SSRIs can cause permanent genital numbness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

I have yet to hear what anyone has done as in-between steps other than therapy. Therapy isn't a medical step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

But it's not. My young child was put on ssris. They never did any medical tests to rule out other causes. The pediatrician was a large group in montgomery county that has a psych dept. We didn't use their dept for the anxiety but dcs pediatrician was their medical director. He never ordered a single test to look for root cause

The psychiatrist who did medicate him was part of children's hospital.
Not a single medical test to look at root causes.


Years after he was heavily medicated I figured it out tangentially from his bloodwork that is was medical.

Everyone answering is missing the point.
Yes you FEEL like you've done everything you can before going on ssris. But you don't even know what other tests should be done. And please believe that I'm not saying you should even know what those tests are. You're not doctors. But your doctors should damn well know about them and be performing them before ssris (or in parallel).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

But it's not. My young child was put on ssris. They never did any medical tests to rule out other causes. The pediatrician was a large group in montgomery county that has a psych dept. We didn't use their dept for the anxiety but dcs pediatrician was their medical director. He never ordered a single test to look for root cause

The psychiatrist who did medicate him was part of children's hospital.
Not a single medical test to look at root causes.


Years after he was heavily medicated I figured it out tangentially from his bloodwork that is was medical.

Everyone answering is missing the point.
Yes you FEEL like you've done everything you can before going on ssris. But you don't even know what other tests should be done. And please believe that I'm not saying you should even know what those tests are. You're not doctors. But your doctors should damn well know about them and be performing them before ssris (or in parallel).

Okay, so doctors don't know what tests to do, therefore parents aren't REALLY doing everything they can before "rushing" (per the OP) to drug our kids? Gmafb

[Anonymous]

I was put on SSRIs as a seventh grader for what was obviously severe situational anxiety about a major life issue my parents could have solved by inconveniencing themselves, but didn’t. They messed me up for a very long time. I’m still mad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

I have yet to hear what anyone has done as in-between steps other than therapy. Therapy isn't a medical step.

I’ll bite. Prior to meds for ADHD and Autism we did the following:

ABA/OT/Speech for 2 years

Labs for nutritional deficiencies/dietary overhaul with RD - Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/No added sugar

Sleep study and subsequent tonsillectomy (poor sleep can cause hyperactivity)

Genetic testing for co-occurring conditions

Functional vision assessment (issues with vision can excavate ADHD symptoms)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

I have yet to hear what anyone has done as in-between steps other than therapy. Therapy isn't a medical step.

I’ll bite. Prior to meds for ADHD and Autism we did the following:

ABA/OT/Speech for 2 years

Labs for nutritional deficiencies/dietary overhaul with RD - Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/No added sugar

Sleep study and subsequent tonsillectomy (poor sleep can cause hyperactivity)

Genetic testing for co-occurring conditions

Functional vision assessment (issues with vision can excavate ADHD symptoms)

Food allergy testing. I’m sure I’m forgetting something else too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

I have yet to hear what anyone has done as in-between steps other than therapy. Therapy isn't a medical step.

I’ll bite. Prior to meds for ADHD and Autism we did the following:

ABA/OT/Speech for 2 years

Labs for nutritional deficiencies/dietary overhaul with RD - Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/No added sugar

Sleep study and subsequent tonsillectomy (poor sleep can cause hyperactivity)

Genetic testing for co-occurring conditions

Functional vision assessment (issues with vision can excavate ADHD symptoms)

Food allergy testing. I’m sure I’m forgetting something else too.

Audiology screening. Again I’m sure there is more that’s slipping my mind.

[Anonymous]

SSRIs are commonly used for kids with anxiety. My 5 yr old is on a low dose of sertraline, due to anxiety and selective mutism - she spoke in a whisper at school and could barely talk but talked plenty at home. We did a lot of specialized therapy including an intensive out of state camp and she made great gains but it’s a constant struggle. Before we medicated, I went away on a trip for a few days and when I came back she couldnt even talk to me for the first hour - it was so sad. she also had explosive anger. After a year we finally moved ahead with meds and it has been so helpful- it’s not perfect and still doing therapy but it’s much better. She has friends, she’s going great in kindergarten, I have no regrets. We will eventually try to wean her off as she gets older and more confident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes you FEEL like you've done everything you can before going on ssris. But you don't even know what other tests should be done. And please believe that I'm not saying you should even know what those tests are. You're not doctors. But your doctors should damn well know about them and be performing them before ssris (or in parallel).

