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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Diane J. on July 5, 2001, at 18:34:53
Hello,
I have written before regarding my daughter Kendra who has been taking 10mg of Paxil per day since she was 5 1/2 years old. She is now 10, and I have been wondering if she needs her dosage adjusted, that is, maybe it needs to be increased. Does the dosage in children have any correlation to age and weight?The reason I am asking is because she has been having much difficulty lately with anxiety. It started with an unfortunate incident in which she soiled her pants because all the restrooms in the park were locked and she couldn't make it home in time. Following this embarrassing incident she became afraid to leave the house because she was afraid it would happen again. If we did go anywhere she insisted on using the restroom available even if she didn't need to. Inevitably she would cry because she said her stomach hurt and then she would grow close to panic because she felt as if she was going to vomit. I would constantly reassure her that she was going to be fine, and I was patient about it because when I was a child I experienced a lot of similar symptoms of anxiety. I kept thinking that after a while she would realize that nothing bad was going to happen to her and she would forget about all of this.
Well, it has been about a month now, and I think things are getting worse. She will not eat anywhere but at home, so sometimes circumstances will prevent her from eating for several hours at a time. Today we drove to Long Beach from our home to see the Anime Expo at the convention center. She was so excited to go, but all the way up she cried that she felt sick and was going to throw up. She complained that the freeway was too bumpy and it made her feel sick, too. She was shaking, shivering with fear.
After we entered the Exhibit Hall she was fine. She was excited to look at everything and was able to buy some cool anime merchandise. On the way home she was calm and when we arrived at our house she asked me to fix her something to eat. I made a rather large lunch and she ate it all.
I am going to call her psychiatrist today. She has a therapist, but I feel this time we need the psychiatrist. Although she is happy now, I know that should she have to leave the house the same thing will happen all over again. So many people have good ideas on this board that I thought maybe someone might have some advice to offer. Please, if anyone can help, I would be grateful.
Sincererly,
Diane J.
Posted by SalArmy4me on July 6, 2001, at 6:14:00
In reply to My child needs help, posted by Diane J. on July 5, 2001, at 18:34:53
I'd say to increase dosage and after 2 weeks determine if she is responding to treatment.
If she isn't responding, it is because Paxil and the other SSRI's lose their efficacy sometimes, possibly due to dopamine depletion--not due to age or weight. Losing antidepressant response is known as tachyphylaxis. It is completely normal. I sincerely hope this is not the case, though.
I am interested in what your psychiatrist has to say about all this...
Posted by Diane J. on July 6, 2001, at 19:44:04
In reply to Re: My child needs help, posted by SalArmy4me on July 6, 2001, at 6:14:00
Thank you for the input, Jason. We have an appointment on Monday. I will let you know what Dr. R says.
> I'd say to increase dosage and after 2 weeks determine if she is responding to treatment.
>
> If she isn't responding, it is because Paxil and the other SSRI's lose their efficacy sometimes, possibly due to dopamine depletion--not due to age or weight. Losing antidepressant response is known as tachyphylaxis. It is completely normal. I sincerely hope this is not the case, though.
>
> I am interested in what your psychiatrist has to say about all this...
>
>
Posted by Diane J. on July 9, 2001, at 21:43:08
In reply to Re: My child needs help, posted by SalArmy4me on July 6, 2001, at 6:14:00
Dr. R said to increase the Paxil to 15mg for a week., and if there is no improvement we should raise the dosage to 20mg. This is a start. I'm hoping this will help her.Dr. R supposedly is known for his knowledge of psychiatric drugs (he didn't tell me that, my ex-therapist did), so I am hoping he is right about this.
Jason, I really appreciate your response. Thank you.
> I'd say to increase dosage and after 2 weeks determine if she is responding to treatment.
>
> If she isn't responding, it is because Paxil and the other SSRI's lose their efficacy sometimes, possibly due to dopamine depletion--not due to age or weight. Losing antidepressant response is known as tachyphylaxis. It is completely normal. I sincerely hope this is not the case, though.
>
> I am interested in what your psychiatrist has to say about all this...
>
>
This is the end of the thread.
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