Zoloft for ADHD?

[CKariya]

Hello.

Does anyone have experience with using Zoloft for ADHD? For younger kids like age 7?

Also did they use it with stimulants?

And for what reasons/ symptoms were they prescribed?

Thank you

[Cjkchamp]

I haven’t heard of Zoloft to treat ADHD. They were looking to put my son on either Zoloft orProzac due to his aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms in addition to a stimulant and a non-stimulant. We opted for broad spectrum micronutrients supervised by a psychiatrist.

[ADHDmetoo in reply to Cjkchamp]

Which micronutrients are you using?

[Cjkchamp in reply to ADHDmetoo]

Hardy Nutritionals Daily Essential Nutrients! There is also another company called True Hope. The psychiatrist didn’t recommend one brand over another.

[ChristinaVesq in reply to Cjkchamp]

Can I ask is there a specific micronutrient you use, or is there like a multi-vitamin option? I wanted to look into this with the doctor but I have no idea where to start. Thank you!

[CKariya in reply to Cjkchamp]

Yes this is what the psychiatrist wanted to do. For aggressive behavior they wanted to add Zoloft. So I was not sure.

Thank you

[ADHDmetoo in reply to Cjkchamp]

Our son has ADHD with anxiety and depression. We didn't realize the anxiety and depression until last spring break when he had a major breakdown when we went to Disneyworld. When we got back we got with our psychologist and started zoloft. I also give him Omega-3 and Vitamin D. We stopped giving him ADHD meds so we could figure out the anxiety issue first. After giving him zoloft and the vitamins, we noticed that a lot of his issues went away and we now see the ADHD which isn't quite as bad as before and we got our boy back. We think the stimulants increased his anxiety, making it worse. We did a DNA test for him and found that the stimulants are in the red zone or him and lose efficacy (which is what we experienced before while in school). We are looking to try the non-stimulant Stratera (which was in the "green" zone) for him to see if it helps with focus. Additionally, we recently found out about a book that we are reading and will try with our son. It has rave reviews and although it is focused on Autism, it seems many with other neurological challenges have benefited from the protocol. We're going to try it after reading all the rave reviews. amazon.com/NEMECHEK-PROTOCO... (p.s. I heard that 50% of people with ADHD also have anxiety and depression so it's important to look for these signs if you know your child has ADHD. I wish we had known before :(.

[Cjkchamp in reply to ADHDmetoo]

We did gene testing as well. Adderall was in the green for my son, but he became extremely aggressive on it. The psychiatrist really wouldn’t look at the testing and said they just used it to look at to see metabolization. Strattera was also in the green for him and I kept asking for him to be switched. It wasn’t until after a major meltdown in February that she considered it. Fortunately we started the micronutrients first and now he is not on Focalin XR, Focalin IR, or Guanfacine ER.

[ADHDmetoo in reply to Cjkchamp]

Our son had major meltdowns and an epic one over last spring break which got our psychiatrist to put him on zoloft. I think if the depression is not treated, then the stimulants can exasperate the issue so it can look like the stimulants caused it, but it's really just underlying depression which you need to address first before the attention issue. After we put our son on zoloft and other vitamins, the anger went away. Now we are in the process of finding the right attention medication.

[Cjkchamp in reply to ADHDmetoo]

We put our son on broad spectrum micronutrients under the supervision of the psychiatrist and he is now off all medications. Having great success and I couldn’t be ore pleased. I’m glad you have also found success.

[GoCougs in reply to ADHDmetoo]

How and where did you get connected with a DNA test to find out what medications worked for your son?

[ADHDmetoo in reply to GoCougs]

That was a bit of a hassle because you have to have a doctor sign off on it, and none of our doctors 'believed' in it. After some convincing, we got our pediatrician to sign off on it. We went straight to the DNA testing company (AccessDx) to aquire the test.

[Elijah1]

Zoloft is used for anxiety and depression treatment. Inattention and increased activity can occur with those 2 disorders (that is the reason for getting a good history). If anxiety/depression and ADHD occur together, then each one is separately treated with the appropriate intervention (so giving a stimulant with Zoloft is an acceptable management plan).

[CKariya in reply to Elijah1]

Thank you

[UsuallyStressed]

Yes, my son (7 at the time, just turned 8) has been on Zoloft for the anxiety side of his ADHD. He doesn't respond well to stimulants. His ADHD is the aggressive /overreaction type. He's also on Amantadine HCl, and Abilify. Like the other 10 Rx we have tried since he turned 6 these two aren't great but zolft appears to be helpful for his anxiety. He was on Prozac first but had suicidal thoughts. We've since done a Genesight test which confirmed that Prozac wasn't a good match but zolft is.

[123boys]

Yes, my son is on Sertraline (Zoloft) for outburst behavior. He did not do well on stimulants (we did not see much change and he was very tired). We saw benefits at first but are now trying to take him off due to weight gain. We have dropped his dose down and are going to try adding some fish oil etc.

Good luck!

[Kat0762]

Yes. My son is 10 and has been taking Zoloft for the past 2 years. It's made a huge difference with his anxiety and mild depression. He takes it with Ritalin long acting 20mg. No problems.

[Chigger01]

Mine is on Prozac and adderall. The Prozac is for the anxiety and anger that comes with being constantly feeling like a failure