Re: best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

August 13, 2006

Kristy,

I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my son. The first one we

tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not so much at home, but

definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he couldn't fall asleep at

night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good (but I have to give him

slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it makes him too spacey). Every

child is different, so what may work well for one won't work for another.

Kristy

best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft. Any experience good or

bad?

What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for everyone? Thanks, Kristy

August 13, 2006

I second Kristy's assessment. Getting the SSRI thing " just right " can

be quite an ordeal for us parents. My son was doing well on Celexa,

but still had some residual anxiety problems, so Dr. G put him through

a rapid trial of 4 different SSRI's over the last two months. Thank

goodness, we've finally found the right one -- my son's school starts

on Monday!

Another thing to keep in mind: as your child grows and his brain

changes, the SSRI that has been working well for him, might stop

working and need to be changed. And, you might try an SSRI that turns

out to be the wrong one now, but is the perfect match for you son in a

year or two.

Lastly -- you need patience...there is about a 10-day adjustment

period before you start to see any improvement, and problems like

spaciness, language problems, and OCD often increase dramatically *at

first*. This can be very, very hard to get through, but you need to

grit your teeth and get through it, because on about day 10, he should

start to brighten up with increased alertness, eye contact, better

language, and far, far less rigid OCD problems. It's the most

exciting, amazing thing to see.

One caveat: If, after a couple of days, your son is getting angry,

agitated, aggressive, and having trouble sleeping, call Dr. G's

office, because it means the SSRI is not going to work out.

HTH,

Donna

>

> Kristy,

>

> I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my son. The first one we

> tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not so much at home, but

> definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he couldn't fall

asleep at

> night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good (but I have to

give him

> slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it makes him too spacey).

Every

> child is different, so what may work well for one won't work for

another.

>

> Kristy

>

> best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

>

> We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft. Any experience good or

> bad?

> What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for everyone? Thanks, Kristy

>

August 13, 2006

Donna,

What do you mean by rapid trial? Do you really know

after 3 or 4 days whether or not an ssri is going to

work well? I will say that when my younger was

switched from prozac to celexa, he feel asleep better.

now, my older, who had been doing ok on prozac is

having trouble with his sleep again--waking up after 4

or so hours, staying awake for awhile and then going

back to sleep. He tells me that he just isn't

sleeping as well. Doesn't feel rested. I thought he

was not as sharp within the last few days, but that

could also be the pain going along with having the

bottom braces put on and the adjustment to them. It's

hard when you get those other factors in there.

Thanks. Barb

--- princesspeach <donnaaron@...> wrote:

> I second Kristy's assessment. Getting the SSRI

> thing " just right " can

> be quite an ordeal for us parents. My son was doing

> well on Celexa,

> but still had some residual anxiety problems, so Dr.

> G put him through

> a rapid trial of 4 different SSRI's over the last

> two months. Thank

> goodness, we've finally found the right one -- my

> son's school starts

> on Monday!

>

> Another thing to keep in mind: as your child grows

> and his brain

> changes, the SSRI that has been working well for

> him, might stop

> working and need to be changed. And, you might try

> an SSRI that turns

> out to be the wrong one now, but is the perfect

> match for you son in a

> year or two.

>

> Lastly -- you need patience...there is about a

> 10-day adjustment

> period before you start to see any improvement, and

> problems like

> spaciness, language problems, and OCD often increase

> dramatically *at

> first*. This can be very, very hard to get through,

> but you need to

> grit your teeth and get through it, because on about

> day 10, he should

> start to brighten up with increased alertness, eye

> contact, better

> language, and far, far less rigid OCD problems.

> It's the most

> exciting, amazing thing to see.

>

> One caveat: If, after a couple of days, your son is

> getting angry,

> agitated, aggressive, and having trouble sleeping,

> call Dr. G's

> office, because it means the SSRI is not going to

> work out.

