Re: Can I have more information or sharing from anyone who has taken Paxil?

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy --

The dosages Dr. G prescribes are VERY small. Not nearly enough to treat

depression. The idea of the Paxil (and Prozac, Zoloft, and Celexa) is to

improve brain function, i.e., " wake up " the temporal lobes of the brain, which

in children, don't get enough blood flow (oxygen). Theoretically, if the

brain is functioning well, blood flow to the brain improves. Dr. Goldberg has

seen this theory borne out over and over again with NeuroSPECTscans.

For more detailed (and probably more exact) information, go to

www.neuroimmunedr.com and go to the " Conference " area, where you can do a search

for " SSRI " . Dr. Goldberg talks about all of this and answers questions about

the safety issues as well.

Hope that helps ease your mind a bit.

Donna

Can I have more information or sharing from anyone who has

taken Paxil?

Hi, this is Amy from singapore. May I find out more about functions

of Paxil from anyone, especially those whose children have taken

Paxil? my chil is more alert after taking Valtrex and Nizoral and Dr

Goldberg said that he prescribes Paxil for brain stimulation. I

thought it is a brain depression medicine right? He is asked to take

1/4 tab only once in the morning to see whether he becomes

hyperactive, which is its side effects. I am worried about causing

harm to my child in long term. Hope to hear from you folks soon.

Thanks.

Responsibility for the content of this message lies strictly with

the original author, and is not necessarily endorsed by or the

opinion of the Research Institute.

[Guest guest]

I, too am concerned about the SSRIs. We haven't started them yet, but

I'm sure they're in our future. Here are my questions for you experienced

families:

1. If your child reacts negatively, what are the most common behaviors to

look for?

2. If your child is not doing well on an SSRI, how long does Dr. G. wait

until he switches?

3. If your child does not do well on any SSRI, how long does it take to

wean your child off of them completely?

4. Is a " die off " or adjustment period of negative behavior

typical before improvements, such as with the antivirals and antifungals?

I am so wary of them because I took a low dose of Paxil about 10 years

ago for mild depression. Let's just say it made me feel like crawling out

of my skin, at the least. I felt amped up, nervous, and jittery, even on

less than 1/2 of 1 pill a day. I don't want my son to have to go through

this, even for a couple of weeks. He already has enough problems. I know

that the SSRIs help many kids but I almost felt suicidal for the 2 weeks I

was taking Paxil. If my son feels this way, he doesn't have the words to

tell me so while we're waiting to see if the drug helps.

Thanks for your input, Becky

Can I have more information or sharing from anyone who has

taken Paxil?

> Hi, this is Amy from singapore. May I find out more about functions

> of Paxil from anyone, especially those whose children have taken

> Paxil? my chil is more alert after taking Valtrex and Nizoral and Dr

> Goldberg said that he prescribes Paxil for brain stimulation. I

> thought it is a brain depression medicine right? He is asked to take

> 1/4 tab only once in the morning to see whether he becomes

> hyperactive, which is its side effects. I am worried about causing

> harm to my child in long term. Hope to hear from you folks soon.

> Thanks.

>

>

>

>

> Responsibility for the content of this message lies strictly with

> the original author, and is not necessarily endorsed by or the

> opinion of the Research Institute.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Becky, I can only speak from my daughter's experiences with SSRI's. My son is

not yet taking them, but we may include them in the next two or three months per

Dr. G. When Chaia was on Paxil it was a nightmare. She became " zoned out " and

would use the bathroom in her pants without even being aware of it. Her

language skills decreased. She was almost like a drug addict during a " high. "

Dr. G gave it a few weeks, " LONG weeks for us " , then changed her to Celexa. On

Celexa, she is a " brighter, more alert " child. Her language skills have

improved even further than they were before, no accidents, and she's physically

much better also. Although finding the right SSRI seems to be a tough thing, I

can tell you that the SSRI has helped her to go beyond what the antiviral and

antifungal did. Hang in there! Shona

>

> Wrom: GAUTFJMVRESKPNKMBIPBARHDMNNSKVFVWRKJVZC

> Date: 2003/06/15 Sun PM 10:59:22 EDT

> < >

> Subject: Re: Can I have more information or sharing from anyone who has

taken Paxil?

>

>

[Guest guest]

My son started on 1/4 of Paxil at the end of December. (First appt w/Dr G

October 1, 2002 and he gave us samples for Paxil, Celexa, and Zoloft.)

He turns 5 next month.

I'm looking over our faxed updates to give you an overview.

