My 7 yr old son has been on fluoxitine, clomazapan, seroqual, olanzipene, now escitalopram?

Hi katemaree8, I think you got a very good answer from "leopardeyes", That is a lot of very strong medicines for a 7 yr. old to be on. I think I can only add a little to her response. When young children are given ritalin for ADD, it actully works in the opposite manner than it would on an adult. It (ritalin) makes them calm. If it were to be taken by an adult, more than likely they would be on the ceiling. I would have to say that your son is experiencing the same thing with the clonazepam. It would calm an adult and would help with the PTSD, it would possibly be the reason why he is acting out and can't sleep. You didn't clarify as to whether your son was tried on first, one medication, and then stopped and tried another when that didn't work. As "leopardeyes" said, I would get you and your son into family counseling. Maybe you would meet another family in group sessions, one who was going through the same or similiar problems.

Expand this post...

That way you would maybe find another mom (or dad) who you can talk to, when you feel as desperate as you sound right now. I wish you and your son the very best. I know how difficult it is when your child is hurting, but you feel like your hands are tied. Let me know how you make out, I will add you as a friend so you can ask me a private question. Good luck! Fall Queen

Hello,

I am so very sorry to read this.

Indeed I agree he is taking medications which are too strong like olanzapine and seroquel which are second generation atypical antispshychotics (for schizophrenia and bipolar diorder) which I take for my bipolar condition, also klonopin or clonazepam (treats ptsd , anxiety and panic attacks), very addicting, it belongs to the family of benzodiazepines, I also take it, but I am 42 years old.

I am more manic that depressive, I believe your son is undergoing a very strong manic phase, I say this from my own personal experince, I have had strong manic episodes in th past, and obviously the behavioural pattern changes completely and abruptly, and no matter what medication is administered ... they simply do not work due to the chemical unbalances in the brain.

Expand this post...

No one is giving you answers, perhaps they see a very hard case and do not want to get involved, he is so young, but yet a danger to himself which must be contained immediately and by that I mean he must see a good children´s pshyachiatrist and maybe he needs to be hospitalized for a short term, so he can be monitored, get tests done, and protect him from himself. How are his lithium levels? If they are low he needs to be put on proper medication for bipolar disorder usually Lithium.

I agree with you , your lttle boy deserves a shot at life and so do you, but before that happens you need to remain strong, not get desperate and be willing to do whatever it takes to help him.

I suggest, from my own personal experience ( I have been institutionalized under my own free will for 3 times) is that you keep him in a safe environment so he does not continue to hurt himself and you, where he can be monitored and where answers must be a must, in order to get the right diagnose and put him on the right treatment, because if he stays at home now, it is a tragedy waiting to happen... I am being realistic, not pesimistic at all... I want the best for you and your boy, because I am a caring individual.-

All the best to you and your son,

Andres

I would have to agree with both responses. As has already been stated, often times, with the young, medications only aggravate the situation, vs. calm the situation - and long term use can often practically set up a child for a large host of issues to be continued through-out life. I really wonder, was he worse off before the meds, or after? Therapy is usually (almost always) is the best route for situations of this sort, even in the extreme cases. Drugs for ADD in kids have shown them to be more focused in the short term, however, does not create true "interest" or "child like passion for topics". Research has shown over and over again that in kids, even when the medication seems to be doing magic, it has not been shown to produce a more effective long term outcome when it comes to him and adulthood. The chances for crime and delinquency in later years of life is statistically much higher when medicated vs. not.

Expand this post...

It seems that when little brains are developing, as was already stated, the medications that are tried and true for adults (with brains that are stable and not in a developmental stage) have been found to respond extremely differently in kids. Seroqual is a severe and dangerous drug as far as I'm concerned for adults... now with kids, it makes it that much worse and risky!

Please remember that I'm not there, and I'm not a doctor, nonetheless, a second opinion and or an alternative is needed asap. If they can find a med to stabilize a situation, it should be just that, to stabilize for short term use. PTSD is a behavioral disorder, as the brain controls behavior... so, on that logic, he's just a poor kid who needs extra love, a feeling of safety, and understanding. Therapy is the route to actually "cure" a problem. Medication is a route for future problems, as they often will cause additional problems on top of the problems that they are trying to fix. So.. then your left with not just anxiety / PTSD (ptsd causes the anxiety) but perhaps a much much greater chance at psychosis and or bipolar illness, and that's something that would be much more difficult to deal with. With the advent of SSRI medications, bipolar cases have gone threw the roof, often caused by the initial dosage. Once the med causes agitation, the doctor will then tell you that it is great that the "true" problem has been uncovered - which happens to be bipolar illness, something that was rare in the pre ssri days.

When you hear, this medication has a 65% chance of working, ask, what does "working mean?" Is it working in the first 4 weeks, 8 weeks, or year, and what are the long term affects of this medication? What are the risks associated with the medication, and does it have discontinuation syndrome?

Once any medication is taken for some time, it actually changes the brains chemistry, and can actually alter in not a good way, the way that the neurons function, with the brain trying to adjust to the medication, and the medication mucking up the neurons. When the medication is removed, rebound symptoms are then more likely due to the changes that happened in the brain. Often it's not an example of the medication "working", but an example of how it has altered and changed the way it processes information. Statistics are almost always put in the best light, and are almost always not revealing the entire story.

