Re: Anyone use SSRI's with your children?

[Guest guest]

When I first looked into SSRIs, I did a web search on seratonin. This was

very helpful since many of the symptoms my son was having at that time were

related to seratonin imbalance (including many I hadn't considered the

possibility of a SSRI helping). It turned out that Paxil was extremely helpful

for

him in many areas, specifically auditory processing, social anxiety, obsessive

behaviors and overall clarity of thinking.

It is important to be aware of the possible side effects and watch for them

carefully. Unfortunately, finding the right SSRI and the right dose can be

very frustrating since you can have a worsening of symptoms with one and

improvement with another. Also, too much can worsen symptoms, while too little

can do the same thing. If you decide to go this route, make sure you work with

someone who is very experienced in using them with autistic children since

they tend to react a bit differently than others do and often need much lower

doses.

Gaylen

**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car

listings at AOL Autos.

(http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851)

[Guest guest]

I know several people who have done very well on Prozac. It led to extreme

emotional volatility with my son. This happened very quickly -- within a few

days of starting it. Though the docs say that it takes a few weeks for

Prozac to get into your system and show a difference, my son has always been a

rapid responder to drugs. With Paxil, we saw a huge positive difference

starting on the second day.

It's also important to know that some of the negative symptoms can creep up

on you after awhile so even if a person has been doing well on a drug, if a

negative symptom occurs, don't rule out that it's a delayed reaction.

Gaylen

**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car

listings at AOL Autos.

(http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851)

[Guest guest]

Very good website for reference. And if there are any particular drugs you

are considering or have been discussed, let me know. Our home has been one

of much experience with most of them.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

Amy

Fighting the fight for all our children's rights...

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of angelasherrod68

Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 11:40 AM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Anyone use SSRI's with your children?

Just wanted to see if anyone could tell me positive or negative effects

of using SSRI's with their children.....a consideration on our point at

this time to help limit our son's rigidity.........he has made huge

progress over the past 4 years, but we continue to have meltdowns

regularly and extreme oral aversions........our Dev Ped has brought up

the idea and we are trying to research this.......any info would be of

help. Thanks

[Guest guest]

Thanks for website.  Prozac has been suggested as a possibility at a

low dose............. & #65007; & #65007;

& #65007; & #65007; & #65007; & #65007; & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

> Very good website for reference.  And if there are any particular

drugs you & #65007; & #65007;

> are considering or have been discussed, let me know.  Our home has

been one & #65007; & #65007;

> of much experience with most of them. & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

> http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

>  & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

> Amy & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

> Fighting the fight for all our children's rights... & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

>   _____  & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

> From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy & #65007; & #65007;

> [mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of

angelasherrod68 & #65007; & #65007;

> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 11:40 AM & #65007; & #65007;

> To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy & #65007; & #65007;

> Subject: Anyone use SSRI's with your

children? & #65007; & #65007;

> & #65007; & #65007;

>  & #65007; & #65007;

[Guest guest]

Okay that one I know - our oldest son was prescribed that and we were

unaware of an undiagnosed medical condition. He ended up having suicidal

ideations (thoughts) and ended up hospitalized not once but twice. Granted

you have to understand that everyone will react differently to a medication.

Just know the things to watch for and it will help if there is something

that comes up that you need to address. Below is the warnings associated

with Prozac and you should also look for the website of the drug company

that manufactures the med and look for the " insert " and for any " black box "

warnings.

Fluoxetine (Brand names: Prozac and Sarafem)

A small number of children, teenagers, and young adults (up to 24 years of

age) who took antidepressants ('mood elevators') such as fluoxetine during

clinical studies became suicidal (thinking about harming or killing oneself

or planning or trying to do so). Children, teenagers, and young adults who

take antidepressants to treat depression or other mental illnesses may be

more likely to become suicidal than children, teenagers, and young adults

who do not take antidepressants to treat these conditions. However, experts

are not sure about how great this risk is and how much it should be

considered in deciding whether a child or teenager should take an

antidepressant.

