Medicating a 9 year old boy

[Beewoman]

My son has ADHD, learning disabilities and goes to a special school for the past 2 years.  His first year was great, this year is much harder.  His teachers have mentioned his lack of attention (no surprises there with ADHD) but they are also concerned about his relationships with others being tense.  He desperatly wants to feel part of a group and his language issues get in the way as he gets very frustrated getting his point across, together with his immaturity, and the others just simply shut him out.  Until this year there has never been question of him having any social issues, on the contrary, he was the life and soul of the playground.  It just seems as if everyone else grew up and moved on around him and therefore he migrates to children much younger in age these days.

He has more and more outbursts, his younger and older siblings have a hard time coping with him and to be honest I am at my wits end too!  Until now, we have refused medication and tried all natural things.  He seems to be quite anxious at times now, stomach aches and not wanting to go to school etc, he has a hard time controling his outbursts of anger and feels that "no-one likes" him.

We have recently seen a pyschiatrist who firmly believes that antidepressant medication would help him while we do some therapy and social groups as it would alleviate some of the mood swings.  She is suggesting Celexa, but when I check the internet it says that it is not FDA approved for use in children!

I really don't know what to do right now and need some advice.
Thanks

[hlpneeded]

We have a 9 year old son with ADHD as well and we too did not believe in medicating.  We tried many other methods such as fish oils, nutrition shakes etc.  Finally after a year of trying we finally had to give in.  Our doctor put our son on Concerta.  It is a slow release medication meaning it works over an 8 or so hour period.  This helped our son quite a bit.  Only side effect is loss of appetite.  His lunch hours he does not eat much.  There are different doses of Concerta,  Talk to your doctor about this.  Concerta is a mediacation along the lines of Ritalin but is not Ritdlin.
Hope this helps...good luck

[Beewoman]

Thanks for your answer.
It's a terrible feeling when you have tried everything, and that the doctor finally says that it would be best to medicate!  I feel like such a failure, yet I know that I have worked so hard on helping my son.

She has decided against a stimulant but has prescribed Zoloft for his anxiety as she feels that this is what is affecting his daily life more than his attention problem.  Then we shall see....

I feel like such a bad person to be medicating my child!

[Sandman2]

   It is called medication, not Voodoo.  There is a difference.  There is science behind a prescribed drug.  They are prescribed if it is needed.  I would feel bad if a doctor recommended something and I did not follow the recommendations.
   What you really do need to do is to read up on the subject of ADHD and Anxiety.  There are choices available.  You need information to make the choices.  
   I also wonder if the ADHD is making the Anxiety worse, not the other way around.  Whatever, just doing nothing (so to speak) hasn't helped and he needs help.  Don't feel bad.  Do start reading up on the subject.  Good Luck!

[Beewoman]

You make some good obervations.
I have read up on ADHD alot over the past 3 years since my son was diagnosed.  I suffer myself from anxiety but am not medicated as it is not too severe for me.  The school has mentioned the anxiety and how that is affecting his everyday life.  The pyschiatrist wants to try this medication to see if it relieves the anxiety enough so he can respond to therapy at home and at school.  She said that she felt his anxiety needed to be dealt with first before the ADHD.  

However, I do understand what you mean about the combination of ADHD and anxiety together, it's not easy to see which one is the main "culprit".  The medication should help us see what is going on once it works.

You are right though, I will trust the doctor and have started him on the medication yesterday so we shall see.

Thanks again

[jdtm]

She is suggesting Celexa -  your words

Two points - I belong to a support group for parents and teachers of children suffering from anxiety.  Several of our children take Celexa and so far, there have been no issues with that medication.  I'm not sure what SSRI's are "safe" for children; I do know that Paxil is one that should not be used unless the child is over 16 years of age.  

Often, severe anxiety can mimic ADHD/ADD and that may be what your psychiatrist is wondering - does your son indeed have ADHD?  Our child was suspected also of having ADHD but, in fact, it was the severe anxiety which caused her behaviour.  Hope  this helps ....

[Beewoman]

Interesting!
ADHD was diagnosed, however you are right that severe anxiety along with all those stomach aches and fear of dark etc etc seem to be taking over.  The teachers were more concerned with his attention in class and were more inclined to recommend we medicate him with a stimulant.

The pyschiatrist actually prescribed Zoloft in the end for the anxiety, it has been FDA approved for use in children and she felt it was a better fit for him.

Can I become part of your support group for parents of children sufffering from anxiety?

I just want to help him feel better.  He really has great empathy with other children, has a good sense of humour and can be a lot of fun, just so intense and extremely sensitive about what others think about him.  I encourage him every chance I get, but realize that medication and therapy are what we need now, while he is still young to learn coping strategies.