>

> HTH,

> Donna

>

> >

> > Kristy,

> >

> > I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my

> son. The first one we

> > tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not

> so much at home, but

> > definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he

> couldn't fall

> asleep at

> > night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good

> (but I have to

> give him

> > slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it

> makes him too spacey).

> Every

> > child is different, so what may work well for one

> won't work for

> another.

> >

> > Kristy

> >

> > best ssri to calm kids and help

> with obsessions

> >

> > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft.

> Any experience good or

> > bad?

> > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for

> everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

> >

>

Barb Katsaros

barbkatsaros@...

__________________________________________________

August 13, 2006

Donna, Which one turned out the best for your son? Kristy

On Aug 13, 2006, at 11:59 AM, princesspeach wrote:

> I second Kristy's assessment. Getting the SSRI thing " just right " can

> be quite an ordeal for us parents. My son was doing well on Celexa,

> but still had some residual anxiety problems, so Dr. G put him through

> a rapid trial of 4 different SSRI's over the last two months. Thank

> goodness, we've finally found the right one -- my son's school starts

> on Monday!

>

> Another thing to keep in mind: as your child grows and his brain

> changes, the SSRI that has been working well for him, might stop

> working and need to be changed. And, you might try an SSRI that turns

> out to be the wrong one now, but is the perfect match for you son in a

> year or two.

>

> Lastly -- you need patience...there is about a 10-day adjustment

> period before you start to see any improvement, and problems like

> spaciness, language problems, and OCD often increase dramatically *at

> first*. This can be very, very hard to get through, but you need to

> grit your teeth and get through it, because on about day 10, he should

> start to brighten up with increased alertness, eye contact, better

> language, and far, far less rigid OCD problems. It's the most

> exciting, amazing thing to see.

>

> One caveat: If, after a couple of days, your son is getting angry,

> agitated, aggressive, and having trouble sleeping, call Dr. G's

> office, because it means the SSRI is not going to work out.

>

> HTH,

> Donna

>

> >

> > Kristy,

> >

> > I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my son. The first

> one we

> > tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not so much at

> home, but

> > definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he couldn't fall

> asleep at

> > night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good (but I have to

> give him

> > slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it makes him too spacey).

> Every

> > child is different, so what may work well for one won't work for

> another.

> >

> > Kristy

> >

> > best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

> >

> > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft. Any experience

> good or

> > bad?

> > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> >

August 13, 2006

Hi Barb,

Well, put it this way -- it can take as little as 4 days to discover

whether the SSRI *won't* work out, but it can take longer to find out

whether or not an SSRI *will* work out. In other words, reactions

like sleeplessness and agitation can happen very soon after starting,

and if that happens, Dr. G will probably change the drug immediately

(that's what happened with and Zoloft). Spaciness and increased

OCD, *can* mean the SSRI is *going* to work well, but you have to ride

that out for about 10 days. has now been on Prozac for 9 days

and the first 7 days were a nightmare for us. He was SOOOOO slow,

spacy, OCD...Dr. G's office told me to wait until he'd been on it for

10 days, and incredibly, it was on Day 8 (yesterday) that he started

to brighten up. He's not back where I want him yet; that will

probably take another couple of weeks, but FINALLY, I'm starting to

see my bright, sparkly little boy again!

HTH,

Donna

> > >

> > > Kristy,

> > >

> > > I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my

> > son. The first one we

> > > tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not

> > so much at home, but

> > > definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he

> > couldn't fall

> > asleep at

> > > night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good

> > (but I have to

> > give him

> > > slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it

> > makes him too spacey).

> > Every

> > > child is different, so what may work well for one

> > won't work for

> > another.

> > >

> > > Kristy

> > >

> > > best ssri to calm kids and help

> > with obsessions

> > >

> > > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft.

> > Any experience good or

> > > bad?

> > > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for

> > everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> > >

> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > removed]

> > >

> >

>

> Barb Katsaros

> barbkatsaros@...

