Teen Son About to Start Anti-anxiety Drug

I WOULD NOT let my child take Xanax. It is highly addictive!!!! For some people it's ok and they have no problems but for most people it gets to where they need more and more and at 14 yrs old you don't know if he's going to be able to handle it. I would research, research, research on the internet and see all the things out there that talk about this.

I work very closely with a psychiatrist. Please make sure if your son takes these meds he is monitored by a child psychiatrist. Lexapro has been found in studies to be one of the most useful antidepressants and it's mechanism works a little quicker than others. You can see benefits in two weeks, not six. The dosage starts at 5 but can go ip from there. Some people are not always on a high enough dose. At first you can gave some nausea and sedation. Increased sweating is a possibility too. The first two usually go away within two weeks. Ask his psychiatrist and pharmacist for more details. Googling for side effects educates you but only in a limited way, an md can tell you what's most common for side effects, if they are time limited and how they monitor it. Remember even Tylenol and ibuprofen can have scary side effects if you look those up.
Using an anti-depressant to control anxiety is often the best choice. Anti-anxiety meds are sedating and addictive. They should only be used for panic attacks and severe forms of anxiety and other mental illnesses. Xaxax gets into your system quickly but also goes out quickly. Ativan gets in quickly but stays in your system a little longer. Klonopin is ghe slowest acting and stays in your system longest, and is the least addicting. Only you, your son and his psychiatrist can make the best choice about what's right for him.
Good luck.

Different people can experience different side effects. Read up on it and be prepared for them, also see if they have controlled release versions so it stays in your son's system and does not start to wear off so there is no roller coaster effects. If you are truely worried about it see if they can start him on a low dose (usually 5 mg) then up it slowly. Some doctors will do this at the beginning, but others start you on a higher dosage right off the bat (which I hate). Good Luck!

Hi,
Sister suffered for 5 yrs with IBS and was put on on a very low dose of Lexapro and I believe the generic of Xanax. Both helped reduce her anxiety dramatically because she never knew when she would have a flare up of the IBS and was working FT and a mom, the IBS was almost debilitating at times. If I remember correctly, it took her about 2 months for the Lexapro to help but the other medicine helped immediately. Be sure that you stay on top of your son's condition and emotional state while on these drugs and keep the Dr informed because I understand some of the anti-deps. can affect people differently. I hope this helps and your son gets better.

I have taken xanax for anxiety before and it would completely knock me out. I only took it for a short period of time bc of this but that was the only side effect I experienced with it. Of course if he has to take it and has the same problem you may just have him take it before bedtime. I was on lexapro for a small amount of time also and didn't feel any side effects from it. I was prescribed zoloft for the most part to help with my anxiety attacks and it seemed to work really good. However, what ever meds he does end up on, his body will most likely become dependent on and it becomes difficult to stop. I def. say if he needs the meds then he should be on them, I know how helpless one can feel when they're having problems and can't find anything to fix them but (this is just my opinion) while on them he should work toward finding other ways to deal with the anxiety and depression so he will be able to cope with life with out meds eventually. Good luck to you and your son and may God touch his body and heal it!

I don't have experience with the two you've mentioned but did want to reassure you that all can go extremely well with anti-anxiety medications. Our son is only seven but has OCD and depression (in addition to ADHD) and his medication, Celexa, has made a major difference in his quality of life. We've seen zero side effects. The OCD and depression are gone now, so I have high praise for what anti-anxiety meds can accomplish when nothing else worked. I hope you see just as great results with your son!

hi B., my situation is much different. my mom's bipolar and i've inhereted that. i used to take xanax for anxiety in college and it worked really well. i didn't have any side effects from it. i feel so much for your son. i hope he feels better with the medication. -M.

I am not going to question whether or not treatment with drungs is necessary for him... However, I did want to point out that patients with Crohn's often suffer from vitamin deficiencies because of malabsorption (their bowel may become unable to take up certain vitamins from food). Severe vitamin deficiencies can cause psychiatric symptoms like depression, anxiety or worse (even psychosis). Just make sure that in addition to therapy you have his GI specialist check his nutritional status. If he is deficient proper supplementation might help alleviate some of the symptoms.
Now I am not saying he should just pop some vitamins, that of course won't help - however malnutrition is a real concern in Crohn's patients.
Good luck, I hope he gets a good handle on it!

If it were my child, I would try the Lexapro first. It's pretty good at controlling anxiety for me and it can work on depression too for some people (it didn't for me, however) and it's far easier to stop taking Lexapro than Xanax in my experience, too. That is why it's where I would start :)

Good luck to him. It's an awful diagnosis, but with treatment and diet, he will hopefully be able to live a pretty normal life!

My son is 14 years old and since his diagnosis of Crohn's disease he has developed anxiety/depression. He was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago and it has been a struggle. I am looking for answers too on which one would be the best. He had a bad reaction to Xanax it caused psychosis but that was probably because the doctor gave him a very high dose of 2mg. and I am too afraid to give it to him again. He was on Lexapro but I didn't see a change, maybe we didn't give it enough time, he was constantly having flare ups so we didn't want more meds for him at the time. If you would be interested in talking since our sons are the same age, I would really appreciate it. I would really like to see if your son is going through some of the same things as mine.

I have taken various antidepressant and antianxiety medicine over 30 or so years. I've not taken Xanax but I've known those who have. None of them complained about any side effects. I've taken Lexapro and as I remember it didn't help me and so the doctor switched me to something else.

Nearly all of them can cause sleepiness or a tired feeling at first until the body gets used to them. I've not been addicted to any that I've taken and have not heard from the medical world that addiction is a concern. I do know that when one wants to stop taking them they have to taper off gradually or they will experience some serious side effects.

I'm in favor of using anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication. They have helped me immensely. I understand your nervousness about them since you've had not experience with them. Give them a try. If they don't work, try a different one. There will be no permanent results from using any of them as long as your son takes them under his doctor's supervision. People run into trouble when they make changes on their own.

You can find a list of possible side effects on line by googling the drug. Please remember that those how have most of the side effects are in the minority. Report anything that causes you or your son concern and be assured that your doctor and/or pharmacist can help you with them.

there are herbal remedies that might work, but I would run them by your doctor first to be sure they do not conflict with medications for the crohn's disease. If you would like links to a couple let me know.

HI B.,

I suffered from Ulcerative Colitis as a child and adult and the meds the doctors had me on really caused a lot of anxiety and edginess. Nutrition doesn't absorb properly with Crohn's. Lack of nutrition can cause anxiety. Have you looked into the side effects of his meds? If he's on any type of steroid that will cause it too. After years on prednisone and azulfadine and many others, I determined that the steroids didn't help at all. My UC is completely gone after I changed my diet.

If you can dodge the anti anxiety drugs, that would be best. The side effects are not only bad, but can exacerbate the anxiety. They also have to be weaned off of VERY slowly if they are not effective. Once you start them, it takes a lot to turn back.

Regards,

M.