lexapro for panic attacks and anxiety in teen- success stories or cons?

[Anonymous]

My DD is struggling and therapy for the last 6 months is not helping.

Doctor recommends trying lexapro. Any experiences?

[Anonymous]

My child with OCD and GAD (including panic attacks) on Lexapro got a year and it’s made a huge difference. No more panic attacks since she started taking it.

The psychiatrist selected Lexapro because DH takes it for his anxiety, with minimal side effects.

My only concern is that there aren’t that many dose levels to go up before you max out. That can be an issue if it loses effectiveness over time because you can’t go higher you will have to switch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child with OCD and GAD (including panic attacks) on Lexapro got a year and it’s made a huge difference. No more panic attacks since she started taking it.

The psychiatrist selected Lexapro because DH takes it for his anxiety, with minimal side effects.

My only concern is that there aren’t that many dose levels to go up before you max out. That can be an issue if it loses effectiveness over time because you can’t go higher you will have to switch.

Thanks PP. Glad to hear it has helped.

[Anonymous]

Same- my DD and I are on it and it's totally helped her OCD and anxiety

[Anonymous]

just make sure you watch her take it every night because going on and off it can cause big problems

[Anonymous]

It worked well for me for years, augmented by Buspar. After several years it can stop working and you have to try another SSRI. I’ll be on them forever, but your child might not need it that long, but do try it.

[Anonymous]

Lexapro causes weight gain so be very cautious. My 14yr old dd gained 18lbs in a little over 2 months on it and started to stop taking it without telling me and led to terrible side effects.

She has taken many different meds over the years (she has ADHD, anxiety, PMDD, mild depression) and none of them caused weight gain like lexapro.

[Anonymous]

Lexapro caused activation syndrome in my son. Be sure you are aware of this risk and watch for signs. It happened really fast.

[Anonymous]

We tried it for DS after his anxiety caused him to accidentally badly cut his hand (definitely an accident, not self-harm).

He lost all motivation once it kicked in so we ended up focusing on therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We tried it for DS after his anxiety caused him to accidentally badly cut his hand (definitely an accident, not self-harm).

He lost all motivation once it kicked in so we ended up focusing on therapy.

FWIW and YYMV: If it helped with the anxiety at all, don't be afraid to try different ones. It can a bit of a roller coaster though. For me personally, as a young adult, Paxil may be like your son was, Luvox made me manic, Zoloft was ok, but Effexor made me feel like my best self. That's the one I've stuck with for over a decade. Still works, which to my non-medically educated self means its the right for my brain chemistry. Totally think that therapy is also the right way to go...it can just be hard to implement when anxiety and panic attacks are relentless.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PPs. she is actually hesitant to start due to worry about weight gain. Is weight gain a factor if she does prozac?

I totally agree that therapy is best, but we can't seem to get over panic to get to where it helps. I am hoping that we can make better strides in therapy after meds. This would truly be a last resort for us

[Anonymous]

Paxil and Lexapro cause the most weight gain.

Prozac and Zoloft are more weight neutral. But each person is different on every med.

[Anonymous]

Look up SSRI induced mania. Happened to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lexapro causes weight gain so be very cautious. My 14yr old dd gained 18lbs in a little over 2 months on it and started to stop taking it without telling me and led to terrible side effects.

She has taken many different meds over the years (she has ADHD, anxiety, PMDD, mild depression) and none of them caused weight gain like lexapro.

I’m an adult not a teen. Also gained 20 lbs in a short period of time. I think it helped during the 6 months I was on it. I realized that my emotions were very flat/dulled. I need emotions and to be able to cry. So I weaned myself off of it. And I never went above 10 mg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look up SSRI induced mania. Happened to me.

This is rare unless you have a predisposition to bipolar disorder