Ammon had a bit of hyperness and an increase in tantrums at first, nothing

major. Could have been from Christmas break from school/change in routine.

Was a bit more alert and had language improvements.

Moved up to 1/3 of Paxil in February. Sleep disturbances, hyperness, defiant

tantrums, and " autistic stimming " VERY noticeable. But he did start dressing

himself (and changing clothes 5x a day!) and language was still increasing and

he became interested in painting with water colors.

We had to switch antivirals in March. His concentration did improve and his

playing became more imaginative. But he still frustrated easily and had bad

screaming/tantrums. Plus the hyperness mixed in.

Then switched to 1/2 Celexa in April. End of hyperness and a good attitude

noticed the first week after the switch. Improvement in trying to communicate

and very little moodiness/tantrums. More focus/alertness. Better hand-eye

coordination. Still zoney about 20% of the time.

At our last phone appt. Dr. G wanted to try Zoloft to see if that would work

even better than the Celexa and get rid of all zoniness.

Ammon started on the 6th with Zoloft (which is what I am on, actually.) :0)

So far it's been nothing but positives: great alertness, way more speech, great

attention, and more interaction with peers.

And this was done the same time he transitioned to a summer school program at a

new school location, all new kids, and new teacher/aides. He switched without

any problems. Even sat in his chair for 10 minutes one day last week.

We'll be switching anti-fungal next so we'll see what that brings...

[Guest guest]

> 1. If your child reacts negatively, what are the most common behaviors to

> look for?

Becky,

When our child was reacting negatively, we saw uncharacteristic behaviors,

such as blurting out how to spell a word in the middle of a spelling test,

etc. His teacher said he was " making poor decisions " at school. I know

there are more examples but I'm drawing a blank right now.

Actually, some of the most dramatic behaviors we've seen on an SSRI were in

switching from one SSRI to another. Our son started the screaming and

crying fits again (hadn't seen those for a while). I was sure that the new

SSRI was wrong for him and was hot to stop it. When we discussed it with

Dr. G, he said that the dose might not be high enough yet, and he was right.

When we cringed and upped the dose, the anxiety/screaming stopped. My child

is still doing well on that SSRI.

The other side of the coin is adjusting the dose... if it gets too high, my

son gets discombobulated. When the dosage is stepped back a notch, things

are fine. We have had good luck on all but one of the SSRIs we have tried

(Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft). He is also on Effexor.

I credit SSRIs with allowing my child to have friends. He would not even

speak to the other school children very often before SSRIs, and if he did,

it was many times in the form of screaming and crying because they were

getting on his nerves. His younger sister used to be the bane of his

existence... he couldn't stand her wild imagination. Now they pretend

together all of the time and are extremely close. In fact, he is just crazy

about her now. It is amazing to see how much he has benefited from the

SSRIs. I will never forget walking into my son's room shortly after he

started Celexa. He was on his bed, having a very sweet conversation with

several of his stuffed animals. I couldn't believe it... he had never done

anything like that before. I really feel as though the SSRIs unlocked his

imagination.

> 2. If your child is not doing well on an SSRI, how long does Dr. G. wait

> until he switches?

Once for us it was immediate, another time it took a bit longer. One thing

to remember, though, is that each SSRI is a bit different, and therefore may

have different benefits/deficits. The move from one to another is not

always " seamless " and you have to go through adjusting the new one to the

right dosage. We have really appreciated that Dr. G often tries to do as

much possible over Christmas break, etc. We usually end up having to deal

with some of it during school because it takes weeks to get to the right

dose. It's not fun, but the end result has been worth it for our boy.

Through Dr. Goldberg, our son has improved so much at this point that his

major struggles now stem mostly from being socially immature for his age and

a bit disorganized rather than from his classic " autistic " symptoms.

> 3. If your child does not do well on any SSRI, how long does it take to

> wean your child off of them completely?

I don't know, as we have not done this. After seeing our child fall apart

when the dose was too low recently, I suspect we'll be on them for a while.

> 4. Is a " die off " or adjustment period of negative behavior

> typical before improvements, such as with the antivirals and antifungals?

No, there is not a " die off " , but there are the concerns of figuring out if

that particular SSRI is right for a specific child... and getting the dosage

adjusted. The only way the two above items can be accomplished right now

are through individual observation... not always fun

> I am so wary of them because I took a low dose of Paxil about 10 years

> ago for mild depression. Let's just say it made me feel like crawling out

> of my skin, at the least. I felt amped up, nervous, and jittery, even on

> less than 1/2 of 1 pill a day. I don't want my son to have to go through

> this, even for a couple of weeks. He already has enough problems. I know

> that the SSRIs help many kids but I almost felt suicidal for the 2 weeks I

> was taking Paxil. If my son feels this way, he doesn't have the words to

> tell me so while we're waiting to see if the drug helps.

