should I put kids on anxiety meds
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grace, in NY
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:33 am
I have two children who both have severe anxiety and OCD. They have been through councelling and did help a little. The anxiety is affecting my kids life. Daughter is very limited in what she does. She can't be alone and is on my bedroom floor sleeping. I have done a ton of things to help her but nothing does. Has anyone tried meds that have helped or is there another solution
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Guest
Gosh, I'm not in your boat, but coming from an individual who suffered from PTSD from a young age and who has been in ongoing counseling throughout my life (now I'm 29), sometimes there just isn't anything else that you can do. A child's developing brain is so complex it's hard to say what will work and what won't work. I know that this is a struggle that my mother faced with me.Originally posted by grace, in NY:
I have two children who both have severe anxiety and OCD. They have been through councelling and did help a little. The anxiety is affecting my kids life. Daughter is very limited in what she does. She can't be alone and is on my bedroom floor sleeping. I have done a ton of things to help her but nothing does. Has anyone tried meds that have helped or is there another solution
I think what you have to remember for yourself is "what can I do to keep myself healthy for my children". If you need your children to try out anxiety meds, then do it. You won't know what will work or what won't work unless you try it. Hard pill to swallow for your kids sometimes, but it has to be done for all who are involved.
One other thing that will help you is educating yourself about the disorder as well as how the brain develops. There's this new book out called "Nurtureshock". It's quite interesting. It's a study on child development and how the brain develops. I didn't think I would be able to understand it and follow it, but I've been able to stay on key all the way through. I picked it up at Borders. I don't know, maybe the book will help.
Hope I was able to shed some light onto your "plight".
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Guest
Hi, Grace,
My heart goes out to you. While I don't have kids of my own, I very much relate to your situation and hope you won't mind my reply.
As a child and teenager, I suffered from severe depression, anxiety and PTSD. I remember having anxiety by age six and being suicidally depressed by age 12. I was not formally treated or diagnosed until I was 22 and have been in therapy and on medication since. I am now 41.
I very much wish - as now do my parents - that something had been done for me when I was younger and when the symptoms first started and worsened.
Throughout the last 20 years, I have been on many medications and seen many different doctors and therapists. You may not immediatley find answers - you may have to try different therapists until you find the right fit, and as different people react differently to different medications, some trial and error may be involved there, as well. But finally at last, I am on the right medications, seeing wonderful physicians and a therapist and am the healthiest I have ever been. Keep pushing and trying until you find what is right for you and your family.
Your children could also benefit from doing this program. I wish it had been available to me as a teen. Perhaps you could talk to your mom friends and get some therapist or physician referrals from them or a school guidance counselor.
Hope this helps. Best of luck to all of you.
Regards,
CC
My heart goes out to you. While I don't have kids of my own, I very much relate to your situation and hope you won't mind my reply.
As a child and teenager, I suffered from severe depression, anxiety and PTSD. I remember having anxiety by age six and being suicidally depressed by age 12. I was not formally treated or diagnosed until I was 22 and have been in therapy and on medication since. I am now 41.
I very much wish - as now do my parents - that something had been done for me when I was younger and when the symptoms first started and worsened.
Throughout the last 20 years, I have been on many medications and seen many different doctors and therapists. You may not immediatley find answers - you may have to try different therapists until you find the right fit, and as different people react differently to different medications, some trial and error may be involved there, as well. But finally at last, I am on the right medications, seeing wonderful physicians and a therapist and am the healthiest I have ever been. Keep pushing and trying until you find what is right for you and your family.
Your children could also benefit from doing this program. I wish it had been available to me as a teen. Perhaps you could talk to your mom friends and get some therapist or physician referrals from them or a school guidance counselor.
Hope this helps. Best of luck to all of you.
Regards,
CC
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Guest
Hi Grace,
Okay, Anxiety/depression runs in my family, my aunts, now me and two of my sisters, and I have two kids of my own now, and one I suspect is a bit sensative also.
My sister as a child had severe anxiety, nearly flunked 4th grade due to severe seperation anxiety, by 5th grade she was partly agoraphobic , she only went to school b/c my mom worked there, and would check in on her frequently, when home, my mom couldn't even go the bathroom alone, my sister was always on the same floor of the house, or same room if possible. She had one friend who would come over to our house, anyone who invited her out , she wouldn't go, Or would have my mom go with her. It was suffocating for my mom.
She finally reached out to counselors, and found a pediatric psychiatrist (sp?)Who prescribed my sister meds, my mom was so hesitant to take that step. But when she did, she saw a big enough improvement to move forward. There was a bit of tweaking her medicine, but my siser improved to the point she was socializing more, crying less, and quality of life was getting better.
By high school, she was thriving, then her best friend whom was there for her through it all. The only friend that would come over, she died tragically at 14, in a car accident.
We mourned with her, but waited w/baited breath wondering if this would push her over the edge.
It didn't.
while she still misses her friend, she moved forward. She finished high school, she moved out, went to college and now is 21yrs old, living more than 13 states away from family.
