Tell me everything about zoloft for 11 year old

amother

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 5:34 pm

My son has severe behavior issues at home:
He is aggressive with siblings, hurts, and is often angry.
He has no issues at school.

We've tried vyvanse and guanfacime and there is no improvement. I asked the doctor for zoloft. She prescribed 25 mg. Can someone tell me their experience?

(I'm the poster from the other thread)

amother

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 5:54 pm

Just since I wrote this my son went ballistic that the smoke detector went off. Of course it's normal for kids to get scared- my other kids looked up from what they were doing but he screamed at the top of his lungs in an angry way: Will you shut the stupid oven!!

This morning he went ballistic that he had to wear hand me down pants and t shirts from his brother.

When he came home he went ballistic that I met him at the bus stop (it was his first day of camp).

amother

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 5:58 pm

mha3484 wrote:

Have you read the explosive child? Its extremely helpful for kids like this.

Yes- thank you. I read that. We do problem solving - but he is so worked up about everything that I can't get him to sit down. Hence why we tried vyvanse and guanfacime.

amother

Cappuccino

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 6:24 pm

His nervous system is on fire. Work on taking down the inflammation. We have been able to almost completely eliminate rage, hairsbreath trigger fight or flight, lack of emotional regulation by treating chronic infections and gut dysbiosis, both of which were contributing synergistically to vagus nervend limbic dysfunction and other forms of neuroinflammation.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 7:43 pm

All of his teachers say that he is absolutely fine at school? There's nothing that concerns them?

If that is so, then there must be something at home that is setting him off. It could be anything from sibling rivalry to black mold toxicity.

flowergirl8

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 7:46 pm

amother [ Cappuccino ] wrote:

Can you provide more specific details please

amother

Darkblue

Mon, Jul 12 2021, 7:47 pm

Zoloft is an ssri and all ssris have a risk of causing suicide ideation in teens. I took it as a teen and had it as a side effect. It was terrifying. But my anxiety symptoms were enough that it was worth it. However I was older than your son. What would he do if he experienced suicide ideation? Would he feel comfortable letting you know, or contacting the doctor?

Note that 25 mg is a tiny dose and I don’t think there’s much harm in trying it. It’s the higher doses I’d be worried about.

cream+sugar

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 2:08 pm

I can only weigh in as an adult currently on Zoloft -- I love it. It took a while to find my optimal dosage, but my moods are extremely stable, my anxiety is almost entirely under control, and I feel vastly more energetic. The only negative side effect is it makes internal temperature regulation harder for the body, so I get hotter and sweatier more easily. I agree with the previous poster: 25mg is an incredibly low dose, and as long as everyone is aware of the potential for suicidal ideation, it sounds worth a try to me.

amother

Beige

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 2:13 pm

You say you asked the doctor for Zoloft - what made you think of that?
Also is this child seeing a therapist? Medication is a great band aid but unless they're in therapy it won't stick.
I can weigh in as an adult on Zoloft - it's great for helping me cope, but because of some of the side effects I'd like to wean off. I personally wouldn't give it to my child unless I've exhausted every other option.

lshap

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 2:26 pm

following.

My son presents similarly.

How do we get the rage or inflammation down?
looking for practical help too.

lshap

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 2:28 pm

following.

My son presents similarly.

How do we get the rage or inflammation down?
looking for practical help too.

amother

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 2:48 pm

I've tried therapy with a great therapist- absolutely nothing works. He'll sit and behave and really take in the therapy but if his brother goes near his room he goes ballistic. If someone sits in his chair he flips out. Anything can make him go in to a rage. I've tried everything - parenting courses, therapy, consequences, gentle parenting. Nothing works. I've been with the psychiatrist for a few years still nothing works. Now trying zoloft to see if this will calm him down. Just looking to hear other perspectives. Not that this should matter but I have many other children and none are like this. I did nothing different at all with this one. It's the way he was since birth.

amother

Cappuccino

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 4:30 pm

imagirl wrote:

Can you provide more specific details please

Are you following the other 2 current threads on neuroinflammation?

amother

Strawberry

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 5:12 pm

Op my 8 year old sounds identical to your ds. We went down the functional medicine route. We did every thing that other posters swear has helped their child.(diet and vitamins and epsom salt etc etc ) We put him on Zoloft a few months ago (25mg) and I’m happy to say we are in a way better place then we ever were. We can have a relationship - which we couldn’t because of all his rages. I also give him some vitamins which were easy to continue from the functional med route. Not sure if it helps but letting you know- gaba, cbd, lithium mineral, multi, and another one I can’t remember name. We also started aba therapy (got him asd diagnosis for this) very recently.

amother

Tue, Jul 13 2021, 5:18 pm

amother [ Strawberry ] wrote:

This means so much to me - thank you.

amother

Thu, Jul 15 2021, 5:10 pm

When can I expect to see improvement. Just took his first dose this morning. Stopped the vyvanse. Hoping for a yeshua

amother

Beige

Thu, Jul 15 2021, 5:46 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

When can I expect to see improvement. Just took his first dose this morning. Stopped the vyvanse. Hoping for a yeshua

Zoloft takes on average 2-4 weeks to kick in for an adult. Might be different for a child but I wouldn't expect instant changes, give it a few weeks.