You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected ways when

you take fluoxetine or other antidepressants even if you are an adult over

age 24. You may become suicidal, especially at the beginning of your

treatment and any time that your dose is increased or decreased. You, your

family, or your caregiver should call your doctor right away if you

experience any of the following symptoms: new or worsening depression;

thinking about harming or killing yourself, or planning or trying to do so;

extreme worry; agitation; panic attacks; difficulty falling asleep or

staying asleep; aggressive behavior; irritability; acting without thinking;

severe restlessness; and frenzied abnormal excitement. Be sure that your

family or caregiver knows which symptoms may be serious so they can call the

doctor when you are unable to seek treatment on your own.

Your healthcare provider will want to see you often while you are taking

fluoxetine, especially at the beginning of your treatment. Be sure to keep

all appointments for office visits with your doctor.

The doctor or pharmacist will give you the manufacturer's patient

information sheet (Medication Guide) when you begin treatment with

fluoxetine. Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or pharmacist

if you have any questions. You also can obtain the Medication Guide from the

FDA website:

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/antidepressants_MG_2007.pdf.

No matter your age, before you take an antidepressant, you, your parent, or

your caregiver should talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of

treating your condition with an antidepressant or with other treatments. You

should also talk about the risks and benefits of not treating your

condition. You should know that having depression or another mental illness

greatly increases the risk that you will become suicidal. This risk is

higher if you or anyone in your family has or has ever had bipolar disorder

(mood that changes from depressed to abnormally excited) or mania (frenzied,

abnormally excited mood) or has thought about or attempted suicide. Talk to

your doctor about your condition, symptoms, and personal and family medical

history. You and your doctor will decide what type of treatment is right for

you.

Amy

Fighting the fight for all our children's rights...

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of angelasherrod68

Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 11:49 AM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Anyone use SSRI's with your children?

Thanks for website. Prozac has been suggested as a possibility at a

low dose

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Amy, for your personal experience and for the info you sent

along..........lots of research and thoughts to give to this.

>

> Okay that one I know - our oldest son was prescribed that and we

were

> unaware of an undiagnosed medical condition. He ended up having

suicidal

> ideations (thoughts) and ended up hospitalized not once but twice.

Granted

> you have to understand that everyone will react differently to a

medication.

> Just know the things to watch for and it will help if there is

something

> that comes up that you need to address. Below is the warnings

associated

> with Prozac and you should also look for the website of the drug

company

> that manufactures the med and look for the " insert " and for

any " black box "

> warnings.

>

> Fluoxetine (Brand names: Prozac and Sarafem)

>

> A small number of children, teenagers, and young adults (up to 24

years of

> age) who took antidepressants ('mood elevators') such as fluoxetine

during

> clinical studies became suicidal (thinking about harming or killing

oneself

> or planning or trying to do so). Children, teenagers, and young

adults who

> take antidepressants to treat depression or other mental illnesses

may be

> more likely to become suicidal than children, teenagers, and young

adults

> who do not take antidepressants to treat these conditions. However,

experts

> are not sure about how great this risk is and how much it should be

> considered in deciding whether a child or teenager should take an

> antidepressant.

>

> You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected

ways when

> you take fluoxetine or other antidepressants even if you are an

adult over

> age 24. You may become suicidal, especially at the beginning of your

> treatment and any time that your dose is increased or decreased.

You, your

> family, or your caregiver should call your doctor right away if you

> experience any of the following symptoms: new or worsening

depression;

> thinking about harming or killing yourself, or planning or trying

to do so;

> extreme worry; agitation; panic attacks; difficulty falling asleep

or

> staying asleep; aggressive behavior; irritability; acting without

thinking;

> severe restlessness; and frenzied abnormal excitement. Be sure that

your

> family or caregiver knows which symptoms may be serious so they can

call the

> doctor when you are unable to seek treatment on your own.

>

> Your healthcare provider will want to see you often while you are

taking

> fluoxetine, especially at the beginning of your treatment. Be sure

to keep

> all appointments for office visits with your doctor.

>

> The doctor or pharmacist will give you the manufacturer's patient

> information sheet (Medication Guide) when you begin treatment with

> fluoxetine. Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or

pharmacist

> if you have any questions. You also can obtain the Medication Guide

from the

> FDA website:

>

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/antidepressants_MG_2007.p

df.

