Anyone have experience with their ADD child on Zoloft?

[Lives4Disney]

My son (15 yrs old) was diagnosed with ADD when he was 7 yrs old. He tried Ritalin at that time and had little success, but lots of bad side effects, so we stopped after a while of trying it.

When he was 8, we went to a psychiatrist who put him on adderal (sp?) and once again, little benefit with lots of side effects. To shorten the story, he saw this dr. for 4 yrs trying all different meds and combinations.

Things grew worse as far as side effects, and the doses of meds went up as the school years advanced. He wound up on 80 mg. of adderal/day and 150mg of Zoloft/day to help counteract the negative side effects of the adderal. (He was also on remeron for appetite, and trazedone to help him sleep) It turned into a nightmare. His personality changed, he became sneaky & lied constantly, CRAVED carbs & PIGGED out sneakily, VERY negative and nasty and difficult to deal with and be around. Dr. diagnosed him as ODD (which is SO UNLIKE his original personality it was disturbing). He started to develope Akethesia and had so much trouble sleeping & getting comfortable. The dr. seemed puzzled, but now that I look up Zoloft and kids online, this is a fairly common and VERY NASTY side effect of Zoloft.

At the end of 6th grade, I took him off meds - with dr.'s help. He has just never been the same again. He says he has little memory of his grade school days, has poor short term memory, seems a bit numbed & "wooden headed". Just lost his inner spark. This makes me sick and I am so worried about him. He is doing so poorly in HS - getting 4 Fs out of 6 classes.

Has anyone else had their child on Zoloft and taken them off due to bad side effects, and maybe now notice their child just isn't "the same"? I am just so upset about what damage may have been done to his brain/nervous system, etc. because of the high doses of these meds he was prescribed. When I picked up his meds a few times, the pharmacist would have to phone the psychiatrist to double check these high doses. That made me very nervous, but with the school breathing down my neck that he wasn't performing up to par, I felt pressure to try anything.

We have a dr. appt. with his great (newish & young) pediatrician tomorrow just to get a "current" ADD diagnosis for this awful HS and I am feeling like I need to talk to the dr. about this issue, but don't want to sound like a hypochondriac mom. I just notice something is not right.

Thanks for listening!! Any input would be appreciated.

Lives4Disney

 

[huckster]

my son did awfal on Zoloft he had add but they put him on zolf for depression anxiety .. the drug that works after many tries is celeza why zolof?/ it is a deprsion drug why not concerta says it has no side effects?

 

[Figment1964]

Thanks for listening!! Any input would be appreciated.

Lives4Disney

My ds (12) was on zoloft for a short period of time. He had a horrible reaction. He'd pick at his skin till he bled and then continue with the picking, not being able to stop. He even had a quarter-sized spot on the side of his nose right next to his eye that took forever to heal after we finally got him off the meds.

 

[michellex2]

I am a mental health therapist and would definitely suggest talking to your pediatrician about your concerns. I'd go at it from a friendly alliance place vs. a critical one -- for example saying that you know that there is a lot more research out now regarding the effects of antidepressants on children than there was at the time the medicine was prescribed for your son, but you are concerned about long term effects given the very high doses of medicine your son was on and the severe side effects he experienced. You might talk to him about any testing that could be useful (neuropsych testing for example) in evaluating the best way to help your son cope currently. I think your concerns are very valid. Those are INCREDIBLY high doses of those drugs for an adult, needless to say a child.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Thanks for the replies.

I am just sick over this change in him. This is the exact reason I was reluctant to put him on anything, including ritalin. He was such a sweet, fun, bouncy kid and I was so afraid these drugs could mess with his personality. When he went off these meds, the nutty, awful behaviors stopped, but he just has never been the same kid that he was before all these meds. (memory loss, short term mem probs, dull...)

I will definitely share my concerns with the dr. I have learned that moms have an intuition about their kids. I just need to trust mine more often.

The experience with these mega meds happened before all the info regarding Zoloft and kids and how it is not a good combination. I just wish I would have trusted myself earlier and not let the school pressure me to keep upping the doses and trusted my inner feelings that he shouldn't be on all these meds at all. (I am not saying I don't think it can help - I KNOW it helps people - just was not a good thing for my son) Now we have to figure out how to get that memory back and get his spark back.

I just feel so guilty.

