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Jennyfoo
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25 Oct 2007, 4:46 pm

I never even thought I'd be considering this, but my 9 y/o AS daughter seems to have such a bad problem with anxiety. She is constantly worried about things, she's nervous about everything, has problems sleeping when she's stresesd about things, and is so emotionally over-sensitive. I wonder is some form of anxiety medication may help her.

Does anyone have any experience with anxiety medications and AS kids?

I am also AS and have been taking Zoloft for about a month now and have noticed a huge difference in my anxiety levels, my sleep, and even my sensory overstimulation problems- I am a lot more mellow all-around. This is a huge reason why I wonder if something may help my daughter as well.



KimJ
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25 Oct 2007, 5:36 pm

I don't recommend any meds for small children. However, when my son was going through a rough spot, we were advised to give him anti-anxiety meds. He had some times of the day where he couldn't participate in basic tasks or classes because he'd get so anxious. It was a vicious cycle of acting out, getting "punished" or removed, and then later anticipating that same event before it happened. He's gotten over it due to getting used to the school schedules, mostly by writing the schedule down and sticking to it. He can review the schedule over and over and not worry over "what's next?!"
Besides not believing in medicating small children, we want to exhaust all routes of education by adolescence. The odds are that my son may have to deal with depression or a more serious form of anxiety when he enters puberty. We want a baseline before then.

We were recommended a hypertension med that is adjusted for children's anxiety. this is the wiki page on Clonidine We were told it affects the nervous system to calm an anxious person down in minute doses. It isn't supposed to otherwise alter thinking.

This is not to be confused with Klonopin, which is a heavy-duty anti-convulsant used with anxiety disorders.



OregonBecky
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25 Oct 2007, 5:43 pm

My son wanted to know what it would be like to let hs mind wander into anxiety creating thoughts without the threat of anxiety. His doctor gave him a small amount of Xanax to find out. I think it lasts 3 hours.

He took one and spent the time drawing. He liked knowing what not feeling anxious felt like and aims for that feeling by trying music, running, just different things.

He refuses to take a daily drug though and he rarely touches the Xanax, like once every 6 months. He only takes it to get feedback about life without anxiety.


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siuan
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26 Oct 2007, 1:28 am

Jennyfoo wrote:
I never even thought I'd be considering this, but my 9 y/o AS daughter seems to have such a bad problem with anxiety. She is constantly worried about things, she's nervous about everything, has problems sleeping when she's stresesd about things, and is so emotionally over-sensitive. I wonder is some form of anxiety medication may help her.

Does anyone have any experience with anxiety medications and AS kids?

I am also AS and have been taking Zoloft for about a month now and have noticed a huge difference in my anxiety levels, my sleep, and even my sensory overstimulation problems- I am a lot more mellow all-around. This is a huge reason why I wonder if something may help my daughter as well.


I was on anxiety meds for a while. The only thing it did was give me a sense of helplessness. What worked was addressing specific issues, often for months at a time, and working through each one. I really think that is key, non-pharmacological management through modifying behaviors and addressing specific triggers. Avoidance and meds are often band-aid fixes. Not always, but often.


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