I personally have anxiety / ptsd / depression / fibromyalgia, and as an adult, I have taken many many meds. Recently, I've had enough with them, especially the ones that do really do a whole lot of anything. I went from nearly being sent to a hospital, not able to stay awake past 8pm, almost lost my job, to a clarity of mind. I haven't stopped everything, as I'm not ready yet, but once I've finished therapy for the ptsd / anxiety / depression, I plan to discontinue once again as much of the medications as I can, and stay stable. It is only due to my therapist, not psychiatrist and drugs that I'm now able to do this. Yes, I'm now in pain, but at least I now have a chance to work on checking holistic methods, exercise, and everything in the book before putting the painful effects onto medication, something that I know will cause long term harm if I'm not careful.

One last point for what it's worth, from what I've written, you'd think that I'm very anti medication, but this is not true, but do believe in having a complete understanding of the situation at hand. If it weren't for medication, I'd be divorced - and who knows if I'd still have my job. The meds stabilized me, as I needed that. Now I'm being repaired, and hopefully sooner as to later, I'll be off as many of the meds as I can be. I've been on Klonopin at 3mg as well as methadone for pain. Those two will cause agitation, anger, and a rebound of the original symptoms, during withdrawals, and I may just stay on them cause I don't want to put my family through a couple months of psycho daddy, but this doesn't mean I'm not going to try me best.

For whatever it's worth, ptsd, and its host of accompanying symptoms that comes along with the disorder, such as anxiety and depression is a terrible terrible thing to deal with, worse than any panic attack (they used to bruise my chest) and I can only imagine what he might be feeling, especially at his age. I sincerely hope that this is of some help, and that ultimately what ever you decide is going to be best for him, as your love for him is always your best guide! PTSD is a disorder that anyone can get, and is a natural reaction to events. During 911, the rates of PTSD went threw the roof in Manhattan, especially rescue workers, not due to a weakness, as they were brave as can be, but due to this unfortunate automatic response that kids are much more susceptible to. I hope that progress is seen very very soon, and once again, please remember, I'm not a doctor - just a guy who seems to collect disorders, and wanted to know more about what they were prescribing me - as I found the psychiatrists to often lie and bend the truth to only get me to follow their advise, vs. what is in the best interest for you. I left my first psychiatrist, and the second one was much more helpful, and I apologize for the novel length responce.

Sincerely,
Jeff K

Sounds like your son is long overdue for a good sleep. Alot of people i talked to about my son told me to send him to an institution cause of his erratic behavior. I just could not imagine a day without him i dont care how "bad" he was he went as far as takeing a knife from the house take it to school and threatened to kill the kids at his school. At that point i thought maybe everyone is right maybe he needs further help than just his mommy. I took him to a phyciatrist immediatley they diagnosed him with adhd and when a child has this diagnosis it can range from mild to severe and my son had severe adhd. He was out of control they prescribed him adderall he truely is an angel now and now people want to take my son with them they want to do things with him. So dont give up on your son your right your obviously a good mommy or you wouldnt be asking for help.

Expand this post...

He apparently has been treated with the incorrect medication and he needs to be rediagnosed with the correct diagnosis and correct medication. I would advise a second opinion cause even doctors make mistakes good luck katemaree8.

I'm sorry to hear of all the grief both you and your son are going through. My honest opinion would suggest your son may have ADHD. Many times it isn't recognized as a possible diagnosis until triggered by a traumatic or life altering event. As in myself; I was diagnosed with PTSD after an explosion. After several years and numerous futile attempts to medicate for depression, I was given an ADHD screening and the riddle had seemed to be solved. Granted I am 25 years old, my mood and activities were all over the place. I had since discontinued the antidepressants and began taking Adderall daily. Everything is now smoother in my routines and I'm not going berserk, save for high anxiety and insomnia that I've been given Lexapro and Clonazepam for. I am not a doctor and only speaking from experience, but have your son screened for possible ADHD and maybe suggest to a psychiatrist to try Adderall or something similar.

Expand this post...

If that starts to help then the remaining issues should become more apparent and go from there. As stated by others, just remain wary of the potency of some of the aforementioned medications. Best wishes for your son and you.

yah, this really doesn't sound very good... the body really does have an amazing ability to heal itself at that age, especially when the brain is still in a stage of formation. Sure, everything that we do is behavior related, as is me typing this response, and sure, maybe a cup of soup won't heal these negative behaviors, but therapy will. Therapy time and time again has proven itself to actually produce more positive results than medication in children, and when children are even medicated with positive results, it has been shown in some (not all) studies that long term outcomes are more positive when the child is taken off the meds after a month or two.

Expand this post...

I'm an adult with the results of long-term ptsd caused by childhood trauma, and can tell you first hand that it really pales in comparison to any other anxiety disorder - for me, even the very physical panic attacks, but, with therapy, I'm actually working on addressing these issues vs. simply covering them up.

Best wishes to you and your child!! If you don't think that your child is getting proper treatment, please please then get a second opinion!!
Sincerely,
Jeff K