Thanks again -

Lives4Disney

 

[mlwear]

Don't feel guilty. You did what you thought was best at the time. You obviously care and love your son deeply. You didn't intend anything negative to happen. You were trying desperately to help him. You were being a good mom. You are a good mom--no matter what that little voice of guilt tells you now.

You have learned about different approaches. You are taking measures to help your son in a different way. You are a great mom.

 

[mbb]

Thanks for the replies.

I am just sick over this change in him. This is the exact reason I was reluctant to put him on anything, including ritalin. He was such a sweet, fun, bouncy kid and I was so afraid these drugs could mess with his personality. When he went off these meds, the nutty, awful behaviors stopped, but he just has never been the same kid that he was before all these meds. (memory loss, short term mem probs, dull...)

I will definitely share my concerns with the dr. I have learned that moms have an intuition about their kids. I just need to trust mine more often.

The experience with these mega meds happened before all the info regarding Zoloft and kids and how it is not a good combination. I just wish I would have trusted myself earlier and not let the school pressure me to keep upping the doses and trusted my inner feelings that he shouldn't be on all these meds at all. (I am not saying I don't think it can help - I KNOW it helps people - just was not a good thing for my son) Now we have to figure out how to get that memory back and get his spark back.

I just feel so guilty.

Thanks again -

Lives4Disney

"Momma guilt" is the worst...we've all felt it. We're all learning to trust ourselves more, and - I know it sounds trite, but it's true - with that trust comes greater confidence to ask, to question, and to seek answers.

Our ped wanted to do allergy testing on our two kids (with the needles, skin scratching, etc.). They've lately been suffering from constant sinus/ear/throat/dry cough.

2 years ago, I would have said ok, let's try...and gone through the nightmare of testing, for results that are, at best, 50-50 yes or no.

Today....nothing doing...until we've tried non-invasive, elimination, everything- else- I -can- find resources..know what? The constant snuffles/dry cough cleared up.

I had stopped hanging their sheets out on the clothesline.

...and I thought I had been doing such a great thing by really getting their bedclothes clean..fresh air, and all that! Including LOTS of pollen!
Hello Guilt!!

When I knew better/different..I did better/different.

You love your boy, that's so obvious He's got a great mom looking out for him...you're doing good stuff Let the guilt go..it's doing nothing but holding you back

 

[minkydog]

Thanks for the replies.

I am just sick over this change in him. This is the exact reason I was reluctant to put him on anything, including ritalin. He was such a sweet, fun, bouncy kid and I was so afraid these drugs could mess with his personality. When he went off these meds, the nutty, awful behaviors stopped, but he just has never been the same kid that he was before all these meds. (memory loss, short term mem probs, dull...)

If I had known then what I know now....My DS19 has been on & off different ADD meds since he was 7yo. He was always sensitive to the meds, but they really helped him a lot. He developed depression at age 13 and was put on Prozac, which worked great. Puberty brought changes in his med needs as well as more irritability, moodiness, and heightened reactions. Eventually he had a grand mal seizure on Welbutrin. So he was put on Zoloft at age 17.

At first Zoloft was the answer to our prayers. He was back to normal, excited about school. Then he was more excited. Then he was more like frantic.Then he cut himself 43 times and tried to kill himself. That was the beginning of 18 months of bipolar hell, including 2 suicide attempts and 8 different drugs. We kept him alive, but he was a different person.

Now it is 2years later. DS is back to his original, wonderful, quirky personality. He just started college. He lives at home and has a part-time joc and a lead role in a community theater. At the moment he is on no meds and is adamant about not taking street drugs--he's had enough experience with drugs to last a lifetime.

I'm telling you this to hopefully reassure you. I've been in your shoes. My son was so drugged at one point he was like the walking dead. I hope he never has to go through it again. But I also know that I acted on advice from trusted, knowlegable physicians who didn't expect my son to react the way he did. We were all trying our best to help, just like you were. I know all about feeling guilty and let me just say, you can't stay there. What happened, happened. I hope your son recovers. It has taken my son 5 years .

Today he brought me roses.

 

[ducklite]

My son is also 19, and we've been through "drug hell" and back, including three psych hospitalizations.

For a couple years now he's been on Zoloft, Wellbutrin, and Risperdol. He doesn't like the side effects of the Risperdol, and we've been slowly weaning him off that. On his next visit we're going to talk to his pshrink about a mood stabilizer instead.

