Re: Prozac/Benedryl/Melatonin

[Guest guest]

I would ask the question first of how prozac and Melatonin work. Some drugs

do not work well in tandem.

On the other hand, Melatonin has NEVER worked for Elie - either with or

without any other meds.

We found Benedryl acts as a tranquilizer for anxiety - like on trips- and

for sleep. HE has slept thru the night with Benedryl (in properly increased

doses), from day one. I say properly increased does because the therapeutic

level (doc approved) for him is 50 mg. Anything less for sleep or anxiety

does not work. HE can take 25 mg for simple allergy symptoms.

On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 1:38 PM, Van Straaten <

ali_van_straaten@...> wrote:

>

> Hi Everyone

>

> Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to help relieve

> some of her repetitive behaviours especially air swallowing which has been

> causing her lots of gas pain which causes her to head bang and pull her

> hair. She started the prozac last Tuesday night. She takes 2.5 mg (0.625 ml)

> to start and her doc said in 6-8 weeks they will increase it again. Since

> she began taking it, it seems like her anxiety has increased. She is doing

> more air swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking on it, she

> wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00 am every

> night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before this she was

> sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if I should contact the

> doctor about this or if this is just because she just started it and these

> side effects will go away. Is anyone else's child on prozac? Did it increase

> their anxiety at all?

>

> Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the melatonin to help

> her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay asleep as I heard

> melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been having good luck with it.

> She does not seem to sleep as sound anymore. When her feed pump beeps off

> she wakes to it now and then takes awhile to get back to sleep. I used to be

> able to go in there, take her off the pump and change her diaper without

> waking her. She has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm not sure if

> it takes awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie should I stick it

> out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am totally lacking

> sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

>

> Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

>

> Ali

>

> ---------------------------------

> Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo!

> Answers.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Ali,

 

Stop the prozac and call your pediatrician.  Sometimes patients will have

increased anxiety on this medication, especially in the first 2 weeks.  Trust

me, this is a reason to stop it.  The behaviors you are seeing should improve in

2-3 days.  Most people tolerate this drug well, but a few will have worsening

agitation and even occasionally psychotic symptoms.  Again, as a family doctor,

I use this drug a lot in many patients, but we do occasionally see worsening

agitation.  This is a reason to stop and call the doctor.

 

Shane Avery

>

> Hi Everyone

>

> Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to help relieve

> some of her repetitive behaviours especially air swallowing which has been

> causing her lots of gas pain which causes her to head bang and pull her

> hair. She started the prozac last Tuesday night. She takes 2.5 mg (0.625 ml)

> to start and her doc said in 6-8 weeks they will increase it again. Since

> she began taking it, it seems like her anxiety has increased. She is doing

> more air swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking on it, she

> wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00 am every

> night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before this she was

> sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if I should contact the

> doctor about this or if this is just because she just started it and these

> side effects will go away. Is anyone else's child on prozac? Did it increase

> their anxiety at all?

>

> Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the melatonin to help

> her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay asleep as I heard

> melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been having good luck with it.

> She does not seem to sleep as sound anymore. When her feed pump beeps off

> she wakes to it now and then takes awhile to get back to sleep. I used to be

> able to go in there, take her off the pump and change her diaper without

> waking her. She has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm not sure if

> it takes awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie should I stick it

> out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am totally lacking

> sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

>

> Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

>

> Ali

>

> ------------ --------- --------- ---

> Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo!

> Answers.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you. I have stopped giving it to her but because it is a Friday her

pediatrician is not in. I will have to wait until Monday. It seems like every

med they give Amy to help settle her has the opposite effect on her -

agitation!! I wish we could just find that miracle pill that would help settle

her down. I hate all this trial and error stuff!!