>

> __________________________________________________

>

August 13, 2006

>

> Donna, Which one turned out the best for your son? Kristy

Hi Kristy,

I can't say which one he did " best " on, because his brain's needs keep

changing as he grows. He did great on Zoloft for a while, like maybe

a year, but then it started to not work so well, so we switched to

Prozac, which worked very, very well for about 3 months. But then, it

stopped working and we had to switch again -- to Celexa, which he did

very well on for nearly another year. I was still pretty happy with

Celexa, but Dr. G thought there were some areas that still could be

improved, so we started the trial we're currently doing. He's on

Prozac again and so far, it seems to be going well.

Donna

> On Aug 13, 2006, at 11:59 AM, princesspeach wrote:

>

> > I second Kristy's assessment. Getting the SSRI thing " just right " can

> > be quite an ordeal for us parents. My son was doing well on Celexa,

> > but still had some residual anxiety problems, so Dr. G put him through

> > a rapid trial of 4 different SSRI's over the last two months. Thank

> > goodness, we've finally found the right one -- my son's school starts

> > on Monday!

> >

> > Another thing to keep in mind: as your child grows and his brain

> > changes, the SSRI that has been working well for him, might stop

> > working and need to be changed. And, you might try an SSRI that turns

> > out to be the wrong one now, but is the perfect match for you son in a

> > year or two.

> >

> > Lastly -- you need patience...there is about a 10-day adjustment

> > period before you start to see any improvement, and problems like

> > spaciness, language problems, and OCD often increase dramatically *at

> > first*. This can be very, very hard to get through, but you need to

> > grit your teeth and get through it, because on about day 10, he should

> > start to brighten up with increased alertness, eye contact, better

> > language, and far, far less rigid OCD problems. It's the most

> > exciting, amazing thing to see.

> >

> > One caveat: If, after a couple of days, your son is getting angry,

> > agitated, aggressive, and having trouble sleeping, call Dr. G's

> > office, because it means the SSRI is not going to work out.

> >

> > HTH,

> > Donna

> >

> > >

> > > Kristy,

> > >

> > > I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my son. The first

> > one we

> > > tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not so much at

> > home, but

> > > definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he couldn't fall

> > asleep at

> > > night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good (but I have to

> > give him

> > > slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it makes him too spacey).

> > Every

> > > child is different, so what may work well for one won't work for

> > another.

> > >

> > > Kristy

> > >

> > > best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

> > >

> > > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft. Any experience

> > good or

> > > bad?

> > > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> > >

August 14, 2006

I have to second everything Donna said about the SSRI experieces.

We tried Zoloft last summer and it made my son an insomniac, so Dr G

switched after just 3-4 days....the bad outweighed any good they may

come from it.

We have recently switched to Paxil, and after a week of so-so

results, Dr G increased the dose.

OFF TOPIC, but

On the subject of SSRIs....it is such an intriguing/scary area. Has

anyone seen the movie Prozac Nation? In the movie the main

character says that she does not know who she is anymore...before

medication she was crazy, but she knew herself. The person that is

medicated, rational, less obsessive, more relaxed....well that was a

stranger to her....better person, but a stranger. This is exactly

how I feel sometimes about my son and ssri's....I feel like I am

programming him to be someone as close to " normal " as possible,

whether it is " him " or not. Wierd, huh?

> > > >

> > > > Kristy,

> > > >

> > > > I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my

> > > son. The first one we

> > > > tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not

> > > so much at home, but

> > > > definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he

> > > couldn't fall

> > > asleep at

> > > > night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good

> > > (but I have to

> > > give him

> > > > slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it

> > > makes him too spacey).

> > > Every

> > > > child is different, so what may work well for one

> > > won't work for

> > > another.

> > > >

> > > > Kristy

> > > >

> > > > best ssri to calm kids and help

> > > with obsessions

> > > >

> > > > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft.

> > > Any experience good or

> > > > bad?

> > > > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for

> > > everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> > > >

> > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > > removed]

> > > >

> > >

> >

> > Barb Katsaros

> > barbkatsaros@

> >

> > __________________________________________________

> >

August 14, 2006

Hi ,

Not weird..... this is exactly how I feel about my son. I get used to the

abnormal... a hyperactive, anxiety ridden, OCD kid, then, on an SSRI, he

becomes a stranger to me.

It's odd when you have to adjust to someone new. Even when the new child is

much better (happier/ more focused) than the child your used to.

I find myself asking him if he feels all right all day long. The calm,

focused child tends to make me uneasy at first. I always feel that he's on

the verge of a major illness. I can't wait for the day when the ups and

downs of this all end. Waiting for the other shoe to drop is so unsettling!

Take care,

>From: " meljackmom " <meljackmom@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

>Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:22:26 -0000

>

>I have to second everything Donna said about the SSRI experieces.

>

>We tried Zoloft last summer and it made my son an insomniac, so Dr G

>switched after just 3-4 days....the bad outweighed any good they may

>come from it.

>

>We have recently switched to Paxil, and after a week of so-so

>results, Dr G increased the dose.

>

>OFF TOPIC, but

>On the subject of SSRIs....it is such an intriguing/scary area. Has

>anyone seen the movie Prozac Nation? In the movie the main

>character says that she does not know who she is anymore...before

>medication she was crazy, but she knew herself. The person that is

>medicated, rational, less obsessive, more relaxed....well that was a

>stranger to her....better person, but a stranger. This is exactly

>how I feel sometimes about my son and ssri's....I feel like I am

>programming him to be someone as close to " normal " as possible,

>whether it is " him " or not. Weird, huh?

>

> > > > >

> > > > > Kristy,

> > > > >

> > > > > I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my

> > > > son. The first one we

> > > > > tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not

> > > > so much at home, but

> > > > > definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he

> > > > couldn't fall

> > > > asleep at

> > > > > night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good

> > > > (but I have to

> > > > give him

> > > > > slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it

> > > > makes him too spacey).

> > > > Every

> > > > > child is different, so what may work well for one

> > > > won't work for

> > > > another.

> > > > >

> > > > > Kristy

> > > > >

> > > > > best ssri to calm kids and help

> > > > with obsessions

> > > > >

> > > > > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft.

> > > > Any experience good or

> > > > > bad?

> > > > > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for

> > > > everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> > > > >

> > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > > > removed]

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > > Barb Katsaros

> > > barbkatsaros@

> > >

> > > __________________________________________________

> > >

August 14, 2006

What dose of Paxil did he increase to? Kristy

On Aug 14, 2006, at 9:07 PM, LINDA ANAGNOSTAKOS wrote:

> Hi ,

>

> Not weird..... this is exactly how I feel about my son. I get used

> to the

> abnormal... a hyperactive, anxiety ridden, OCD kid, then, on an

> SSRI, he

> becomes a stranger to me.

> It's odd when you have to adjust to someone new. Even when the new

> child is

> much better (happier/ more focused) than the child your used to.

> I find myself asking him if he feels all right all day long. The calm,

> focused child tends to make me uneasy at first. I always feel that

> he's on

> the verge of a major illness. I can't wait for the day when the ups

> and

> downs of this all end. Waiting for the other shoe to drop is so

> unsettling!

>

> Take care,

>

> >From: " meljackmom " <meljackmom@...>

> >Reply-

> >

> >Subject: Re: best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

> >Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:22:26 -0000

> >

> >I have to second everything Donna said about the SSRI experieces.

> >

> >We tried Zoloft last summer and it made my son an insomniac, so Dr G

> >switched after just 3-4 days....the bad outweighed any good they may

> >come from it.

> >

> >We have recently switched to Paxil, and after a week of so-so

> >results, Dr G increased the dose.

