Anxious about Starting Lexapro for Anxiety

[Anonymous]

OP here. DD is consenting but is understandably nervous about the side effects. I am adamant that we address her anxiety because she is suffering. But I gave her the choice of CBT and mindfulness or medication. We discussed her concerns about both and she chose the latter. We have a prescription now but she hasn’t started it yet. She wants to wait until the break because she has a bunch of exams and performances coming up (she’s a dancer).

Her experience with therapy has been lousy. It didn’t help and made her more anxious because it required her to miss school or dance. Plus we couldn’t afford it and it put a lot of strain on the family. If it brought her relief we’d find a way, but it wasn’t worth it to her. I hope she will be more receptive to it in the future but now it’s a hard no for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lexapro caused activation syndrome both times it was tried for my son. Both times he engaged in serious self harm. It was horrifying to watch. There is good reason for caution and to be well educated before trying this (and other) medications.

That’s terrible. I’m sure it was scary. Had he ever exhibited those tendencies before? How long did they last? Was he being treated for anxiety or depression or both?

He had not experienced anything like it before - not even in a very mild form or ideation. He was being treated for both anxiety and depression.

[Anonymous]

I am in a similar situation with my son, and I don't have advice but really hope OP will come back and let us know how it went if she goes ahead with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DD is consenting but is understandably nervous about the side effects. I am adamant that we address her anxiety because she is suffering. But I gave her the choice of CBT and mindfulness or medication. We discussed her concerns about both and she chose the latter. We have a prescription now but she hasn’t started it yet. She wants to wait until the break because she has a bunch of exams and performances coming up (she’s a dancer).

Her experience with therapy has been lousy. It didn’t help and made her more anxious because it required her to miss school or dance. Plus we couldn’t afford it and it put a lot of strain on the family. If it brought her relief we’d find a way, but it wasn’t worth it to her. I hope she will be more receptive to it in the future but now it’s a hard no for her.

Same situation here with CBT. It cost a small fortune and was stressful because going to the appointments took so much time, and after several months with no improvement we stopped. Considering meds now, but on the fence, like you.

[Anonymous]

Serious question OP: is she actually sleeping enough and does she have a regular, structured, daily exercise regiment? Is she drinking caffeine?

In many cases anxiety is a physiological response that can be “treated” at the source with some simple, healthy lifestyle changes.

The only thing that EVER helped my anxiety was daily morning running.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Serious question OP: is she actually sleeping enough and does she have a regular, structured, daily exercise regiment? Is she drinking caffeine?

In many cases anxiety is a physiological response that can be “treated” at the source with some simple, healthy lifestyle changes.

The only thing that EVER helped my anxiety was daily morning running.

She’s a serious dancer and dances 15-20 hours a week. We’ve considered scaling back to give her more breathing room in her schedule, but it brings her joy and relaxes her. She’s always happier after dance than before and feels it’s better therapy than any she’s tried. She doesn't sleep enough. We’re working on that.

[Anonymous]

OP again. She gets at least 7 hours of sleep during the week and 8-9 on weekends. No caffeine but probably too much sugar. Her BMI is so low we’re just focused on getting enough calories into her. She’s always struggled with hunger cues due to her anxiety (won’t know she’s hungry until she’s crashed) so she’s worked with a dietician to learn how to eat for fuel. It’s exhausting and I’m hoping her appetite will improve with meds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son was on Zoloft (another SSRI similar to Lexapro) for 9 to 10 months while he was participated in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Without medication therapy wasn't working. Once the therapy started working and his mood really improved he was able start exercising and using the techniques. It then took 6 to 8 weeks to taper. So the whole process took a year.

I did not want him on a SSRI for over a year because the sexual dysfunction side effects of SSRI's are usually not discussed with teens. It's awkward and most teens do not want to discuss this with their medical provider especially if a parent is in the room so it is hard to study.

From one article: Adults taking SSRIs may experience sexual side effects more than half the time, some studies estimate, and it's possible that rates of sexual side effects would be similar in teens, Levine said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-antidepressants-teens-side-effectsidUSKBN0MJ24C20150323/

When I hear of so many teens saying they are non-binary and/or asexual I really wonder if some of them are on SSRI's.

I think it was really worth my son taking a SSRI because he was in a pretty bad place, and if he hadn't been able to substantially improve we would have wanted him to stay on the medication. I just wanted to mention it because the sexual dysfunction side effect really needs known particularly as teens are going through puberty and starting to try out relationships with others.

The sexual issues increase with age in every single study, so they can't assume teens are the same. There hasn't been any studies to show it directly in teens. And all note that depression tends to decrease all of these issues already and anxiety can sometimes sharpenly increase them for them worse (more masturbation /sexually active) So it is very hard to decipher the role they SRRI's play in teens and sexual side effects. That said, no one should avoid trying them for a potential fear of this and no one should be on them if they can't discuss side effects with their parents or doctor.

Nowhere did it state the sexual issues increase with age. And it isn’t realistic that an anxious teen is going to want to discuss sexual side effects with their parents or medical provider. This is a factor that should be calculated j to the pros and cons of taking a SSRI

From the article..
“Because the sexual side effects of SSRIs haven't been widely studied in teens, "we are essentially conducting an experiment on our kids," Lorenz added. "If you are coming of age sexually speaking with this medication on board potentially influencing how you interact with partners, you are not going to be sure if the lack of desire you might be feeling is the way you are, the medication, or the way you feel about the person you're with. That can have lasting effects on your relationships“

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just want to say not to pressure your daughter into making this decision. My mother basically forced me onto SSRIs when I was 14 because I was "making her life hell". I was a straight A student with a job who never caused any trouble but I was moody and anxious and hated my school. I've been on and off these drugs all my life and I wonder if something got rewired by starting them so young. It should be her decision.

