Shown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Moors on March 6, 2001, at 8:39:43
My ten year old son with pdd-nos has been on zyprexa for over two years. He was on anafranil alone when his doctor added zyprexa. He was having extreme tantrums and rages. We have just weaned him off anafranil because I began to talk to other parents whose kids on anafranil had also had rages, tantrums etc. I began to wonder if the anafranil were the reason for the severity of his tantrums and we had put him on zyprexa because of the anafranil. He did well with the zyprexa but has gained an amazing amount of weight and I no longer can just watch him become so unhealthily overweight. Has anyone experienced taking their child off zyprexa? What can we expect? Did you find another medicine to help with less side effects. Thanks
Posted by grapebubblegum on March 22, 2001, at 9:22:21
In reply to zyprexa and children, posted by Moors on March 6, 2001, at 8:39:43
Yes, my son (5 yrs old) was first diagnosed with BPD a month and a half ago. His most troublesome symptoms were aggressive behavior and "dark" talk about people being hit by cars or killed and he also often told me (his mom) that he hated me or didn't like me or that I would be killed or that he wanted me to frown instead of smiling.
Also, he was troubled by nightmares every night.The doctor put him on zyprexa which brought good symptomatic relief and I was very pleased to hear of no nightmares, and the violent actions and talk almost completely ceased. My child became much easier to manage and happier, too. Only problem: constant obsession with food as in: "What can I eat now?" or "I NEED another cupcake!!!" Another doctor I spoke with clued me in to the fact that zyprexa not only causes increased appetite but raises blood sugar levels causing a double-whammy weight-gain effect and it can actually play a role in causing diabetes. I saw fat rolls springing up on my son. He was bursting out of his clothes. I raised this concern to his doctor at his one month follow-up visit and the doc immediately switched him to topomax. The overeating has ceased and the mood improvement is twice as good as with the zyprexa. I am finally seeing the child I feel my child was meant to be. I couldn't be more pleased to see my bright, enthusiastic and creative child being all those things without the cloud that was obviously hanging over him before. He seems to be liberated and it is good to hear him giggling with his brothers over jokes and not erupting into shouting and kicking tantrums like before. I have not heard the muttered, "You're stupid and I hate you" talk that used to be a staple of every day life. I also put him on the scale recently and was alarmed to see that he has gained 10 lbs. in the last month and a half which is outrageous for a formerly 61 lb. child, so I am glad that weight gain is under control now. I urge anyone to speak to their doctor about this medication because it seems to have been a life saver.
> My ten year old son with pdd-nos has been on zyprexa for over two years. He was on anafranil alone when his doctor added zyprexa. He was having extreme tantrums and rages. We have just weaned him off anafranil because I began to talk to other parents whose kids on anafranil had also had rages, tantrums etc. I began to wonder if the anafranil were the reason for the severity of his tantrums and we had put him on zyprexa because of the anafranil. He did well with the zyprexa but has gained an amazing amount of weight and I no longer can just watch him become so unhealthily overweight. Has anyone experienced taking their child off zyprexa? What can we expect? Did you find another medicine to help with less side effects. Thanks
Posted by Sara T on March 30, 2001, at 0:52:16
In reply to zyprexa and children, posted by Moors on March 6, 2001, at 8:39:43
Hi,
I have a 9 year old son with Asperger's Syndrome. Zyprexa is not a medication that we have used so I can't tell you anything about that. But one question comes to mind, why did the dr. put him on Anafranil, isn't that a stimulant? Some Austic Spectrum kids don't react well to stimulants at all. They seem to work well in the HFA and Asperger's group though.I'd like to guide you to a web site though. http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/ is a great site for info. But go to the message boards and you might find others who've used zyprexa and have kids with PDD-NOS. Also, About.com has a section for Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Both are excellent resources.
Sara T.
Posted by LILonesMOM on May 30, 2001, at 17:22:10
In reply to Re: zyprexa and children » Moors, posted by Sara T on March 30, 2001, at 0:52:16
Hello... I have a 7 yr old who has been dignosised with oppisiontional difeince and psychoses. He has had the Tantrums and the seeing scarey people that are "dead" and talk to him and try to hurt him and the good ones who help him. anyways first he was on Riserdone which we have just taken him off behavior has gotten better but side effects causing to much problems in school. now today he was prescribed this new one Zyprexa (generic of it anyways) and I was curious about experinces and what not. I am not sure how to handle all this stuff. I never know if I'm crazy or the docter..LOL.. anyways what ever info will help and wouldn't mind finding some type support group tp chat with. thank you.
Posted by Moors on June 20, 2001, at 7:54:59
In reply to Re: zyprexa and children, posted by grapebubblegum on March 22, 2001, at 9:22:21
I would love to know how your son is doing now that he has been on topamax (spelling?) for a while. My son has been off all medications for almost a month now. His hand flapping, distractibility, difficulty processing, aggressive compulsiveness is back - as well as anxiety particularly after dark. Please let me know how your son is doing - I would really appreciate your feedback. Thanks a lot!
Posted by grapebubblegum on June 23, 2001, at 23:05:06
In reply to Re: zyprexa and children, posted by Moors on June 20, 2001, at 7:54:59
Wow, one or both of us must be psychic, because I posted that so long ago and forgot about it and for some odd reason just came back to check this forum about children today.
I noticed a decline in his progress and the pdoc added geodon, 25 mg. per evening to his regimen. That makes 40 mg. of topamax in the AM and the same at night plus geodon. Overall, I've seen improvement although there are definite setbacks (bad days.) The dark talking has diminished though (hardly ever says "I don't like you mommy" anymore and when he does there is not as much feeling behind it and I hear fewer wishes of harm expressed toward his brothers anymore, either.)
The physical acting-out has been dramatically decreased, also. Since he is 5 1/2, though, it is hard for me to sort out how much of this is age-related developmental changes, but I think I can safely say the medication is helping, although his own level of self-control is far below what I would expect for a 5 year old (I have three sons, one older and one younger.)
In a few weeks our family will make a major relocation back home to a city where we have a lot of family support (basically we've been "away from home" for about 5 years) and it is a city with excellent health care resources, Baltimore, Maryland. Suburban-rural central Florida just does not have the same range and quality of health care choices, so I think the move will be better for all of us. Thank you for asking and I hope I'll be able to report even better improvement in my son after I get him situated in a good practice that can work with the whole family.
BTW, I'm reading a book called "The Bipolar Child," by Papolos and Papolos. Ok, ok, I'm really ABOUT to read it. I have more interests than I have time to pursue each interest.
Does anyone have anything positive or negative to say about this book?
Posted by Moors on June 24, 2001, at 18:11:04
In reply to Re: zyprexa and children, posted by grapebubblegum on June 23, 2001, at 23:05:06
Good luck with your move. Family support is so helpful for your own mental health! I know there is no "magic bullet" for these kids. The doctors seem to struggle in the search for appropriate meds as much as parents do. I really believe that bipolar, schizophrenia, autism, etc. are all somehow related - the same drugs are prescribed for all of these diagnoses. We have decided to take a drug "holiday" this summer - or as long as it takes to see what needs to be addressed the most. My son has told me that he likes not being on the medicine because he was always so hungry on zyprexa. This holiday may not last all summer because he is struggling socially, with concentrating, controlling patience, etc. Anyway, have a safe move and best of luck in your new location.
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