Should my daughter take Klonopin for her social anxiety? need help badly

Hi I am a mother of daughter in which I love but I don't know what to do. She has been in therapy for almost a year and it is more helping with some problems at home then her social phobia. She was recently prescribed zoloft 25mg in the beginning of July. It helped even out her moods and decrease her OCD routines and thoughts. Although it seemed to be working for the first two weeks for her social phobia it seemed it got worse after that. So the doctor increased her dosage 4 days ago to 50mg but it seems it is the same maybe even a little more anxiouse. She is much better with her OCD and depressive episodes just not her main issue which is her anxiety. School is starting soon and she isnt prepared to go back like this. How long does a dosage increase take to work? and is it normal for her anxiouseness to get worse with medication? She stopped taking her adderall (adderrall) xr right when she started zoloft also. Now I am thinkin about mentioning klonopin perscribed as needed till she finds a stable dosage on the zoloft. Please help, any answers would be greatly appreciated. I dont want her on all these meds but it is debilitating for her at school she doesnt talk and she gets performance anxiety just having a conversation or at random. She had one anxiety attack in her freshman year and she is only 15. Any ideas on what I can do, do help her through this?

[Paxiled]

If the therapy is helping, I'd avoid the klonopin.  Benzos are addictive drugs, and there is evidence that they interfere with the brain's ability to learn to adapt to stress, making them difficult to stop taking.  If the Zoloft is working, she should continue to improve in therapy, but these meds can be problematic as well, so piling on the meds at that age should only be done if nothing else works.  Now, it's true that anti-depressants can be stimulating to many people and cause more anxiety, especially for young people whose brains are still developing.  It also sounds like she's been diagnosed with all kinds of things, but these diagnoses should be taken with a grain of salt.  Diagnosing people with OCD and hyperactivity and all that has become a growth industry for psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies -- the important thing is to focus on her issues, which are depression and anxiety for whatever reason.  If her depression is easing, it will make it easier to work on her anxiety in therapy, if she has the right therapist, which is key.  Those of us who are depressed tend to want to avoid, and that makes the kind of actions necessary to deal with anxiety all the harder.  Discuss this with her psychiatrist and with your daughter -- meds are often the best we've got, but they don't cure, they just treat symptoms, and your daughter seems to be working on her problems already.  It won't be easy no matter how medicated she is.  I'd also discuss skipping school with her therapist and psychiatrist -- avoiding makes these things harder to beat.  In the end, whatever you decide to do, the core is to deal with the issues she's facing early rather than later, when they're deeply ingrained.

[whitecat78]

i agree with paxiled.

[anonymous9264]

Yeah research "benzo withdrawals." They should really be a last resort I think.

SSRIs are much safer and don't have to be used only in times of extreme desperation, but benzos are really pretty crude and make you feel intoxicated and don't work long term. The drugs they are most similar to are alcohol and opiates, benzos are used in cases of extremely debilitating anxiety.

[Northcoast]

I feel for you and your daughter.  I'm on Klonopin myself 2x a day.  Seems to help...I think.  I know when I've forgotten to take one because I get anxious.  So, it must help when I DO take it which is 99% of the time. But I really don't want to be taking meds so I'm considering tapering off and trying more natural ways to deal with my anxiety.  I would also take a look at your daughter's diet.  No caffeine since it just aggravates anxiety.  And refined sugar isn't good either.  And be sure she's getting daily exercise, even if it's just a walk.  It burns off some of that anxious feeling and helps you get in shape which always makes me feel better.  I recently went to a Naturopath and she stressed getting daily exercise and eating more veggies & fruit (but not too much fruit since it has a lot of sugar in it).  Less processed foods.   "Lean, green and beans" is what she said.  She said my poor diet could be contributing to my anxiety and depression.  She also put me on fish oil since I eat no fish at all but we all need that healthy fat.  And she agreed that I should continue Vitamin D3 supplements since most people are deficient.  Vitamin D3 helps with mood.   My girlfriend's high school age son is going through some issues like your daughter.  Tell her that she's not alone with this and that she WILL get through it.  Good luck!

[Relayagain]

thankyou all for your answers. I only want whats best for my daughter. The meds have been extremely helping with her moods and she seems much happier. It is just odd that she cant seem to want to try to go out anywhere or when she does she is very uncomfortable. She has stopped seeing her phychologist the past 4 weeks because she says she simply can not deal with it and doesnt want to think about it. I want her to go but it seems that even though I think shes great my daughter says that she tells me more then she tell the therapist. Personally I would rather her in a support group but I dont know of any for teens. I am just gettin really concerned for her and school because if she can't handle the first day and still has anxiety then I know it is going to be a whirl wind for her. She is not trying out for soccer again even though she made the team and got most improved. She didnt try out for softball because she was so scared of not making it and she is very good not to mention they only cut one person and that was because of there grades. Anyways I just want to help her through this I just have no clue how.

[Northcoast]

Perhaps she just doesn't click with her therapist.  Is it a man or a woman?  I would suggest trying someone else.  And when I was younger I was in group therapy due to my social anxiety.  So I would look for someone who works with kids who does group therapy.  I do know that facing your fears causes even more anxiety than just cocooning yourself at home.  But it is so much better to face the fears and overcome them than to hide from them.  Also, you can always meet with her therapist with her to try to push her along the path of making a connection with the therapist.  Then you can bow out.  Good luck.