Medication for Anxiety but not SSRI

[Anonymous]

Some people have good luck with beta blockers for anxiety.

[Anonymous]

SSRIs make our daughter extremely aggressive. She switched to clonidine which has been really amazing for her. LIfe changing.

[Anonymous]

Actually I agree with you just asking around, OP. Doctors don't know everything. I've been shocked at the things I've been able to figure out from asking around, not from my very well respected psychiatrist, primary doctor, OB, etc. etc.

[Anonymous]

fyi another way to take it (in addition to whatever you decide to do) is to supplement his diet with fermented foods. (sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles...).

I know this sounds crazy, but you can google it or look at webmd or nih. There is something in fermented foods that reduces anxiety (not directly, but by increasing the amount of a particular bacteria in the gut biome that breaks down fermented foods). So start slowly, small amount every day, so he doesn't have gas, and build up to it. The big study was for social anxiety but I suspect they will find it works for generalized anxiety too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SSRIs make our daughter extremely aggressive. She switched to clonidine which has been really amazing for her. LIfe changing.

OP here, that is happening as well with my DS on SSRIs, not all the time. Clonidine is not a beta blocker, is it? I used Inderal for migraines and it caused me severe hair loss.

[Anonymous]

I'm speaking from personal experience for myself. I don't have ADHD but I have persistent generalized anxiety disorder and for the past two years, depression. I have no symptoms of a bi-polar disorder.

SSRIs and SSNIs are not compatible with me because I either get hives or I clench my teeth badly overnight and wake up feeling like my stomach was gutted.

I've been on Wellbutrin for about three months and it has worked very well for me. It has taken away the depression and lessened my anxiety enough that I am finding less need for Klonopin. I also take a Buspar in the morning and at night. My psychiatrist wanted to add it to supplement the Wellbutrin.

I would talk to your son's psychiatrist about Wellbutrin because it is my understanding that it is very helpful for ADHD so I'm surprised it hasn't been discussed yet.

Best of luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually I agree with you just asking around, OP. Doctors don't know everything. I've been shocked at the things I've been able to figure out from asking around, not from my very well respected psychiatrist, primary doctor, OB, etc. etc.

Thank you for saying that. I find that Dr.push SSRI's non stop, switch the brand, add ADHD medicine, and round and round we go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SSRIs can set off manic behavior if the underlying issue is bipolar. In children bipolar is often rapid cycling and can present like ADHD (and they can occur together too.) Ask your psychiatrist if she/he has ruled out bipolar. This does affect the range of meds to be looking at, though there is certainly overlap between meds and disorders.

OP - This bipolar could be the case, or it may not be the case. Our DS was diagnosed with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder last year after he was having the same issues, although, combined with rages. We did genetic testing and discovered that he should not take SSRI's due to all of the bad side effects. We also knew that he was uni-polar (ie, he never rapid cycled from happy to sad, he always cycled from normal content to depressed or raging angry. He is now on a low dose of methylphenidate, Straterra, low dose of Lamictal for mood stabilization, and low dose of Abilify.

Link to very helpful video about all of these issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOe4et8aYU

Link to NIH page on DMDD: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder-dmdd/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder.shtml

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSRIs can set off manic behavior if the underlying issue is bipolar. In children bipolar is often rapid cycling and can present like ADHD (and they can occur together too.) Ask your psychiatrist if she/he has ruled out bipolar. This does affect the range of meds to be looking at, though there is certainly overlap between meds and disorders.

OP - This bipolar could be the case, or it may not be the case. Our DS was diagnosed with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder last year after he was having the same issues, although, combined with rages. We did genetic testing and discovered that he should not take SSRI's due to all of the bad side effects. We also knew that he was uni-polar (ie, he never rapid cycled from happy to sad, he always cycled from normal content to depressed or raging angry. He is now on a low dose of methylphenidate, Straterra, low dose of Lamictal for mood stabilization, and low dose of Abilify.

Link to very helpful video about all of these issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOe4et8aYU

Link to NIH page on DMDD: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder-dmdd/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder.shtml

PP here. I meant to say that he never cycled from "over-the-top-happy to sad."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSRIs make our daughter extremely aggressive. She switched to clonidine which has been really amazing for her. LIfe changing.

