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Zoloft, children and talking to yourself

I have a son 10yrs old that was diagnosed with ADHD at age 4yrs and has been on a variety of medications since.  We was also dx'd in the last 3yrs with anxiety and tic disorder. His current medications are Concerta 54mg twice a day (second dose at noon/school), Klonipin 1/4 of a .5 in the morning and at noon and a whole .5mg at night, Zoloft 25mg once a day, focalin 5mg in am, and clonidine 1/2 tab x 2/day and 1 full .1mg at night.  

He was started on the Zoloft in April of 2006 with the hopes of getting him off of the Klonopin and treating the anxiety however what happened is he became more hyper but with the smaller dose seemed to be more at ease and so was left on half the original does 25mg.  

We moved to another city and I have a new doctor for him.  He is in public school for the first time becuase I wanted to explore the increased special ed services they offer vs private schools.  

Today I meet with all of the school special ed leadership to include the principals and found out that my son has been talking to himself incessantly at school, loudly and disrupting the class.  His talking to himself is random and not associated with the topic being discussed.  He often gets stuck on whatever conversation that he is having on a particular phrase or word and gets himself frustrated.  

I was horrified to hear this while the teachers had thought this was an ongoing behavior I assured them this was a new occurance in school.  

The new doctor/phychiatrist is determined to get him off of the amount of stimulants and can see nothing else.  He has been on all of the other medications in excess of 2 yrs.  He has never has this type of what I would consider phychotic behavior before in class just the hallmark ADHD symptoms-a lot of hyperactivity that the clonidine had corrected.  

I am sure that this behavior is r/t to his zoloft addition within the year.  He also has moments of laughter that are inappropriate to what is going on also- and is sometimes r/t his self-talk.  He denies hearing voices though.

I doctor (new one) stated that the small dose that he was taking 12.5mg was so small that I didn't need to wean him just d/c it.  However I verified the dosage on the bottle and realized that he was actually taking 25mg and not 12.5- not sure how this was confused.  I have sought the services of another doctor becuase I did not like the style of this new physician also (not related to the current situation).

All this history to lead up to- have you heard of this behavior associated with Zoloft.  I understand he is also changing and developing at the same time but this is a distinct and new behavior not seem in school.  He is also doing at home and I can't really remember when it started but it hasn't been long- he has always had some different behaviors at home that I have had to tolerate due to the low in his medications.

What chance is there that his anxiety is r/t to high stimulants doses?  Thanks for your time.
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Avatar universal
What did we do before psychopharmacology?  I know, we parented.

The advent of ADD or ADHD is corollary with the advent of the practice of sticking our kids in day care.  In 1986, there were only about 600 known cases in the US of either of these disorders, and when Ritalin started sponsoring the research into this disorder, what do you know, tens of thousands of diagnoses sprouted up.  Sounds like a conflict of interest.

If a kid is not truly ADD or ADHD and we put him on drugs, those drugs can make him more hostile and psychotic.  Zoloft is a nasty drug.  I repeat, Zoloft is a nasty drug and if this child isn't mellowed out by what would send you or me through the roof, guess what, he probably isn't properly diagnosed.

Further, there is a difference between having this disorder and having a lot on one's mind.  What was going on in the kid's life when he was diagnosed?  Were you changing jobs, homes, partners? 4 year olds experience a flux of hormones not unlike puberty, not unlike menopause.  It makes them moody and cranky.  I will bet that's all it was.

I had a friend who was married to a family doctor.  The doctor left her with three children and major stressers.  The doctor left his family essentially for another woman.  The kids acted out.  The dad beat them.  The mother beat them, to break their spirited ways (they were religious).  And then they stuck the oldest on ADD meds, KNOWING he wasn't ADD because they didn't want to deal with him.  Well, he started acting psychotic, starting fires and hitting back.  They basically wrote the kid off as mentally ill.

Get your kid off medication.  Get involved in his life.  But make sure first you witness the detox of the nasty drug you put him on and become a responsible parent.  Kids aren't perfect.  And in dealing with life's little imperfections that we mature.  We grow up.  If we learn that if life isn't perfect we pop a pill...hmm.
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242606 tn?1243782648
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
It is a good idea to re-evaluate his medication regimen. He has been on an unusual combination of medications, and the variety and doses of psychostimulant medications he has been on is quite out of the ordinary. The doctor you recently visited was setting you on a good course. It may be wise, even though the school year has begun, to discontinue all medications and begin anew. It's hard to say at this point what is helping and what is not. The behavior you are witnessing is likely not psychotic behavior, and it can be symptomatic of both anxiety and hyperactivity. If it is related to the reduction in Zoloft, it could result from increased anxiety. One issue that should be addressed is the presence of the tic disorder and if this is associated with the large dose of stimulant medication he has been taking. The goal of weaning him off the clonazepam is sound.
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