SSRI’s don’t rewire your brain permanently. You sound very uneducated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DD is consenting but is understandably nervous about the side effects. I am adamant that we address her anxiety because she is suffering. But I gave her the choice of CBT and mindfulness or medication. We discussed her concerns about both and she chose the latter. We have a prescription now but she hasn’t started it yet. She wants to wait until the break because she has a bunch of exams and performances coming up (she’s a dancer).

Her experience with therapy has been lousy. It didn’t help and made her more anxious because it required her to miss school or dance. Plus we couldn’t afford it and it put a lot of strain on the family. If it brought her relief we’d find a way, but it wasn’t worth it to her. I hope she will be more receptive to it in the future but now it’s a hard no for her.

OP, start the meds NOW because it takes 2-3 weeks at the earliest to kick in. Any side effects will be during her break and she will be in a better place starting the dreary Jan/Feb time of the year.

Also start Magnesium TODAY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lexapro caused activation syndrome both times it was tried for my son. Both times he engaged in serious self harm. It was horrifying to watch. There is good reason for caution and to be well educated before trying this (and other) medications.

Definitely watch carefully.

This is why these medications can be so tricky. People can react so differently to them. Lexapro is what is keeping my child from self-harm. She has anxiety and depression, for her, the anxiety causes the self-harm. She is now on a combination of Wellbutrin and Lexapro.

My other advice, OP, if you aren't already, work with a psychiatrist. We love and trust our pediatrician and she was absolutely the right person to say to my daughter "you don't have to feel like this every day, it sounds like it is time to start medication", but as it got more complex, it has been better to see someone who's specialty it is to deal with these medications.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 15. At the time it was big anxiety, resulting in self-harm, and depression to a lesser extent.

She did about 15mo of therapy alone before deciding it was time to try medication.

Prozac has little to no side effects for missed doses (withdrawl), which is why our pediatrician recommends trying it first with teens. The only side effect my daughter noticed (and it was very noticeable!) was muscle twitching. Unfortunately, it didn't work well for her, so she had to taper off and then started Lexapro. This was one of the hardest times for us. She was hopeless and worried that the next thing wouldn't work either. She was at an all-time low for that period of time.

Lexapro worked well for awhile for her, but caused weight gain and maybe some hormone changes and sports performance decreased.

She then had a major depressive episode, which prompted a change to Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin, which is a different drug class (not a SSRI) has been working very well for depression, but we were told it really doesn't touch anxiety. So she is still on a very small dose of Lexapro. She has no complaints about side effects and has lost the extra weight.

There are so many different responses to these medications, but my kid is definitely in a better place medicated than not.

Good luck~ I know this journey is hard!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to say not to pressure your daughter into making this decision. My mother basically forced me onto SSRIs when I was 14 because I was "making her life hell". I was a straight A student with a job who never caused any trouble but I was moody and anxious and hated my school. I've been on and off these drugs all my life and I wonder if something got rewired by starting them so young. It should be her decision.

Doesn’t it seem at least as likely that (1) mental health issues run on your family bc your mom clearly had them and/or (2) your upbringing caused your mental health problems? Blaming the SSRIs doesn’t seem logically sound - you’re blaming a symptom, not the cause(s).

Yes,anxiety absolutely runs in my family. But I think options could have been explored first, such as allowing extracurriculars like OP's daughter dancing, or switching schools or even home schooling since my symptoms were alleviated over school breaks. The drugs didn't really help that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DD is consenting but is understandably nervous about the side effects. I am adamant that we address her anxiety because she is suffering. But I gave her the choice of CBT and mindfulness or medication. We discussed her concerns about both and she chose the latter. We have a prescription now but she hasn’t started it yet. She wants to wait until the break because she has a bunch of exams and performances coming up (she’s a dancer).

Her experience with therapy has been lousy. It didn’t help and made her more anxious because it required her to miss school or dance. Plus we couldn’t afford it and it put a lot of strain on the family. If it brought her relief we’d find a way, but it wasn’t worth it to her. I hope she will be more receptive to it in the future but now it’s a hard no for her.

OP, start the meds NOW because it takes 2-3 weeks at the earliest to kick in. Any side effects will be during her break and she will be in a better place starting the dreary Jan/Feb time of the year.

Also start Magnesium TODAY

Can you share the link to the magnesium that you used? There are so many out there, it’s hard to know what’s good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. She gets at least 7 hours of sleep during the week and 8-9 on weekends. No caffeine but probably too much sugar. Her BMI is so low we’re just focused on getting enough calories into her. She’s always struggled with hunger cues due to her anxiety (won’t know she’s hungry until she’s crashed) so she’s worked with a dietician to learn how to eat for fuel. It’s exhausting and I’m hoping her appetite will improve with meds.

I would work on having her increase her sleep by an hour each day, starting in 15 minutes intervals (so either push her bedtime up by 15 minutes this week or have her get up 15 minutes later).

It sounds like she is sleeping in the range of normal but SHE might also need more sleep.