some frustration still, even

while on the meds.

>

> Ritalin can be a big culprit of hyperactivity( even though it's

supposed to stop it). Agitation is also a side effect of Zoloft.

Your child must also have ADHD or ADD also for the doctor to have

prescribed the Ritalin, so naturally there was a problem with

hyperactivity to start with wich makes it even harder to distinguish.

> What I think your doctor might do is to first increase the Zoloft

to 50mg, because that is still a low dose for an 8 yr old, and if

you see more hyperactivity, you should probably first get rid of the

Ritalin, than see how he does, and if he's still hyper, you may need

to take him off the Zoloft, and try something else.

> JMHO, but I went through this exact problem with my dd with the

SSRI and the stimulant, and that is what was done. You need to

distinguish if the Ritalin or the Zoloft is causing the problem, or

both, or it could be that his ADHD is not under control.

> Hope this helps some.

> Hugs

> Judy

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

If the only med change you've made in the last 6 weeks is to add 25 mg

Zoloft (holding the Ritalin constant), and you're now seeing a return

of the agitation/frustration, my guess is that you may need to

increase the Zoloft. I'm a firm believer in doing only one med change

at a time if possible. (Otherwise, if there is a behavior change, how

can you know what changed it?) This is a question you might want to

ask Dr. Geller on this site. Good luck. Patty

> >

> > Ritalin can be a big culprit of hyperactivity( even though it's

> supposed to stop it). Agitation is also a side effect of Zoloft.

> Your child must also have ADHD or ADD also for the doctor to have

> prescribed the Ritalin, so naturally there was a problem with

> hyperactivity to start with wich makes it even harder to distinguish.

> > What I think your doctor might do is to first increase the Zoloft

> to 50mg, because that is still a low dose for an 8 yr old, and if

> you see more hyperactivity, you should probably first get rid of the

> Ritalin, than see how he does, and if he's still hyper, you may need

> to take him off the Zoloft, and try something else.

> > JMHO, but I went through this exact problem with my dd with the

> SSRI and the stimulant, and that is what was done. You need to

> distinguish if the Ritalin or the Zoloft is causing the problem, or

> both, or it could be that his ADHD is not under control.

> > Hope this helps some.

> > Hugs

> > Judy

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

He will still have frustration on the Zoloft, especially on only 25 mg. I'm no

doctor, but I would see about raising his dose up to 50 mg

Hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

, Katelyn (11 this month) was on strattera and adderall for several

years for ADHD, then clonidine was added to help her " come down " enough to

sleep. A few months ago we changed pediatricians and she was put on

desipramine for depression and stopped the adderall. So far up until last

night when she had a meltdown which I believe was from being over tired, she

has been doing much better. She even started giving me hugs and talking to

me. It seems that the ADHD meds don't really work very well for our kids

that have other issues. Katelyn still has trouble staying focused on school

work and when she does not want to do something she shuts down. When she was

on ritalin years ago it did not help her ADHD at all. Meds are really a

trial and error kind of thing with our complex kids. There is no

one-size-fits-all. Katelyn still does not really have a difinitive dx other

than ADHD and depression, but has symptoms of OCD and ODD. Considering her

biological family history there is definitely a history of depression and

other MH issues. I hope you and your son's doc finds the right combination

of meds for him.

P.