> >

> >OFF TOPIC, but

> >On the subject of SSRIs....it is such an intriguing/scary area. Has

> >anyone seen the movie Prozac Nation? In the movie the main

> >character says that she does not know who she is anymore...before

> >medication she was crazy, but she knew herself. The person that is

> >medicated, rational, less obsessive, more relaxed....well that was a

> >stranger to her....better person, but a stranger. This is exactly

> >how I feel sometimes about my son and ssri's....I feel like I am

> >programming him to be someone as close to " normal " as possible,

> >whether it is " him " or not. Weird, huh?

> >

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Kristy,

> > > > > >

> > > > > > I have struggled with the whole SSRI thing for my

> > > > > son. The first one we

> > > > > > tried, Celexa, made him aggressive and hyper (not

> > > > > so much at home, but

> > > > > > definitely at school). Then we tried Zoloft and he

> > > > > couldn't fall

> > > > > asleep at

> > > > > > night. Now he's on Paxil and it's been pretty good

> > > > > (but I have to

> > > > > give him

> > > > > > slightly less than what the doctor px'd or it

> > > > > makes him too spacey).

> > > > > Every

> > > > > > child is different, so what may work well for one

> > > > > won't work for

> > > > > another.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Kristy

> > > > > >

> > > > > > best ssri to calm kids and help

> > > > > with obsessions

> > > > > >

> > > > > > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft.

> > > > > Any experience good or

> > > > > > bad?

> > > > > > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for

> > > > > everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> > > > > >

> > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > > > > removed]

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > > Barb Katsaros

> > > > barbkatsaros@

> > > >

> > > > __________________________________________________

> > > >

August 15, 2006

After reading Donna's comments, I did increase my son's Paxil today to what

the dr. px'd and we had an amazing day!! The other 'new' thing in the last

several days was changing Nizoral to Diflucan, which has been really good,

as well. I hope today wasn't just a fluke.

Kristy

best ssri to calm kids and help

> > > > > with obsessions

> > > > > >

> > > > > > We are possibly going to put our son on Zoloft.

> > > > > Any experience good or

> > > > > > bad?

> > > > > > What SSRI seems to go the smoothest for

> > > > > everyone? Thanks, Kristy

> > > > > >

> > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > > > > removed]

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > > Barb Katsaros

> > > > barbkatsaros@

> > > >

> > > > __________________________________________________

> > > >

August 15, 2006

,

I have thought about this, too (a lot), and I'd like to share something with

you.

My older son was never what I would call " well " , even as a baby. I

never knew him as NOT a child. I have no idea what his personality

would have been like without the shadow of .

My younger son who is affected by , on the other hand, seemed pretty

" normal " until his seizures started at age 3.5 (although, looking back, he

did have a little attention problem going on). I KNEW him. He loved to

sing, he was silly and made up hilarious jokes and was a HAPPY, joyful

child. He loved books.

After the seizures had taken their toll, that boy was GONE. I had a little

boy who was completely different than the one I had known. He had lost his

speech, could barely walk, and I was told he presented like a stroke victim

in language. I remember his meeting for testing to " see " if he was eligible

for school services. He was in such bad shape that I remember thinking it

was worthless even to take him because he was so out of it. I took him,

though. He sat in a chair and drooled with a totally glazed look on his

face. He had two seizures during the testing. He could just barely respond

to anything they wanted to test him with. Of course, he did qualify for

services. He couldn't sing, he never acted silly anymore and the only thing

that reminded me of who he had been before was that he still loved to be

read to. I was told at the " big " childrens hospital (after extensive

testing) in Indiana that he appeared to have Lennox-Gastaut epilepsy,

probably 4 different seizure types and would probably just get worse... it

was considered to be a degenerative disorder.

Thank goodness for Dr. Goldberg and our local pediatrician, who believes in

and helped us right away once we realized there was a issue. It

was a stretch for our pediatrician to go from thinking of as an

" autism " thing to thinking of it as a " seizure " thing, but he trusted Dr.

Goldberg. In fact, I took a list of the zillion labs Dr. G had recommended

for my son to have done and our pediatrician just looked at it, signed the

bottom and said " take it to the lab " .

