Escitalopram worries for my 15 year old son.

[rainbowwedding]

Hi all, my son was on a medication called Sertraline but he became very hyperactive, confrontational and sure it helped with the anxieties but he became very excitable, agressive and thought he was above everyone. l slowly weaned him off after advise from the Doctor and it has been recommended that Escitalopram should be tried. Has anyone heard of this sort of the behaviour menioned above from Escitalopram. He suffers from Argophobia, Social Phobia, Monophobia and OCD:unsure: . Any advise will much be appreciated.

[suzy-sue]

The symptoms your son experienced can possibly happen on any anti depressant unfortunately,especially in children and teenagers.That said ,just because it can happen ,doesnt mean it will,some people find they are better on one med than the other.Its just finding one he will be ok on. Any changes to his behaviour ,must be reported to the Dr as they present themselves. I wish you and your Son good luck and hope this awful problem gets better for you both soon luv SUE:hugs:

[suzy-sue]

Sorry i forgot to ask you <has your son been receiving counselling and CBT for his problems,as this would help him . Sue

[bab]

Hi there

I have to agree with sue, these meds - especially SSRI'S can all have that effect especially in under 18's, having said that it could just be initial side effects and may wear off in a couple of weeks

lots of love

[alias_kev]

Advice is a mixed blessing in this case a clearly your som has a lot of problems. The good news is that Escitalopram has a LOT of badges for the problems you identify:
Treatment of major depressive episodes.
Treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia.
Treatment of social anxiety disorder (social phobia).
Treatment of generalised anxiety disorder.
Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder
On the other hand in common with most (all?) anti-depressants and especially SSRIs (which manipulate the brains' Seratonin process) it carries the following warning:
Use in children and adolescents under 18 years of age
Cipralex should not be used in the treatment of children and adolescents under the age of 18 years. Suicide-related behaviours (suicide attempt and suicidal thoughts), and hostility (predominantly aggression, oppositional behaviour and anger) were more frequently observed in clinical trials among children and adolescents treated with antidepressants compared to those treated with placebo. If, based on clinical need, a decision to treat is nevertheless taken, the patient should be carefully monitored for the appearance of suicidal symptoms. In addition, long-term safety data in children and adolescents concerning growth, maturation and cognitive and behavioural development are lacking.
They should start on a low dose as Esc' is quite strong/pure. Where they have been tested these kind of meds recommend lower dosages than normal in the elderly or the young. The maximum tested dose of Esc' is 20mg PER DAY and normal dosage is 10mg PER DAY. At your son's age I'd hope they would start at 5mg or even 2.5mg.

All Info from: Official SPC document (http://emc.medicines.org.uk/medicine/9360/SPC/Cipralex++5%2c+10+and+20+mg+Film-Coated+Tablets+and+10+mg+ml+oral+drops%2c+solution ./)

I recommend you read that and the PIL info at the same site. If you need things explained come back to us.

edit: By comparison with an SPC for Sertraline (http://emc.medicines.org.uk/medicine/18935/SPC/Sertraline+50mg%2c+100mg+Tablets+%28Wockhardt+UK+L td%29/) that medication is tested in children for OCD only but is not recommended for childhood depression. So even that had things to recommend and reject it.

Good Luck with this - its clearly going to be a difficult balance between benefit and risk.

[rainbowwedding]

Hi everyone. I would firstly like to thank you for your kind advise. I will be starting my son on the medication on Saturday and l was wondering weather it will be best to administer it at night or the morning? l will let you know how we get on. Kind Regards and thanks again.:)

[bab]

hi rainbow

i take mine at night as i found it easier to sleep off the side effects. might be hard for first couple of nights but should ease off.

[alias_kev]

Not to contradict Bab but others have posted that nighttime doses of SSRIs interfere with sleeping. I myself found that I had lots of very vivid dreams even once I was established on them. Nights may be better initially though as (for example) I suffered some headache and lots of sleepiness during the first weeks.

Normally our Serotonin level falls at night, its part of the daily pattern but any of the SSRIs (and similar) push up our Serotonin - its pretty unclear how quickly they do so in the individual and how much the level varies during a day. So they may interfere with the natural rythmn as well as increasing the average level.

So for the individual its probably a matter of preference/trial and error.

[rainbowwedding]

Hi all again. l introduced 5ml of escitopalopram to my son yeaterday and he turned into a very confrontual person. To be honest l was scared and it lasted for two hours. He was biting his hand was bright red and fuming. l was wondering whether they do 1ml to start off with and try again?????
Any advise would be apreciated.:weep: :huh:

[suzy-sue]

HI Rainbow,! I would cut his dose by half to 2.5ml for a few days and see how he is.Phone his Dr and tell them why you have done this.He will suffer side effects ,but the lower dose might bring them down a bit. All the best to you both ,Luv Sue:hugs: