Results are so variable for individuals. I was on a small dose, and was so tired all the time, I had to get off.

It's not particularly long-lasting in the system, but keep in mind it takes weeks to taper off these drugs properly.

But they can be life-changing! You might want to do one of those GeneSight tests to see if your child might have any genetic predispositions regarding one med or another.

Lexapro has been a miracle drug for our ASD child. It helps with emotional regulation.

No known side effects.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It works well for my oldest. For my younger son, it activated him and he engaged in serious self harm. We’re lucky he’s still alive.

In hindsight, were there signs or behaviors that appeared prior to the self-harm? Just wondering about things to watch for that might not be obvious.

None at all. But once the self harm started it was crazy how frequent it was and how serious it got - and he stopped it two days after the first incident.

Ugh - so it continued after stopping the medication? How awful and scary for you. Did you find an alternative medication?

It didn’t take long for the activation to end but two days is really long when you are in crisis after crisis after crisis. Our path has been so awful that I have no advice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It works well for my oldest. For my younger son, it activated him and he engaged in serious self harm. We’re lucky he’s still alive.

In hindsight, were there signs or behaviors that appeared prior to the self-harm? Just wondering about things to watch for that might not be obvious.

None at all. But once the self harm started it was crazy how frequent it was and how serious it got - and he stopped it two days after the first incident.

Ugh - so it continued after stopping the medication? How awful and scary for you. Did you find an alternative medication?

More follow up questions:

For those whose children this helped, how quickly did it start to help?

For children who couldn't tolerate it (self-harm, negative disinhibition), how quickly did problems show up?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It works well for my oldest. For my younger son, it activated him and he engaged in serious self harm. We’re lucky he’s still alive.

In hindsight, were there signs or behaviors that appeared prior to the self-harm? Just wondering about things to watch for that might not be obvious.

None at all. But once the self harm started it was crazy how frequent it was and how serious it got - and he stopped it two days after the first incident.

Anonymous wrote:It works well for my oldest. For my younger son, it activated him and he engaged in serious self harm. We’re lucky he’s still alive.

In hindsight, were there signs or behaviors that appeared prior to the self-harm? Just wondering about things to watch for that might not be obvious.

It works well for my oldest. For my younger son, it activated him and he engaged in serious self harm. We’re lucky he’s still alive.

Anonymous wrote:It works well for our DD. She started at 10 and is now 16. Just one thing to be aware of is that some kids become disinhibited as the dose goes up. You should let the psychiatrist know of any behavior changes.

Second the disinhibition issue. My sister was put on Lexapro as an adult. She had been controlling her aggressions prior to medication, but became unrestrained on Lexapro. Some people - children and adults - do well on Lexapro, but disinhibition is something to monitor.

We started it at nearly 5 years old for anxiety. Very effective, minimal side effects (had vivid dreams the first few nights but that faded away). We are still on a small dose and pleased with the results.

Our daughter was much older, but after having tried and perhaps just outworn the effects of a couple of SSRI's including Paxil, she was placed on Lexapro in late 20s. She has been on it since for 13 years, and the psychiatrist an expert in women's health kept her on it through her pregnancy. Neither of her twin girls had any side effects and are now doing quite well in elementary school. It is also a medication which can be reduced over time, too. I will say that she recognized early on that to handle her anxiety that she has benefited from therapy. For years it has been perhaps once a month or even by phone, but more frequently when there were periods of higher stress in life.

It works well for our DD. She started at 10 and is now 16. Just one thing to be aware of is that some kids become disinhibited as the dose goes up. You should let the psychiatrist know of any behavior changes.

Just starting our DC on a low dose of Lexapro. Curious to hear from other parents about your experiences with using Lexapro to treat your DC’s anxiety?