I don’t think Prozac is working. What next?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
My teen daughter is ADHD, GAD and mild depression.
We have been through a lot of medications over the past 3 years trying to find a good combo. Adderall XL 20mg is working very well for her. She also takes Clonidine 0.1mg 3x a day (before school, after school as stimulant wears off, and before bedtime) This has helped impulses, and countered her anxiety which increases on a stimulant - but very much helps her focus in school. The combo is very nice. She still had some impulses/anxiety so Buspar was added, but like Clonidine it’s very short acting and she doesn’t want to keep taking multiple pills 2-3x a day as a busy teen. So while this was working ok, the plan was to start Prozac and eventually decrease Buspar. The Prozac 20mg is only once a day. It’s been 2 months and I feel like it helped with mild depression and increased motivation, but I’m seeing more signs subtle signs of anxiety. Picking, fidgeting, and “performance” mode in peer groups where she is actively talking and going so fast (this was an issue before meds) It’s exhausting trying to find the right combo. Should I look to increase Prozac, just get rid of it, suck up all the pills with Buspar, or is there some longer acting non-SSRI anxiety meds that work better. |
Anonymous
|
My son takes long acting clonidine twice a day. You could try that.
He’s on a similar combo - stimulant, Prozac and clonidine. Stimulant def exacerbates anxiety and rigidity. Is your daughter on the spectrum? I ask because sometimes sometimes stimulants unmask ASD traits and it’s not really treatable by a medication. |
Anonymous
She’s been on the stimulant since August and I’m only seeing the extra picking, fidgeting since starting the Prozac and decreasing the Buspar. She is not diagnosed with autism. None of her therapists, pediatrician or psychiatrist think she is. I’ve asked a few times. I’ve considered doing a private evaluation. |
Anonymous
| Maybe try Zoloft |
Anonymous
| That’s a fairly low dose of Prozac. Talk to the doctor. |
Anonymous
| Get her off of the internet, phone, tablet, etc. get her outside, exercise, etc. |
Anonymous
| Zoloft is often the next thing they try unless someone in the family has taken something that works well and then they may jump to that. Some SSRIs are activating to some people. Sometimes that settles down. Other times a switch to a different one works better. |
Anonymous
|
First med she ever tried was Xoloft but that was before the ADHD diagnosis and was to help her anxiety. It didn’t seem to do much and at that point she was in denial and not well with taking it.
They switched to Lexapro and it seemed to work some, but she gained 12lbs in less than 2 months. Stopped and dropped the weight. At that point she was had a better eval, diagnosed and started stimulants. Lots of issues. She swore off SSRI’s because of the Lexapro weight. It’s been a struggle. Psychiatrist convinced her Prozac is helpful and weight neutral. I’m not sure I could convince her to try another SSRI. I wish there was a non one for anxiety. Thanks for the suggestions so far. |
Anonymous
She doesn’t have a tablet, she goes to the gym every morning before high school and plays a sport she loves almost year round. Her phone has downtime 10pm to 6am. |
Anonymous
| We increased Prozac and saw a difference. For some SSRI’s. Low doses help with depression but you have to up it a bit to knock out the anxiety. I would consider an increase before doing any other changes. But you must give it a month because any increase in Prozac brings on anxious symptoms usually week 2-3. But after 4 weeks if she hasn’t improved or has gotten worse from the increase, you slowly taper off and try something else. |
Anonymous
NP here. In this case, the only routines I'd look into would be: have her check her average daily phone use (social media scrolling, etc) and her time outdoors and spending with friends. Also, 20 mg might be low for Prozac, but ask the doctor. |
Anonymous
|
Meditation
Mindfulness Gratitude Journaling CBT Daily Exercise So many things work better than meds for anxiety. Look at the studies for these meds- barely better than placebo and that effect wears off in a few wks. Then comes withdrawal, even can happen while still on the med. |
Anonymous
| Are there trolls coming into the special needs board. Enough with the "no med" trolls |
Anonymous
| I would try going up like another poster said. One time, 10mg more and see how that works for a month. |