We made almost NO progress with the speech therapy until we started Valtrex.

Within one week, everything started to click. It was really rather amazing.

The comeback was slow but steady after that.

It took until he was around 5 to start the SSRIs. We have had to fiddle

around with them to find the " right " level of the " right " one and are still

working on that, and we seem to be close.

Even though my little guy had improved on the other meds, it was the

SSRIs that brought back the son I had known more than anything else. After

starting them, one day I heard him singing. I cried. I hadn't heard him

sing for so, so long! In the past few months he has started cracking jokes

again. THIS is the son I lost. The SSRIs have helped him find himself

again. He is still not back 100%, but I KNOW him now. THIS is my boy. He

is silly... he makes up jokes... he has joy again. He was tested for

reading ... he can read aloud at the 5th grade level with comprehension at

the beginning second grade level. Everything is coming together for him.

We had a wonderful moment last Sunday... he was asked to give a little

" talk " at church in front of the children. He went up to the podium alone,

looked straight at the audience and told them about the poem he was going to

read, then read it. It was a difficult poem with big words and he did an

amazing job. He read it with so much expression. I looked around the room

and everyone was just riveted watching him. Their jaws dropped. They had

seen him at his worst and they were just blown away to see what he could do.

They saw him when he couldn't speak... they just couldn't believe he could

do what he was doing. It was a moment I will never forget. Even now as I

write, the tears are welling up in my eyes.

I believe that if one can find the right blend of SSRIs with the other meds,

it can help you become who you were meant to be. I have seen it with my own

eyes. Then again, with my older son, I feel we're getting closer to that

blend, but it's harder to tell when we're close because I don't know who I'm

looking for.

That's my story. It's all about getting the brain balanced. That is not an

easy thing to do... and it's not fun going through trials of SSRIs. Every

child has different needs and as Dr. Goldberg says, their needs change as

they develop.

Caroline

> From: meljackmom <meljackmom@...>

> Reply-< >

> Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:22:26 +0000

> < >

> Subject: Re: best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

>

> OFF TOPIC, but

> On the subject of SSRIs....it is such an intriguing/scary area. Has

> anyone seen the movie Prozac Nation? In the movie the main

> character says that she does not know who she is anymore...before

> medication she was crazy, but she knew herself. The person that is

> medicated, rational, less obsessive, more relaxed....well that was a

> stranger to her....better person, but a stranger. This is exactly

> how I feel sometimes about my son and ssri's....I feel like I am

> programming him to be someone as close to " normal " as possible,

> whether it is " him " or not. Wierd, huh?

>

August 15, 2006

What dose of Paxil works best for everyone's children? Kristy

On Aug 15, 2006, at 10:56 AM, Caroline Glover wrote:

> ,

>

> I have thought about this, too (a lot), and I'd like to share

> something with

> you.

>

> My older son was never what I would call " well " , even as a

> baby. I

> never knew him as NOT a child. I have no idea what his

> personality

> would have been like without the shadow of .

>

> My younger son who is affected by , on the other hand, seemed

> pretty

> " normal " until his seizures started at age 3.5 (although, looking

> back, he

> did have a little attention problem going on). I KNEW him. He loved to

> sing, he was silly and made up hilarious jokes and was a HAPPY, joyful

> child. He loved books.

>

> After the seizures had taken their toll, that boy was GONE. I had a

> little

> boy who was completely different than the one I had known. He had

> lost his

> speech, could barely walk, and I was told he presented like a

> stroke victim

> in language. I remember his meeting for testing to " see " if he was

> eligible

> for school services. He was in such bad shape that I remember

> thinking it

> was worthless even to take him because he was so out of it. I took

> him,

> though. He sat in a chair and drooled with a totally glazed look on

> his

> face. He had two seizures during the testing. He could just barely

> respond

> to anything they wanted to test him with. Of course, he did qualify

> for

> services. He couldn't sing, he never acted silly anymore and the

> only thing

> that reminded me of who he had been before was that he still loved

> to be

> read to. I was told at the " big " childrens hospital (after extensive

> testing) in Indiana that he appeared to have Lennox-Gastaut epilepsy,

> probably 4 different seizure types and would probably just get

> worse... it

> was considered to be a degenerative disorder.