OP here, that is happening as well with my DS on SSRIs, not all the time. Clonidine is not a beta blocker, is it? I used Inderal for migraines and it caused me severe hair loss.

It's an andregenic antagonist, not a beta blocker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm speaking from personal experience for myself. I don't have ADHD but I have persistent generalized anxiety disorder and for the past two years, depression. I have no symptoms of a bi-polar disorder.

SSRIs and SSNIs are not compatible with me because I either get hives or I clench my teeth badly overnight and wake up feeling like my stomach was gutted.

I've been on Wellbutrin for about three months and it has worked very well for me. It has taken away the depression and lessened my anxiety enough that I am finding less need for Klonopin. I also take a Buspar in the morning and at night. My psychiatrist wanted to add it to supplement the Wellbutrin.

I would talk to your son's psychiatrist about Wellbutrin because it is my understanding that it is very helpful for ADHD so I'm surprised it hasn't been discussed yet.

Best of luck to you.

Wellbutrin usually increases anxiety, if it's present, so it's not a drug to give an anxious patient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSRIs can set off manic behavior if the underlying issue is bipolar. In children bipolar is often rapid cycling and can present like ADHD (and they can occur together too.) Ask your psychiatrist if she/he has ruled out bipolar. This does affect the range of meds to be looking at, though there is certainly overlap between meds and disorders.

OP - This bipolar could be the case, or it may not be the case. Our DS was diagnosed with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder last year after he was having the same issues, although, combined with rages. We did genetic testing and discovered that he should not take SSRI's due to all of the bad side effects. We also knew that he was uni-polar (ie, he never rapid cycled from happy to sad, he always cycled from normal content to depressed or raging angry. He is now on a low dose of methylphenidate, Straterra, low dose of Lamictal for mood stabilization, and low dose of Abilify.

Link to very helpful video about all of these issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOe4et8aYU

Link to NIH page on DMDD: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder-dmdd/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder.shtml

Thank you for this suggestion. This does sound like DS in some ways. His mood regulation is well, don't even know how to describe it. He is the nicest kid, so sensitive to others, and then totally angry on SSRI, and verbally unhinged. He is on Ritalin and that helps a lot, surprisingly even for anxiety. Stratera makes him depressed. I will look into those other medicines you recommended and ask Dr. if it could be something else, but as he had selective mutism, we were pretty sure it is anxiety.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I just want to thank everybody to taking the time to help. It means a lot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSRIs can set off manic behavior if the underlying issue is bipolar. In children bipolar is often rapid cycling and can present like ADHD (and they can occur together too.) Ask your psychiatrist if she/he has ruled out bipolar. This does affect the range of meds to be looking at, though there is certainly overlap between meds and disorders.

OP - This bipolar could be the case, or it may not be the case. Our DS was diagnosed with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder last year after he was having the same issues, although, combined with rages. We did genetic testing and discovered that he should not take SSRI's due to all of the bad side effects. We also knew that he was uni-polar (ie, he never rapid cycled from happy to sad, he always cycled from normal content to depressed or raging angry. He is now on a low dose of methylphenidate, Straterra, low dose of Lamictal for mood stabilization, and low dose of Abilify.

Link to very helpful video about all of these issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOe4et8aYU

Link to NIH page on DMDD: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder-dmdd/disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder.shtml

PP here. I meant to say that he never cycled from "over-the-top-happy to sad."

Not diagnosing anyone, but just wanted to clarify a misconception. Manic episodes are not necessarily characterized buy extreme happiness. There can be rage/explosive temper. Later or this evening I will cite some reputable sources.

One key thing that can help the doctor differentiate between extreme anxiety vs. ADHD vs. bipolar is family history. You can have all 3, but if there is a family history of bipolar it is worth exploring this further. Yes, bipolar can occur without a family history and too often people are misdiagnosed when it is bipolar.

OP none of this is to say your child has this. I just wanted to make sure there isn't misinformation here.

[Anonymous]

by not buy...sorry