One wise sage on this group (sorry I can't give credit... don't remember who

said it!) said that finding the right SSRI is like trying on shoes... you

have to keep trying them on 'til you find one that fits. I have seen them

bring out the best and the worst in my child, but when we found the one(s)

that fit, they were of GREAT benefit to him. They have greatly improved his

quality of life.

Good luck...

Caroline

[Guest guest]

Caroline,

It is very encouraging to read your post. I hope I can say same for

next school year. I do have two question for you:

1. Is your son able to finish all his school work in school now (I

think he is 2nd grade now)?

2. Was your son's height gain dropped off after starting SSRI?

Thanks

Jin

> > 1. If your child reacts negatively, what are the most common

behaviors to

> > look for?

>

> Becky,

>

> When our child was reacting negatively, we saw uncharacteristic

behaviors,

> such as blurting out how to spell a word in the middle of a

spelling test,

> etc. His teacher said he was " making poor decisions " at school. I

know

> there are more examples but I'm drawing a blank right now.

>

> Actually, some of the most dramatic behaviors we've seen on an SSRI

were in

> switching from one SSRI to another. Our son started the screaming

and

> crying fits again (hadn't seen those for a while). I was sure that

the new

> SSRI was wrong for him and was hot to stop it. When we discussed

it with

> Dr. G, he said that the dose might not be high enough yet, and he

was right.

> When we cringed and upped the dose, the anxiety/screaming stopped.

My child

> is still doing well on that SSRI.

>

> The other side of the coin is adjusting the dose... if it gets too

high, my

> son gets discombobulated. When the dosage is stepped back a notch,

things

> are fine. We have had good luck on all but one of the SSRIs we

have tried

> (Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft). He is also on Effexor.

>

> I credit SSRIs with allowing my child to have friends. He would

not even

> speak to the other school children very often before SSRIs, and if

he did,

> it was many times in the form of screaming and crying because they

were

> getting on his nerves. His younger sister used to be the bane of

his

> existence... he couldn't stand her wild imagination. Now they

pretend

> together all of the time and are extremely close. In fact, he is

just crazy

> about her now. It is amazing to see how much he has benefited from

the

> SSRIs. I will never forget walking into my son's room shortly

after he

> started Celexa. He was on his bed, having a very sweet

conversation with

> several of his stuffed animals. I couldn't believe it... he had

never done

> anything like that before. I really feel as though the SSRIs

unlocked his

> imagination.

>

> > 2. If your child is not doing well on an SSRI, how long does Dr.

G. wait

> > until he switches?

>

> Once for us it was immediate, another time it took a bit longer.

One thing

> to remember, though, is that each SSRI is a bit different, and

therefore may

> have different benefits/deficits. The move from one to another is

not

> always " seamless " and you have to go through adjusting the new one

to the

> right dosage. We have really appreciated that Dr. G often tries to

do as

> much possible over Christmas break, etc. We usually end up having

to deal

> with some of it during school because it takes weeks to get to the

right

> dose. It's not fun, but the end result has been worth it for our

boy.

>

> Through Dr. Goldberg, our son has improved so much at this point

that his

> major struggles now stem mostly from being socially immature for

his age and

> a bit disorganized rather than from his classic " autistic " symptoms.

>

> > 3. If your child does not do well on any SSRI, how long does it

take to

> > wean your child off of them completely?

>

> I don't know, as we have not done this. After seeing our child

fall apart

> when the dose was too low recently, I suspect we'll be on them for

a while.

>

> > 4. Is a " die off " or adjustment period of negative behavior

> > typical before improvements, such as with the antivirals and

antifungals?

>

> No, there is not a " die off " , but there are the concerns of

figuring out if

> that particular SSRI is right for a specific child... and getting

the dosage

> adjusted. The only way the two above items can be accomplished

right now

> are through individual observation... not always fun

>

> > I am so wary of them because I took a low dose of Paxil about

10 years

> > ago for mild depression. Let's just say it made me feel like

crawling out

> > of my skin, at the least. I felt amped up, nervous, and jittery,

even on

> > less than 1/2 of 1 pill a day. I don't want my son to have to go

through

> > this, even for a couple of weeks. He already has enough

problems. I know

> > that the SSRIs help many kids but I almost felt suicidal for the

2 weeks I

> > was taking Paxil. If my son feels this way, he doesn't have the

words to

> > tell me so while we're waiting to see if the drug helps.

