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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by LyndaK on May 21, 2003, at 1:45:05
My 7 year old son was recently given a trial on Paxil to see if it would help his anxiety (which may be the cause of some problems he's having at school). Although it did seem to help him be less anxious, he became more defiant, impulsive, hyper, and sometimes aggressive. We started at 2.5mg, then 5mg., then 7.5mg. With each increase in dose the negative behaviors became more pronounced. We did take him off, but I am puzzled by his response to this drug and the pdoc didn't seem to have an explanation either. Anyone out there have some insight as to why he may have responded this way?
Thanks,
Lynda
Posted by Caleb462 on May 21, 2003, at 2:27:45
In reply to Paxil response - can anyone explain?, posted by LyndaK on May 21, 2003, at 1:45:05
> My 7 year old son was recently given a trial on Paxil to see if it would help his anxiety (which may be the cause of some problems he's having at school). Although it did seem to help him be less anxious, he became more defiant, impulsive, hyper, and sometimes aggressive. We started at 2.5mg, then 5mg., then 7.5mg. With each increase in dose the negative behaviors became more pronounced. We did take him off, but I am puzzled by his response to this drug and the pdoc didn't seem to have an explanation either. Anyone out there have some insight as to why he may have responded this way?
>
> Thanks,
> LyndaSSRIs tend to induce a state of indifference, apathetic conciousness, and uninhibited social behavior. A person may no longer put as much thought into his actions, may not consider the consequences of his/her actions as strongly, and may consider reactions/consequences to be much less important than they once were. I expect, in a child, this effect would be even more pronounced. So, that is one possible explanation.
Also, some folks find that SSRIs make them irritable and easily angered. This has certainly not been my experience nor is it common, but it does happen.
And finally, he may be experiencing SSRI-induced mania, or more likely, hypomania.
Personally, I would be very hesitant to put a child on Paxil. If I were a parent or a psychiatrist I would look for other ways to try and remedy the situation before resorting to medication. I just don't like the idea of kids on anti-depressants/anxiotylics, unless it is really neccessary. And in today's age, psychiatrists are all too willing to hand out prescriptions even if they are not warranted.
Posted by TR on May 21, 2003, at 8:33:04
In reply to Paxil response - can anyone explain?, posted by LyndaK on May 21, 2003, at 1:45:05
Normally I would be loathe to advertise anything on this site. However, My friend has a severely hyperactive eight-year-old daughter with ADD. She started giving her something called Focus Factor, and I noticed a BIG change. I've never tried the stuff and own no stock or anything in this product, but this stuff helped her a lot, and I don't know how I feel about giving kids prescription antidepressants. Here's a link, if you're interested: http://www.vitalbasics.com/focusfactor.asp
> My 7 year old son was recently given a trial on Paxil to see if it would help his anxiety (which may be the cause of some problems he's having at school). Although it did seem to help him be less anxious, he became more defiant, impulsive, hyper, and sometimes aggressive. We started at 2.5mg, then 5mg., then 7.5mg. With each increase in dose the negative behaviors became more pronounced. We did take him off, but I am puzzled by his response to this drug and the pdoc didn't seem to have an explanation either. Anyone out there have some insight as to why he may have responded this way?
>
> Thanks,
> Lynda
Posted by TapiocaMonk on May 23, 2003, at 0:10:27
In reply to Paxil response - can anyone explain?, posted by LyndaK on May 21, 2003, at 1:45:05
I have been on every SSRI in the book, and Paxil is the only one that I had a very fast-occuring negative reaction to. I don't know if this is at all similar to your kid, but I was 15 when I started Paxil and it made me so irritable that I had to stop after a couple of weeks b/c I thought I was going to kill my mother (not literaly, at least I don't think).
Posted by McPac on May 23, 2003, at 22:43:55
In reply to Re: Paxil response - can anyone explain?, posted by Caleb462 on May 21, 2003, at 2:27:45
"Also, some folks find that SSRIs make them irritable and easily angered. This has certainly not been my experience nor is it common, but it does happen".
THIS is my guess.....ssri's sure do that to me...and I think many more people get this effect than is believed.
Posted by McPac on May 23, 2003, at 22:48:35
In reply to Re: Paxil response - can anyone explain?, posted by TapiocaMonk on May 23, 2003, at 0:10:27
Lynda,
IF it were me, I'd ditch the drug approach for him and look at natural methods---fish oil, diet, etc.
Posted by McPac on May 23, 2003, at 22:53:35
In reply to Re: Paxil response - can anyone explain?, posted by McPac on May 23, 2003, at 22:48:35
"IF it were me, I'd ditch the drug approach for him and look at natural methods---fish oil, diet, etc".
Oops, sorry, another poster mentioned ADHD and I was refering to fish oil, diet, etc., for an ADHD'er....although diet can certainly play a big part in anxiety as well. Still, I'd ditch the Paxil for reasons I've already mentioned. Take Care!
Posted by LyndaK on May 27, 2003, at 0:52:32
In reply to Re: Paxil response - can anyone explain?, posted by TapiocaMonk on May 23, 2003, at 0:10:27
Thankyou all for your responses, links, etc. I'm looking into further evaluation for him. I appreciate the feedback and information. It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is. It's certainly making MY anxiety level skyrocket!
Thanks again.
Lynda
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