If you asked my mom 10yrs ago if my sister would move next door, let alone across the country, she'd said NO.
There has been ups and downs, new doctors, tweaking meds, new meds, weaning off old meds, always in touch w/ counselors, pyschiatrist and psycologists. But w/ her faith in God, and all these tools plus time, she's walking through it successfully.
Right now your kids may not be at an age where they can really express their feelings. My sister did not do the program till she was 18ys old, though she'd been on maintenace meds for 9 yrs by that point. She had to get to a maturity point, of recognizing her feelings, making the connection between the cause and effect.
Things too mature for tweens, or younger. Even though I tried talking to her, she was wasn't ready to dig into feelings till after high school.
But now she's thinking about becoming a pediatric anxiety counselor.
Don't feel guilty about trying medicine, it gave my sister her life back till she was mature enough to explore the root causes.
Some of us are just wired the way we are. IT makes us wonderful, intelligent, creative, and sometime in this over stimiulated world, sick at times.
Trial and error.
Hang in there grace, this will figure it self out. Every new thing may be one more tool in your belt to help your kids, some will work, some won't. But you never know what will help till you try.
Good luck much peace and prayers to you.
Okay, Anxiety/depression runs in my family, my aunts, now me and two of my sisters, and I have two kids of my own now, and one I suspect is a bit sensative also.
My sister as a child had severe anxiety, nearly flunked 4th grade due to severe seperation anxiety, by 5th grade she was partly agoraphobic , she only went to school b/c my mom worked there, and would check in on her frequently, when home, my mom couldn't even go the bathroom alone, my sister was always on the same floor of the house, or same room if possible. She had one friend who would come over to our house, anyone who invited her out , she wouldn't go, Or would have my mom go with her. It was suffocating for my mom.
She finally reached out to counselors, and found a pediatric psychiatrist (sp?)Who prescribed my sister meds, my mom was so hesitant to take that step. But when she did, she saw a big enough improvement to move forward. There was a bit of tweaking her medicine, but my siser improved to the point she was socializing more, crying less, and quality of life was getting better.
By high school, she was thriving, then her best friend whom was there for her through it all. The only friend that would come over, she died tragically at 14, in a car accident.
We mourned with her, but waited w/baited breath wondering if this would push her over the edge.
It didn't.
while she still misses her friend, she moved forward. She finished high school, she moved out, went to college and now is 21yrs old, living more than 13 states away from family.
If you asked my mom 10yrs ago if my sister would move next door, let alone across the country, she'd said NO.
There has been ups and downs, new doctors, tweaking meds, new meds, weaning off old meds, always in touch w/ counselors, pyschiatrist and psycologists. But w/ her faith in God, and all these tools plus time, she's walking through it successfully.
Right now your kids may not be at an age where they can really express their feelings. My sister did not do the program till she was 18ys old, though she'd been on maintenace meds for 9 yrs by that point. She had to get to a maturity point, of recognizing her feelings, making the connection between the cause and effect.
Things too mature for tweens, or younger. Even though I tried talking to her, she was wasn't ready to dig into feelings till after high school.
But now she's thinking about becoming a pediatric anxiety counselor.
Don't feel guilty about trying medicine, it gave my sister her life back till she was mature enough to explore the root causes.
Some of us are just wired the way we are. IT makes us wonderful, intelligent, creative, and sometime in this over stimiulated world, sick at times.
Trial and error.
Hang in there grace, this will figure it self out. Every new thing may be one more tool in your belt to help your kids, some will work, some won't. But you never know what will help till you try.
Good luck much peace and prayers to you.
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Guest
Grace you asked if anything else helped,
I remember a couple of things that might help a little, you may already be doing them..
First Sleep.
Sleep is huge, make sure they going to bed at a reasonable time, getting enough sleep helps tremendously.
Watch the soda/caffeine. Tea, cocoa, anything w/ caffeine is NOT helpful, it only amps up the nerves.
Also white processed sugar. I have two family members who have more frequent panic attacks after a big dessert. Watch the sugar intake,cutting it out completely is NO fun, but a HUGE piece of cake and two scoops of icecream is going to irritate a nervous system you know?
Also doing something calming before bed, bath, funny movie, prayers, reading, all helps.
I wish you loads of patience while you search for the tools that help your kids specifically.
We're all different, I'm praying for you now.
Hang in there mama.
I remember a couple of things that might help a little, you may already be doing them..
First Sleep.
Sleep is huge, make sure they going to bed at a reasonable time, getting enough sleep helps tremendously.
Watch the soda/caffeine. Tea, cocoa, anything w/ caffeine is NOT helpful, it only amps up the nerves.
Also white processed sugar. I have two family members who have more frequent panic attacks after a big dessert. Watch the sugar intake,cutting it out completely is NO fun, but a HUGE piece of cake and two scoops of icecream is going to irritate a nervous system you know?
Also doing something calming before bed, bath, funny movie, prayers, reading, all helps.
I wish you loads of patience while you search for the tools that help your kids specifically.
We're all different, I'm praying for you now.
Hang in there mama.
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Guest