Sertraline...

[Wonderer]

Hey, my 10yr old son was prescribed sertraline, starting dose at 25mg and what a nightmare it was! 1st day he was extremely hyper, talkative and then drained intermittently through the day, 2nd day he became extremely withdrawn and tired and started to experience a lot of physical anxiety symptoms, 3rd day very down, no motivation, anxiety through the roof, 4th day extremely agitated, aggressive, physical anxiety symptoms even worse, then he broke down and talked of suicide and hopelessness, needless to say I popped him off the medication and stopped it yesterday. Even though he was only on it a short time he is still not himself but improving. The doctor said she could order him a liquid form so he could start on 12.5mg and see how he goes, I’m not keen on the idea but my son wants to try it, he’s so brave. Any other parents on here have similar issues? I know everyone reacts differently to meds but I’m more looking some info on a similar experience and then starting again on a lower dose, did the same side effects happen again or was it an easier introduction? Thanks xx

Edited November 26, 2017 by Wonderer

[Maturin]

Sory but I'm not a parent but In my experience it's way easier to slowly increasy the dose. Actually 12.5mg might be to much to start but that's up to you and your son. I understand the horrible dilema. and remember, if it doesn't work as expected you can always stop (again slowly). But if you two decide to give it a try and the med is tolareble in the end give it time. For me it took some mounts for it to start working but for 15 years it helped me. After open heart surgery it somehow lost it's effect. Not completly though.

[Wonderer]

5 hours ago, Maturin said:

Sory but I'm not a parent but In my experience it's way easier to slowly increasy the dose. Actually 12.5mg might be to much to start but that's up to you and your son. I understand the horrible dilema. and remember, if it doesn't work as expected you can always stop (again slowly). But if you two decide to give it a try and the med is tolareble in the end give it time. For me it took some mounts for it to start working but for 15 years it helped me. After open heart surgery it somehow lost it's effect. Not completly though.

Thanks manturin, that’s really helpful, I suppose the benefit of getting the liquid is that I can start even lower than that if need be, although I still don’t know wether we will try again at all, I was expecting side effects but wasn’t expecting them to be so extreme, very scary! X

[Maturin]

2 hours ago, Wonderer said:

Thanks manturin, that’s really helpful, I suppose the benefit of getting the liquid is that I can start even lower than that if need be, although I still don’t know wether we will try again at all, I was expecting side effects but wasn’t expecting them to be so extreme, very scary! X

If you want he can start even at 1 mg. Looks like I'm a med advocat  In fact I don't like medication at all. It's depressing comming home every mounth with a bag full of pills. I would make a list of the side effects your son had and ask the doctor who discribes them if they are expected. You can also ask since he is starting over again if you wish if there is a milder ssri. Some of them are more agresive then others. Fluoxetine has a long release time so if you forget a dose you won't notice. Anyway, do as much research as you can.

[Maturin]

I mean, half live time (don't know the English expression) instead of release time.

[paulfoel]

21 hours ago, Maturin said:

If you want he can start even at 1 mg. Looks like I'm a med advocat  In fact I don't like medication at all. It's depressing comming home every mounth with a bag full of pills. I would make a list of the side effects your son had and ask the doctor who discribes them if they are expected. You can also ask since he is starting over again if you wish if there is a milder ssri. Some of them are more agresive then others. Fluoxetine has a long release time so if you forget a dose you won't notice. Anyway, do as much research as you can.

Each to his own maturin and, as you say, a lot do have different effects on different people. Not sure its helpful to refer to them as " a bag of pills" - thats a bit negative for me.

"Pills" help a lot of people get a normal life back and have, undoubtedly, saved millions of lives....

[Wonderer]

22 hours ago, Maturin said:

If you want he can start even at 1 mg. Looks like I'm a med advocat  In fact I don't like medication at all. It's depressing comming home every mounth with a bag full of pills. I would make a list of the side effects your son had and ask the doctor who discribes them if they are expected. You can also ask since he is starting over again if you wish if there is a milder ssri. Some of them are more agresive then others. Fluoxetine has a long release time so if you forget a dose you won't notice. Anyway, do as much research as you can.

