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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

child and prescriptions

S

suzieq70s

Bluelighter
Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
268
How heavy duty is it that a 10 year old takes 1 mg of risperidone twice a day, 0.1 mg clonodine twice a day and 60 mg of strattera once a day. I've noticed what I think are side effects such as making small noises unknowingly. Puckering of the lips constantly. Extreme constant hunger. Excessive sleepiness.

It's a friend's child. But the medicines don't seem to help much. Of course I don't know what the child is like without them. There is a lot of impulse control issues. Mood swings. Laughing inappropriately. Very very hyper when not sleepy.

I want to say I love this child like my own and I have a lot of respect and admiration for my friend raising a child with disabilities.

But damn that seems like (at least to me) some heavy duty drugs for a child
 
It is a fairly substantial regimen but unfortunately not too uncommon these days. Clonidine has always bugged the shit out of me because of BP drops but seems to be effective at least for ADHD. Risperdal could be pretty nasty in young boys, enlarged breasts among all the normal side effects of antipsychs. And Stratterra isnt worth the package it is sent in.
 
This is sad..of course thats not appropriate for a child but some ppl will do exactly what the doc says when some docs dont give a shit about the patient..as long as there getting paid they go home and sleep well not even thinking about what hell their patients are goin thru..its wrong that this child will be medicated before he can have a choice in the matter
 
Man, a child that young on APs, makes me sad. I think resperidone is one of the least effective ones with the most side effects too, at least it was for me. His poor little brain, not even developed yet. Must be a real troublemaker but most 10 year old boys are that way. I am totally biased against APs but I'm an adult that is no stranger to drug using and the risks that come with that. Also, schizo and bipolar don't even come out that young, afaik. Certainly not worth prescribing APs to a child without those issues.
 
Sadly, this child's kidneys will be affected later on due to the rapid changes in BP. Toss amps in the mix and it's a recipe for disaster.

That's why I suggest a visit with Pediatric Nephrology and Pediatric Cardiology when taking amps/BP meds in childhood.

Most regular MD's are not trained in these fields and these children can have long lasting damage from using this combo of meds long term.
 
It is a young girl but yeah like I said I don't know how she is without them but they don't really seem to be helping. Her reactions to things seem to be really off emotional wise especial uncontrollable laughing
 
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suzieq70s said:
It is a young girl but yeah like I said I don't know how she is without them but they don't really seem to be helping. Her reactions to things seem to be really off emotional wise especial uncontrollable laughing
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You should encourage her mom/dad to take her to pediatric nephrology for some testing. Since the kidneys play a huge role in BP, she may have some kidney issues causing the BP problems, or she's having spikes in BP due to the amps.

I've never been one to put children on medications like that at such a young age, as some kids are just naturally hyper, but misdiagnosed with ADHD. Amps can make a child have emotional outburst from being giddy to anger issues.
 
P.o.T.u.S said:
This is sad..of course thats not appropriate for a child but some ppl will do exactly what the doc says when some docs dont give a shit about the patient..as long as there getting paid they go home and sleep well not even thinking about what hell their patients are goin thru..its wrong that this child will be medicated before he can have a choice in the matter
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I agree with you P.o.T.u.S.
It´s very sad to realize that so many doctors just try to find an easier solution to some problems.
In some countries they actually get 'funds' from pharmaceutical companies to prescribe certain medications.
Ritalin for instance was huge in between doctors and schools to make students behave 'more appropriately'.
The consequences could affect a child's entire life.
 
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That's some of what I've been wondering if the negative effects (from the emotional outbursts and acting on every impulse to the kidneys and stuff) if they're greatly outweighing the benefits. Her mom is one of my best friends but I don't want her to feel like I'm second guessing her judgement or interfering. But I did not know emotional outbursts could be a side effect. I researched the drugs on here and elsewhere and the general consensus is even when prescribed properly they are nasty stuff. Thank you everyone for your responses
 
I have two concerns about that kid. The first one is obviously about health. Such a young undeveloped child shouldn't take any medication daily unless he's in a life threatening situation or has some serious problems (which I think is rare tbh). What kind of sick people prescribe so many medications to a KID?? It's pretty unlikely to be psychotic or schizophrenic at that age and let's face it all 10 year olds are troublemakers! It's natural for kids to be extremely energetic that doesn't mean they have ADHD that just means that kids are just been kids and are bored at school (who could pay full attention in class as a kid?). The possibility of damage that can be caused to this pour child's undeveloped brain is high... The second thing that I'm concerned about is somewhat of an indirect danger. I think that if a kid is familiar with such drugs at such a young age it might contribute to future drug abuse.