>

> Thank goodness for Dr. Goldberg and our local pediatrician, who

> believes in

> and helped us right away once we realized there was a

> issue. It

> was a stretch for our pediatrician to go from thinking of as an

> " autism " thing to thinking of it as a " seizure " thing, but he

> trusted Dr.

> Goldberg. In fact, I took a list of the zillion labs Dr. G had

> recommended

> for my son to have done and our pediatrician just looked at it,

> signed the

> bottom and said " take it to the lab " .

>

> We made almost NO progress with the speech therapy until we started

> Valtrex.

> Within one week, everything started to click. It was really rather

> amazing.

> The comeback was slow but steady after that.

>

> It took until he was around 5 to start the SSRIs. We have had to

> fiddle

> around with them to find the " right " level of the " right " one and

> are still

> working on that, and we seem to be close.

>

> Even though my little guy had improved on the other meds, it

> was the

> SSRIs that brought back the son I had known more than anything

> else. After

> starting them, one day I heard him singing. I cried. I hadn't heard

> him

> sing for so, so long! In the past few months he has started

> cracking jokes

> again. THIS is the son I lost. The SSRIs have helped him find himself

> again. He is still not back 100%, but I KNOW him now. THIS is my

> boy. He

> is silly... he makes up jokes... he has joy again. He was tested for

> reading ... he can read aloud at the 5th grade level with

> comprehension at

> the beginning second grade level. Everything is coming together for

> him.

>

> We had a wonderful moment last Sunday... he was asked to give a little

> " talk " at church in front of the children. He went up to the podium

> alone,

> looked straight at the audience and told them about the poem he was

> going to

> read, then read it. It was a difficult poem with big words and he

> did an

> amazing job. He read it with so much expression. I looked around

> the room

> and everyone was just riveted watching him. Their jaws dropped.

> They had

> seen him at his worst and they were just blown away to see what he

> could do.

> They saw him when he couldn't speak... they just couldn't believe

> he could

> do what he was doing. It was a moment I will never forget. Even now

> as I

> write, the tears are welling up in my eyes.

>

> I believe that if one can find the right blend of SSRIs with the

> other meds,

> it can help you become who you were meant to be. I have seen it

> with my own

> eyes. Then again, with my older son, I feel we're getting closer to

> that

> blend, but it's harder to tell when we're close because I don't

> know who I'm

> looking for.

>

> That's my story. It's all about getting the brain balanced. That is

> not an

> easy thing to do... and it's not fun going through trials of SSRIs.

> Every

> child has different needs and as Dr. Goldberg says, their needs

> change as

> they develop.

>

> Caroline

>

> > From: meljackmom <meljackmom@...>

> > Reply-< >

> > Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:22:26 +0000

> > < >

> > Subject: Re: best ssri to calm kids and help with obsessions

> >

> > OFF TOPIC, but

> > On the subject of SSRIs....it is such an intriguing/scary area. Has

> > anyone seen the movie Prozac Nation? In the movie the main

> > character says that she does not know who she is anymore...before

> > medication she was crazy, but she knew herself. The person that is

> > medicated, rational, less obsessive, more relaxed....well that was a

> > stranger to her....better person, but a stranger. This is exactly

> > how I feel sometimes about my son and ssri's....I feel like I am

> > programming him to be someone as close to " normal " as possible,

> > whether it is " him " or not. Wierd, huh?

> >

>

August 15, 2006

I have to second Caroline's experience. The SSRI's have brought BACK

the sparkling, verbal, curious little boy I knew before his

regression. I truly believe that THIS is the child he is...not the

spacy, obsessed, isolated little creature he had seemed to become.

