I am seeking your real world experiences with Anxiety Medications?

Benzos (Xanax, Valium, Klonopin) are popular, but addictive. Not saying your kid is the type, but those kind of drugs would be easy to sell on the street and I would be concerned that if his friends or classmates caught wind that he was taking a medication like that, he might find people asking or harassing him to sell them. Of course, you know your kid and his friends, but I would be really wary. It happens a lot.
Do you know what kind of medication his doctor is suggesting?

@ANef_is_Enuf We are hoping to meet with his doctor today and want to know as much as I can. Reading the fact sheets don’t reveal much in the way of how kids respond to these meds. Thanks!

First and foremost, please do not make your son take these meds because he may be more emotional than you may be able to handle. I was and my mom forced me to take meds that to this day, I still have damage from – Zoloft (this is a HEAVY drug for a teen and I highly recommend against using it). Has your son spoken with a therapist? Not a psychiatrist, but a psychologist, counselor…? He needs tools that he can use now. I recommend the rubber band. Every time he is anxious, he can lightly snap the rubber band and keep track of how often he is anxious and have him write down the time, date, location and why he was anxious (if he knows). Also, if he is anxious about a particular thing, you can set him up, completely alone and have him force himself to think about those things that make him anxious every day for at least a week and if his brain is not tired enough from those thoughts, increase by 30 minutes each week until it does. These meds can be and often are very dangerous for people that age. I wouldn’t recommend meds until a person is at least 25. The best thing I ever found for my anxiety and it works within 15 minutes is .25 mg of Xanax. Any higher of a dose will just build up a tolerance, so less is more. If he needs to sleep, he can take 2 and it will relax him enough to be able to sleep. Paxil is horrible, it has too many side effects. As far as depression meds go, I recommend avoiding that for as long as possible because it can either take the edge off or push him over the edge. Another thing about depression meds is that they only work for so long and then you need to switch or rotate back and forth between the ones that have worked well, so that’s something you definately want to keep an eye on. Also, these types of meds can also trigger or bring out underlying mental disorders, such as borderline personality disorders and bi-polarity. Keep an eye on him. I recommend speaking with an Endochrinologist to see if he is over producing adreneline or some other hormones. This may not be a mental thing, it could also be physical. This is coming from my own personal experiences as a 31 yr old who has been in and out of therapy and treatment since I was 5. Finally, I highly recommend Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. This will help him understand that sometimes we use words in the wrong way. For example, you feel like a horrible person. Horrible person is not a feeling; therefore, you think you are a horrible person and then you analyze that thought. Why would you be a horrible person? You didn’t kill anyone, you’ve done good things in your life…and so on. My heart goes out to you both. Just be open and keep the lines of communication available. If you get frustrated or weary, do not let him know and do something to recharge your batteries. Good luck.

My son was on Paxil for a time which is an anti-depressant not an anti-anxiety med. It made him very jumpy the first few weeks and then was not that helpful (as he thought) after that. he did not stay on it more than a month or so.

Have you exhausted all other methods to reduce anxiety? CBT, routines, light therapy…etc

Is this a request of the school?

EDIT: Also, according to our therapists, anxiety can be treated with stimulants for 2 week trials. At the end of the 2 weeks, the therapists work with their patient to determine if further medication will be necessary.

I do want to say that I don’t think it is inappropriate to try meds. I know you are pursuing other avenues as well and the right medication may very well ease his anxiety in the short term so that he is able to process therapy. I think people jump on the anti-med bandwagon too fast and that each case is different.

I used Xanax for a few months when I was under tons of stress some years ago. I also use it if I am flying for extended periods of time, like overseas.

It is mild, no side effects, comes in 3 different dosage strengths and just takes the edge off while still allowing full functionality. I’d avoid the more hardcore antidepressant drugs, start small. Good luck!

My brother took Klonopin and hated it. All he could manage to do on it was eat and sleep. He seemed stoned all the time.

