I posted before about my son not tolerating respidone. His dr does not want him to go back to abilify. She is going to put him on something called seroquil. The abilify did help somewhat for his aggression and sib. Since his behavior on risperdone was awful,will he react the same way with seroquil?
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Not necessarily. Sometimes the tiniest tweak of a chemical can make all the difference. But in other cases, it's not enough. We were not successful with-Seroquel or Abilify, I'm sorry to say. The only thing that changed when my son was on Abilify was that he gained 15 lbs.
I think you have to just experiment carefully and live through it.
Others here will have more info, I'm sure.
 

flutterby

Fly away!
Not necessarily. My daughter didn't have a bad reaction to risperidone, but it didn't help her either. Seroquel does, but she is taking it for psychosis, although she is on the spectrum as well. AD's are bad for my kid. She's on one, but only in a holding pattern because we can't wean her off without her becoming despondent and suicidal, and at therapeutic dose it was the same thing. She might have to stay on it for years until she passes that magical early twenties age.
 

buddy

New Member
You can only try but let then know you will stop if there is any change for the worse.

First at four, my son freaked on Risperdal. Then in third grade he jumped across the seat of the car and pulled my keys out and trapped me in my car......on Seroquel.

So, i said, never again.

A year ago in desperation, i agreed to Zyprexa for a rescue medication in crisis only. But it worked so we tried it....a year later and life is manageable again. I never thought an AP would work.


I hope it works for you guys!
 

ksm

Well-Known Member
Last year, my difficult child was on Seroquil for about 6 to 8 weeks. I don't remember what strength we worked up to. I think we were on the 2nd step up and she had two episodes of what I was later told was referred to as "word salad"... twice, when she was tired, she started stringing a bunch of nonsensical words together like she was carrying on a conversation but it was just gibberish. We stopped it. Plus, it didn't seem to help her rages much... but maybe we didn't stay on it at a level that would have helped. KSM
 
When he took the respidone, it made him very agitated and aggressive. I'm just worried that the seoquel will do the same thing. I also thing the respidone gave him really bad stomach pains because he'd sit there and just cry and scream like something hurt.
 

buddy

New Member
That could happen. Or it may not. As I said i was sure after trying both that there was no way he could ever try one again. The third was the charm
 

1905

Well-Known Member
For me, serequel.....ZZZZZZ. I toook that for treatment for an eating disorder. It relaxed me so I would eat without feeling so upset. It definitely calmed me down but my issues were internal, nobody could witness how upset I was, but they saw me sedated and thought that serequel made me worse, but it didn't. I needed to be that sedated honestly.
 
My son had his first dose fri, then the took one sat am and pm. It does not make him sleepy at all. About 30 min. after he had his am does, he flew off into an epic fit of rage! He screamed, got down on the floor and banged his head, bit his hand, tired to bite me, hit his nose and head so hard. This is not the only epic fit of rage he's had today. Giving him a bath, he just stated kicking as hard as he could and he was fit to be tied when I got him out. Is the seroquel causing this extreme behavior? I'm ready to give up! My legs and arms are so scratched up! My husband had to call off from work and use FLMA. I called the dr.'s after hours and the only thing they told us was to keep giving him the medication because it might take a few weeks to see results! Is this true? I don't want to keep giving him something that makes his behavior 100x worse! I am so dreading sending him to school tomorrow. I know they'll call and say they had to restrain him due to his aggression, or he can't be transported on bus.
 

buddy

New Member
That's exactly what happened to my son....way beyond what we had already been dealing with....since he had just started our doctor said to stop.

This is also why I only start or increase drugs on a Friday or holiday week. I never send him to school on new medications without days at home. Just like you, then you can see what happens.

He is your son. It's traumatizing to go thru that....especially being restrained.
You don't have to agree with your doctor.
I'd never let my son go weeks to get used to it with this level of a side effect. I've now learned that it is worth switching and trying another. If it is not perfect, but neutral or only beginning to help...I'm ok building the medication up and waiting. But if there is a serious side effect....no way. He nearly killed me and was a skinny little 50 pound third grader.....

With Risperdal, he was only four and four adults in his autism treatment program couldn't restrain him. That's why we went off that one too.

I lost hope for that class of medications. But for us, Zyprexa is working.....

I hope things stay safe and he does ok. I'm really sorry. I know how hard this is.
 

ksm

Well-Known Member
he flew off into an epic fit of rage! He screamed, got down on the floor and banged his head, bit his hand, tired to bite me, hit his nose and head so hard. This is not the only epic fit of rage he's had today. Giving him a bath, he just stated kicking as hard as he could and he was fit to be tied when I got him out. Is the seroquel causing this extreme behavior? I'm ready to give up! My legs and arms are so scratched up! .