Ali

tonie avery wrote:

Ali,

Stop the prozac and call your pediatrician. Sometimes patients will have

increased anxiety on this medication, especially in the first 2 weeks. Trust

me, this is a reason to stop it. The behaviors you are seeing should improve in

2-3 days. Most people tolerate this drug well, but a few will have worsening

agitation and even occasionally psychotic symptoms. Again, as a family doctor,

I use this drug a lot in many patients, but we do occasionally see worsening

agitation. This is a reason to stop and call the doctor.

Shane Avery

>

> Hi Everyone

>

> Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to help relieve

> some of her repetitive behaviours especially air swallowing which has been

> causing her lots of gas pain which causes her to head bang and pull her

> hair. She started the prozac last Tuesday night. She takes 2.5 mg (0.625 ml)

> to start and her doc said in 6-8 weeks they will increase it again. Since

> she began taking it, it seems like her anxiety has increased. She is doing

> more air swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking on it, she

> wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00 am every

> night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before this she was

> sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if I should contact the

> doctor about this or if this is just because she just started it and these

> side effects will go away. Is anyone else's child on prozac? Did it increase

> their anxiety at all?

>

> Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the melatonin to help

> her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay asleep as I heard

> melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been having good luck with it.

> She does not seem to sleep as sound anymore. When her feed pump beeps off

> she wakes to it now and then takes awhile to get back to sleep. I used to be

> able to go in there, take her off the pump and change her diaper without

> waking her. She has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm not sure if

> it takes awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie should I stick it

> out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am totally lacking

> sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

>

> Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

>

> Ali

>

> ------------ --------- --------- ---

> Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo!

> Answers.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Many of us have learned - start LOW (below the usual start does) and

increase VERY slowly. On all mood meds.

On Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 8:53 AM, Van Straaten <

ali_van_straaten@...> wrote:

> Thank you. I have stopped giving it to her but because it is a Friday

> her pediatrician is not in. I will have to wait until Monday. It seems like

> every med they give Amy to help settle her has the opposite effect on her -

> agitation!! I wish we could just find that miracle pill that would help

> settle her down. I hate all this trial and error stuff!!

>

> Ali

>

> tonie avery <sntavery@... <sntavery%40yahoo.com>> wrote:

> Ali,

>

> Stop the prozac and call your pediatrician. Sometimes patients will have

> increased anxiety on this medication, especially in the first 2 weeks. Trust

> me, this is a reason to stop it. The behaviors you are seeing should improve

> in 2-3 days. Most people tolerate this drug well, but a few will have

> worsening agitation and even occasionally psychotic symptoms. Again, as a

> family doctor, I use this drug a lot in many patients, but we do

> occasionally see worsening agitation. This is a reason to stop and call the

> doctor.

>

> Shane Avery

>

>

>

> >

> > Hi Everyone

> >

> > Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to help

> relieve

> > some of her repetitive behaviours especially air swallowing which has

> been

> > causing her lots of gas pain which causes her to head bang and pull her

> > hair. She started the prozac last Tuesday night. She takes 2.5 mg (0.625

> ml)

> > to start and her doc said in 6-8 weeks they will increase it again. Since

> > she began taking it, it seems like her anxiety has increased. She is

> doing

> > more air swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking on it, she

> > wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00 am every

> > night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before this she

> was

> > sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if I should contact

> the

> > doctor about this or if this is just because she just started it and

> these

> > side effects will go away. Is anyone else's child on prozac? Did it

> increase

> > their anxiety at all?

> >

> > Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the melatonin to

> help

> > her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay asleep as I heard

> > melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been having good luck with

> it.

> > She does not seem to sleep as sound anymore. When her feed pump beeps off

> > she wakes to it now and then takes awhile to get back to sleep. I used to

> be

> > able to go in there, take her off the pump and change her diaper without

> > waking her. She has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm not sure

> if

> > it takes awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie should I stick

> it

> > out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am totally lacking

> > sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

> >

> > Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

> >

> > Ali

> >

> > ------------ --------- --------- ---

> > Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to

> Yahoo!

