Lexapro

[Kjs]

What do you think. Several years ago when difficult child had been on Lamictal for 3 years we tried lexapro. Ten mg. difficult child didn't sleep for days. Then psychiatrist added remeron (sp?). Then he was so totally messed up we had to start from scratch.

He started back on Lamictal - his request last fall. Not helping him at all. He wanted off so we weaned him off very slowly for many weeks.

therapist asked about lexapro. Said his anxiety is very severe. xanax is an immediate help such as an inhaler, but difficult child won't take the xanax. therapist told him lexapro will prevent it. difficult child wants me to call psychiatrist and try it again. I don't know. It was horrible last time.

difficult child also wants to try strattera. I don't want to try both at the same time and don't know what to do first. School is definately a huge issue right now. Would lexapro help? Does it take time? What about Straterra? is that immediate or does it take time?

He doesn't respond to medications good.

 

[gcvmom]

Lexapro helped difficult child 1's anxiety tremendously. He can now manage blood draws with no extra support (or drama), and before he absolutely panicked and made himself sick over it.

BUT, given your difficult child's history on it, I don't think it's something you should mess with. It can activate some people (my mom felt the same way your difficult child did when she took Celexa, which I think is Lexapro's cousin).

Perhaps he would do better on a tricyclic? I've done better on that form of AD for my anxiety than I did on an SSRI. And the side effects eventually got better with time (dry mouth, sweating, drowsiness, etc.)

 

[JLady]

I take Lexapro for depression. I also take Buspar with it for anxiety. The combination works great for me personally. I don't blame your difficult child for not wanting to take the Xanix. That stuff makes me lose time and I believe is far too strong for most anyone.

For the times that anxiety gets the best of me I have Klonipin which works great. It took a long time to find the right combination. Klonipin acts as a quick fix for anxiety and has really calmed me down a lot during panic attacks.

I don't know if this helps or not. Everyone is different and different people respond differently to different medications. Personally, I like Lexapro.

 

[smallworld]

I agreee with gcvmom that if your difficult child reacted poorly once to Lexapro, there's a good chance it will happen again. I personally would not chance it with my own child.

Most psychiatrists do not recommend that kids take Benzodiazapines (Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, etc) on a long-term basis because they can be addictive.

Strattera is an SNRI antidepressant that is used to treat ADHD. Side effects include headache, stomachache, irritability and anger. My own son, who has migraines like your son, ended up with two whopper migraines after taking Strattera for just two days. Needless to say, we discontinued it.

I agree that I would never trial two antidepressants like Lexapro and Strattera at the same time.

I think your choices are to try a different SSRI (not Lexapro) if you think your difficult child could handle it, a tricyclic antidepressant (Amitriptyline or Nortriptyline), which could also help your difficult child's migraines, or an atypical antipsychotic like Seroquel.