I hope you have called the office back this morning and ask to have the doctor return your call. Sometimes, on a weekend, you don't know who you are talking to and they don't want to change any thing the doctor has ordered. Please call and let him know directly. I would be scared to continue with the results you are dealing with. KSM
 
Today was a day from hell! I'm so upset I don't know where to even begin! I gave him his prozac and seroquel at 7:30 and put him on the bus at 8. He seemed to be ok. Around 9:45, the school calls saying he had a major meltdown like they've never seen before that lasted about 30 min. We go to get him and his MHMR coodinator called and said she went to school to see him and the teacher explained how bad of a meltdown he's having. I keep trying to call the psychiatric dr. to explain what is going on and they never call back. Well, the MHMR lady called his psychiatric dr. and said he's been having really bad meltdowns. They want us to take him to the er because there is something seriously (physically) wrong with him and it was not the new medication that was causing this. We get to the er and wait over 4 hours. His ears, stomach, chest, and everything else was checked and they cannot find anything wrong with him. He's not running a fever, he's not screaming like he's in constant pain, he was just having major meltdowns. I'm at my wits end now! He was supposed to get his pm dose of serequel at 7:30, but I have not given him that and he seems fine. My question is, (I have a gut feeling it's the medication that is causing him to have such horrible aggression. He acted just like this when he was on the respidone.) if I don't give him his serequel in the am, is he going to have major withdraws? He's only been on since fri. I know the dr. is going to say we need to keep giving it to him to a while before we see results. I'm not living through this another day! She's out of her mind if she thinks we will keep giving him something that makes him much more aggressive and agitate.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
He's only been on it since FRIDAY? as in... 4 days?

If it were Risperidone and just starting, I'd suggest... skip the morning dose for a few days (essentially go to half-dose of what he's on), for a couple of days before dropping it completely. I'd be wary of just stopping totally cold turkey.

I'd also be switching psychiatrists. She doesn't take even the MRMH lady seriously? Thinks "more" will solve a serious reaction? Really?

We have a good psychiatrist... one who would give you the "we need to give this time" kind of response if you were not seeing much impact, or if it was less-serious side-effects that are known to go down with time (dry mouth, or light-headedness, for example). NOT for a major medication reaction - or even for totally new unacceptable behavior, medication related or not.

Kid with problems, + new medication = major meltdowns... means... medication not good for kid, or something new is going on. Either way, it needs to be taken seriously by the psychiatrist. But, I'm not a psychiatrist.
 
Hes only been on it since fri. He did ok with the pm dose. He gets prozac with his am dose. His aggression was not this way last week. Is it possible the serequi is making him this way?
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
So many possibilities - including that there could be a reaction between the prozac and the seroquil... I'm not at all familiar with seroquil (not in use where I am).

If the aggression only started (or only started being at this level) after starting the new medication on Friday... I'd say it's the medication. But I'm not a psychiatrist.
 

buddy

New Member
You are the mom....no one can make you give a medication your gut is saying is hurting him. It's insane for some phone person to say it's not the medication....duh

If this already happened with one other antipsychotic medication (you said it happened with Risperdal)... I'm not understanding why you are questioning that it is happening again......

If you stop, then want to try again after talking to the doctor that's ok. You are the boss. We always say trust your gut and you said your gut says it is not good.

If this doctor doesn't listen, perhaps ours time to get a new one?? Maybe next time.....plan ahead for if there is a reaction like this. If A happens, then do this. If B happens, do that. No more calling a service...only follow the plan or talk to the original doctor.

Our doctor tells me what to do... like if this week you see....X, then do not give any more doses and call me. One doctor gave me her cell.

I'm sorry, I really do understand, it's so frustrating and disappointing.

Poor baby.

Not relevant to now....but...
Our doctor figured out that some medications can work for my son of we give it in minute amounts, using those tiny baby medication droppers.....building over weeks and weeks.

Also, for Seroquel, our psychiatrist said that for a child like mine...higher doses work but lower can cause problems so under close supervision they dose high then cut back until they are at a dose that still works. If you ever get desperate it's a thought....only under close medical supervision of course.
Happily, a different AP did work for us. We didn't have to risk that.

Hugs, hope tomorrow is a better day.
 
I think it's time to find another dr! I did not give him seroquel this am and guess what? He has not flown off the handle yet. He does not seem to be aggressive at all. I don't see why the dr. was telling us we need to keep giving it to him when it was obviously making him worse. I did look up aggression on serequil and it did say it could make aggression much worse. Don't know why the dr. did not tell us that! He's just been a little hyper today, but I can deal with that much more than those epic meltdowns!
 
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