Reactions to any medications are personal, so it is unwise to go by other people’s experience. Ask your physician and learn from label sources and medical sites what possible side effects are. Many kids are relieved at the medication outcomes. Also, I find that people who respond about medication effects often tend to side on the negative.

I had a good friend who was prescribed Ativan for a short time (~2 weeks). I don’t know what led to the choosing of that drug over others. Normally she wouldn’t have even considered such a treatment but a confluence of events was starting to have compounding effects that she needed to put a quick stop to in order to deal with each effectively.

As far as the drug, she had no problems with it (that is to say it had the desired effect with no unmanageable repercussions). The only things that were notable: she did start sleeping longer that usual (but it wasn’t clear if that was a side-effect or a natural effect of the stress relief), she had a mild sexual side-effect, and she was stepped down off it rather than simply quitting (which if I remember correctly, cold-turkey can be dangerous with that drug or maybe class of drugs).

Here’s a Library of Medicine link (Ativan = Lorazepam) in case this is one being considered and you need to know more. And looking at it, I see stopping it is recommended to be a controlled process.

I have taken several different anxiety meds. In the end prozac suited me the best. The worst side effect I experienced was hyperhidrosis with the celexa. For me they worked exactly the way they were supposed to and I had very positive experiences. I have a friend who has tried three. Prozac made him mad as a hatter and the other two left him in a stupor.

That being said, check out this link. Many of these meds are now carrying black box warnings because of potential huge side effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors with teens and adolescents. I

@SuperMouse reminded me; I should have said my friend was not in her teens when she was prescribed. I can’t say what the differences between her experience and your son’s might be because of that but as @SuperMouse noted there can be some serious differences between adolescent and adult users with many such drugs.

I tried Paxil once, for 2 weeks, HORRIBLE experience! This is when I went with the Xanax. I was a complete zombie, and then, was allergic and broke out in hives, which I had NEVER had in my life!
My doc at the time told me that was not a side effect. Really? Well..it was for me! Later I discovered that it is a side effect in sensitive people.

“Situational” depression is NOT the same thing as chemically messed up brain depression. I would NEVER, EVER, take any anti-depressants, even again, My brain is just fine, thanks!

Besides…“situational” depression or anxiety is temporary, not chronic.

I remember having a very clear insight at that time of my stress overload and thinking ” I don’t need a pill, I need a new life!” Yep, that’s WHY I was depressed to begin with. haha

I am very against the Prozac nation mentality…very few people really need their brain chemistry altered, what they need is to make the changes in their life that are the underlying cause of their depression.

I can’t thank you all enough along with those that are PM’ing me thank you for being so open and sharing your experiences. This is all good information to have when we go to the doctor later and have to review our options.

Keep em coming

Anxiety and depression go with the territory at age 15. I would accept the need for medication only as a last resort. That’s just my personal opinion, and as I don’t know the circumstances I can’t really say.

Benzos like Adivin, valium, xanax, and klonopin are magical for most people regarding anxiety. It is almost instant. They are very addictive, but I highly recommend them for times of accute crisis, making sure the person knows they can be addictive and it is only for short term use.

Antidepressants, like SSRI’s take time to build up and start working. Some doctors prescribe things like Prozac and klonopin together initially, which I think is kind of a good idea, and then taper down the klonopin as the Prozac begins to work. It is very usual to have to try 2 or 3 drugs to get to the right one. Make sure they start him at the very minimum does, look up the drugs in the PDR yourself to see available dosages and warnings. Do not rely on the doctor to inform you one what to be careful not to tae the drugs with. Certain psych drugs like MAOI’s have a lot of contraindictations, but it is unlikely he will be given that type of drug.

Another thing, antidepressants like Prozac, SSRI’s, logically since they are antidepressants can actually give people anxiety feelings, hence some doctors prescribing a benzo with them initially, so really listen to your son if he feels the drug is making him feel worse.

