Paxil Toxicity?

[Mibabies]

My daughter is 10 yrs. old.She was placed on Paxil 10 mg February of last year.Because of her behavior they placed her on 15 mg of Paxil in November.She has continued to have problems.
I am looking at behavior conditions that maybe causeing her problems.Because her behavior was out of control before the Paxil and has recently  become more dominant.Her aunt who is an RN feels strongly it is a reaction from the Paxil.She believes with the increased dosage she has become toxic.I believe that if my daughter has a condition that is triggered by antidepressants alone without other needed meds,this could be the case.But to base it solely on the Paxil,I must disagree.In your opinion based on these facts given,is what she is stating possible?Especially having the Paxil in her system all this time.I understand more studies are needed with children and this medication,but on your medical opinion,does this make any sense?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Was your daughter started on Paxil because of problems with anger? Or did the angry behavior emerge once she was on the Paxil? If the former is the case, it's unlikely that the Paxil is exacerbating the behavior. It almost certainly is not having a toxic effect. Discuss it with her prescribing doctor; if there is concern that the Paxil may not be helping her, you can always taper it (don't stop in abruptly) and measure the difference. Be sure to enter into any plan with the guidance of the prescribing doctor. There are other SSRI's that can be employed if Paxil is not useful for her.

[Mibabies]

She was placed on the Paxil for depression from the passing of her father.She showed anger before the Paxil.I don't think the antidepressant alone is helping anymore.Though she is not showing severe signs of the depression, outbursts and rages have dominanted her mood swings.I am eger to see her psych because I am wondering if ADD or Bipolar maybe possible.Depression has been dx in my family.Illnesses have not on either side due to ignorance and / or lack of acceptance there could be a problem.She was showing signs of ADD about 5 yrs ago.And her therapist believed I discribed signs of Bipolar in her father about a yr before his death.Him and his family were not approachable towards that subject and never would accept the thought so it was never persued.I am conserned knowing antidepressants can trigger rages and such in these situations.Thank you for your insight.It is truely helpful in my search for answers to help get my little girl back from what ever she maybe suffering from.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Your description adds support to the notion that, at the very least, the medication plan should be evaluated. It does not sound like the Paxil is agitating your daughter, though it may not be helping. Another SSRI might be more useful, and consideration can be given (if the symptoms are severe enough) to adding clonidine or a mood stabilizer (e.g., Depakote or Tegretol). Remember, it's the symtom, not the diagnosis, that is the focus of treatment. So in some sense it's a moot point whether the Mood Disorder is depression or bipolar d/o. The anger is the target symptom.

[mompy]

My son was also treated with Paxil a couple of years ago for explosive behavior.  He had been diagnosed with AD/OD and was unmanageable.  I discovered the book, Is This Your Child? by Doris Rapp.  She has several other books including Is This Your Child's World? Go to: www.drrapp.org

We found through elimination diets that our son's explosive/angry behavior was caused by corn products.  Removing corn from his diet has cured given us our son back.  We also questioned bipolar disorder and depression.  There is some evidence of bipolar symptoms in my husband's family.  

I believe now these symptoms are/were probably undiagnosed food intolerances.  It is a lot of work to change your diet.  We basically eaat only whole foods.  It beats dosing out the paxil everyday - trust me!