>

> No matter your age, before you take an antidepressant, you, your

parent, or

> your caregiver should talk to your doctor about the risks and

benefits of

> treating your condition with an antidepressant or with other

treatments. You

> should also talk about the risks and benefits of not treating your

> condition. You should know that having depression or another mental

illness

> greatly increases the risk that you will become suicidal. This risk

is

> higher if you or anyone in your family has or has ever had bipolar

disorder

> (mood that changes from depressed to abnormally excited) or mania

(frenzied,

> abnormally excited mood) or has thought about or attempted suicide.

Talk to

> your doctor about your condition, symptoms, and personal and family

medical

> history. You and your doctor will decide what type of treatment is

right for

> you.

>

>

>

> Amy

>

> Fighting the fight for all our children's rights...

>

> _____

>

> From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> [mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of

angelasherrod68

> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 11:49 AM

> To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> Subject: Re: Anyone use SSRI's with your

children?

>

>

>

> Thanks for website. Prozac has been suggested as a possibility at

a

> low dose

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

You are very welcome. We have experience with so many different drugs that

our doctor calls me " Dr. Amy " and asks for my suggestions on medications to

try. Heck I have administered most psychotropic drugs and can even give

subcutaneous injections after having a dog with diabetes. :-)

Amy

Fighting the fight for all our children's rights...

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of angelasherrod68

Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 12:11 PM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Anyone use SSRI's with your children?

Thanks, Amy, for your personal experience and for the info you sent

along..........lots of research and thoughts to give to this.

[Guest guest]

Hello, , If you want parent perspectives, you might want to check

out the Autism Research Institute's parent reporting on

interventions. It can give you a broader perspective that just a few

isolated responses (not to say those aren't vauable, too!)

Try this link: http://www.autism.com/treatable/form34qr.htm

As I recall, many SSRI's are evenly distributed between got better, no

difference, got worse.

Regards,

[Guest guest]

In my family, we try to use supplements rather than prescriptions for

several reasons, previous experience with terrible side effects being

the main reason. We have found that 5-HTP is an amino acid that works

similar to SSRI's. We use Source naturals 100 mg 5-HTP, I give 2 of

them and this help with anxiety issues. We also use GABA, Taurine and

Theanine, all amino acids.

From researching and reading I have learned that Omega 3 fish oils and

amino acids are some of the most important supplements for the brain,

and due to metal toxicity, poor gut enviornment and immune problems,

the body does not use what is consumed properly, therefore the brain is

deprived of these nutrients and this causes behavior issues and other

problems like regidity.

(lab tests on my son also confirm that amino acids are not what they

should be)

Nagla

>

> Just wanted to see if anyone could tell me positive or negative

effects

> of using SSRI's with their children.....a consideration on our point

at

> this time to help limit our son's rigidity.........he has made huge

> progress over the past 4 years, but we continue to have meltdowns

> regularly and extreme oral aversions........our Dev Ped has brought

up

> the idea and we are trying to research this.......any info would be

of

> help. Thanks

>

[Guest guest]

We introduced an SSRI when my son was 5 and they eliminated the

multiple-times-a-day " freak outs and meltdowns " . We started with a very low

dose of Prozac and tried increasing the dose when he was doing well - our dev

ped thought it may help him to be more " flexible " and social. Increasing the

dose made him more " physical " and we reduced it down.

We have since switched to Lexapro and are increasing the dosage (he's now 9

and weights at least twice what he did when we started the Prozac). The new

dose seems to be well tolerated this time.

My son is now learning to tolerate spontaneous deviations in his daily routine

or changes to the anticipated plan for the weekend. We're trying hard to help

him learn to " go with the flow " and it seems to be working. We still need to

provide daily rewards (computer time, books and video time are what motivate

him) based on his ability to stay on track and complete his work at school.

Life is not perfect. He will come home with " all star days " for weeks and then

there will be a few days with tons of verbal protests.

Maggie

angelasherrod68 wrote:

Just wanted to see if anyone could tell me positive or negative

effects

of using SSRI's with their children.....a consideration on our point at

this time to help limit our son's rigidity.........he has made huge

progress over the past 4 years, but we continue to have meltdowns

regularly and extreme oral aversions........our Dev Ped has brought up

the idea and we are trying to research this.......any info would be of

help. Thanks

---------------------------------

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

My son was on Zoloft 75mg for 4 years, he started a low dose of Zoloft

when he was 3 for meltdowns and major anxiety and crying non-stop. When

I started bio-med 3 years ago (he's 13 now) I switched to SAM-E 40mg

once a day. I weaned him off Zoloft with the exact same benefits. If he

misses the SAM-E one day he starts crying and is ultra sensitive and

moody just like if we missed Zoloft. I never thought this would work I

was not anti medication and I wanted something that worked for this

serious issue. SAM-E worked for us or believe me I'd be back on the SSRI

bandwagon if it didn't .