Thanks! Well I think medication can be wonderful if it works out for people, it’s just more difficult when it’s a child as they’re such powerful drugs. He is under a consultant psychiatrist for medication and sertraline is the best and most tolerable medication for children, fluoxetine is the 2nd line treatment but because he reacted so badly to the sertraline she doesn’t want to prescribe the fluoxetine as apparently it has much more activation symptoms. Will most likely just try again and a very low dose and see what happens! I’m dreading it though because he’s still not himself and he’s been off that med since Saturday and hadn’t been taking it for long ?! Xx

[Maturin]

3 hours ago, paulfoel said:

Each to his own maturin and, as you say, a lot do have different effects on different people. Not sure its helpful to refer to them as " a bag of pills" - thats a bit negative for me.

"Pills" help a lot of people get a normal life back and have, undoubtedly, saved millions of lives....

O yes I agree with you. Thanks to meds I'm living, could travel a bit again. But they do have their downsides. You could'n know of course but I have meds for more than one thing so in my case it's really a bag full of pills/meds.

[Maturin]

2 hours ago, Wonderer said:

Thanks! Well I think medication can be wonderful if it works out for people, it’s just more difficult when it’s a child as they’re such powerful drugs. He is under a consultant psychiatrist for medication and sertraline is the best and most tolerable medication for children, fluoxetine is the 2nd line treatment but because he reacted so badly to the sertraline she doesn’t want to prescribe the fluoxetine as apparently it has much more activation symptoms. Will most likely just try again and a very low dose and see what happens! I’m dreading it though because he’s still not himself and he’s been off that med since Saturday and hadn’t been taking it for long ?! Xx

If you and your son go for it I really hope that with starting at a low dose and let his system gradualy get used to the effects of the medication the side effects will stay mild. I had the same difficulty's when I was his age but then there was nothing and no one to help me. So I'm glad for your son he has good support. Good luck and keep posting. Perhaps it will be a piece of cake

[paulfoel]

Any idea what the dosage range is for an adolescent for sertaline? Son takes 50mg at the moment.....

I know 100mg is a lowish dose for an adult...

[Wonderer]

On 03/01/2018 at 11:43, paulfoel said:

Any idea what the dosage range is for an adolescent for sertaline? Son takes 50mg at the moment.....

I know 100mg is a lowish dose for an adult...

Paul my son is 11 and they told me that the treatment dose for OCD is the same as for an adult so up to 200mg! Everyone reacts differently to meds though so he may not need the whole 200mg but you can safely go up to that amount if need be!x

[paulfoel]

On 07/01/2018 at 00:49, Wonderer said:

Paul my son is 11 and they told me that the treatment dose for OCD is the same as for an adult so up to 200mg! Everyone reacts differently to meds though so he may not need the whole 200mg but you can safely go up to that amount if need be!x

Thanks. Actually its 50mg hes on. Due to go back and see consultant soon so we'll see. (another £200).

Has it made any difference for your son at all? With mine, hes a bit calmer, which is a godsend but no change with ocd to be honest. He just doesnt explode so much.

[Wonderer]

2 hours ago, paulfoel said:

Thanks. Actually its 50mg hes on. Due to go back and see consultant soon so we'll see. (another £200).

Has it made any difference for your son at all? With mine, hes a bit calmer, which is a godsend but no change with ocd to be honest. He just doesnt explode so much.

Oh my it’s so expensive isn’t it ?! 

Unfortunateky it didn’t agree with my son one bit, he’s became very unwell on a low dose of 25mg, it seems he’s extremely sensitive to meds. I wish it had of worked ?.

To be honest, most antidepressants only work to lift the mood and quiet the mind a little bit, they don’t seem to really get rid of OCD,  they’re just water wings to help people engage in therapy really, there will be a very small minority  who may get rid of their obsessions through meds, but it’s rare unfortunately ? xx