Side effects of SSRIs?

[lmkmip67]

I just got home from Ian's IEP meeting today. We were talking about the hyperness, impulsiveness, lack of filters, etc. Some of the changes they have seen seem to coincide with when he want on Prozac. They do comment the OCD seems to be a big change, much less. But all the rest is much worse. So while it seems to be helping the OCD, I am wondering if any others have seen ADHD type of issues on prozac? The OCD is so much less, but this isn't good either. Oh, and the tics are still around. I am waiting for the augmentic refill from Dr. B, as i know they had no power or phone for a while. The end of this week will be my two week test. His OCD has ramped up a bit, tics back, mood stinks, etc. But I am most curious about the prozac.....

[LindaMW]

We did not have a positive result with Prozac. I did not see much help for OCD and it did make him very hpyer. I think the dr termed it hypermanic. After 2 months on it he ended up having hallucinations and they took him off. At this point he has only had antibiotics to help with the syptoms.

 

I know we want to help our children in every way we can, but sometimes it is so hard because they do not know what really works for this.

 

Best of luck with whatever path you choose. Right now my son is having a flare up and I am hoping the dr will change the antibiotics. Have you noticed when the OCD is bad that he holds his hands in a gripping like way? That is always a sign that I know the OCD is back.

 

[LNN]

I don't have any direct experience with SSRIs. My kids have instead used tyrosine (a dopamine precursor) or tryptophan (a sertotonin precursor). But I'll toss this out just as an idea. I recently read a chapter in a book published by Johns Hopkins by a doctor who treats depression using tyrosine instead of the typical MAOI. His theory is this - you get the depression due to a shortage of dopamine (and to a lesser extent other neurotransmitters). MAOIs work by slowing down the reuptake mechanism of the receiving neurotransmitter. So the same thing as an SSRI except it's working on dopamine transmitters not serotonin transmitters.

 

He argues that over time, the MAOI inhibitor stops working is because eventually, the amount of dopamine in your system breaks down and no matter how much you up the dose of an MAOI and slow down the reuptake inhibitor, if there's not enough grease between the ball bearings, you're going to have problems. He suggests that instead, you should leave the reuptake mechanism alone and focus on adding more grease into the system (dopamine in the case of depression, serotonin in the case on anxiety disorders). But..he also says you can't just add dopamine or serotonin. You need to add both into the system because the balance between the two is important. So in your case, he'd argue that focusing only on the serotonin piece may not be sufficient.

 

If you feel there's benefit to the SSRI, one option would be to research tyrosine as a supplement to keep the two neurotransmitters in balance. Or perhaps look into using dopamine/serotonin precursor supplements in lieu of reuptake inhibitors. Dopamine plays a role in impulse control and for my son, too much of it or not enough of it leads to ADHD behavior. James Greenblatt, a professor at Tufts, has a private practice that uses supplements instead of inhibitors http://www.integrativepsychmd.com/ I don't have direct experience with him but I think one or two forum members have seen him. Perhaps they can give you some feedback. Just food for thought. Hopefully, the abx will also help!

[lmkmip67]

Interesting. I will check out the link.

 

I don't notice him clasping his hands, no.

 

THanks for the replies!