Hello,
I am a 25 year old ADHD male also treated for anxiety w/ mild depression. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 6years old and began taking ritalin 5mg 2X/day. I switched to the 10mg 2X/day in 5th or 6th grade and tried to stop taking medication completely my sophmore year of high school. School without ritalin was nearly impossible. After graduating college I found myself working and taking additional classes to qualify for a graduate school program. So, I went back to the doctor to get medication for my ADHD. After trying almost every medicine for my attention issues and anxiety/depression, I am happy to be on 50mg of zoloft @ bedtime and ritalin 5mg 2-3x per day. My doctor is still Titrating/adjusting my dosages. After being on zoloft for a month and back on ritalin for a week now, this is the best I have felt in my entire life. The zoloft works wonders for anxiety, stess, and depression. I am told that it is the #1 medicine of its kind. I tried many other medications for anxiety as well as trying the Strattera/non-stimulant medication path. Nothing worked as well as the zoloft/ritalin combo. And strattera can make people very irritable! Hope this helps.
Thank you....since my last post, we have started Cam on Zoloft. So it has now been almost three weeks. We just started to notice a difference a couple of days ago. He even told me one day last week that he feels good and that he hasn't felt like that in a long time. He still has a hard time going outside because of his hornet phobia....but he goes out a little more each day. I hope to God that this works for him....he has been thru so much these past few years. Thank you for your post...and it was good to hear something positive about it...because all I have read on the internet about Zoloft is negative things. But I think this is working for Cam. Thanks again. Cam's mom.Hi, I'm Maureen and have a 10 year old girl with ADHD, inattentive with adjustment anxiety.
She's been on one stimulant or another over the last 2 1/2 years and we are just about ready to give up on Strattera since we see absolutely no benefit and more and more negatives.
While Ritalin LA does help my daughter focus, it also makes her more uptight and anxious. We've tried several types of counceling/therapy to help her overcome her anxiety and I think I'm ready to ask her pediatrician about an anti-anxiety med. She's going into middle school at the end of the month and I know she's going to be a wreck.
I'd like more information on Zoloft for children. How does the dosage work? Are there any side affects? How long do you need to take it before you see an improvement? How long does it last?
Thanks for any information you can provide!
Maureen
Hi Maureen...as you know we are fairly new to all of this. Cam was just dx in June of this year with ADHD and depression and anxieties. He is on ritalin (10 mg in the am and 10 mg aroung two) As for the Zoloft....he is only on 12.5 mg right now, once a day in the am. He is 10 years old and weighs about 70 pds. It took about three weeks for us to notice a change.....he had no side effects at all from the Zoloft. With the ritalin he did have side effects but they are gone now. We were very nervous about trying this for his depression but we had to do something. He was very sad and moody and hardly ever smiled any more. Plus his phobia of hornets is unbelievable. We agreed that us not trying something to help him would only worsen things. He is starting to come around!!! He is smiling and whistling!!!!! ( haven't heard that in a long time!!!) Right now I have tears in my eyes because I know he is starting to feel better about himself. Sometimes I think people who don't have a child like ours would think I am nuts if I said "oh my God, he's whistling!!!! and smiling!!!" But all of us here know what that feeling is like. All we want is for him to be happy again and try to live like a ten year old boy and not have to worry over everything. He will even check the gas in the van before we leave the yard to make sure we will not run out!! If you want any more info from me...I check this site every day. Good Luck!!! Cam's mom.Thanks, Cam's Mom for your quick response. I'm glad to hear that your son is doing well on it!!
I spoke with my dd's ped today and she agreed it was time to look into anti-anxiety meds to help her in social situations and adjusting to new situations. She wants us to see a psychiatrist to help with that.
We've also completely stopped the Strattera and my daughter, while VERY scattered and unfocused, is MUCH happier. Her doctor warned that there might be some lingering side affects, but I haven't seen any since this morning's moodiness.