Trina

>

> We introduced an SSRI when my son was 5 and they eliminated the

> multiple-times-a-day " freak outs and meltdowns " . We started with a

> very low dose of Prozac and tried increasing the dose when he was

> doing well - our dev ped thought it may help him to be more " flexible "

> and social. Increasing the dose made him more " physical " and we

> reduced it down.

>

> We have since switched to Lexapro and are increasing the dosage (he's

> now 9 and weights at least twice what he did when we started the

> Prozac). The new dose seems to be well tolerated this time.

>

> My son is now learning to tolerate spontaneous deviations in his daily

> routine or changes to the anticipated plan for the weekend. We're

> trying hard to help him learn to " go with the flow " and it seems to be

> working. We still need to provide daily rewards (computer time, books

> and video time are what motivate him) based on his ability to stay on

> track and complete his work at school. Life is not perfect. He will

> come home with " all star days " for weeks and then there will be a few

> days with tons of verbal protests.

>

> Maggie

>

> angelasherrod68 <angelasherrod68@...

> <mailto:angelasherrod68%40yahoo.com>> wrote:

> Just wanted to see if anyone could tell me positive or negative effects

> of using SSRI's with their children.....a consideration on our point at

> this time to help limit our son's rigidity.........he has made huge

> progress over the past 4 years, but we continue to have meltdowns

> regularly and extreme oral aversions........our Dev Ped has brought up

> the idea and we are trying to research this.......any info would be of

> help. Thanks

>

> ---------------------------------

> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try

> it now.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Maggie,

I've tried SAM-E with my boys in the past and it didn't seem to make a big

difference with them. Did it take a while for you to see positive effects? I

wonder if I just didn't give it enough time.

a

Re: Anyone use SSRI's with your children?

My son was on Zoloft 75mg for 4 years, he started a low dose of Zoloft

when he was 3 for meltdowns and major anxiety and crying non-stop. When

I started bio-med 3 years ago (he's 13 now) I switched to SAM-E 40mg

once a day. I weaned him off Zoloft with the exact same benefits. If he

misses the SAM-E one day he starts crying and is ultra sensitive and

moody just like if we missed Zoloft. I never thought this would work I

was not anti medication and I wanted something that worked for this

serious issue. SAM-E worked for us or believe me I'd be back on the SSRI

bandwagon if it didn't .

Trina

>

> We introduced an SSRI when my son was 5 and they eliminated the

> multiple-times-a-day " freak outs and meltdowns " . We started with a

> very low dose of Prozac and tried increasing the dose when he was

> doing well - our dev ped thought it may help him to be more " flexible "

> and social. Increasing the dose made him more " physical " and we

> reduced it down.

>

> We have since switched to Lexapro and are increasing the dosage (he's

> now 9 and weights at least twice what he did when we started the

> Prozac). The new dose seems to be well tolerated this time.

>

> My son is now learning to tolerate spontaneous deviations in his daily

> routine or changes to the anticipated plan for the weekend. We're

> trying hard to help him learn to " go with the flow " and it seems to be

> working. We still need to provide daily rewards (computer time, books

> and video time are what motivate him) based on his ability to stay on

> track and complete his work at school. Life is not perfect. He will

> come home with " all star days " for weeks and then there will be a few

> days with tons of verbal protests.

>

> Maggie

>

> angelasherrod68 <angelasherrod68@...

> <mailto:angelasherrod68%40yahoo.com>> wrote:

> Just wanted to see if anyone could tell me positive or negative effects

> of using SSRI's with their children.....a consideration on our point at

> this time to help limit our son's rigidity.........he has made huge

> progress over the past 4 years, but we continue to have meltdowns

> regularly and extreme oral aversions........our Dev Ped has brought up

> the idea and we are trying to research this.......any info would be of

> help. Thanks

>

> ---------------------------------

> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try

> it now.

>

>