> > Answers.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

has adverse reactions including head banging and plain old mean

attitude whenever taking an antidepressant. I remember him slamming

his head on the concrete basement floor after his first dose of some

med. I called the dr and was directed to give it again and see if he

did better. Not! I stopped the med and never gave another dose.

Has your Dr. considered topomax? I know some girls with rett syndrome

that do a lot of air swallowing and topamax seems to work great for

them.

Karyn

- In , Van Straaten

wrote:

>

> Thank you. I have stopped giving it to her but because it is a

Friday her pediatrician is not in. I will have to wait until

Monday. It seems like every med they give Amy to help settle her has

the opposite effect on her - agitation!! I wish we could just find

that miracle pill that would help settle her down. I hate all this

trial and error stuff!!

>

> Ali

>

> tonie avery wrote:

> Ali,

>

> Stop the prozac and call your pediatrician. Sometimes patients

will have increased anxiety on this medication, especially in the

first 2 weeks. Trust me, this is a reason to stop it. The behaviors

you are seeing should improve in 2-3 days. Most people tolerate this

drug well, but a few will have worsening agitation and even

occasionally psychotic symptoms. Again, as a family doctor, I use

this drug a lot in many patients, but we do occasionally see

worsening agitation. This is a reason to stop and call the doctor.

>

> Shane Avery

>

>

>

> >

> > Hi Everyone

> >

> > Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to

help relieve

> > some of her repetitive behaviours especially air swallowing which

has been

> > causing her lots of gas pain which causes her to head bang and

pull her

> > hair. She started the prozac last Tuesday night. She takes 2.5 mg

(0.625 ml)

> > to start and her doc said in 6-8 weeks they will increase it

again. Since

> > she began taking it, it seems like her anxiety has increased. She

is doing

> > more air swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking on

it, she

> > wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00 am

every

> > night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before

this she was

> > sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if I should

contact the

> > doctor about this or if this is just because she just started it

and these

> > side effects will go away. Is anyone else's child on prozac? Did

it increase

> > their anxiety at all?

> >

> > Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the

melatonin to help

> > her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay asleep as I

heard

> > melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been having good

luck with it.

> > She does not seem to sleep as sound anymore. When her feed pump

beeps off

> > she wakes to it now and then takes awhile to get back to sleep. I

used to be

> > able to go in there, take her off the pump and change her diaper

without

> > waking her. She has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm

not sure if

> > it takes awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie should

I stick it

> > out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am totally

lacking

> > sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

> >

> > Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

> >

> > Ali

> >

> > ------------ --------- --------- ---

> > Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go

to Yahoo!

> > Answers.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Ali, Any time the kids get new meds I think it is an adjustment

period and sometimes meds take weeks to see an improvement.

takes slow release melatonin and it took about 2 weeks before I he

was totally sleeping through the night again. to had a lot of

gas and the Defeat Autism Doc I take him to put him on Tagament.

gets air from drinking through a straw. He used to never do this

belching until he started drinking through a straw. Tagament

helped.Maybe the prozac is giving Amy a headache and so she bangs her

head to releave it. I took prozac with no problem for OCD but 's

doc said he would not prescribe prozac for a child. Here is a link to

meds to help with aggressive behaviors/autism by autism dot com.

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/autism/a/05_autism_rx_4.htm I order

