Anxiety Medication NO SSRI

[melanie]

Danny takes buspar and has for a while .Not a high dosage (I think it needs to increase) He cant really take meds he doesnt do well at all on them Buspar seems very weak .

 

Any one use something that helps?

 

IV went well on friday he is crawling out of his skin for the past 2 days and Im oing to have a breakdown before him.

This happens and then he calms down

Cant be soon enough for me

 

Melanie

[peglem]

Valerian root...tastes/smells very nasty, but really helps w/ antsy pants and relaxing.

[GatsMom]

Danny takes buspar and has for a while .Not a high dosage (I think it needs to increase) He cant really take meds he doesnt do well at all on them Buspar seems very weak .

 

Any one use something that helps?

 

IV went well on friday he is crawling out of his skin for the past 2 days and Im oing to have a breakdown before him.

This happens and then he calms down

Cant be soon enough for me

 

Melanie

 

Much as I hate the thought of my child being on a benzodiazipine, we would have never survived this long without Clonazepam .5mg. Benzo's are fast acting anti-anxiety medications, not SSRI's. The effects are felt within a half hour or less. My son is only given it when he's really anxious over something. He started taking this during his last exacerbation 3 years ago and I took a lot of heat about it stating that I was giving him something that could be addictive. I'm here to tell you that when his symptoms remit and the anxiety abates, Clonazepam is the last thing he wants. We would be lost without the option of this medication and I thank God daily for the science that created it and the help it brings him in a crisis. Try everything, but don't let anyone beat you up about using this class of medication if needed.

 

Best wishes,

Gat's mom

[peglem]

Danny takes buspar and has for a while .Not a high dosage (I think it needs to increase) He cant really take meds he doesnt do well at all on them Buspar seems very weak .

 

Any one use something that helps?

 

IV went well on friday he is crawling out of his skin for the past 2 days and Im oing to have a breakdown before him.

This happens and then he calms down

Cant be soon enough for me

 

Melanie

 

Much as I hate the thought of my child being on a benzodiazipine, we would have never survived this long without Clonazepam .5mg. Benzo's are fast acting anti-anxiety medications, not SSRI's. The effects are felt within a half hour or less. My son is only given it when he's really anxious over something. He started taking this during his last exacerbation 3 years ago and I took a lot of heat about it stating that I was giving him something that could be addictive. I'm here to tell you that when his symptoms remit and the anxiety abates, Clonazepam is the last thing he wants. We would be lost without the option of this medication and I thank God daily for the science that created it and the help it brings him in a crisis. Try everything, but don't let anyone beat you up about using this class of medication if needed.

 

Best wishes,

Gat's mom

We do have an "as needed" prescription for diazepam (valium)....I used to be very, very reluctant to use it...now I feel a bit guilty for not giving it more, as there were times that she really suffered because I hated to give it. She really doesn't need it very much anymore...and at this point the valerian root works about as well.

[melanie]

Thanks Peg how much valerian root?

 

How much clonzapan?

 

Love you guys

 

Melanie

[Kayanne]

Danny takes buspar and has for a while .Not a high dosage (I think it needs to increase) He cant really take meds he doesnt do well at all on them Buspar seems very weak .

 

Any one use something that helps?

 

IV went well on friday he is crawling out of his skin for the past 2 days and Im oing to have a breakdown before him.

This happens and then he calms down

Cant be soon enough for me

 

Melanie

 

Much as I hate the thought of my child being on a benzodiazipine, we would have never survived this long without Clonazepam .5mg. Benzo's are fast acting anti-anxiety medications, not SSRI's. The effects are felt within a half hour or less. My son is only given it when he's really anxious over something. He started taking this during his last exacerbation 3 years ago and I took a lot of heat about it stating that I was giving him something that could be addictive. I'm here to tell you that when his symptoms remit and the anxiety abates, Clonazepam is the last thing he wants. We would be lost without the option of this medication and I thank God daily for the science that created it and the help it brings him in a crisis. Try everything, but don't let anyone beat you up about using this class of medication if needed.

 

Best wishes,

Gat's mom

 

My husband also had good results with clonzapam for his panic attacks...it does kick in quickly, and it is okay for "as needed" use.

[MomWithOCDSon]

We, too, used clonanzepam during the tough days. I think, at DS's worst, we were up to maybe 1.0 mg., but as Gat's mom said, I would try 0.5 mg. and see if that takes the edge off sufficiently.

 

We've tried valerian root only a couple of times in the last few months, and it, too, seems to help, though not as dramatically or quickly as the clonanzepam. It's attribute, though, is that it is herbal and available over the counter. Sorry, I'm not sure what the dosage is; we just gave him a single capsule.

[peglem]

Thanks Peg how much valerian root?

 

How much clonzapan?

 

Love you guys

 

Melanie

On the valerian- try 1 capsule, and if that doesn't seem to be enough, try 2. BTW, valerian root works great for menstrual cramps.

[Worried_Dad]

Just a word of caution on the benzos, Melanie. I know they've worked for some kids when used judiciously - and that's great - but these were a disaster for our son. We tried 'em all: ativan, valium, klonopin. They seemed to help a little at first, but then they made things much, much worse during exacerbations. Dr. K warned us that he had seen these types of meds put PANDAS kids "over the edge" (especially ativan). On his advice, we tapered off ativan and zyprexa (which we were using daily, per local psychiatrist). Our son's scariest symptoms - rages, crying jags, constant pacing - vanished within 2 days of stopping these meds.

 

Every child is different when it comes to psych meds, I think. One neurologist told us that, after a brain injury (like PANDAS or SC), it's impossible to predict how any particular psych med will affect a specific patient. He just advised starting with a very small dose, assessing impact, and increasing dosage very slowly.

 

Hope you find an answer that works for Danny. Good luck!

[melanie]

Just a word of caution on the benzos, Melanie. I know they've worked for some kids when used judiciously - and that's great - but these were a disaster for our son. We tried 'em all: ativan, valium, klonopin. They seemed to help a little at first, but then they made things much, much worse during exacerbations. Dr. K warned us that he had seen these types of meds put PANDAS kids "over the edge" (especially ativan). On his advice, we tapered off ativan and zyprexa (which we were using daily, per local psychiatrist). Our son's scariest symptoms - rages, crying jags, constant pacing - vanished within 2 days of stopping these meds.

 

Every child is different when it comes to psych meds, I think. One neurologist told us that, after a brain injury (like PANDAS or SC), it's impossible to predict how any particular psych med will affect a specific patient. He just advised starting with a very small dose, assessing impact, and increasing dosage very slowly.

 

Hope you find an answer that works for Danny. Good luck!

 

 

Trying the Valerian root first I have a psych appoint over the break.Im getting him off the risperadal.He takes .5 mg Ive had enough of that crap .It did work ok for about 2 weeks but I dont think its doing enough to justify using it.

 

melanie

[danddd]

I agree, risperdal was "crap" for us too. At .3mg we went off. I swear it made the meltdowns more frequent, and more intense.

[peglem]

Allie once had to go off risperdal cold turkey- switching psychiatrists, insurance crap- I just couldn't get any for her. The first week was sheer ######. But it was followed by 2 of the best weeks she's ever had in her life! Then she got strep again....