Zoloft for 7 yr old

[StellarMom]

Hi Everyone! I am writing because I know that people search for info on different medications and I wanted to share about my son and Zoloft. First, it was a huge struggle for me to put my son on medication after his trials of methylphenidate and Adderall did not help his meltdowns at all. I finally was able to find a board certified clinical psychiatrist who honed in on his anxiety and suggested either Prozac or Zoloft. His dad deals with anxiety and has had success with Zoloft so we went with that. They say that it usually takes about 2 weeks to notice a difference, but I noticed a difference the second day!

His meltdowns are much diminished, his appetite and interest in eating is much better, he has a lot more patience for things, and in general he seems a lot less tense and irritable.

I'm still doing behavioral therapy and we are also working with the Amen Clinic to do all the integrative evaluations they offer, but I wanted to share some positive feedback for Zoloft. It was an agonizing decision, but I am glad that we found such a skilled psychiatrist and didn't just continue down the "trial" method with the developmental pediatrician.

[Onthemove1971]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I always wonder if when medication doesn't work if there is a better way of knowing why. I have a great theory "when it is working... it works". I know that sounds strange, but with our son we knew he could not function without the correct dose, type and timing. Once that was dialed in we saw such a difference in him.

We also had the best experience with our child psychiatrist, she even wrote us a letter to school and we got his 504 plan, which he didnt have for years.

Thanks

[JJMom16]

Thank you for sharing. My 5 year old also has anxiety, and it is the source of a lot of his poor behaviors. He's taking Celexa (SSRI) now, but I'm not convinced we have things 100% right.

I agree that a skilled psychiatrist is really valuable when figuring out meds!

[Tiredmommaof3]

My son has been on Zoloft since he was six. We struggled not wanting to put him on medication at such a young age. He had been in occupational therapy , speech therapy and counseling since he was two. Having said all that putting him on an SSRI was the best decision for him. He has had no side effects besides an upset stomach initially but that has resolved. His overall outlook has changed he has more positive and less angry.

[StellarMom in reply to Tiredmommaof3]

I'm so glad to hear that it has helped your son! My son hasn't really had any side effects either.

[SurvivorFan]

This is a great post! My son is 6 (ADHD) and also suffered terribly from anxiety. We placed him on fluoxetine (prozac) 2 months ago and it has truly been life changing. I also struggled a bit with putting him on an SSRI but am SO glad I pushed for something else to help him. He is so much more relaxed, playful, and outgoing. It has taken him out of a small "safe bubble" and opened so many more doors for him.

[StellarMom in reply to SurvivorFan]

I'm so glad to hear this! I can't encourage people enough to find a good psychiatrist who can give a more specialized approach to finding the right med. So many go straight to the stimulants that aren't always helpful.

[Mylumps]

Thank you for sharing a success story! Our doctor just put our 7 year old daughter on lexapro after trying clonidine and guanfacine for tantrums, meltdowns and just about every oppositional behavior you can think of. She has ADHD so she’s already on concerta but it didn’t do anything for her ODD. I’m hoping we’ll see a difference in a few weeks once it gets into her system. We desperately need some peace in our home.

[Fridacat]

Thank you so much for sharing. Going through this same decision now…any hints of how to get my son to take it?? Got it in liquid form and tried it yesterday and he couldn’t tolerate the taste…

[StellarMom in reply to Fridacat]

I got the pills and they are like the size of a grain of rice- and then he only takes 12mg so I split it and put in a small spoon of apple sauce.

[CatzBCrazy]

My ADHD 10 yr old son has been on Zoloft for about 6 mo. He has had anxiety and began to display OCD behaviors like pulling his eyelashes out, fixations , etc.. he’s on 50 mg. The behaviors have not stopped so I’m wondering if his Dr should up the dose or try something new. Any thoughts? He takes Jornay at night and wakes up awesome. Total game changer.

[StellarMom in reply to CatzBCrazy]

What kind of medical provider do you have to handle the medicine? My son's psychiatrist did a whole anxiety evaluation to hone in on exactly what type of anxiety symptoms he was having. I am new to this, but I am of the opinion if things aren't working or have bad side effects to discontinue. How long has he been on that much Zoloft? Are you doing anything else in terms of therapy or supplements?

[CatzBCrazy]

He sees a behavioral therapist and is in a social skills group. I have an appt with his psychiatrist this Thurs so I’d like to bring this up. . He takes accentrate as well.

[StellarMom in reply to CatzBCrazy]

That's great that he's in a social skills group! I have heard those are excellent. How did you found out about it? Praying you will find the right solution to help your son.

[Lanego]

Thanks for sharing your experience. My son was started on stimulants for ADHD but was more irritable and angry on it. We went to see a nurse practitioner who works with a psychiatrist and she evaluated our son and said he had a mood disorder and recommended Zoloft with CBT. We’re hesitant to try Zoloft, especially my husband, but reading your experience is helpful. Thank you!

[Onthemove1971]

Thanks for sharing. It is great you found the perfect specialist to help. I hope you also set up an educational plan.

School is very stressful and I am sure his anxiety does not help.

Take care,

[MommyP]

Hi, I am very interested to hear about the Amen Clinic. I am considering that. How did it go? Was it helpful?

[StellarMom in reply to MommyP]

In terms of having a functional team with an integrative dr to recommend supplements it was helpful, but I don’t think we benefitted from the very costly SPECT scan with my son being so young. I don’t think it provided any additional information for the price. They were able to get us seen much faster than other drs at the time and it is hard finding a good functional Dr. Knowing what I know now I would go with a child psychiatrist and then find a good functional referral separately, but then I was desperate & we did get good information on supplements which I still use. Overall it’s also helpful to rule things out. Probably more useful for adults than younger kids.

[MommyP in reply to StellarMom]

thank you! Do you think supplements are helpful on their own, or is psychiatric medication more helpful?

[StellarMom in reply to MommyP]

I saw the most dramatic change with a small amount of medication. I think supplements are important, but we could not function without the medication to stop the meltdowns. I think some folks try the nutritional approach and swear by eliminating certain foods and using supplements, but life was not manageable for us until I put my kids on medication for anxiety.