Preteen Taking Zoloft

Please request her to be taken off of the Zoloft... it states in the side effects that it can cause serious thoughts of suicide in children under the age of 18. I know this because my husband is on it.

My 16 yr old tried it a few years ago but it made her even more angry and aggitated. Come to find out she was later diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. I would just caution you to really watch out for signs of the medication not working. One of the side affects for most if not all anti-depressants in teenagers is increased thoughts of suicide. I don't say this to scare you but I do want you to be aware since your child is a preteen. This doesn't mean that anything will happen but I am always cautious of it. I had to recently put my daughter in a mental institution for almost 6 weeks due to thoughts of suicide and cutting. At that time she was on abilify. Now she takes Lithium. Just be cautious.

hi A., my brother who is now 16 was put on zoloft around the age of 11 or 12 and it worked for him when he took it. we had to force it down him almost everyday b/c he hates taking medicine. we notice a dramatic change in him when he did and did not take the zoloft. it calmed him down a lot when he did take it and well when he refused to take it, he was the worst. he had a bad attitude and was very violent towards children younger than him and towards adults too. hope this helps, R.

I don't know about zoloft but with all the news articles I would be a little scared. I have a preteen son who takes depakote and risperdal for bi-polar depression. You may also want to try Lexapro it is used for depression and general anxiety disorder and works well also. Hope this helps

My 16 year old has been on it for several years. I notice that when he doesn't take it for a few days, he gets very frustrated and irratable at the least little things. He is also on Adderall and Abilify. Praise the Lord for Abilify! He is Aspergers and the Abilify helps his "social" issues.
Good luck.

I just read an article in Scientific American Mind about kids and antidepressants. Here is a link to the article:

http://tinyurl.com/3bqn9a

I do not like to sound negative but Zoloft is dangerous. My step-son took it as a preteen and became more angry, very agitated and started having suicidal tendacies. We reported to his psychologist and they immediately took him off and put him on Abilify. Abilify fit his nature much better. The anger disappeared, the agitation almost completely went away and the suicidal tendacies completely disappeared.

There was a young teen in the news a year ago who killed his school mates and was on zoloft. Another young man was on zoloft and did hideous things to his therapist and his mother. Zoloft is a dangerous drug and should not be given to anyone under 30....in my opinion. It brings out an evil nature and if not mature enough to handle it it can overwhelm your system.

I apologize for being negative but I do not feel comfortable knowing that children are still being given this horrendous drug. Talk with your doctor regarding Abilify. That is a much safer drug and has the same calming effect the doctor wanted zoloft to supply.

Good Luck and God Bless. :)

My son has been taking it for 2 years now and it has been a great solution for him and our family. His psychiatrist is very conservative, diagnosed the severity of the anxiety and has closely monitored him. His personality never changed, he just seemed to be able to take things in stride and became a much happier child. In the next few months we will attempt to take him off of the medication slowly. If anyone has any experience with this next stage please post.

My 11-yr-old takes a small dose of Paxil, along with Abilify and Adderall. He has ADHD and anxiety, and we are still ruling out bi-polar with him. It is so hard to see our kids suffer, isn't it? I keep trying to nail down when it was exactly that Tim quit being a happy child.

I have been on zoloft myself, and it worked amazingly well at the beginning. Over time, it was not as effective and I've had to change and add other ADs. Having felt the amazing difference - that gray fog that hung over everything lifted - I would not want my child to suffer that same feeling without hope.

As far as warnings with zoloft - weight gain is possible. If that becomes an issue, welbutrin is another AD that doesn't usually have that problem.

General warnings about anti-depressants: You've probably heard the warnings about increased risk of suicide starting anti-depressants. One of the symptoms of depression is lack of motivation, and as those symptoms lift, it's possible for someone in that "in-between" state to still be depressed, but their motivation and energy levels are increasing enough for them to finally act on their feelings. I have not know anyone that has had this issue, and with her seeing someone that often, I'm sure she is being watched closely. Ask the counselor about this to be sure.

Another possible problem that I'm aware of only because my 8 yr old has been diagnosed with bipolar - Antidepressants in a bipolar child can trigger mania. Especially in girls, depression may be present before any signs of mania, and symptoms typically appear in the teen years, although they can appear much much younger. So just watch for any increased agitation or difficulty sleeping as they find the correct dose.

And do remember that there are other meds, and it may take a combination to do it. Work closely with the prescribing doctor and keep them informed of any and all changes so they can tweak it as needed. Also remember that any growth spurt may upset the balance and require a med or dosage change, and puberty is full of growth spurts.

You can send me a private message if you just want to talk.