My guess is that the parents of the child don't really know what they are giving her and just blindly trust the doctor. If I were you I would definitely talk about it with them, explaining as much as I could about what these drugs are/do and what damage they can cause. But be careful how you handle the situation because if you confront the parents the wrong way they might feel that you try to play the role of the parent and they might put themselves in defense as they feel their status as parents is being threatened, they will not listen to any of your advice and become stubborn. That will lead you nowhere.

I'm not sure if I explained well what I was trying to say in the above paragraph... Keep us updated
 
Vaki said:
I have two concerns about that kid. The first one is obviously about health. Such a young undeveloped child shouldn't take any medication daily unless he's in a life threatening situation or has some serious problems (which I think is rare tbh). What kind of sick people prescribe so many medications to a KID?? It's pretty unlikely to be psychotic or schizophrenic at that age and let's face it all 10 year olds are troublemakers! It's natural for kids to be extremely energetic that doesn't mean they have ADHD that just means that kids are just been kids and are bored at school (who could pay full attention in class as a kid?). The possibility of damage that can be caused to this pour child's undeveloped brain is high... The second thing that I'm concerned about is somewhat of an indirect danger. I think that if a kid is familiar with such drugs at such a young age it might contribute to future drug abuse.

My guess is that the parents of the child don't really know what they are giving her and just blindly trust the doctor. If I were you I would definitely talk about it with them, explaining as much as I could about what these drugs are/do and what damage they can cause. But be careful how you handle the situation because if you confront the parents the wrong way they might feel that you try to play the role of the parent and they might put themselves in defense as they feel their status as parents is being threatened, they will not listen to any of your advice and become stubborn. That will lead you nowhere.

I'm not sure if I explained well what I was trying to say in the above paragraph... Keep us updated
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Hmmm.......there isn't much of an update to tell. I'm taking my time to think things through about the best way to tell my friend how damaging these drugs are to a young 10 year old child

She was with me for 10 days and I definitely saw a pattern of how she was when medicine wore off verses how she was about an hour after her doses were taken

When the medicine started to wear off there was a completely odd outburst of emotion that didn't match the situation.

I have a 6 year old and when he got in trouble she would laugh hysterically and uncontrallably. When she would get in trouble (I understand how hard it was for her to control her actions and did my best to be sensitive to that) but that would also elicit the fits of laughter. And also sometimes for no reason at all. And also an extreme reaction when she was upset about something it would result in uncontrollable crying and having a fit such as a 3 year old might have. When that would happen I'd give her a few minutes until she would calm down a bit and then we'd talk things through and move on from there

About an hour after taking her doses there was a noticeable calming and even though her (I can't think of the right word) her issues were definitely muted but still present. And after another hour she would be nodding hard. Nighttime dosing was ok as far as the nodding because it was close to bedtime and she would completely pass out in 5 minutes. The morning dose she would be nodding hard and then sometimes take a 30 minute or so nap. Then wake up and we'd go about the day.

Like I said there was a definite pattern

There were a couple moments that happened during the 10 days that she was with me that I want to tell you about

One was in the morning during the calm period (my son was at school (her school hadn't started yet) so it was just her and I) but we ate our breakfast out on the balcony and the weather was beautiful. We talked for two hours about school boys kissing holding hands and all about her friends and we talked about me and things I had going on. I think it was a very good thing for her to have an adult friend (someone besides her mom and doctors and therapists) just someone to talk to about every day things and things that she had on her mind. I hope when she gets older she remembers it as a very special time. And I was very honored to be that friend for her

The other moment was right after she had a crying fit and was laying on my bed. I gave her a few minutes alone and went in to talk to her and she looked at me and said I'm sorry I laugh all the time I just can't help it. I laid down next to her and hugged her and told her I know you are and I love you and I'm not mad at you I just get grumpy sometimes. She hugged me and said I love you too. We had a little mini talk about her issues and again I told her I know you can't control it and it's hard isn't it. It just sucks sometimes and she looked at me really somber like and said yeah it does

Sorry for the really long post. I had a lot to say I guess. I've never been exposed to this close up before. I've always been an advocate for kids with special needs but now more than ever it made me especially sensitive to their needs. And it was a real eye opening experience. And am really glad that she felt comfortable enough with me to talk open and honestly with me about things

And also despite the rough patches we had a lot of fun awesome experiences all 3 of us. And I hope she remembers those too as something special

Anyways I do have a question after all that. Can some of you elaborate more on the dangers of a young child taking such "heavy" drugs that way I can be as informed as possible

But yeah it was a very special experience for me and I am honored to have been a part of it.