Donna

>

> ,

>

> I have thought about this, too (a lot), and I'd like to share

something with

> you.

>

> My older son was never what I would call " well " , even as a baby. I

> never knew him as NOT a child. I have no idea what his personality

> would have been like without the shadow of .

>

> My younger son who is affected by , on the other hand, seemed pretty

> " normal " until his seizures started at age 3.5 (although, looking

back, he

> did have a little attention problem going on). I KNEW him. He loved to

> sing, he was silly and made up hilarious jokes and was a HAPPY, joyful

> child. He loved books.

>

> After the seizures had taken their toll, that boy was GONE. I had a

little

> boy who was completely different than the one I had known. He had

lost his

> speech, could barely walk, and I was told he presented like a stroke

victim

> in language. I remember his meeting for testing to " see " if he was

eligible

> for school services. He was in such bad shape that I remember

thinking it

> was worthless even to take him because he was so out of it. I took him,

> though. He sat in a chair and drooled with a totally glazed look on his

> face. He had two seizures during the testing. He could just barely

respond

> to anything they wanted to test him with. Of course, he did qualify for

> services. He couldn't sing, he never acted silly anymore and the

only thing

> that reminded me of who he had been before was that he still loved to be

> read to. I was told at the " big " childrens hospital (after extensive

> testing) in Indiana that he appeared to have Lennox-Gastaut epilepsy,

> probably 4 different seizure types and would probably just get

worse... it

> was considered to be a degenerative disorder.

>

> Thank goodness for Dr. Goldberg and our local pediatrician, who

believes in

> and helped us right away once we realized there was a

issue. It

> was a stretch for our pediatrician to go from thinking of as an

> " autism " thing to thinking of it as a " seizure " thing, but he

trusted Dr.

> Goldberg. In fact, I took a list of the zillion labs Dr. G had

recommended

> for my son to have done and our pediatrician just looked at it,

signed the

> bottom and said " take it to the lab " .

>

> We made almost NO progress with the speech therapy until we started

Valtrex.

> Within one week, everything started to click. It was really rather

amazing.

> The comeback was slow but steady after that.

>

> It took until he was around 5 to start the SSRIs. We have had to fiddle

> around with them to find the " right " level of the " right " one and

are still

> working on that, and we seem to be close.

>

> Even though my little guy had improved on the other meds, it

was the

> SSRIs that brought back the son I had known more than anything else.

After

> starting them, one day I heard him singing. I cried. I hadn't

heard him

> sing for so, so long! In the past few months he has started

cracking jokes

> again. THIS is the son I lost. The SSRIs have helped him find himself

> again. He is still not back 100%, but I KNOW him now. THIS is my

boy. He

> is silly... he makes up jokes... he has joy again. He was tested for

> reading ... he can read aloud at the 5th grade level with

comprehension at

> the beginning second grade level. Everything is coming together for

him.

>

> We had a wonderful moment last Sunday... he was asked to give a little

> " talk " at church in front of the children. He went up to the podium

alone,

> looked straight at the audience and told them about the poem he was

going to

> read, then read it. It was a difficult poem with big words and he

did an

> amazing job. He read it with so much expression. I looked around

the room

> and everyone was just riveted watching him. Their jaws dropped.

They had

> seen him at his worst and they were just blown away to see what he

could do.

> They saw him when he couldn't speak... they just couldn't believe he

could

> do what he was doing. It was a moment I will never forget. Even

now as I

> write, the tears are welling up in my eyes.

>

> I believe that if one can find the right blend of SSRIs with the

other meds,

> it can help you become who you were meant to be. I have seen it

with my own

> eyes. Then again, with my older son, I feel we're getting closer to

that

> blend, but it's harder to tell when we're close because I don't know

who I'm

> looking for.

>

> That's my story. It's all about getting the brain balanced. That

is not an

> easy thing to do... and it's not fun going through trials of SSRIs.

Every

> child has different needs and as Dr. Goldberg says, their needs

change as