PP what tests should the doctors be doing?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, this isn’t how it works. Each doctor assesses your child through their specialty-specific lens. For example, dev peds simply referred us for autism testing. At no point, did she indicate we should seek consults with GI or neurology. Without educating myself on co-current conditions with autism, I doubt my child’s Celiac or sleep disturbances would have been caught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, this isn’t how it works. Each doctor assesses your child through their specialty-specific lens. For example, dev peds simply referred us for autism testing. At no point, did she indicate we should seek consults with GI or neurology. Without educating myself on co-current conditions with autism, I doubt my child’s Celiac or sleep disturbances would have been caught.

+1 a lot of posters are bashing parents for not seeking testing that is not currently standard for prescribing SSRIs. It may be many parents could seek out other specialists based on their child's specific symptoms, but you can hardly blame parents who are following advice of licensed professionals. And for many kids SSRIs are the right choice in addition to therapy. My child is not on them, thankfully doesn't need them after a lot of therapy and work on our part, but I am and they have been life changing (in a good way).

[Anonymous]

This is not surprising. SSRIs are not as great as doctors make them out to be. They have a lot of side effects that seem to get brushed under the carpet like weight gain and memory issue later in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents jump to drugs for everything now. Most don’t actually try everything first, they want an easy out.

That's exactly what someone says who doesn't talk to dozens of families with children in crisis about what they have tried before they end up in front of a doctor asking for help.

Sloppy rush to judgement is always easy. Real life and the struggles other people actually face, not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

But it's not. My young child was put on ssris. They never did any medical tests to rule out other causes. The pediatrician was a large group in montgomery county that has a psych dept. We didn't use their dept for the anxiety but dcs pediatrician was their medical director. He never ordered a single test to look for root cause

The psychiatrist who did medicate him was part of children's hospital.
Not a single medical test to look at root causes.


Years after he was heavily medicated I figured it out tangentially from his bloodwork that is was medical.

Everyone answering is missing the point.
Yes you FEEL like you've done everything you can before going on ssris. But you don't even know what other tests should be done. And please believe that I'm not saying you should even know what those tests are. You're not doctors. But your doctors should damn well know about them and be performing them before ssris (or in parallel).

Okay, so doctors don't know what tests to do, therefore parents aren't REALLY doing everything they can before "rushing" (per the OP) to drug our kids? Gmafb

You’re clearly a troll. Please read the above posts detailing testing. Parents are absolutely doing everything they can. The question is are doctors or society at large?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard of SSRIs being used long term for young kids with severely impairing anxiety. It is definitely a last resort.

But it's not. My young child was put on ssris. They never did any medical tests to rule out other causes. The pediatrician was a large group in montgomery county that has a psych dept. We didn't use their dept for the anxiety but dcs pediatrician was their medical director. He never ordered a single test to look for root cause

The psychiatrist who did medicate him was part of children's hospital.
Not a single medical test to look at root causes.


Years after he was heavily medicated I figured it out tangentially from his bloodwork that is was medical.

Everyone answering is missing the point.
Yes you FEEL like you've done everything you can before going on ssris. But you don't even know what other tests should be done. And please believe that I'm not saying you should even know what those tests are. You're not doctors. But your doctors should damn well know about them and be performing them before ssris (or in parallel).

Okay, so doctors don't know what tests to do, therefore parents aren't REALLY doing everything they can before "rushing" (per the OP) to drug our kids? Gmafb

You’re clearly a troll. Please read the above posts detailing testing. Parents are absolutely doing everything they can. The question is are doctors or society at large?

Huh? I completely agree with you but not sure why you don't think I do?