Pristiq

[bangkok6]

I am a concerned mom.  My 16 year old has suffered from OCD, Anxiety, and ADHD for the last 7 years.  We were on zoloft for 5 of them and it worked well until she suffered a major depressive episode from struggling in school socially and academically.  The academics surprised us for she has always been a top student in the hardest classes and suddenly she can't focus, remember things, or stay on task.  They tried her on Strattera with Zoloft and it made her seriously tired and have a racing heart when she was awake.  They took her off that and put her on Ritilin with did nothing.  They then put her on Wellbutrin which worked great for the depression but nothing for the anxiety and ADHD.  They tried to then layer in Concerta with the Wellbutrin and it caused her fatigue and fevers.  Then they switched her to Lexapro which made her numb to everything and not care about anything but did not address the focus issues.  They layered in Concerta again to address the focus and again the fevers and fatigue came back.  So now they have her on 50 mg of Pristiq (for one month) but she says her focus is still horrible (I know for she is failing school) and her OCD/intrusive thoughts are horrible.  I am saddened and desperate to seek advice for she is so tired of the side effects of all the medicine and feeling horrible.  Her therapist and Psychiatrist don't know what to do.  Any advice?  What is the best medicine combo for ADHD and OCD/anxiety?  This wonderful young girl has a IQ that is through the roof and might not even graduate from HS because she cannot stay on track.  She is so tired of feeling bad…please advise.

[StormBeforeCalm]

Unfortunately there's no "best" medicine out there, and just about everything has side effects. The cocktail of medications I'm on for depression, anxiety and OCD keeps my symptoms under control, for the most part, but it also gives me terrible fatigue. I have had to learn to live with it. If there's a combination that works for her but causes side effects, I'd stick with it if at all possible. That being said, there are lots of other medications out there, and lots of combinations that can be tried. It takes time, though, to adjust to each medication and see how well it works. Is it possible for her to take some time off school while she gets stable on medications? Especially if she's already in danger of not graduating, take the pressure off of being in school, let her focus on getting well, and when she's feeling better then she can go to school again. Just my two cents.

 

I'd be happy to talk to your daughter if it would be helpful for her. I don't have ADHD but I do have OCD and anxiety, and I know all about not being able to focus. My anxiety causes me terrible loss of concentration. Anyway, would your daughter be willing to join the boards here? It might help her to talk things out with some of us. As someone will inevitably tell you, this is a first person site, and getting help for loved ones on here is discouraged. It's encouraged for people to seek their own help.

[jt07]

Hello, I'm a mod here at Crazyboards. Unfortunately we cannot answer your questions. Our rules state that we're a first person site, and this is a very important part of the support we offer here. This is even more true when asking questions about medicine for a child under 18. Even if you have your own mental health issues, it's still not okay to ask for information on how to manage/diagnose/treat someone else's mental illness instead of them doing so themselves. It's okay to ask about how I can deal with someone else's mental illness, because the focus is still on me.

Please check out the following thread with links to sites that could possibly be of use to you:

http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/70774-please-read-this-if-you-are-here-on-behalf-of-a-friend-or-loved-one/

I'm going to lock this thread now because it violates our rules. If you have any further questions, feel free to send me a private message.

Edited June 16, 2014 by jt07