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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Buckeye Fan on November 16, 2005, at 7:36:22
My 16 year old son has demonstrated classic text- book symptoms of ADDHD W/Obedience Defiance disorder.
Our family Doctor wrote a prescription of Prozac for him.
Any comments or suggestions?
The Doc's decision NOT to prescribe Adderal or Ritalin was based on my son's extreme anger and violent temper. I am glad in a way..as I have never liked the idea of Stimulants given to anyone...let alone my teen age son..but on the other hand I am concerned about Prozac also.......
Any help and experienced answers would be appreciated
BF
Posted by rjlockhart on November 16, 2005, at 10:50:56
In reply to ADDH Prescription.....Prozac, posted by Buckeye Fan on November 16, 2005, at 7:36:22
I take Prozac 20mg for Depression. It somewhat helps with ADHD, but not to an extent. I feel a little more stable, i was on Zoloft a couple years back and it really made me just "zone out" i had bad attention problems, i had to stop it.
Prozac seems to be a good SSRI for adolecence, contrary to the news about Paxil and suicides. I think its too "serogeneric". Prozac is mildy stimulating, effects serotonin and other nuerotransmitters. 40mg is too much for me, i take 20mg, 40mg is more serogeneric.
Best regards to your son.
Matt
Posted by Buckeye Fan on November 16, 2005, at 12:02:21
In reply to Re: ADDH Prescription.....Prozac, posted by rjlockhart on November 16, 2005, at 10:50:56
Thanks Matt.
The script is for 20 mg....so I guess the Doc knows the right dose to start with. ( My boy is 6 foot 1 and 181 pounds)
Right now he refuses to try it.
Says he doesnt want to be "dopped up" his words.
So now the new battle starts...how do you MAKE a 16 year old strong-willed ADDHD W/Obediant Defiant Disorder take a medicine??????
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on November 16, 2005, at 16:18:48
In reply to Re: ADDH Prescription.....Prozac, posted by Buckeye Fan on November 16, 2005, at 12:02:21
Does your family work with a mental health professional? Getting a teen to buy into taking a med is often a complex process and typically a parent is in the WORST position to convience their child. If you try to force him, it will just become an issue to assert his independence around. "I'm not a baby, you can't make me take it!"
Also, I think that it makes sense for you to take your son to a psychiatrist rather than a family doc to figure out the best meds for him. In my (at this point) brief, professional experience, family docs get in over their heads very fast w/ psychotropic meds. They also don't always admit this.
Even though your son's ADHD symptoms are textbook, the ODD is a complicating factor where a pdoc's thourough assessment could help. To be honest, if he were my son, I feel like I would need a pretty compelling argument to NOT give him stimulants. My knowledge of the ADHD treatment literature is that stimulants have been shown to be very effective while other meds have rarely been shown to be effective. Also, ODD symptoms often diminish when ADHD is better controlled (less frustration, etc.)
I hope that some of this is helpful. I don't want to claim to be an expert or anything. I have a few years of training and work in mental health. I personally do not experience ADHD though, so I can't offer any experience from that perspective. I hope that you and your son find some relief soon.
Best,
EE
Posted by blueberry on November 16, 2005, at 17:48:59
In reply to ADDH Prescription.....Prozac, posted by Buckeye Fan on November 16, 2005, at 7:36:22
Prozac most likely will not make him feel "doped" up. But, I must admit, 20mg is a whopper of a dose to start with for someone not familiar with it, even though it is a common starting dose. Just one dose at 20mg could scare him away from ever taking drugs again. Prozac is on the stimulating side, especially when it is first started. Some people even get incredible anxiety and panic attacks from it as they get started and their bodies adjust.
Here's a neat trick though. Empty a capsule into a glass of orange juice, stir it up real good, and ask him to just take a sip, any size sip he wants. That's a good start. Put the oj mix in the fridge, stir up real good the next day and have him take another sip. It might take a few weeks, but eventually he'll get to drink more and more and finally be at a good dose. 10mg might even be just fine. It will stay good and potent for at least a week in the fridge.
I was on prozac for 5 years and felt calm, yet energetic, and cognitively sharp. It could be good for him. Use the oj trick to break the ice. I would strongly advise not going for a whole 20mg dose to start with.
Posted by Phillipa on November 16, 2005, at 23:35:38
In reply to Re: ADDH Prescription.....Prozac, posted by rjlockhart on November 16, 2005, at 10:50:56
Wow Matt you sure know your meds! PS I've talked with you Mom. Fondly , Phillipa
Posted by med_empowered on November 17, 2005, at 2:01:37
In reply to Re: ADDH Prescription.....Prozac » rjlockhart, posted by Phillipa on November 16, 2005, at 23:35:38
hey! Prozac really isn't a good idea for ADHD. It probably won't make the condition worse, but its not effective for actually *treating* it. Another issue would be "making" your child take medication. Please don't. The last thing ANYONE needs is to feel that they *need* medication to plese *other* people. If your son is opposed to taking medications, please take that into consideration--perhaps some other form of treatment (counselling, talk therapy) would be more acceptable to him; it could also help uncover any other factors (ex: family dynamics) that could be causing or worsenging his problems.
Prozac is usually well-tolerated, but occasionally people will become more depressed, attempt or commit suicide, and/or become violent. Some of this is likely due to akathisia, a sort of drug-induced inner restlessness more commonly seen with antipsychotic medications. However, it is possible that some of the problems could be due to something *other* than drug-induced akathisia. Although these problems don't seem to be terribly common, they do need to be taken into account, especially with a younng person (and especially with a young person who already shows signs of aggression).
You can sometimes counter the ill-effects of antidepressants by adding a mood-stabilizer (tegretol, lithium, trileptal, depakote, atypical neuroleptics, etc.). This is usually done for bipolar disorders, but I imagine it could also be done for different situations. That said, I think you might want to try a different approach to the problem. I'm a young guy (early 20s) and when I was younger my parents pushed me to take meds "for my own good," etc. etc. I still feel a good bit of anger and resentment towards them..holiday's aren't fun. Think about it.
Posted by Buckeye Fan on November 17, 2005, at 7:57:45
In reply to Prozac for ADHD, posted by med_empowered on November 17, 2005, at 2:01:37
Thank you all for your advice and opinions.
I appreciate it.Thank YOU Dr Bob for providing this Board for support...
BF
Posted by Dr. Bob on November 19, 2005, at 1:32:12
In reply to Re: Prozac for ADHD, posted by Buckeye Fan on November 17, 2005, at 7:57:45
This is the end of the thread.
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