- What Can Be Done For My Son?
QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
My son is 12 years old. He is ADHD, has an anxiety disorder (panic attacks associated with eating and traveling). He seems to becoming increasingly oppositional and is unable to manage his schoolwork and has suffered socially as well. His doctor has him on Paxil 40mgs. For the anxiety and Concerta 36 mg. for his attention deficit disorder.
I am seeing a kid change before my eyes. I feel the Paxil has helped the panic attacks to a certain degree, but my son still avoids eating many foods and rarely goes anywhere in the car…including local errands.
I am worried the Paxil is making him more moody. When I looked into the side effects of Paxil online I was scared to death to read about the lethargy and lack of will and good health these people felt. Also, they talked a lot about agonizing withdrawal symptoms.
Can you shed any light on this? And, can a child be switched to another anti-depressant without these withdrawal symptoms occurring? Why would a doctor use this drug on a child, or anyone, knowing it is so addicting?
Desperately seeking help for my child, he just “wants to be a kid!”
ANSWER:
Both medications are extremely appropriate and neither is addicting.
If he’s going through puberty, the borderline disorder is a definite possibility. (You will find more on this at: http://pks.947.myftpupload.com/bpd.htm.) The generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is also a possibility, which would result in the Paxil and Concerta increasing his anxiety. This is genetic; so one or both parents would have the GAD (persistent worry, mind never shutting down). If the GAD were present, BuSpar (another safe, non-addicting medication) would enable him to take the other medications without worsening his anxiety.
One extremely important point – your son is not ADHD any more than he would be a strep throat or a broken ankle. He has ADHD. It’s an extremely harmful thing to say about him.
