To Zoloft or not to Zoloft for a 14 year old boy?

crust

Wed, May 05 2021, 11:09 pm

amother [ Sienna ] wrote:

Not so black and white. My child sees a top notch psychiatrist who said definitely should not be on mood stabilizer. Being treated for adhd and on zoloft for anxiety.
Really depends on the situation. Make sure you have a good psychiatrist that you can trust. Relief can help recommend.

It's always a risk whether your doctor cares enough to admit it or not. Especially to teens and sensitive people.

If you'll follow every suicidal attempt and every manic episode that resulted from a mental health medication you'll see that it was a side effect from an SSRI taken without a mood stabilizer.

I am not here to argue or to be right.

I logged in for the sole purpose of making OP and others aware as this is a public thread that can be seen without logging in.

Everyone can take the info and decide for themselves what to do with it.

Hatzlacha everyone.

queen esther

Thu, May 06 2021, 12:25 am

OP,
I don't think anyone here can tell you what's best to do for your son, and I hope you can take all the info presented here and by your doctor's that you trust and bezras Hashem come to a healthy beneficial decision.
For what it's worth- I took zoloft for abt a year and a half as a 16-17 yr old myself almost 20 years ago for depression- not anxiety- and it really saved my life. BH I didn't have any bad side effects, although I did get put on a mood stabilizer after I told the psych md that I felt like I had a lot of racing thoughts and stuff like that. It worked really well and other than some weight gain no other effect.
Sounds like you and your son have been through a lot with these issues, wishing you health and hatzlacha!

amother

Pumpkin

Thu, May 06 2021, 1:51 pm

OP, I don't know what to tell you. My 16-year-old sister wants to take meds for anxiety and depression, but my mother refuses to sign off on it. Her reason is the risk of suicidality in young adults on meds. My cousin took Prozac for depression and ended up suicidal.

If you are going to go the medication route, make sure you have a conservative psychiatrist who is a real expert with prescribing and monitoring meds for children. My cousin's psychiatrist didn't recognize that the suicidality was coming from the Prozac and actually recommended upping the dose!

Also, I second FF's recommendation of a mood diary. Make it a symptoms diary. How he's feeling physically and emotionally each day, what happens if he takes his meds late or misses a dose, etc.

amother

Wine

Fri, May 28 2021, 11:49 am

crust wrote:

SSRIs, when given without a mood stabilizer, can cause mania especially in young adults and in sensitive people.

A mood stabilizer is like a stage on which you can basically throw anything.

What does this mean? Why aren't doctors aware of it?

FranticFrummie

Fri, May 28 2021, 12:03 pm

I take Zoloft in combination with Depakote, and it most definitely helps. I can't have one without the other, they are like a left and right hand.

As for suicidality, this is why I said to tell your child that it might make them think this way.Your child deserves to know of possible side effects (OK, maybe not the entire list, but this one for sure.) This way, your child will know that it's the medicine, and that it's not them "going crazy."

An average teen can be self aware enough to advocate for themselves, as long as they know in advance what might be going on.

You want your child to be able to come to you and say "Mom, I think these pills are making me have scary thoughts. Can we call the doctor and find out how to fix this?"

May all our children have happiness, health, and success in life.

amother

Jade

Fri, May 28 2021, 12:11 pm

Take this with a grain of salt, but I took Zoloft as an adult for PPD for several months and it did help me. But I did have side effects (low libido).

That being said, a teenager’s brain/body is very different from a grown women post partum.

But Based on your kid’s experience & current circumstances I personally would look into this as a mediation option. If I were you I would also seek out 2nd and 3rd opinions from other doctors and medical specialists.

amother

Maple

Sun, Aug 22 2021, 8:45 pm

Bumping this up because we just started 12ds on Zoloft. OP- did you do it? How’s it going?
My son has adhd on vyvanse only on school days but suffers from anxiety that impacts his life on a daily basis- avoids crowds so doesn’t go to shul which at this age is a problem

amother

Sun, Aug 22 2021, 9:49 pm

after agonizing for weeks.....

My son started zoloft and went off vyvanse/adderall [for now]

We see major improvement in anxiety bh.
he is on it now for four weeks
holding my breath
will update
no side effects so far...

he will go back on adhd meds
we just didn't decide which one and didn't want to make
all changes at once

good idea about taking adderal/vyvanse only on school days

my son's anxiety was driving us all off the wall and him the most