To those who read through my whole long post thank you for reading and thank you to everyone for talking to me about it

Again sorry for the long post
 
I sort of understand. When you have a crazy kid, sometimes parents and doctors have to start somewhere. I highly doubt this is for ever. How long has this kid been on this crap. If I had a kid like this, I would spend lots of time with him and figure him out. I know its not always possible, but it helps. So the kids on too much. Time to dial it down and see where the kid is at.
I'll tell you one thing, this kid needs therapy. Drugs only do so much. I was a spaz in school. I straightened out. I had lots of help. I feel for this child.
 
I will try to go over some of the effects that are known to be problematic with each drug and try to relate them to pediatric patients.

First, risperdal. While classified as a second generation or atypical antipsychotic, it has stronger effects on dopamine than other similar agents, some comparable to the first generation drugs. Of concern are EPS (extrapyramidal symptoms) and elevated prolactin. EPS can manifest in many ways but common symptoms are tremors, restlessness, and involuntary movement. These are sometimes transient and may disappear when the drug is stopped but can make concentrating and learning more difficult and lead to teasing by other children who do not understand. There is one form of EPS called tardive dyskinesia (TD) that is slow in developing and difficult to treat to incurable. While risperidone hasnt shown to have the same incidence of TD as older drugs, many clinicians still warn of it and say monitoring for TD should be part of risperidone therapy. There just isnt as much long term data in children to say one way or the other but trust me, if you have TD, you do not want it.

As I mentioned, risperidone has greater effects on dopamine, specifically blocking its actions. This can lead to high levels of the hormone prolactin as dopamine is needed to regulate its release. This syndrome, hyperprolactinemia can lead to breast tenderness, menstrual irregularities, fertility issues and osteoporosis. It seems that at least out to a few months, many children treated with risperdal maintain high prolactin levels. Again, it is not clear if longer use leads to renormalization but I have my doubts.

One aspect where risperidone is remarkably similar to other atypical antipsychotics, is in its metabolic effects. Children in clinical studies have gained as much as 12 pounds. I dont think I need to tell anyone how increased weight increases the risk for diabetes and CV disease. Risperidone on its own also may have negative effects on blood sugars and lipids, regardless of its effect on weight but the data is not complete.

Now let us move on to clonidine. As I mentioned, rather quick drops in blood pressure are known to occur. This can lead to short term dizziness and sedation but these usually resolve. I am not very certain how children's heart and kidneys are affected but in adults with hypertension, effects on key kidney metrics (renal blood flow, GFR) are not changed. There are some rare cardiac conduction effects in these same patients but cardiac output is not negatively effected. I would deduce similar outcomes in children based on reading numerous studies that showed minor side effects, but seeing as pediatric cardiologist and nephrologist as mentioned is quite reasonable.

Now Strattera. Strattera has been shown to shown to decrease growth in both height and weight up to around 12 months of use but fortunately this seems to go back to normal after anywhere from 1-3 years. It may have negative effects on both blood pressure and heart rate but usually is relatively mild. Aggression and suicidal ideation are well known effects in children and may not resolve unless the drug is stopped. And finally, extremely rare cases of liver malfunction have been noted, so abdominal pain, excessive nausea and vomitting and jaundice must be monitored for and reported if occurring.

I wish you and the child all the best. Please let me know what the child is diagnosed with because despite all I wrote conditions like tic disorders and autism spectrum do have symptoms that respond to these drugs.
 
There's a class action lawsuit right now going on about risperdal. OP spelled it differently but after seeing the way KittyKat5 spelled it, the commercial popped into my head.

Risperdal has been linked to causing abnormal breast / mammory gland development in young male patients. A condition called gynecomastia..

I didn't note what gender the child was, but regardless that's something to be taken into consideration.

Just Google risperdal lawsuit tons will come up.
Here's a Forbes article on one of the 120 settlements reached and that was in April. The commercials air on WB every night so I imagine its much higher now


http://www.forbes.com/sites/edsilve...e-breasts-and-quickly-settles-risperdal-suit/
 
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