9 yr.old son on Celexa for O.C.D., anxiety, tic disorder

[pegnanie]

My 9 yr. old (soon to be 10) son is on Celexa for OCD and anxiety, and is doing very well. A friend of mine who's son is also on Celexa noted that her sons penis seemed to have shrunk while on this medication. I thought she was being ridiculous, and ignorant!! ( this was last year) Then my little guy went on meds.  It might sound crazy but recently my son was doing a quick change of clothes in his room. I looked up and noticed how tiny,tiny ( he always seemed to be on the average to large size) his penis was. I was shocked!!!!  It's not just my imagination. His penis seems to have shrunk. I know that Celexa can cause sexual dysfunction in adults because the Celexa effects testosterone, and I've been told that young boys need testosterone for growth and normal genitilia growth. I'm really frightened. I'm not concerned with his eventual sex life as an adult. Hopefully he'll be off his meds, I don't know. But he already struggles with issues, I'd hate for him to have another one, especially this kind of physical one! Have you ever heard of this side effect on children. I know adderral and some stimulants can stunt growth, so maybe this is possible, I hope not. Any info. you can share with me would be greatly appreciated. I'll wait for a response. In addition I will be seeing his Psychiatrist and his Pediatrician within this month and will broach the subject.
Thank you,
Pegnanie

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

No, the medication does not affect penis size. What you more likely observed was the impact of the body/room temperature. The testicles will be drawn upward in cool air in order to maintain suitable temperature, and the same process can make it appear that the size of the penis has changed. It really has not. This apparent change is a response to body temperature (obviously affected by the temperature of the surrounding air).

[pegnanie]

Thank you eniko. I went to that site and didn't have much luck. I will be seeing my son's psychiatrist and pediatritian in a couple of weeks and will broach this subject. I'm very concerned. Thanks again.

[eniko]

I have read a lot about antidepressants on children. Go on www.antidepressantsfacts.com and check it out, you can learn a lot about antidepressant effects.