Posted by tanguerey on January 27, 2003, at 23:34:46
In reply to Re: Effexor XR: Any advice would be appreciated... » jtc, posted by ayuda on December 9, 2002, at 14:04:13
> > Hi, I am new to this message board. Any advice about Effexor XR and it's use in children would be greatly appreciated. My 8 1/2 year old daughter has severe anxiety, so much so that it is interfering with her school work. She has been tested for ADD but psychologist said she does not have it. He said she has more anxiety than most kids her age. So he referred us to a psychiatrist and she started my child on Effexor XR about 3 weeks ago. She is taking 37.5 mg daily. I don't really notice a difference but her afternoon teacher at school says she notices a difference. I take Effexor XR, 75 mg daily. I have read a lot of things about Effexor and don't know if I want my child to take it or if I should be taking it. It has helped me but I still have some side effects from it. I am just really worried about my daughter. She is so young to be taking mood altering drugs. Is there any other medications anyone knows of that she can try that have been approved by the FDA. I read that Effexor XR has not really been approved by the RDA for use in children. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
> > Thanks, jtc
>
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> I am not a doctor or pharmacist, but I don't think of anti-depressants as "mood altering" drugs. A person who suffers from depression or anxiety -- and I have suffered from both since about age 7 -- has a chemical imbalance. ADs are an attempt to correct that imbalance. It is most commonly and probably best compared to insulin for diabetics -- they also suffer from a chemical imbalance. So I would not fret about your daughter needing this medication in the first place -- My father and my maternal grandmother both passed on this chemical imbalance to me, my sister and my sister's son, so it appears that you have passed it onto your daughter -- again, it is a physical problem that has "mental" health aspects to it, don't not have her treated for it.
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> As for Effexor XR -- I was on it (I'm age 37) for 7 months and could not handle the side effects, mostly the nausea and weight gain, but I don't know how a child would respond to it. If you want to know if your doctor should have prescribed it for her, you may want to call your pharmacist and ask them about it -- they have the most up-to-date reference guides on drugs. However, I don't think that any doctor who wants to keep his/her license to practice and butt out of jail would prescribe it for her if it was dangerous.
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> You and your daughter are the best judges of whether or not she can handle the side effects. Don't let anything anyone says here take the place of that judgment. As for the effectiveness, especially if this is her first AD, it takes some time for this kind of med to start showing its effectiveness, and in the meantime you may want to be patient where side effects are concerned.
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> Back in the early 70s when my parents first had to deal with my problems, no one knew anything about depression or anxiety, and certainly not for children. I was put on "kiddie" tranquilizers, which I had to keep going off of to live my life. I also just learned how to cope with it as best I could, though I would be paralyzed emotionally by anything that heightened my anxiety.
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> As a teen, I turned to moderate alcohol use as "self-medication" for my anxiety (my father is an alcoholic, also bi-polar). Being on an AD is preferable to alcohol abuse, and actually addresses the problem. What I guess I am saying is that, if your daughter really suffers from these problems and they are left untreated with the proper medication, she will still need to bring her anxiety down someway -- and that alternative may not be what you want for her.
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> I feel for her -- I know what it is like to be a child and to suffer from anxiety. I would keep my family up all night long some nights in my terrified state, which means that they all suffered along with me. Effexor really helps with anxiety -- it doesn't make you into a robot, like a tranquilizer would, it just keeps you from experiencing that heightened anxiety reaction.
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> Now that I have been treated for the anxiety for a couple of years, I would never go back to trying to cope with it on my own. I love the relative internal peace I have found. You really need to make sure that your daughter knows that she is not crazy, especially with the fact that she is a child and is under psychiatric care, she may think that she is. She has a physical problem that may require treatment all her life to improve her quality of life. I sure wish I could have some of my childhood back -- with an antidepressant to take -- to live over again without the anxiety or the tranquilizers.
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> I wish you and your daughter the best of luck. Just remember, depression and anxiety are physical problems, and an AD is not the same as a benzodiazapine or mood stabilizer. Keep us informed on how you and she are doing on the meds.
>I remember my first anxiety attack at 8 years old. And yes, they had no idea what it was. I too kept my family up at night.
I am a 46 year old female. I am on 150 mg effexor and am titrating down. I'm down to 75 mg effexor and I am starting 5 mg of Lexapro tonight. I am switching because of high blood pressure.
My psychiatrist told me that even though I was not on the proper drugs ( at least not for my chemistry) over the years (prozac and effexor), that it staved off the progression of GAD over the years. He says the brain kindles each time you have an attack and it learns that this is appropriate response.
Therefore, in dealing with youngsters, I must vote in favor of the meds, as you have said, because it is a disease. We are not crazy. It is an illness that needs control from the start.
Wish me luck on Lexapro. I'll keep you posted on progress.
Tanguerey
poster:tanguerey
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030125/msgs/137878.html