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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 432270" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>First of all, welcome. You are truly a Warrior Mom and awesome advocate for your kids - just to have gotten one through cancer and have dealt with the regression and problems of the other to this age makes you amazing in my book! Clearly you are doing a LOT of things right!</p><p></p><p>What do you know about effexor? I let them put my son on it to see if it would help. He has incredible depression that actually takes three different types of antidepressants to handle - strattera is for his adhd but is also an a/d, luvox for depression (ssri related very closely to prozac) and trazadone which is for sleep but is also a tricyclic a/d. When we added the traz for sleep it really clicked and he was a whole new person and was able to turn himself around with a lot of work on his part.</p><p></p><p>Effexor is either amazing for you or the worst thing that was ever created. If you are even thirty (30) minutes late with a dose the withdrawal can set in. I have been through withdrawal from effexor and withdrawal from some of the strongest pain medications they make and the effexor withdrawal was about 1000 times worse. Effexor can also cause very strange reactions/behavior. It works on both seratonin and norepinephrine - at the low doses just seratonin but with the first increase it starts to work on norephinephrine and this is when it starts to really cause problems for some people. I did a LOT of research because I started it after my son was on it. I had brain shocks - electric zap feelings in my head when I turned it, I became terrified to go be in groups of people or to leave my home. NO ONE ever expected me to have those fears - I LIKE being out and about, always have. Some days I couldn't leave our living room/kitchen except to RUN to the bathroom and back out - could not even go sleep in my bedroom or put clothes into the laundry in the closet of a utility room off the kitchen. I KNEW it was irrational but i couldn't fight it. I was also snappish, felt like a piece of garbage in general and esp because of these fears, it totally wrecked me. NO other md has EVER done anything similar. My doctor didn't believe in withdrawal and took me off very fast. BIG mistake, I did a LOT of research online and learned that effexor stays in the body the shortest amt of time of any of the a/ds out at that time. Prozac stays in the longest, up to two weeks for the body to get rid of half of it. Taking ONE prozac every week during withdrawal was a HUGE help. Just one. I made them put Wiz in the psychiatric hospital when we wanted him off of it. </p><p></p><p>The hardest part, for me, was that it was SO HARD to explain why it made me feel bad. Even the brain zaps were hard to describe and I started to feel like I had always had them, like everyone suffered from them. Once Wiz was off the medication we had a long talk and he had them for a long time, and the other awful ways it made us feel, but he also couldn't remember NOT having those feelings so he didn't say anything. I have talked in real life and online to many other adults who have felt that also. So I cannot say that your son is having these problems. He may have none until it is time to take him off of the effexor. Or he might not ever have them. But if they take him off of effexor, PLEASE have them put him on another ssri. bringing the effexor down as they take the other medication up. Cold turkey off of this medication is dangerous, and withdrawal can last six weeks or mroe with some people.</p><p></p><p>As I said, not everyone has these problems. It is a life saver for some people. But I would be very worried if it were my child. Have you ever tried another ssri a/d or other kind of a/d, or is effexor the first? Given the mood issues, has anyone considered bipolar? If he is bipolar, a/d medications esp ssri/snri ones will likely make things a LOT worse.</p><p></p><p>We thought risperidone was a miracle. Wiz was incredibly violent and risperidone really helped for a long time. It does make a person incredibly hungry though, even at low doses. This may be a big part of his problems when he cannot have food right them. It creates real blood sugar issues in some people and his blood sugar should have been tested before starting and periodically after starting. One of the things we often have to let go of is weight - if our kids are on medications we often cannot control their weight easily. Largely because so many medications cause weight gain and incredible hunger. The hunger can be bad enough to make you think you are going to lose your mind if you don't get food, pref carbs, ASAP. This is how several adults ahve explained it to me. When I asked my son about this years after he was off of it, he said that was a fair description of how it made him feel. </p><p></p><p>EMDR is probably an excellent idea for him. everyone in a family is stressed when one member is ill for long. I have chronic health probls and it takes a real toll on all of us, not just me. EMDR can do a LOT if the person is old enough and ready to use it. </p><p></p><p>One thing that may also help in MAJOR ways is to explore whether he has any sensory issues. Is he bothered by textures, tastes, tags in clothing, certain colors, sounds, or certain types of movements? Does he seek out others of thsoe things? If so, he very likely has some degree of sensory integration problems. Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) (sensory Integ disorder) is when the brain doesn't process sensory input int he normal ways. This CAN be helped WITHOUT medication. An Occupational Therapist (OT) will do an evaluation - private OTs do a much more thorough evaluation as school Occupational Therapist (OT)'s only look for how it impacts school - and help you learn the types of therapy that will be most helpful. Brushing therapy has been shown to rewire the brain, creating new pathways to handle sensory input more appropriately. It uses a very soft brush run over the body (under or over clothes at the child's choosing) in a certain pattern, avoiding certain areas. it is followed by gentle joint compressions and makes a HUGE difference for many kids. Some OTs will tell you that it should be doen when a child is very young. We heard that. I still did it on my two older kids the way I did on the youngest, and the changes it made were dramatic and noticeable to everyone - teachers, grandparents, friends, friends' parents. Wiz was 13 at the time. You can learn more about Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) in The Out of Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun - both by Kranowitz. I would buy the Has Fun and borrow the other from the library. The Has Fun book is packed with fun things to do to provide the different types of sensory activities taht your child needs to give a good sensory diet - and ways to do them inexpensively. the other explains it and describes the issues well, but I didn't refer to it nearly as often as the Has Fun book. ALL of my family (even my mom and dad!) enjoys the Has Fun book, not just the kids.