Celexa

[Guest guest]

I have done extensive research on anti-anxiety/anti-depressant drugs and have

found no research printed on adolescence, ie. side effects. Is there anyone out

there that has been on any type of anti-anxiety med that is not an adult, ie. 10

years old. I know there are a lot of CHARGERS taking Celexa, but that is for

both anxiety and depression and has not been tested on children. I am looking

only for an anti-anxiety drug, natural preferably. I also heard that zinc helps

some of the kids with OCD.

Thank you,

Sieber - Mom to , 10 years old

[Guest guest]

,

With many of the newer medications there's been little studies on young

children.

When Patty was about 10 she started a tic. By the time she was 12 they were

full blown. We went to a specialist who worked with children who have

disabilities. She was put on Risperdal. It worked. We had to weigh the

effects

worth the benefits. Since it kept her tics to a minimum we kept it. We also

reduced the stress that we could. We also did relaxation techniques which

benefited Patty greatly.

With Patty taking Risperdal it also worked on her OCD. It worked for a year

or two but the symptoms came back. Again it interfered with her life. We did

the med change game and came up with adding a heart medication, Quanfacine,

that's been linked to working with drugs like Risperdal.

That worked for about a year and back they came. We were going to try a

newer med but had to get her off the others. We slowly decreased the Quanfacine

and low and behold her tics were minimal again.

After a few years we went to a new doctor. She saw the intense anxiety in

Patty and was able to identify her OCD's as well. They interfered with her

life. They started her on Celexa. It was like a miracle. I got my Patty back.

It worked so well we reduced the Risperdal to a minimum.

Then the bad story begins. We started something called Strattera for OCD.

It had a horrible effect on Patty. It made her angry, emotional, over

stimulated, and more. Since it is a newer drug there's been little studies on

adolescents. As we know individuals who have CHARGE also react differently with

different meds. It was so bad we had to slowly wean her off the med but even

after she was entirely off it about a week she was still struggling. It wore

off

and now she's back to Patty.

Patty is unable to live without taking meds. Her tics, OCD and anxiety

interfere with her life-Greatly.

With trying new meds please be very careful.

I share these stories because Patty's been on the meds. I hope it helps a

little. I also hope you find support in figuring it all out.

Bonnie, Mom to Kris 23, Patty CHARGE 21 and wife to

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

This is one of the major concerns with the use of psychotropics with

children. There is virtually no research on the effects of any of these

medications on children. So physicians are largely guessing about

things like dosage. This is one reason why any child who is on a

psychotropic needs to be followed very closely by the physician to

monitor effects and side effects. This is also going to be true with

herbal and other alternative supplements - actually, even more true,

since they are not regulated and so there is typically not much

scientific research of their effects, side or otherwise, even on adults.

You definitely want a psychiatrist who works with children, and, even

better, one who works with genetic syndromes. But those folks are not

too plentiful.

Having said that, in a study Lee Wachtel and I have under review, the

three most commonly given anti-depressants for CHARGE were prozac (5),

luvox (4), and celexa (3), but as you can see, our numbers were very low

Tim

S. Hartshorne, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI 48859

phone

fax

tim.hartshorne@...

[Guest guest]

Im on a low dose of Celexa. I just have to say for any meds, make sure you

take them at a regular time if you want to see more consistant results. I

take it every day at 6:30 pm. I find if I even miss a few hours then i start

to feel headachy and moody. if I miss more then a day, I get very figity and

manicy again. I only did that once by accident last week.

>

> Hi ,

>

>

> Having said that, in a study Lee Wachtel and I have under review, the

> three most commonly given anti-depressants for CHARGE were prozac (5),

> luvox (4), and celexa (3), but as you can see, our numbers were very low

>

>

>

> --

> My spelling's kinda wobbly. It's good spelling but the letters wobble and

> end up in the wrong places. - Winnie the Pooh

[Guest guest]

Tim,

What you said is so true. is a mystery. I think his doctor does a

lot of guessing. What do you mean by the numbers next to the drug?

is on Celexa, also Wellbutrin and Depakote. He's being weaned off Risperdol

(didn't work). He sees a neuro-psychiatrist in NY that was recommended to

me by the people from the last conference.

Debbie Matakser

Re: Celexa

Hi ,

This is one of the major concerns with the use of psychotropics with

children. There is virtually no research on the effects of any of these

medications on children. So physicians are largely guessing about

things like dosage. This is one reason why any child who is on a

psychotropic needs to be followed very closely by the physician to

monitor effects and side effects. This is also going to be true with

herbal and other alternative supplements - actually, even more true,

since they are not regulated and so there is typically not much

scientific research of their effects, side or otherwise, even on adults.

You definitely want a psychiatrist who works with children, and, even

better, one who works with genetic syndromes. But those folks are not

too plentiful.