I swear that the worst of it happens in that 16-17 year old range when their bodies are changing so fast that their brain can't keep up.

Anne

 

[Lives4Disney]

Thanks you all, so much. I am in tears over this & have to go to see that dr. this afternoon regarding the new, current ADD diagnosis & feel like a basket case today! Just too overwhelming. The High School waited until parent night to let us know he is failing almost all of his classes - they had a "wait and see" attitude that we tried to fight last spring before my son entered this new district and school. They said that is their policy. They waited too long....

It helps to know I am not alone and there is hope out there. My son is such a SMART kid and has such a good heart and I just feel something is not right and he feels it, too. I really feel all those meds he was on left some residual effects on his system.

Anne - we had that problem - hospitalization - once when he was trying nortryptoline to counteract the nasty side effects of Adderall. It was a day from hell. Good luck to you and your son.

Minkydog - I appreciate your candor and honesty. THANKS so much - there IS hope.

MBB & Mlwear - you are right. I am just having a bad time with this today. Just hitting me how much I miss that old kid I used to have!! Hope I get him back.

THANKS all!!! I need to go shopping & make myself feel better before that apptment. Hopefully, after that we can get the ball rolling toward a new 504 plan and possibly assessment testing.

Kids make me feel old.

Lives4Disney

 

[Forevryoung]

I'm telling you this to hopefully reassure you. I've been in your shoes. My son was so drugged at one point he was like the walking dead. I hope he never has to go through it again. But I also know that I acted on advice from trusted, knowlegable physicians who didn't expect my son to react the way he did. We were all trying our best to help, just like you were. I know all about feeling guilty and let me just say, you can't stay there. What happened, happened. I hope your son recovers. It has taken my son 5 years .

Sounds like my situation- at one point I was so drugged that my day was spent sleeping, going to school and crying. I am bipolar as well and my parents trusted my psychiatrist. Instead of things getting better, I attempted suicide and was hospitalized. I have been there- numb, dead inside, just wanting to feel something.

That was nearly 5 years ago I have been off of medication since the end of April and doing well much to the surprise of my psychiatrist (and parents) who always told me that I would be on meds for life. I live on my own at college far away from home. There is no doubt in my mind that years of medication caused side effects but I am finally seeing my full potential without them. It has taken from the beginning of May until now. That says a lot considering the meds have been out of my system for months.

Medication HELPS and if I ever need it I will go back on it short term. No more long term "it should prevent relapse" medication. If I wind up back in the hospital due to the bipolar so be it- This scares my parents more than anything and I understand that, they feel helpless when it comes to this stuff and they think that the meds make the difference and that I should continue to be on them. But they trust my judgment

Good luck

 

[mlwear]

I think medication is a very personal choice and needs much consideration. I feel like I need to post to represent the other side so that it doesn't seem that all medications are bad.
I am bipolar, also. I take several medications. I was not diagnosed until an adult, but as a child suffered terrible bouts of depression. I often thought of suicide in my teens. I did not reveal much to my parents but signs were there. My parents did their best, but did not know to get me help. In my mid-twenties I finally started getting treatment including medication and it changed my life for the better. I have tried to discontinue medications and it is terrible for me. I can not keep thoughts of suicide out of my head. Needless to say (as I am alive and writing this), I take my meds everyday. Even a change in medicatiion causes a lot of problems. Most definitely there are side effects. My memory problems is the worst one. I also have some language issues from one medication and it needs to be adjusted when this becomes problematic. I know that without medication that I could not function and likely would be dead.
Medication is not for everyone, but it is for some.

 

[JenJen]

Zoloft is a class of antidepressant in the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) family. SSRI's are a class of antidepressants. They act within the brain to increase the amount of the neurotransmitter, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HTP), in the synaptic gap by inhibiting its reuptake.

Blah, Blah, Blah Right? LOL! Me too. Anyway's I was on Paxil which is a SSRI like zoloft for 10 years and before that I was on Prozac which is the same thing but different name for OCD. Well I should not say same thing because Chemically they can be slightly different but they are in the same family of drugs.

