ADHD and Prozac Question??? | ADHD Information

My son is 10 years old. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 7. He has been on Concerta and switched to Vyvanse over a year ago. It helps him with his focusing a lot at school. He is a very good student. When he is not on it, he can not focus and it takes him a long time to get tasks completed. He does have a lot of anxiety though some time obsesses about things a lot. Something will come up like there is going to be a Thunderstorm, and that is all he can think about and what is going to happen. It is hard for him to work with his peers as he doesn’t get things they talk about and he is very anxious with them. Not knowing what to say to them or what to do.

He also can not think outside of the box to problem solve. If something comes up and doesn’t go the way he planned it out to be then he gets upset even if there are many other ways to think it though. His football coach told him to get a football to carry around to get used to holding the ball (he is a RB). We didn’t have that size ball as the one he used last year was smaller. I told him I could get him one tomorrow and he could use the smaller one now. He got upset and cried because he is suppose to use the larger one and he thought he would get use to the smaller one and then the larger one wouldn’t work. I told him that it would be okay but he couldn’t accept that.

Anyway, my point to this whole statement above is the fact that his Dr suggested we try him on Prozac for his anxiety. We have already reduced his Vyvanse down to 20mg and that has helped somewhat (it was at 40mg). I am just worried about using Prozac on a kid and if it is the right thing to do. I never wanted to give my son medication but I can see that it has helped him. So, I guess I am just looking for some advice about using Prozac from my son. What are the positive and negative effects?

Please help.

Thanks,

Chad

My DD(15) was diagnosed almost three years ago with ADD inattentive type, and generalized anxiety disorder non-specified.  The doctor thought that the anxiety might be because of the stress of her untreated ADD.  She started stimulants and it made the anxiety MUCH worse.  She actually has OCD instead of GAD, and the stims made it worse.  She started skin-picking.  That is when I knew she had to have anxiety meds.  She worked her way up to 200mg Zoloft, along with Vyvanse.  Eventually, she had to stop stims completely and is now on Intuniv for the ADD.  Zoloft stopped working after 2yrs, and she tried Prozac this summer which resulted in major stomach problems.  She is now on Luvox CR and Intuniv and it seems to be working, yay!

If you think your son needs help with the anxiety I would try the Prozac.  I know how hard it is to have your kid on meds, but my DD would not be functioning with hers.  My heart broke to watch her anxiety control her like.  Prozac is one that is supposed to work well for anxiety. 

Hope this helps  a little bit!