Adderall has a reputation for making kids moody and irritable. I'd considering taking him off Adderall to see if his depression lifts. If he didn't do well on Zoloft, he might not do well on Prozac (happened to my son).
On the other hand, my 8-year-old daughter is on Prozac for severe anxiety and is doing well. Because her brother did so poorly on SSIs, we started very low (2 mg) and worked up slowly. Prozac comes in a liquid form that makes it possible to start with tiny doses to see if a child will tolerate it.
I'd still take a good hard look at the Adderall before resorting to antidepressants. Good luck.
Thanks Okiemom; What medication does your son take for the ADHD? My hesitation is the fact that he takes meds for ADHD, meds for seizures and now meds for depression.....3 different medications that effect chemicals in the brain. It just seems too much, however, I want him to have some relief too.
My son is on a combination of Concerta/Tenex for the ADHD. He also takes a supplement called Coromega, which is an Omega 3 supplement ( www.coromega.com ). He also takes Melatonin sometimes at bedtime as a sleep aid (over the counter supplement).
Okiemom
My daughter was on Adderall and had depression as a side effect of the medication, so we ended up taking her off of it. Was your son depressed before he started it? If he wasn't, you might want to consider trying something else. (My dd's attention *did* improve, but since I know what depression feels like from the inside I didn't want her to deal with that too if she didn't have to.)My 10 year old son, diagnosed 5 months ago with ADHD, is now experiencing depression. He's on 20mg Adderall XR and 10 mg of Adderall. He's been on Zoloft before, and it didn't do well for him. My sons phsyciatrist gives us a list of serious side effects for a child on anti-depressants. She said if I really wanted my son to have something that she would prescribe Prozac 10mgs to start. I'm very reluctant. In addition to the Adderall my son also takes Zonegran for seizures. I don't have a good feeling about another medication, however, his depression is getting pretty bad. My son does counseling and Neurofeedback in addition to the meds. I don't know what to do????My 12 year old was hospitalized earlier this year with suicidal ideations. He also has ADHD. Before this incident he had been on Concerta but had switched to Strattera. His suicide thoughts were not due to the Strattera he had been having some serious troubles with the transition to middle school. Anyway he was put on Prozac in the hospital and went on Adderall XR from his new doctor for the ADHD. He is currently taking 20mg of both. I heard from both the doctors in the hospital and our new doctor that Prozac was the only antidepressant specifically approved for kids or something like that. I can't remember the exact words. I was worried about him going on an antidepressant. I take prozac and was worried about him taking it as a kid. After the doctors told me this I felt much better about it. He has had no problems and has really been doing better.The combination of ADHD with anxiety/depression is such a complex issue. My son has both....he is dx'd ADHD Primary inattentive with generalized anxiety and dysthymia (persistent low grade depression).
We started our son on Zoloft about 1 year before we started treating the ADHD with stimulants. He started on Zoloft at age 9 in 4th grade. Up until then I tried to hold off on all meds.... but he was in serious emotional trouble, so we re thought our anti-med zealousness. He was sad, angry, full of rage, and even had non-specific suicide ideation. We were very scared. In addition to Zoloft, we also put our son into therapy, which has helped a lot also.
Zoloft helped my son tremendously. But it took time and guts on our part to get at a therapeutic dose level. He started at 25 mg, but then was bumped in increments over a 3 yr period from 25 to 50, 75, 100, and is now at 150 mg. He is doing great at this dose(he is now 13).
I'm not saying anti-depressants are the answer for your son or any other child. But they worked for us, along with therapy. I'm sure there are others for whom meds and/or therapy were not effective at all. Like all these treatments....what works for one child, may not work for another. Every child is different.
Regarding your trial of Zoloft......did your child have negative side effects, or did it just not seem to have any effect? What dose did you get up too?
Okiemom
okiemom38981.6320138889ScrapHappy,
if you're worried about adding another med, why not try a therapist or psychologist first? Often if the depression is tied to an event or a situation then therapy can be very helpful. A therapist would also be able to give him some coping skills and outlets for his feelings that he probably is unable to come up with on his own. If it doesn't help, then you could always add the med later.
Although my daughter has never had depressive symptoms that were severe or persistent, she has had some symptoms of OCD in the past, in addition to a lot of difficulties with focusing even while on ADHD medications. In addition to her Adderall XR, she is taking Depakote, which has helped with her OCD traits (in addition to her occasional mild depression and moodiness), and Wellbutrin, which has helped her with focusing. This medication combination has worked well for her for quite awhile. When the OCD symptoms first surfaced, she was tried first on Prozac, then on Zoloft, and these were both horrible experiences. She does best when she takes the Depakote.