We'll be trying Concerta starting Monday and see how that goes. While the stimulants do the best job helping my daughter focus, the do seem to take a part of her personality away--she's not as bubbly and funny and is definitely more uptight and withdrawn. I'm hoping something like Zoloft will help her typical anxiety and counteract the negative side affects of the Concerta so she can focus AND be her happy go lucky self! I just hate having to give her so much medication, but how can I not help her?! You know what I mean.
Has your son always been anxious and sad or did he start behaving that way after taking the stimulant meds? My daughter couldn't tolorate Adderall at all. While it worked wonders for her ADHD symptoms, she never smiled, much less laughed and was VERY withdrawn. She seems to tolorate Ritalin better, but she still has her moments on that med as well.
Not easy, but our special and unique kids are definitely worth it!
Keep us posted on how Cam is doing! Good luck with everything!
Maureen
Maureen,
Hello, no Cam was not always sad and anxious. But it started before we started him on Ritalin so that wasn't the cause of it. It has been going on for about a year...progressing slowly. Finally when we got him tested and dx...they said the depression was probably caused by all the years gone by without anyone realizing what was wrong...the teachers, both my husband and I ...etc. He has gone thru so much that I hate to even think about it. Even though I always knew that something was not quite right. It took so long for the school to get him tested as well. But things are getting better. The true test of all will be how he handles school and grade five. He just started ritalin at the end of June so school was almost out by then. So we don't really know how the ritalin will affect his school behaviour. Just getting thru one week at school for him without the principal having to call me will be a huge huge step!!! And for the zoloft...I am so glad that we gave it a try. We also didn't want to give him another medication...but like I said before....we had to help him. Tonight we all played cards!!!!! Another great step for the family. Good luck with your daughter...I know how you feel. None of us here are alone any more...we have this site!! Take care. Cam's mom
Hi Cam's Mom!
Yea, my daughter was getting VERY down and her self esteem was at an all time low before we decided to try medication. She was SO happy when she saw how well she could do once she started taking it. There is no way she would have been able to focus enough to do her work in fourth and fifth grade without the meds and even with them it was still a struggle (she has other issues that complicate matters). She has definitely come a long way.
Now if we can get her anxiety and timidness under control, that would be a wonderful thing!!
I'm sure your son will do great in 5th grade! Good luck with everything and keep us posted on his progress!
Maureen
Is there someone who has their child on Zoloft. Cam is 10..dx a couple of months ago with ADHD, ODD with depression and anxieties. He has been on ritalin for about 2 months now. 10 mg in the am and 10 in the afternoon,...which we raised from 5 and 5. He has a very bad phobia of hornets..so much so as he will not go outside during the day if it is sunny for fear that there may be hornets out ( he got stung three summers ago). Our ped. asked us to try zoloft for his depression and anxiety....we would love to hear from parents who are familiar with this. I haven't filled the perscription yet....but I will probably give it a try as Cam always seems so sad...and we just want him to be happy and not so fearful of the outdoors. Thanks.
Anyone with any experience with Zoloft and children?? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks. CAm's mom.Who evaluted him? Maybe there are things going on that you don't know about that could be very treatable. Has he ever seen a NeuroPsych?[QUOTE=Cam's Mom]Is there someone who has their child on Zoloft. Cam is 10..dx a couple of months ago with ADHD, ODD with depression and anxieties. He has been on ritalin for about 2 months now. 10 mg in the am and 10 in the afternoon,...which we raised from 5 and 5. He has a very bad phobia of hornets..so much so as he will not go outside during the day if it is sunny for fear that there may be hornets out ( he got stung three summers ago). Our ped. asked us to try zoloft for his depression and anxiety....we would love to hear from parents who are familiar with this. I haven't filled the perscription yet....but I will probably give it a try as Cam always seems so sad...and we just want him to be happy and not so fearful of the outdoors. Thanks.
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