Posted by Ilene on January 2, 2004, at 12:42:33
In reply to Any advice about meds?, posted by cherdi814 on January 1, 2004, at 20:12:35
> Hi everyone-
> I am a single Mom trying to cope with not one, but two children with depressive problems. My greatest concern is with my youngest daughter who has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Bi-Polar, borderline personality and chronic depression. The Bi Polar was diagnosed two years ago and the ODD recently. She has been taking Effexor, Topamaxx and recently Prozac was added. As recent as 3 months ago and continuing, she has had panic and rage attacks, an elevation in aggressive behaviors, paranoia, and almost delusional thinking. It has become almost a psychotic behavior problem! She was placed in an alternative school (8th grade) several weeks ago which seems to aggravate her even more often. I am now the enemy and she can be so amazingly cruel at times...and the times are many. I feel I have lost my daughter and find myself trying to defend even her medication. My question is now, can the medication actually be contributing to her escalated aggressiveness? The doctor took her off the effexor, yesterday and now has raised the topamaxx to 200 mg/day and the prozac to 40 mg/day. Can anyone tell me if this will work on a 14 year-old child? Thanks-
I'm sorry you are in such an unenviable situation. Fourteen is a tough age a for a girl, even one who doesn't have a psychiatric disorder. It's hard not to let them push your buttons, but try to remember that a even a "normal" teenager is a self-centered creature who has little empathy for those around her, especially mom, the person who tries to run her life.I do't know how these medications work in children, but Prozac triggered psychotic depression in a (adult) cyberfriend. Also, ADs can trigger mania in bipolar disorder. Especially as this is the newest med I'd ask the pdoc to take her off it.
Did she go off Effexor cold turkey? Withdrawal can be wicked, even when the dosage is tapered.
I would definitely keep her medicated. Articles I've read about depression and bipolar disorder say that the longer the disease is untreated the worse it is likely to become. I wish my depression had been diagnosed and treated when I was still a kid.
Some drugs for BP and epilepsy can help anxiety. I don't know if Topamax is one of them. I take Neurontin (an anti-epileptic that the manufacturer was promoting off-label for BP) to help me sleep. The pdoc thinks it should help the anxiety although I haven't noticed anything. I also take Klonopin, but not on a regular basis. I don't know if it or related drugs (e.g. Ativan, Xanax) are prescribed for children.
Good luck, and please don't listen to people who tell you your daughter shouldn't be on drugs. These are medicines, and she needs them.
Ilene
poster:Ilene
thread:295548
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031231/msgs/295749.html