My girlfriend went on Prozac and it was magical for her. She said it was the first time she felt normal in 10 years. She lost 80 pounds, she was thrilled to take the drug. People usually don’t mind taking medication that makes them feel better, so if he complains of side effects, listen. I took Prozac once, long story, and it was awful, I felt totally nuts on the medication, I think probably because my problem was not depression really. I tried it for 5 weeks like they wanted me to, saying it should start working better by then, and then threw the rest in the trash. I tend to not buy into the wait several weeks spiel anymore. 5 weeks to feel the positive effects is different than 5 weeks to see if bad side effects go away.

Do you feel he is very anxious, or just very depressed?

I am on Celexa, which treats depression and anxiety. I’m one of those rare lucky ones who has gotten great results from the first drug I tried. It has helped me immensely with getting through a difficult period of time (surgery). Whereas before I was having trouble getting out of bed in the mornings, I’m now feeling normal or even better. No side effects. I don’t know how common these kinds of good results are, though. Best of luck to you and yours, and feel free to PM me for more info.

Xanax is like being back in the womb, that’s how safe you feel on it. But, it is addictive – for more mild anxiety, I’ve had a lot of luck with beta blockers (specifically propanelol), which isn’t addictive. Lexapro is known as an SSRI for helping to reduce anxiety along with depression (and I loved it, though it did make me gain a lot of weight and took all the energy out of me for 6 months), while Prozac often increases anxiety.

@Coloma Situational depression can often create the chemical imbalance in the brain. Just because someone knows the external cause for their depression doesn’t mean they won’t need antidepressants to get out of it.

Oh, if anxiety is actually the main concern, Buspar is not addictive and usually effective enough. But, it seemed to me he is depressed when we first learned of your son having some troubles.

If you can, you might want to give talk therapy a few weeks to start working, assuming he is not suicidal right now, something accute as I mentioned above. He was holding it together andnablemto fool you for a while, which means to me he can control it enough to push through possibly, while working on feeling better.

Also, to kind of agree with @Coloma, when I start feeling like I want to reach for a pill because my situation is stressful, I try to change or dump the situation rather than take the pill. As a teen I never took medication, maybe it would have helped, I don’t know. I have only taken meds during severe anxiety that left me physically out of control. Unable to eat, dry heaves, shaking. Being depressed I just talk thingsnthrough and it gets better. Just my personal experience.

My aunt, father, and friends boyfriend are all on them and have a few things in common:

- they always seem tired and unmotivated while on them
– they get less interesting, and less social

I haven’t read all of the answers here, so forgive me if I’m repeating anything. I have GAD and suffered with extreme panic attacks for many years. I take Effexor XR (actually, the ‘generic’, Venlafaxine) daily, and will always need to. I also have Xanax, which I take as needed (in the beginning, that was several times a day… now I rarely need it). Both have worked like a charm for me.

Edit: One of my children also needed anxiety meds when she was younger. We hated to do it, but it was absolutely necessary. At the time, she couldn’t swallow pills, so they put her on an old-school liquid, Nortriptyline. I honestly don’t know if she would have survived without it. She is medication free now, after a couple of years of meds and therapy, and doing very well.

Personal experience is helpful in that it can tell you what could happen. But never generalize. These meds affect everyone differently and what happened to other people here may or may not happen to your son.

I took klonopin for like three days. The first day, I took the whole amount (one pill) and it turned me into a caterpiller driving a mac truck through fog. I cut it down to half a pill and finally to a quarter of a pill. I could tolerate it at that dosage and it did help, although I probably only used 10% of the bottle. I gave most of it away to a friend, but I still ave about ten quarter pills lying around.

So you can adjust the dosage if it knocks him out (if you have a prescription for it). It is addictive, but hopefully you only need to use it as a short term measure to stabilize him until he is ready to cope with life on his own.

