Are psychiatric drugs right for children?!


Question: While picking up my husband's son for weekend visitation, my husband was handed 2 pill bottles (handwritten instructions on them, no patient name, no doctor name) by the boy's maternal grandfather (they have temp custody til case is done in May).
Get this, 6 pills per day of 125mg each DEPAKOTE and 1 pill of 50mg ZOLOFT. Needless to say, I did not give him these meds. The kid is 9 yrs old and weighs about 70lbs and 750mg of Depakote seems extremely excessive for a large adult much less a little kid! They say it's because he can't pay attention in school.......HUH??? I think he's just a boy and they're too freakin old to keep up with him (they are both in their late 60's).
Does anyone know exactly why any Dr in his/her right mind would prescribe this stuff to kids?


Answers: While picking up my husband's son for weekend visitation, my husband was handed 2 pill bottles (handwritten instructions on them, no patient name, no doctor name) by the boy's maternal grandfather (they have temp custody til case is done in May).
Get this, 6 pills per day of 125mg each DEPAKOTE and 1 pill of 50mg ZOLOFT. Needless to say, I did not give him these meds. The kid is 9 yrs old and weighs about 70lbs and 750mg of Depakote seems extremely excessive for a large adult much less a little kid! They say it's because he can't pay attention in school.......HUH??? I think he's just a boy and they're too freakin old to keep up with him (they are both in their late 60's).
Does anyone know exactly why any Dr in his/her right mind would prescribe this stuff to kids?

uhhhhh

i thought depakote was for other things beside
ADD or ADHD????

that's freaking crazy and that CAN kill that poor kid.
if he actually has ADD/ADHD then they should of
given him adderall or ritalin.

zoloft is an antidepressant not a stimulant.

If it's for concentration in school (I.E. he has ADHD) he should be on Methylphenidate (or Ritalin)

You have done this young boy a GREAT DISSERVICE by refusing to provide him with his medication. In fact, what you've done could well be considered prosecutable neglect.

It is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to discontinue depakote abruptly. Medications like depakote are not prescribed willy nilly. Depakote is an anti-seizure medicine that is also prescribed as a mood stabilzer. Zoloft is an anti-depressant. Discontinuing zoloft abruptly is also ILL ADVISED. Neither depakote nor zoloft are medications which one can just randomly stop for a weekend - they require regular dosing to maintain blood levels for optimal effectiveness.

Although his grandparents may not have fully understood the reason why he was prescribed this medication, at least they are diligent enough to be sure they make you aware that he needs to take it.

Obviously, these poor grandparents were trying to make your life easier by giving you something to carry his medicine in, since you only have this child for the weekend. Surely they do not realize that their failure to provide you with the original container would result in harm to their grandchild. These poor folks probably had no idea you would be foolish enough to fail to give him the medicine he likely quite desperately needs. What a shame. Hopefully, any therapeutic gains he has realized will not be all shot to kingdom come by your poorly thought out decision.

If you have questions or concerns about the dosages or medications themselves, you need to contact the prescriber of the medication - ask the grandparents for the prescriber's name. Your husband will likely have to do the calling, as HIPAA statutes likely would not allow you to be involved in his medical records at all.

Depakote (and zoloft) are given for very good reasons. To abruptly discontinue giving these meds could result in some very serious, very negative consequences both for you (should someone report your failure to tend to this child's medical needs) and for your husband's son (e.g., seizure, migraine, manic episode, increased depression, to name a few).

Psychiatric meds are no appropriate unless the case is severe enough to bring in a psychiatrist. Pediatricians and family practitioners do not have enough training to making this type of decision for a patient.
Prescription meds must be kept in their original container with patient and doctoor ID and dosing info. If you get caught with unlabeled prescription drugs you can get into legal problems. Demand the original bottle. Then you can check up on the prescribing doctor.

Please call the grandparents NOW. I hope you haven't deprived the child of his medicine for too long. He could get bad headaches or suicidal thoughts. People have to be weaned off anti-depressant medicine for a couple of weeks. I think they cut the dose by .25 mg every 3 days or something.

You seem like you have some strong feelings about children's prescriptions, but it isn't your kid. Can you give the kid his medicine now, so you don't get in trouble. Then suggest an herbal supplement for the father to buy from NativeRemedies.com or tell the grandparents about the website if they have a computer.

You seem to be asking a lot of question in a big jumble so I will focus mostly on the first one, which is the title.
Are psychiatric drugs right for children?
That's a pretty broad question, concerning how many different kinds of children there are. You would have to consider the age and weight of the child, possible hereditary influences, allergies the child may have, etc.
My own child takes Concerta. Without it, she is incapable of doing any schoolwork and she is embarrassed and ashamed of her actions, causing her to lose friends and face possible failure at school.
It works for her. It works for many children. Would I recommend it for "children" in general? Never! That would be completely irresponsible. Many children do not need such a medication.
Zoloft works for some other children. Would I insist my child take it too? Of course not. We went that route and it didn't work for us.
However, it sounds as if you think no child be prescribed a psychiatric drug. Obviously, I disagree. I would like to go the route of controlling my daughter's ADHD without drugs, but all attempts failed. It's just as needed as if she were diabetic and needed injections. I'd rather her not be dependent on substances and would like to try all alternatives, but if the drug is needed, then it's needed.
As far as the doses go, like the ones you described, I know very little about how much needs to be prescribed to patients but that does seem excessive for a small child. I suggest you talk to a doctor, either your own or the child's doctor, and ask about such doses.





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