>

> One wise sage on this group (sorry I can't give credit... don't

remember who

> said it!) said that finding the right SSRI is like trying on

shoes... you

> have to keep trying them on 'til you find one that fits. I have

seen them

> bring out the best and the worst in my child, but when we found the

one(s)

> that fit, they were of GREAT benefit to him. They have greatly

improved his

> quality of life.

>

> Good luck...

>

> Caroline

[Guest guest]

On 6/17/03 8:09 AM, " jinyang061629 " <yanglou@...> wrote:

> 1. Is your son able to finish all his school work in school now (I

> think he is 2nd grade now)?

He finishes most of it. Being disorganized, he sometimes forgets it, but he

got a lot better about that at the end of the year. He still struggles some

in writing and interpreting reading. Some of his " autistic " symptoms are

still there in a mild form, but are not causing him as many struggles as the

social immaturity and the disorganization. Actually I'm sure that the

social immaturity and disorganization are part of the " autistic " stuff, but

they are not as definitive symptoms as stimming or toe walking or head

banging or anxiety, etc. (he had all of those at one point or another).

There is a girl in my older son's class who is extremely disorganized and

used to go off one way when told to go another (like the whole gym class

would take off running in the direction they were told, and she would run

the other way). She is thought of as " NT " (neurologically typical) and is

at the top of the class. Without the fact that she is an only child and has

a very devoted Mom who supports her comnpletely, she'd be struggling a lot

more. She may well end up as valedictorian. It is really interesting to

see how " quirky " many of those " NT " kids are.

> 2. Was your son's height gain dropped off after starting SSRI?

>

I don't know... he's at an age where growth sort of slows down anyway. I

haven't measured him for a while. At one point we had to take him to an

endocrinologist because our pediatrician was alarmed at how fast he was

growing (and how much weight he was gaining), so I've never been too worried

that he would be small... more like I didn't want him to be 7 feet tall! He

has weighed almost the same thing for 3 years now and I think part of the

weight normalizing has been due to removal of milk from his diet... that

removed a lot of calories. We were a big cheese family... we used to eat it

on EVERYTHING.

Caroline

[Guest guest]

What do you attribute to helping the toe walking. My son toe walks.

Kristy

On Tuesday, June 17, 2003, at 03:20 PM, & Caroline Glover wrote:

> On 6/17/03 8:09 AM, " jinyang061629 " <yanglou@...> wrote:

>

>> 1. Is your son able to finish all his school work in school now (I

>> think he is 2nd grade now)?

>

> He finishes most of it. Being disorganized, he sometimes forgets it,

> but he

> got a lot better about that at the end of the year. He still struggles

> some

> in writing and interpreting reading. Some of his " autistic " symptoms

> are

> still there in a mild form, but are not causing him as many struggles

> as the

> social immaturity and the disorganization. Actually I'm sure that the

> social immaturity and disorganization are part of the " autistic " stuff,

> but

> they are not as definitive symptoms as stimming or toe walking or head

> banging or anxiety, etc. (he had all of those at one point or another).

> There is a girl in my older son's class who is extremely disorganized

> and

> used to go off one way when told to go another (like the whole gym class

> would take off running in the direction they were told, and she would

> run

> the other way). She is thought of as " NT " (neurologically typical) and

> is

> at the top of the class. Without the fact that she is an only child

> and has

> a very devoted Mom who supports her comnpletely, she'd be struggling a

> lot

> more. She may well end up as valedictorian. It is really interesting

> to

> see how " quirky " many of those " NT " kids are.

>

>

>> 2. Was your son's height gain dropped off after starting SSRI?

>>

> I don't know... he's at an age where growth sort of slows down

> anyway. I

> haven't measured him for a while. At one point we had to take him to an

> endocrinologist because our pediatrician was alarmed at how fast he was

> growing (and how much weight he was gaining), so I've never been too

> worried

> that he would be small... more like I didn't want him to be 7 feet

> tall! He

> has weighed almost the same thing for 3 years now and I think part of

> the

> weight normalizing has been due to removal of milk from his diet... that

> removed a lot of calories. We were a big cheese family... we used to

> eat it

> on EVERYTHING.

>

> Caroline

>

>

>

>

> Responsibility for the content of this message lies strictly with

> the original author, and is not necessarily endorsed by or the

> opinion of the Research Institute.

>

>

>