's slow release melatonin from Wellness Pharmacy and they are

gluten free/casein free. 's DAN doc checked him for strep because

she said this can cause repetitive/OCD behaviours and he had a strep

infection. This Doc order a PANDAS test through 's local doc and

his local Doc had to admit had a strep infection. His local Doc

would have never found the strep if his DAN doc had not ordered the

test. I have been taking to his docs and several others for over

2 yrs telling them something is not right. Now is feeling better

and the OCD are slowly getting better. I hope all of this helps.Let

me know if you want the phone number ot Wellness. Cyndi B

>

>

> Hi Everyone

>

> Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to

help relieve some of her repetitive behaviours especially air

swallowing which has been causing her lots of gas pain which causes

her to head bang and pull her hair. She started the prozac last

Tuesday night. She takes 2.5 mg (0.625 ml) to start and her doc said

in 6-8 weeks they will increase it again. Since she began taking it,

it seems like her anxiety has increased. She is doing more air

swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking on it, she

wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00 am

every night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before

this she was sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if

I should contact the doctor about this or if this is just because she

just started it and these side effects will go away. Is anyone

else's child on prozac? Did it increase their anxiety at all?

>

> Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the

melatonin to help her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay

asleep as I heard melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been

having good luck with it. She does not seem to sleep as sound

anymore. When her feed pump beeps off she wakes to it now and then

takes awhile to get back to sleep. I used to be able to go in there,

take her off the pump and change her diaper without waking her. She

has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm not sure if it takes

awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie should I stick it

out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am totally

lacking sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

>

> Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

>

> Ali

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to

Yahoo! Answers.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Do you know if topiromax the same as topomax? She was on topiromax (topiromate)

for seizures that this also caused increased anxiety. If not I will definitely

ask about it.

Ali

kvanryzin wrote:

has adverse reactions including head banging and plain old mean

attitude whenever taking an antidepressant. I remember him slamming

his head on the concrete basement floor after his first dose of some

med. I called the dr and was directed to give it again and see if he

did better. Not! I stopped the med and never gave another dose.

Has your Dr. considered topomax? I know some girls with rett syndrome

that do a lot of air swallowing and topamax seems to work great for

them.

Karyn

- In , Van Straaten

wrote:

>

> Thank you. I have stopped giving it to her but because it is a

Friday her pediatrician is not in. I will have to wait until

Monday. It seems like every med they give Amy to help settle her has

the opposite effect on her - agitation!! I wish we could just find

that miracle pill that would help settle her down. I hate all this

trial and error stuff!!

>

> Ali

>

> tonie avery wrote:

> Ali,

>

> Stop the prozac and call your pediatrician. Sometimes patients

will have increased anxiety on this medication, especially in the

first 2 weeks. Trust me, this is a reason to stop it. The behaviors

you are seeing should improve in 2-3 days. Most people tolerate this

drug well, but a few will have worsening agitation and even

occasionally psychotic symptoms. Again, as a family doctor, I use

this drug a lot in many patients, but we do occasionally see

worsening agitation. This is a reason to stop and call the doctor.

>

> Shane Avery

>

>

>

> >

> > Hi Everyone

> >

> > Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to

help relieve

> > some of her repetitive behaviours especially air swallowing which

has been

> > causing her lots of gas pain which causes her to head bang and

pull her

> > hair. She started the prozac last Tuesday night. She takes 2.5 mg

(0.625 ml)

> > to start and her doc said in 6-8 weeks they will increase it

again. Since

> > she began taking it, it seems like her anxiety has increased. She

is doing

> > more air swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking on

it, she

> > wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00 am

every

> > night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before

this she was

> > sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if I should

contact the

> > doctor about this or if this is just because she just started it

and these

> > side effects will go away. Is anyone else's child on prozac? Did

it increase

> > their anxiety at all?

> >

> > Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the

melatonin to help

> > her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay asleep as I

heard

> > melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been having good

luck with it.

> > She does not seem to sleep as sound anymore. When her feed pump

beeps off

> > she wakes to it now and then takes awhile to get back to sleep. I

used to be

> > able to go in there, take her off the pump and change her diaper

without

> > waking her. She has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm

not sure if

> > it takes awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie should

I stick it

> > out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am totally

lacking

> > sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

> >

> > Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

> >

> > Ali

> >

> > ------------ --------- --------- ---

> > Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go

to Yahoo!

