Medication worries

January 9, 2008

I am really conflicted. After seeing no results from three different SSRI's, the

doctor today prescribed a slight increase in Lexapro and the addition of

Zyprexa, in part to help with my son's sleep problems. We've never tried an

atypical antipsychotic, and with all the fear surrounding these, not helped by

last night's Frontline broadcast, I am really afraid to go this route. My son is

11 and has been quite stable, but still struggling with his ERP therapy. I've

been waiting for that " magic pill " to help him over the hump, but so far, no

luck. The doctor said to discontinue the Remeron which was helping my son sleep

because it isn't helping with the anxiety as he'd hoped.

I'm thinking the most sane thing to do would be to stay on the Lexapro, maybe

bump up the dose and try PureCalm or Melatonin for sleep along with fish oil in

hopes that this will help with the anxiety.

I guess if my son were really manic or suicidal, I'd be more willing to take the

antipsychotic step.

Any thoughts? Experiences? Direction?

Thanks,

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January 9, 2008

,

I know exactly how you feel. What a scary step to take. I have to say

that Zyprexa was a remarkable med. for my daughter in combination with

Prozac. She has been on it short term twice, and both times it really

calmed her thoughts and turned her around. What dose is he starting at,

if you decide to give it to him? My DD (12) was on 5 mgs. for a very

short time, but did well on both 2.5 and even 1.25 mgs. No anxiety at

all. It causes a lot of weight gain, which is why we took her off. The

first time she was on it at age 8, it caused quite a bit of cognitive

dulling. She didn't want to read, couldn't do her math facts very well,

etc. But it was summer. That all went away when we took her off of it

at the end of the summer. When she was on it the 2nd time, she was in

school and we quickly bumped down to 1.25 mgs. and she managed really

well. She said it didn't affect her school work at all. However, after

she was off of it a couple of months, she said, " I can think a lot

better now. " So, she was still a straight A student, but noticed the

difference when she was off.

The first time she took it, she was out for about 14-16 hours. The

sedative affect got better after 2-3 days, so I would start on a Friday

night. It helped her to sleep, even at the low dose, but she didn't

have any adjustment when she went off. We did wean her off gradually

though.

Anyway, just thought I'd give you our experience. I don't like her to

be on it, but it wasn't terrible, and certainly enabled her to turn

things around. She's now on Prozac and Buspar which has been very

affective for her. Because of the weight gain issue, if she needs an

atypical again, we're going to try Abilify. Any reason the pdoc chose

Zyprexa?

Good luck with your decision,

Dina

January 9, 2008

Thanks for your reply, Dina.

What did you mean by " it turned her around? " Was she able to then do her therapy

and continue even when she went off of it?

I'm not sure why the doc chose Zyprexa over anything else. I am worried about

weight gain, especially since my son already gained after starting Remeron.

What dose is he starting at,