Having said that, in a study Lee Wachtel and I have under review, the

three most commonly given anti-depressants for CHARGE were prozac (5),

luvox (4), and celexa (3), but as you can see, our numbers were very low

Tim

S. Hartshorne, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI 48859

phone

fax

tim.hartshorne@ <mailto:tim.hartshorne%40cmich.edu> cmich.edu

[Guest guest]

Tim wrote:

> This is one of the major concerns with the use of psychotropics with

> children. There is virtually no research on the effects of any of these

> medications on children. So physicians are largely guessing about

> things like dosage.

The above is one of the reasons we have been so hesitant to use medications

for the kinds of sleep, behavior and learning issues that we have noticed in

our daughter.

While there is little research on the effects of these medications on

children, there is alot of research on the effects on adults. Reading that

information confirms for me, that when possible, I will avoid those

mediations for my family. Just reading the warnings and 'black boxes' on

medication packages is enough to scare me very majorly.

But I do believe in the ability of the body to heal and that is the approach

we have taken. Kendra is improving. With close consultation with her

doctors, we feel we are on the right track. I would love to be in touch

with other parents whose children are improving in behaviors and learning

issues. Perhaps we will have commonalities that would be of interest to

others.

As Tim says, whether working with traditional or non-traditional medications

or supplements, close connection with the health care provider is essential.

There are many unknowns in CHARGE relating to how the body systems work and

what may be affecting them. And of course the same caveat applies for all

individuals with CHARGE or not.

wkeedy@...

[Guest guest]

Regarding studies on young children...hopefully that is going to change soon.

The FDA recently (past couple years) started giving some incentives to drug

companies to include the pediatric population in their studies. I don't think

it is mandated yet, but if a drug company includes pediatric patients in their

clinical trials then their application gets some priority processing. It

doesn't help for drugs already on the market, but hopefully there will be more

information available for future meds.

Turk22082@... wrote:

,

With many of the newer medications there's been little studies on young

children.

When Patty was about 10 she started a tic. By the time she was 12 they were

full blown. We went to a specialist who worked with children who have

disabilities. She was put on Risperdal. It worked. We had to weigh the effects

worth the benefits. Since it kept her tics to a minimum we kept it. We also

reduced the stress that we could. We also did relaxation techniques which

benefited Patty greatly.

With Patty taking Risperdal it also worked on her OCD. It worked for a year

or two but the symptoms came back. Again it interfered with her life. We did

the med change game and came up with adding a heart medication, Quanfacine,

that's been linked to working with drugs like Risperdal.

That worked for about a year and back they came. We were going to try a

newer med but had to get her off the others. We slowly decreased the Quanfacine

and low and behold her tics were minimal again.

After a few years we went to a new doctor. She saw the intense anxiety in

Patty and was able to identify her OCD's as well. They interfered with her

life. They started her on Celexa. It was like a miracle. I got my Patty back.

It worked so well we reduced the Risperdal to a minimum.

Then the bad story begins. We started something called Strattera for OCD.

It had a horrible effect on Patty. It made her angry, emotional, over

stimulated, and more. Since it is a newer drug there's been little studies on

adolescents. As we know individuals who have CHARGE also react differently with

different meds. It was so bad we had to slowly wean her off the med but even

after she was entirely off it about a week she was still struggling. It wore off

and now she's back to Patty.

Patty is unable to live without taking meds. Her tics, OCD and anxiety

interfere with her life-Greatly.

With trying new meds please be very careful.

I share these stories because Patty's been on the meds. I hope it helps a

little. I also hope you find support in figuring it all out.

Bonnie, Mom to Kris 23, Patty CHARGE 21 and wife to

[Guest guest]

Tim,

You reminded me of something really important. I gave Patty some over the

counter supplements. Although it was the proper dose for someone her size it

was well above what it naturally should be. Man that scarred me. I do nothing

without checking it twice, having the doctor check it and then have our

pharmacist check it.

Also interactions of supplements and prescribed medications need to be

closely watched as they can have an effect on each other.

Bonnie, Mom to Kris 24, Patty CHARGE 22 and wife to

[Guest guest]

bnnie i agree bout that we go constantly to test m y sipramil my endo is

pushing for me to see a physc and maybe3 we will c oz we tried to lower me

and my hair pulling eating and all that has increased but the wierd thing is

my feeling that people might not want to talk to me hasnt any reason for

that or am i maturing im gonna ask my endo on tues LOL

>

> Tim,

>

> You reminded me of something really important. I gave Patty some over the

> counter supplements. Although it was the proper dose for someone her size

> it

> was well above what it naturally should be. Man that scarred me. I do

> nothing

> without checking it twice, having the doctor check it and then have our

> pharmacist check it.

>

> Also interactions of supplements and prescribed medications need to be

> closely watched as they can have an effect on each other.

>

> Bonnie, Mom to Kris 24, Patty CHARGE 22 and wife to

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

The numbers next to the drug were the number of kids who were on the

drug in my sample of about 84. So you see the numbers were really low.

Tim

S. Hartshorne, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI 48859

phone

fax

tim.hartshorne@...