> > Answers.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Yes it is the same med as found on WEB MD. Topamax Oral

Other forms of TOPAMAX OralTOPIRAMATE SPRINKLES - ORAL

TOPIRAMATE - ORAL

Pronunciation: (toe-PEER-uh-mate)

Brand Name(s): Topamax

Cyndi B

>

> Do you know if topiromax the same as topomax? She was on topiromax

(topiromate) for seizures that this also caused increased anxiety.

If not I will definitely ask about it.

>

> Ali

>

> kvanryzin wrote:

> has adverse reactions including head banging and

plain old mean

> attitude whenever taking an antidepressant. I remember him slamming

> his head on the concrete basement floor after his first dose of

some

> med. I called the dr and was directed to give it again and see if

he

> did better. Not! I stopped the med and never gave another dose.

> Has your Dr. considered topomax? I know some girls with rett

syndrome

> that do a lot of air swallowing and topamax seems to work great for

> them.

>

> Karyn

>

> - In , Van Straaten

> <ali_van_straaten@> wrote:

> >

> > Thank you. I have stopped giving it to her but because it is a

> Friday her pediatrician is not in. I will have to wait until

> Monday. It seems like every med they give Amy to help settle her

has

> the opposite effect on her - agitation!! I wish we could just find

> that miracle pill that would help settle her down. I hate all this

> trial and error stuff!!

> >

> > Ali

> >

> > tonie avery <sntavery@> wrote:

> > Ali,

> >

> > Stop the prozac and call your pediatrician. Sometimes patients

> will have increased anxiety on this medication, especially in the

> first 2 weeks. Trust me, this is a reason to stop it. The behaviors

> you are seeing should improve in 2-3 days. Most people tolerate

this

> drug well, but a few will have worsening agitation and even

> occasionally psychotic symptoms. Again, as a family doctor, I use

> this drug a lot in many patients, but we do occasionally see

> worsening agitation. This is a reason to stop and call the doctor.

> >

> > Shane Avery

> >

> >

> >

> > >

> > > Hi Everyone

> > >

> > > Amy's developmental pediatrician prescribed her with prozac to

> help relieve

> > > some of her repetitive behaviours especially air swallowing

which

> has been

> > > causing her lots of gas pain which causes her to head bang and

> pull her

> > > hair. She started the prozac last Tuesday night. She takes 2.5

mg

> (0.625 ml)

> > > to start and her doc said in 6-8 weeks they will increase it

> again. Since

> > > she began taking it, it seems like her anxiety has increased.

She

> is doing

> > > more air swallowing, chewing on her soother instead of sucking

on

> it, she

> > > wakes up in the night now and bangs her head on the door (3:00

am

> every

> > > night like clock work) and is awake for a good 2 hours. Before

> this she was

> > > sleeping through the night no problems. I'm not sure if I

should

> contact the

> > > doctor about this or if this is just because she just started

it

> and these

> > > side effects will go away. Is anyone else's child on prozac?

Did

> it increase

> > > their anxiety at all?

> > >

> > > Second question, I switched her from the benedryl to the

> melatonin to help

> > > her get to sleep at night as well as help her stay asleep as I

> heard

> > > melatonin is longer acting. Well, we have not been having good

> luck with it.

> > > She does not seem to sleep as sound anymore. When her feed pump

> beeps off

> > > she wakes to it now and then takes awhile to get back to sleep.

I

> used to be

> > > able to go in there, take her off the pump and change her

diaper

> without

> > > waking her. She has been on the melatonin now for 5 nights. I'm

> not sure if

> > > it takes awhile for it to reach its full effectiveness (ie

should

> I stick it

> > > out a bit longer) or is it just not working for her? I am

totally

> lacking

> > > sleep again with all of these constant wake ups.

> > >

> > > Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.

> > >

> > > Ali

> > >

> > > ------------ --------- --------- ---

> > > Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people.

Go

> to Yahoo!

> > > Answers.

> > >

> > >