</p><p></p><p>That is all I can say now. Welcome and I hope you stick around!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 432270, member: 1233"] First of all, welcome. You are truly a Warrior Mom and awesome advocate for your kids - just to have gotten one through cancer and have dealt with the regression and problems of the other to this age makes you amazing in my book! Clearly you are doing a LOT of things right! What do you know about effexor? I let them put my son on it to see if it would help. He has incredible depression that actually takes three different types of antidepressants to handle - strattera is for his adhd but is also an a/d, luvox for depression (ssri related very closely to prozac) and trazadone which is for sleep but is also a tricyclic a/d. When we added the traz for sleep it really clicked and he was a whole new person and was able to turn himself around with a lot of work on his part. Effexor is either amazing for you or the worst thing that was ever created. If you are even thirty (30) minutes late with a dose the withdrawal can set in. I have been through withdrawal from effexor and withdrawal from some of the strongest pain medications they make and the effexor withdrawal was about 1000 times worse. Effexor can also cause very strange reactions/behavior. It works on both seratonin and norepinephrine - at the low doses just seratonin but with the first increase it starts to work on norephinephrine and this is when it starts to really cause problems for some people. I did a LOT of research because I started it after my son was on it. I had brain shocks - electric zap feelings in my head when I turned it, I became terrified to go be in groups of people or to leave my home. NO ONE ever expected me to have those fears - I LIKE being out and about, always have. Some days I couldn't leave our living room/kitchen except to RUN to the bathroom and back out - could not even go sleep in my bedroom or put clothes into the laundry in the closet of a utility room off the kitchen. I KNEW it was irrational but i couldn't fight it. I was also snappish, felt like a piece of garbage in general and esp because of these fears, it totally wrecked me. NO other md has EVER done anything similar. My doctor didn't believe in withdrawal and took me off very fast. BIG mistake, I did a LOT of research online and learned that effexor stays in the body the shortest amt of time of any of the a/ds out at that time. Prozac stays in the longest, up to two weeks for the body to get rid of half of it. Taking ONE prozac every week during withdrawal was a HUGE help. Just one. I made them put Wiz in the psychiatric hospital when we wanted him off of it. The hardest part, for me, was that it was SO HARD to explain why it made me feel bad. Even the brain zaps were hard to describe and I started to feel like I had always had them, like everyone suffered from them. Once Wiz was off the medication we had a long talk and he had them for a long time, and the other awful ways it made us feel, but he also couldn't remember NOT having those feelings so he didn't say anything. I have talked in real life and online to many other adults who have felt that also. So I cannot say that your son is having these problems. He may have none until it is time to take him off of the effexor. Or he might not ever have them. But if they take him off of effexor, PLEASE have them put him on another ssri. bringing the effexor down as they take the other medication up. Cold turkey off of this medication is dangerous, and withdrawal can last six weeks or mroe with some people. As I said, not everyone has these problems. It is a life saver for some people. But I would be very worried if it were my child. Have you ever tried another ssri a/d or other kind of a/d, or is effexor the first? Given the mood issues, has anyone considered bipolar? If he is bipolar, a/d medications esp ssri/snri ones will likely make things a LOT worse. We thought risperidone was a miracle. Wiz was incredibly violent and risperidone really helped for a long time. It does make a person incredibly hungry though, even at low doses. This may be a big part of his problems when he cannot have food right them. It creates real blood sugar issues in some people and his blood sugar should have been tested before starting and periodically after starting. One of the things we often have to let go of is weight - if our kids are on medications we often cannot control their weight easily. Largely because so many medications cause weight gain and incredible hunger. The hunger can be bad enough to make you think you are going to lose your mind if you don't get food, pref carbs, ASAP. This is how several adults ahve explained it to me. When I asked my son about this years after he was off of it, he said that was a fair description of how it made him feel. EMDR is probably an excellent idea for him. everyone in a family is stressed when one member is ill for long. I have chronic health probls and it takes a real toll on all of us, not just me. EMDR can do a LOT if the person is old enough and ready to use it. One thing that may also help in MAJOR ways is to explore whether he has any sensory issues. Is he bothered by textures, tastes, tags in clothing, certain colors, sounds, or certain types of movements? Does he seek out others of thsoe things? If so, he very likely has some degree of sensory integration problems. Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) (sensory Integ disorder) is when the brain doesn't process sensory input int he normal ways. This CAN be helped WITHOUT medication. An Occupational Therapist (OT) will do an evaluation - private OTs do a much more thorough evaluation as school Occupational Therapist (OT)'s only look for how it impacts school - and help you learn the types of therapy that will be most helpful. Brushing therapy has been shown to rewire the brain, creating new pathways to handle sensory input more appropriately. It uses a very soft brush run over the body (under or over clothes at the child's choosing) in a certain pattern, avoiding certain areas. it is followed by gentle joint compressions and makes a HUGE difference for many kids. Some OTs will tell you that it should be doen when a child is very young. We heard that. I still did it on my two older kids the way I did on the youngest, and the changes it made were dramatic and noticeable to everyone - teachers, grandparents, friends, friends' parents. Wiz was 13 at the time. You can learn more about Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) in The Out of Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun - both by Kranowitz. I would buy the Has Fun and borrow the other from the library. The Has Fun book is packed with fun things to do to provide the different types of sensory activities taht your child needs to give a good sensory diet - and ways to do them inexpensively. the other explains it and describes the issues well, but I didn't refer to it nearly as often as the Has Fun book. ALL of my family (even my mom and dad!) enjoys the Has Fun book, not just the kids. That is all I can say now. Welcome and I hope you stick around! [/QUOTE]
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