Re: Bad side effect with Trileptal form my non-verbal 9 year old autistic son

[Guest guest]

Do you know the reason why your son is still non verbal? Does he have any

augmentative and alternative ways to communicate such as PECS, sign, or for his

age an iPad would be so cool as it'd help him in social settings communicate in

a way that other kids would relate to.

My first question however is to know the reason your child is nonverbal- are you

sure it's from autism? Does he have any desire to communicate? Before

medication did he? Ever? I know he's 9 years old now- so just trying to find a

history.

There are so many children with autism that also have underlying speech

impairments such as apraxia -and then there are those that are misdiagnosed with

autism. I posted earlier about the huge new government funded autism studies

that each went from 2000 to 2010 to examine various therapies -and the consensus

was hands down medications have minimal benefits and severe side effects even

for short term use- that they are not worth the benefits.

They specificaly mention Abilify

" In a review published online Monday in the journal “Pediatrics,â€

researchers from Vanderbilt University concluded that medications are not very

much help to most children with autism.

They said the drugs, ranging from antidepressants to antipsychotics, do not seem

to be effective. The strongest evidence clearly show that the enzyme secretin

doesn’t work.

There is some evidence showing that Risperdal and Abilify might treat some of

the behaviors. Both drugs, however, may cause serious side effects and the

authors warned they should only be prescribed for children who are very impaired

by their autism. "

Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)

Trileptal is a prescription medicine used:

* Alone or with other medicines to treat partial seizures in adults

* Alone to treat partial seizures in children 4 years and older

* With other medicines to treat partial seizures in children 2 years and

older

Patients should not stop taking Trileptal without first talking to a healthcare

provider, as serious problems may result. Trileptal can cause serious side

effects, including low blood sodium, symptoms of which include nausea,

tiredness, lack of energy, headache, confusion, and more frequent or more severe

seizures.

Similar symptoms that are not related to low sodium may occur from use of

Trileptal. Patients should inform a healthcare provider if they have any of

these side effects.

Trileptal may also cause allergic reactions or serious problems, which may

affect organs and other body parts such as the liver or blood cells. Many people

who are allergic to carbamazepine are also allergic to Trileptal.

As do other antiepileptic drugs, Trileptal may cause suicidal thoughts or

actions in a very small number of people (approximately 1 in 500).

http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/Clinical+News/FDA-issues-3-new-medi\

cation-guides/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/713339?contextCategoryId=40159

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What I found AWESOME!!!! is that they found omega 3s have " promise " and there

you go -something that not only has side effects but that contains essential

fatty acids so needed to be consumed daily for good health!

" A few other medical interventions show some promise

for future research, including serotonin reuptake

inhibitors (SRIs),128-130 methylphenidate,131-134, 136 omega 3

fatty acids,154 and melatonin.153 Others, including

secretin,137-144 are clearly not efficacious and warrant no

further study. "

http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ehc/products/106/651/Autism_Disorder_exe\

c-summ.pdf

Have you tried fish oils? As you are new to the group you can find information

about this here

http://pursuitofresearch.org/2010/12/01/therapeutic-use-of-fish-oil-for-apraxia-\

autism-and-other-communication-impairments/ and find info about essential amino

acids and nutrients which our group has been having mind blowing progress with

for various conditions here - http://pursuitofresearch.org/getting-started/

From what I understand you can't just stop a medication such as this -and it

needs to be done under the doctor's supervision. If it was my child based on

the study and the side effects- I'd look to wean him off of this medication that

all top medical doctors now concur that in almost all cases is not worth the

severe side effects. I'd also like to see if we can help you help your child

become verbal -we've had success in this group with children, teens and adults

who were previously nonverbal. If you share what state or country perhaps we

can find you local support and help you get some second opinions. You see the

problem is that if your child has not been properly diagnosed for the reasons

for his communication deficits -that of course can lead to secondary behavior

issues. So the band-aid dangerous drug quite possibly if your child does have a

duel diagnosis or was misdiagnosed may not be needed for more than the reasons

found by the 10 year study. Here's again the link to the AAP abstracts on these

3 studies but it's also all over the news

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/gca?gca=peds.2011-0426v1 & gca=peds.2011\

-0427v1 & gca=peds.2011-0428v1 & sendit=Get+All+Checked+Abstract%28s%29

You may also want to read this about drug interactions between Trileptal and

Abilify

http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/abilify-with-trileptal-233-109-1765-1129.\

html

Oh and PS one other thing -I only recommend psychologists and psychiatrist for

our group if the child has a known psychological condition. If your child has a

neurological condition such as say motor planning deficits, low tone/hypotonia

-I highly recommend neurologists and/or developmental pediatricians instead. If

you check our archives here -psychiatrists too many times are the root cause of

misdiagnosis. And it's probably not their fault because they are not

neurologists or SLPs and thus they put the square peg into the only round

circles they know -autism or ADHD or OCD etc. And again just plain old

frustration from a root physiological cause can create secondary behavioral

issues which when you provide appropriate therapies and augmentative and

alternative ways to communicate fade away.

Please get back to us and let us know!

Best,

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