medications question

[smallworld]

SSRI withdrawal is real and it can be serious. As long as weaning is done slowly and under the guidance of a doctor, children can be safely taken off of SSRIs, particularly if the SSRI is making their behavior worse.

 

[KarenB]

I called today. They made an appointment for Friday and didn't even let me know. Nice, huh? Well, at least he'll be seen then. I guess I'll just give him 100mg until then.

 

[jannie]

Make sure the doctor tells you all about the possible reactions to stopping zoloft. My child had flu like symptoms aches, pains, lethargic which lasted several days as well as a violent reaction--it's just important to be aware of these things so that you can be prepared and know what to expect. And or course, there are many kids that have no reaction to stopping medications...just the luck of the draw...

Good luck..

 

[Sara PA]

It isn't super dangerous to discontinue an SSRI without a doctor's supervision. That's the way most people do it. And many doctors still refuse to admit that there can be withdrawal problems andeither tell people they can just stop taking them or they spread discontinuation over two weeks.

Abrupt discontinuation can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches as well as mood swings unrelated to the reason the drug was prescribed. The physical symptoms, if they occur, can last two weeks or so, though the headaches from Effexor and Paxil can go on indefinitely The psychiatric symptoms can last longer.

That said, I would never advise anyone to abruptly discontinue an SSRI/SNRI antidepressant (Effexor, Cymbalta), particular from high doses. I've heard too many true horror stories.

 

[smallworld]

But I think it's irresponsible for us on this board to advocate stopping any medication without a doctor's supervision.

 

[Sara PA]

With all due respect, smallworld (and I truly mean that), if people on an internet board hadn't encourage me to get my son off the antidepressant, he would be dead or in jail. We had to do it without doctor supervision because the doctors we employed didn't think it was a problem. And doctors like that still exist. One only has to read this board to see that.

Besides that, there are doctors who, as I said, don't believe withdrawal can be a problem so their supervision is essentially worthless.

 

[Sheila]

If you want to discontinue the medication, I'd ask difficult child's doctor's recommendation as to the best way to tritate it down. If the doctor refuses, I'd tell him I am going to d/c it and ask that he stand-by in case of adverse affect. Then I'd ask the pharmacist the best way to wean off the medication.

Yes, there are some doctor's that really don't get it, but I'd still want the doctor to know what I was doing in case of an emergency.

 

[Sara PA]

Pharmacists get their information from the prescribing information/label/insert of the drugs. There is no specific information given about how or how quickly to discontinue these drugs. Usually there is nothing more than a generally worded caution about abrupt discontinuation.

Some of the best information both on what might happen and how to do it can be found on the internet. Google "SSRI discontinuation".

I did notifiy my son's doctor the day the pills went flying, just in case. The doctor was surprised my son was able to quit cold turkey. The doctor may not have recognized the psychiatric adverse reactions my son was having but at least he believed in/knew about SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome. http://bipolar.about.com/cs/antidep/a/0207_ssridisc1.htm

 

[SRL]

Sara, while people can be found who are comfortable stopping an SRRI cold turkey, for reasons of safety we've made the decision to always refer parents to their child's physician for instructions on discontinuing medications.

 

[KarenB]

It's all good. I made the decision to give difficult child half of his dose today and yesterday as well. I feel waiting til Friday isn't a good idea, so I made a command decision as his parent. I'll keep my eyes on him.
Thank you.

 

[Fran]

KarenB, I'm an old time member and former owner of this website. I love it sincerely and it's members. So........

Why on earth would you take advice of strangers in the treatment of your child? None of us will be responsible when and if your child suffers complications. We all go on to our own lives and you deal with the damage. You wouldn't do surgery on your own child would you?
Get a doctor that works with you and work as a team. For every success story of independent decision making for a child there is a not so successful story. We offer our experiences to educate those who haven't been there yet but you must remember it is a tool to use in educating yourself and not the gospel.

 

[KarenB]

Fran,
Of course it's not gospel. Like I said in my last post. I made a command as his parent decision to half his Zoloft until I see his psychiatrist on Friday. I was thinking of doing that anyway, and feel I can watch him very closely.
Thanks you sincerely for your concern.

 

[Sara PA]

Truth be told, Fran, doctors don't take responsibility when they damage people. We paid dearly for the mistakes the doctors made in medicating my son. The doctors didn't pay a thing, instead they got paid. Those doctors went on with their own lives and left me to deal with the damage. And the sad thing was that the information they should have had and should have followed was available on line to anyone who wanted to read it, not to mention in the PDR they all had sitting in their offices.

I got more worthwhile advice and support from other parents -- MidwestMom was one of them -- after one day on an internet board than I did in a year and half of paying board certified child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychologist.