Pysych Meds (13) anxiety

[sbgrace]

My son (Autism, combined type ADHD, OCD, now therapists are talking GAD as well) met with one of his weekly therapists yesterday. She brought me in to talk, and said she felt he needed medication help for his anxiety. 

 

He's experiencing chronic insomnia, which flairs the OCD. But, and this is important, he is also probably underlying anxious almost all the time apart from the OCD. He walks around in what seems to be a state of high alert and anxiety. I've been thinking lately that he needs help beyond therapy. But now that they squeezed us in w/his psych early next week, I'm scared.

 

I worry about mania, and my sister went manic on a med, and his regular mix of special needs is so almost there anyway sometimes. I worry about side effects generally, as he's had weird ones. The last ADHD med we tried resulted in chronic insomnia (well, it kicked it off--his mind took it from there). Two unexpectedly resulted in worsening OCD.

 

The therapist mentioned Buspar, which surprised me. But she's not the psych, and he has OCD too.  At our last psych appt about a month ago, the psych told me to think hard on sleep meds. I don't like the options there, but I've got no options here either. He's not sleeping. 

 

Any thoughts or experiences?  

Edited September 1, 2017 by sbgrace

[OneStepAtATime]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

None.  But I completely sympathize and hope you can find a healthier path for your child.

[PeterPan]

You could read about methylation (over, under) to see if that explains his reaction to the anxiety meds. There's genetic testing for it. 

 

In the mean time, I've been giving my ds Calm Child (just an herbal, chamomile tincture) in the evening before therapy appts. He had been having a lot of anxiety about the upcoming appt and was having trouble going to sleep that night. It's just enough to calm him down, then he wakes up more rested, which helps him then chill for the appt.

[wapiti]

You may recall that in pans world, there is an increased risk of mania, so the usual suggestion for meds is low and slow, starting super low at about one-tenth of a normal dose.

 

Our update, on the sleep, we are now working an unexpected angle. My kiddo was just taken back into surgery for sinus (septoplasty, turbinoidectomy, ethmoidectomy ). The insides are kinda mangled lol; rhinologist took one look at him and was like duh, no wonder he doesn't sleep. I was surprised because he only has mild postnatal drip, no obvious infection. Anyway, we shall see. Possible additional bonus: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28012531 (sorry I would say more but on my phone)

[PeterPan]

Wapiti, I know someone who had that turbinoidectomy, and it was a really rough, long recovery. :(  But you're right, opening that up might help! I hope your baby is better soon, wow.

[Terabith]

Both I and my 12 year old have had really good response to buspar.

[wapiti]

Wapiti, I know someone who had that turbinoidectomy, and it was a really rough, long recovery. :(  But you're right, opening that up might help! I hope your baby is better soon, wow.

 

New, modern methods - 3D computer-guided surgery, no splints, no packing, supposedly an expert doc (sub-specialist).  Hopefully tomorrow he will be done wearing a gauze pad for drainage, done with the bulk of the stuffiness/swelling over the weekend, and generally all cleared up within a week.  The plan is to return to school on Tuesday.  Doc said about one-third as bad as a T&A (which he had last March).  I'm sure it'll be a fun weekend!

 

The doc did find some infection areas after all, up in some corner of the ethmoid sinuses, and sent them off for culture.  Fingers crossed that this is what we've been looking for, for >3 yrs, sigh.

[Paige]

Not totally related, but I give my cat Buspar and he's a new individual. He had some traumatic experiences as an older kitten/ young cat that changed his personality and we tried for years to work with him with no success. The buspar has brought back his old personality. I have wondered about it for my anxious kids because it worked so fast for the cat- like the first day he quit being a jerk.

 

For people, I have at least 2 anxious kids; one with OCD as well. The doctor has recommended hydroxizine for both of them as a sleep/ anxiety aid. It's supposed to help if anxiety issues are keeping you up. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of a sleeping pill but the anti- anxiety function in this med makes sense. I'm going to pick it up for one child today, but the other one has tried it off and on this summer and it seems to help. It does not in any way put him to sleep or sedate him like melatonin or Benadryl, but only makes it possible to shut down his running OCD thoughts and sleep when he wants. So far so good...

[MomOfABunch]

The decision to medicate or not to medicate is a big, and very personal one. You said he had a bad reaction to ADHD meds, which naturally makes you want to be more cautious now. I totally get it.

 

My daughter has autism and a mood disorder. She also had horrid reactions and side effects to all ADHD meds. They made her worse, not better. Finally, finally, finally after exhausting all other options, she was referred to a psychiatrist who immediately diagnosed her mood disorder and prescribed an appropriate mix of mood stabilizers. Almost overnight, her behaviors changed. We were at the point of perusing residential placement for her because of her problem behaviors; it got to the point that she couldn't stay at home anymore. The right mix of meds from a very good child psychiatrist literally saved her six years ago. We've had to tweak dosages and such over the years, but now she is manageable. I won't say easy, but she's manageable. She goes to school in a private day ABA based program and almost always, I get good reports. I miss her when I don't get to see her every day.

 

My point is, the right meds, at the right time, for the right kid can really be magical. I wish, wish,wish,wish that I had known to take her to a psychiatrist from a much earlier age. Autism plus any kind of secondary diagnosis can be extremely tricky to treat. Remember that with any meds, you're not signing up forever. You can try it for awhile and stop or tweak as needed. Make sure your psychiatrist is reachable and willing to troubleshoot over the phone. Having that has saved me tons of time and stress over the years.

 

By the way, the side effects of her meds work in our favor: she gets sleepy and reliably sleeps a solid 10-12 hours every night and she gets hungry. For her, these are good because she refused to sleep or eat much before meds. I.was.completely.exhausted.all.the.time.

[Pawz4me]

DS18 has ASD-1 and GAD. He's been on Prozac for over two years for the GAD and it's made a wonderful difference for him. The anxiety is still there and I think he'll always deal with some level of it. But the medication keeps it at a manageable level.