That’s my only experience with anxiety medications. I prefer to use mindfulness techniques these days. A lot of people like CBT, but that doesn’t work with everyone. You could try it, but I would recommend mindfulness as a better place to start. This self talk stuff can help, but it can also make things much worse. Mindfulness either works or it doesn’t (rarely). If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t make things worse. Both techniques have lots of research to support them, but I’ve been told that there are increasing questions about CBT. But that’s just rumor-mongering. It has not really worked for anyone I know in real life.

To follow on what @wundayatta wrote, Klonopin is more sedative than Xanax, but a lot of doctors won’t write Xanax, unfortunately.

I have been on all the anti-anxiety meds, and I will say…therapy was the best thing for me. But, while in therapy…I took medication only when having a panic attack, because I did not want my body relying on medication. Xanax, or Ativan are my two favorites. Therapy is what helped me come off medication completely for 5 years now. (I am looking to get back on Xanax though, as needed…I am having certain issues with not being able to do things I used to love because of a fear of internal sensations…I know the medication will chill that out.)

I will be taking all this into account and from the responses here Xanax and Prosac seemed to carry the most favor and Paxil seemed to carry the least. At least I can now carry on a semi informed discussion with my Doc and can ask some of the right questions I now have.

Thanks everyone!

@Cruiser Don’t forget @Mariah‘s answer about Celexa, which I found very interesting because it was so effective for both depression and anxiety. Prozac seemed to have mixed reviews; I gave a mixed review of it myself, some people doing great on it, and others not at all.

@JLeslie I will and thank you for your answers as well. I got a lot more really helpful info in PM’s and other forums that I based my reply here on. ;)

@Cruiser I see. Wishing you the best. Let us know how it goes.

Celexa is great if it works for you. It doesn’t cause you to feel peaceful or happy or anything artificial. It just keeps the anxiety at bay. You don’t even notice that it’s doing anything because you just feel normal. This can actually be a problem for many people. Because the effects were invisible,

I had a hard time sometimes remembering that I needed to take it. Why should I take this drug if I don’t feel any anxiety? I’d quit and a week or so later, I’d slowly get more and more anxious until my husband would start demanding I take it again. When I took it again, it would always seem like a coincidence that things that usually freaked me out just happened not to freak me out for a change.

I think THAT is the key to a good anti-anxiety med. You don’t want something with a Xanax or Valium type effect. Artificial serenity is addictive. It’s also not safe to be completely impervious to anxiety. You want the ability to get anxious and worry—when you NEED to. You want a drug that works so well and targets anxiety so specifically that it seems like you’re just naturally not feeling anxious—and nothing else. Then you have to make sure you take it even though there may be days you don’t want to.

I would still be taking Celexa, but my body chemistry must have changed while pregnant. It just didn’t work at all after I gave birth no matter what dosage I was on. I went on another medication, Zoloft and had to quit because of terrible side effects. (Vivid, disturbing dreams, hypersomnia and it exaggerated a minor facial tic I have until I looked like Billy Bob Thorton in Sling Blade ) I took Lexipro and it was another good “invisible” pill.

I should add that on celexa I felt very jittery and couldn’t sleep for about 2–3 days, I almost decided to quit but the effect wore off. So try and push through that kind of stuff and see if it might be temporary before giving up. A family member of mine has tried Prozac and she felt very gaggy on it, lost her appetite, dry heaves – she quit it because it didn’t seem to be going away. Everyone reacts differently unfortunately.

I actually prefer Paxil over Prozac…I was at the max on Prozac when they decided to switch me because it did nothing…it’s also not a good anti-anxiety.

As a side note. Some people have trouble having orgasms on SSRI’s. Maybe the doctor might want to let him know? So he knows he can tell the doctor if it happens to him. Probably he won’t want to tell his parents.

@JLeslie HS!! We are talking about my baby boy here!! Shame on you!! ;)

15.

My reaction to Klonopin was that I became hyper. What can I say? I got hyper and couldn’t relax.