What do you all think about a child taking prozac for panic disorder?

Question

The child is 11 and has had panic attacks and is fearfull all the time.He has been on prozac for 2 months with much improvement...this is an inherited condition and he has a stable home with no tramitic experiences in his past.I am concerned of the long term with his condition.

Yes...he is under the care of a psycologist and peditrician

It is sometimes hard to know what the right thing to do is,especially when its your child and you are responsable for them.I have him on meds and I guess I just wanted reassureance that the choice I have made is the right one.For the long term...along with coping skills.I have the same dissorder but do not take meds.But I am 37 and he is only a child who is not able to talk himself out of a situation.Thank you for all the input.

Answer 1

There are a lot of different views on children taking meds for anxiety, depression, attention span disorders; some are negative and some are all FOR a child taking meds to control their disorders. I think it's up to YOU the parent who has to deal with the child and the issues that accompany their disorder. If you are comfortable with your child taking meds and he/she is improving then I don't see a problem with that so long as you are made well aware of the possible side effects of the meds on your child. And if the medication is improving their quality of life I don't see why this would be a "bad" thing. It's solely up to you. We as parents need to decide what is best for our kids. Don't let people tell you that what you are doing is wrong or bad. It's all about what will work for your child for them to have a normal life. That's what's important. Take care.

Answer 2

I do not know the long term effects of Prozac, however I have heard rumors that it loses effectiveness over time unless the dosage is raised.

Please consider having the child tested for hyperinsulinemia. The test is called the fasting blood insulin test, and is a one-time blood test.

If the doctor won't order the test, ask the doctor to prescribe it - because you can take the prescription to a blood lab and pay cash - ask for a cash discount - may be $80-100. I suggest you go to a "Quest" lab - or any lab that does this test daily (not just once a month) as it has to be done right. If the result is 10 or higher, that is the borderline for high insulin in adults. If high insulin is determined to be the cause, you may want to check out www.hufa.org for basic information on the blood sugar imbalances that can result from hyperinsulinemia, and what to do about them. Panic attacks may be a symptom of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). My nightmares sure abated after I started eating correctly to balance my blood sugar.

Answer 3

Is your child seeing a child psychiatrist? I have panic disorder and have been on Ativan for years. I find the side effects of Prozac and the SSRI's too dangerous particularly for a young kid. People have been taking benzodiazipines for years with no problem. Both drugs have side effects including brain damage. Read the PDR. It's in the library. Physician's Desk Reference. Ask your doctor why he prefers Prozac over Ativan or Xanax or Klonopin. I bet he says it's because he fears addiction. If he says that, he's nuts. My first big panic attack was at age 32, but thinking back I did have several panic attacks about age 10 and I was always a fearful, worried kid, but I lived in a stressful situation with an impoverished family that was run by my Dad a control freak and a Mom who though loved me didn't understand much about raising children.

Answer 4

There is a lot of bad talk about prozac being addictive etc. As with all medication each dose is dependant on the patient taking it. I am sure that he is being monitered regularly and hopefully won't have any ill effects from it later in life.
If he is able to lead a normal life whilst taking it, this surely has to be a good thing. It must be awful to go through life fearing everything.

I myself have been having panic attacks recently and it is the most frightening feeling in the world and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. I am now on anti-depressants (not prozac) and it is helping me a lot to deal with such situations.

Answer 5

Teach him ways of coping with hia panic other than relying completely on medication. This will help the medication work in his system, and should help him learn some very valuable coping skills. If the Prozac works, then stick with it. Also, talk to the doctor about using valerian in tandem with the prozac, and see it it will work.

Answer 6

If a doctor prescribed it and it is helping him, what is the problem? You have to do what's best and what the doctor advises.