Hi, Could anyone here recommend a medication for my 38year old son, his OCD and anxiety level is escalating and I am finding it hard to cope . He was on ritalin when he was a child but was taken off it at 16 . Since then I have only once asked for medication for him which realy knocked him out ,this is not what he needs, I have refused to put him on meds since then .
I have been down every route to find out if anything is troubling him, he has very little speech or understanding so its difficult to know for definate .
I think for his sake it would be good if I could find a medication to help him , so any advice would be appreciated as it cant be good for him to be at this high level of anxiety . GP has only offered the same medication he had years ago which which wasnt good for him .
Written by
Tracidu
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Hi. I found that in my sons case using a behaviour management approach that medication was not needed. Have you tried positive behaviour support from a specialist service provider ?
Hi there. I agree with eeviee. No one here can safely recommend a medication, but perhaps you could ask your GP for a referral to a psychiatrist with specific learning disability expertise. Some Adult social care teams have a ‘complex needs’ or ‘intensive interaction’ team who can help with getting to the bottom of your son’s anxiety and might also be able to make a psychiatric referral. Another route you might find helpful is the Challenging Behaviour Foundation. They have a helpline and will be able to offer advice.
Hi, I’m so sorry your son is struggling. It’s heartbreaking when we can’t help our children to thrive isn’t it? When my son turned 18 his anxiety and phobias increased. Like you I hate the thought of ‘heavy medication’ and still refuse it. However my GP has told me that Sertraline, the drug usually associated with depression has been very well suited to those people with anxiety. My son has taken it for six weeks (starting on a low dose for two weeks then 50mgs daily). His anxiety is improving (sadly not his phobias). Obviously I’m not a doctor so I don’t want to recommend anything. I just wanted to share my experience in case it helps. I really hope you find a solution for your son soon x
Thankyou for your reply , My son is under a learning disability phyciatric doctor who Im not sure what she does , when he sees her every six months she asks what meds I think he needs , if I knew I woukdnt be asking elsewere ., I have no confidence that she knows anything about LD and I feel like Im teaching her, there is nothing else in our area . I have also contacted the challenging behaviour foundations over the years . I still recieve pamflets every year , they came out to see him once a few years ago but my son was in a very calm mood as he often is ..
I do not want him on drugs but i also dont want him suffering with brain sensory overload which cant be good for his overall health. I also want him to atttend his day care and be comfortable with things going on around him , I know my son and behaviour therapy has been used from the time he was 2years old he is noe 38 but I feel this time he needs a littlee help .... I understand people dont want to recommend meds and Im sorry for asking .
You are legally entitled to switch doctors so i would ask to do that. Call the doctor's number and ask or if that doesn't work, call NHS PALS in your area for advice on how to switch.
Sorry all my text didn't send. I was sharing that all medication must suggested provided and be overseen and supervised by psychiatrist or GP. My son like others has been under years of supervision re prescribed medication for symptoms resulting from his diagnosis and the success is dependent on the specific and individual response of each person. My relationship with the consultant psychiatrist is many years and the information and observations on my son are frequent to allow for safe administration of medication. All other interventions ie behaviour support and sensory input are of equal value.
Hi, like others have said I can’t recommend any medication as your GP knows your sons history. My experience as a parent is that when my son turned 17 he started getting very anxious and developed a functional movement disorder. This was very distressing as it was very similar to having Tourette’s ( minus the swearing) I was at my wits end and tried accessing learning disability services etc. Finally we went to the GP and he was prescribed a low dose antidepressant/anxiety medication called Citlopram. I can say that for him it has been a life saver. His movement disorder has reduced by about 80/90 per cent and he is happier. I have always been anti medication but this has made such a difference.
I have always been against medication as my GP knows , but if my son is suffering mentaly and its stressing him out I wanted to find some short term help to get him over this phase ,
I dont want meds that knock him out which our GP gave him . I want my son to have the best life possible and be happy . This is why I asked here for help as I want to be informed for his next consultant appointment at the end of September as she always asks me what I think he needs ??
hi, again I’m not recommending this drug for your son, but my son is 34 and has moderate learning disabilities and suffered with very high anxiety and depression for years. He suffered trauma in his teenage years and by the age of 18 he was prescribed antidepressants which do help but the drug that has helped my son the most is quetiapine. But please don’t think I’m recommending this. A doctor/ psychiatrist must be the one who decides what and if any medication is needed. Hope this helps.
Hi, there is nothing worse than watching your loved one in torment with anxiety, which in turn causes the OCD/Tics/tourettes to escalate and in our sons case also causes self harm and sometimes aggression. Often there will be a root cause, either stress with noise or environment, or as in our 20yr old sons case constipation. We now keep a daily diary to track absolutely everything food, mood, meds, bowel movements, activity. Its still so difficult when they're unable to communicate with you.
Our son has been on Sertraline since age 9, to help anxiety and OCD. It does help, we noticed an immediate improvement in the OCD. He also went on a low dose of aripiprazole aged 13, to further help anxiety, unfortunately due to the current climate, pharmacist's are unable to supply this now, so my son will have to swap to risperidone, which is a worry introducing a new med.
I have been following the trials of a new medication called Troriluzole, which specifically treats OCD and anxiety, it sounds promising, but probably won't be available for a couple years or so.
Like most parents I never wanted my son to go on any longterm medication. But there is already a chemical imbalance causing their suffering, and if medication helps alleviate their suffering, then its the right thing to do after other causes have been ruled out first. Trust your instincts, nobody knows your son better than you.
I wish you and your son all the best and hope things settle soon.
Thankyou so much for your reply , after 38yrs of caring for my son as you say i feel I know him best . Your son sounds very similar . I will look into some of these meds so as I have answers for the consultant when we see her at the end of the month . Take care
hi. Just a few comments on some of the medication mentioned. All had side effects for my son so you will need to very carefully monitor ALL the effects of the medication. Sertraline did not agree with my son and I believe is one that can cause serious issues with some people. Risperidone made my son urinary incontinent. Although the psychiatrist denied this was the cause it wa proven by Great Ormond street to be the case. I believe it has also damaged his kidney. Each person is individual so please monitor any medication very carefully as the medical profession are not monitoring on a daily basis like us parents. I would also suggest regular blood tests to monitor any medication and it’s effects too.
Thankyou . My son only has 6 mth appointments with his consultant which is over the phone since lockdown , I will be be looking into all the meds mentioned myself and side effects , I realy dont want to go down this route but I think he is struggling with his OCD and anxiety at the moment and I have looked into any causes . This is a last resort to help him get over this stage . it was respidrone the GP gave him years ago that made him very drowsy and unsteady on his feet . I took him off it as its no life for him to be like that .. . Thanks again for your replies
Totally agree, you really do need to closely monitor. Our son was on the brand Lustral Sertraline when first prescribed, which really helped, starting at 25mg then up to 50mg, when he was on a few different generic Sertraline, we noticed a huge change in him, the ocd and anxiety would return, so we insisted he remained on the brand Lustral for consistency, he is very sensitive to medication changes, he has been OK on it since, now on 100mg. But I am so worried about there being no availability of aripiprazole, I have heard risperidone has more side effects, but there are so few options out there to help them, nothing really treats the root cause.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
staff support for someone in hospital 
anxiety 
adult with autism/ld moving on
Counselling support for young adult with moderate learning difficulties & on the Autistic Spectrum
My brother's hours at supportive living