I can tell you what happened to me. When they took me off the medication I had severe withdrawal for months. I feel horrible for any child that has to go through what I did. Yes, I do have memory loss and yes I do now have short term memory loss. I also have lost some of my personality. I don't feel comfortable in my own skin. I have been off the medication for 6 months now and I still have withdraw effects although they are not as severe and as frequent. Withdrawal symptoms include.
A spontaneously experience of a "flu-like" syndrome, feeling "crummy", tired, achy, etc. In addition to the flu-like symptoms, visual phenomena (e.g., "moustaches on men and women but only smudges on the upper lips of babies") are not rare.
# anxiety
# dizziness
# fatigue
# headache
# insomnia
# nausea
# restlessness
# tremors
# visual hallucinations/illusions
# ringing in ears and throbbing in head
# "electrical shock" like phenomena/electrical surges
# tinnitus and a vertiginous-like experience
# depressive (suicidal) thoughts

Although the drug companies refuse to admit that there are withdrawals with SSRI's it has been widely been know that there are major withdrawals and side effects that can last a lifetime. My ex who is a pharmacist said he has never seen withdrawal symptoms as bad as the ones for SSRI's in his entire career and warns people before they take them about going off the medication very slowly. He suggest taking up to two months to come off of them.

 

[goofyforlife]

My DD12 has been on all kinds of meds since being diagnosed ADD...She doesn't really have the "H" part.

Took zoloft , ritalin, strattera (but was allergic-ie hives), concerta, albilfy, and trileptal.

But when you described your son as hungry and eating all the time....

I don't think that's the zoloft as my daughter is like that but the pysch doc thinks it may be when she is coming off her ritalin dose....Zoloft is supposed to make you less hungry.....

I used to think we shouldn't medicate but she's a trainwreck without anything.....

I know it's hard...good luck with the dr appt....maybe they can help...

 

[Lives4Disney]

I think medication is a very personal choice and needs much consideration. I feel like I need to post to represent the other side so that it doesn't seem that all medications are bad.
I am bipolar, also. I take several medications. I was not diagnosed until an adult, but as a child suffered terrible bouts of depression. I often thought of suicide in my teens. I did not reveal much to my parents but signs were there. My parents did their best, but did not know to get me help. In my mid-twenties I finally started getting treatment including medication and it changed my life for the better. I have tried to discontinue medications and it is terrible for me. I can not keep thoughts of suicide out of my head. Needless to say (as I am alive and writing this), I take my meds everyday. Even a change in medicatiion causes a lot of problems. Most definitely there are side effects. My memory problems is the worst one. I also have some language issues from one medication and it needs to be adjusted when this becomes problematic. I know that without medication that I could not function and likely would be dead.
Medication is not for everyone, but it is for some.

Mlwear - I am glad you found something that works!! My husband takes meds for various things and for him they have been a life saver. You are so right that there sure is another side. I guess that is one reason I let myself be swayed by the school and psyche - hoping for that magic pill. I know these meds work for so many other people.

We went to the Dr (pediatrician). He is AWESOME. I always walk out of that office feeling good about things. Got the new ADD diagnosis, some advice for both myself and son, he is concerned about that memory loss also, but we need to see a neuropsyche for testing. I will probably wait on that as my son cannot miss school!! He wanted to possibly try Strattera. I am VERY hesitant and we will wait and see how the 504 plan goes.

JenJen - My son has been off meds for over 2 years now and still things are not normal. They just don't even know yet the long term effects of this stuff on kids.

THANKS to EVERYONE that gave me their own stories and advice. I greatly appreciate it. I live in a small town & have only friends with over achiever kids, and they sympathize, but cannot relate at all. They think the schools are a problem if they don't challenge their gifted kids enough!!! Ha ha. It is just a comfort to know other people have been "here".


Thanks so much!!

Lives4Disney

 

[minkydog]

THANKS to EVERYONE that gave me their own stories and advice. I greatly appreciate it. I live in a small town & have only friends with over achiever kids, and they sympathize, but cannot relate at all. They think the schools are a problem if they don't challenge their gifted kids enough!!! Ha ha. It is just a comfort to know other people have been "here".


Thanks so much!!

Lives4Disney

My DH & I have a saying when we meet these rigid, inflexible types "They just don't have enough handicapped kids." Boy, have we been there

Cathy--mom to John, 19(ADD/bipolar), Eleni,12, & Christian,10(severe autism/ mentally handicapped/ vision & hearing impaired