Lost on diagnosis, what causes social anxiety, pacing , laughing to yourself and low self esteem , no friends.

[Teddybear318]

My 17yr old son who has Anxiety/ADHD, paces in house back and forth all night , has difficulty sleeping. He is also laughing at thoughts that come to him. He has no friends in school. He is on cymbalta- new for 2months now for anxiety. Sees a therapist weekly but I feel waste, nothing changes. No one can really tell me what he has? I thought spectrum ? But no definite answer yet. Looking for ideas. He is bright, works out . He preferably not take medication unless it's absolutely necessary. Prefers holistic approach. But school situation is awkward since he has these gigling and pacing episodes.

[somiya_2003]

Hey I am 19 and I am almost like your son I do pace a lot since (I am a combined type)I love the change of scenery and it helps me recall and if he takes meds it would be advised not to be out of it as it can cause imbalance so said my doc and people with ADHD do go through insomnia, I do giggle if I am out of meds due to intense daydreaming sessions lol but check with your doc if he has Tourettes as stimulants can increase it. If you think he is not getting enough sleep his meds will make me tired enough to shut him down, removing caffeine and adding dairy is especially useful for me.To conclude routine is important, help him with that, ask him what he likes to do each day and add freedom to the schedule (instead of writing maths this hr/science this hr, write study time) and let him have a good meal before taking meds (I get really grumpy without food), with exercise it was very difficult for me due to dehydration and high blood pressure so I study when my meds are effective and then drink milk and workout, I get tired so I bath eat a simple meal and then go to sleep.

[Slmndrs]

What does your son feel about it? You feel it is waste, and you feel anxiety about his lack of friends, but at 17 his feelings are more important than yours when it comes to his life and experiences.

It sounds like the difficulty sleeping is a good target here. Everybody does better with good sleep, no matter what other diagnoses they have or don’t have.

Has he had a sleep study? He’s not too young for sleep apnea or UARS.

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Is he on medication for ADHD?

[plantaunt]

what does his doctor say? - who prescribed the cymbalta, should be a psychiatrist not just primary care doc.... how does your son feel about therapy and about lack of friends; what does he feel is a problem or helpful ? That is fantastic that he works out, keep doing that. But careful with stimulants