hi hopefulmom, I hv been takin klonopin myself for 2yrs. now n what a diff. its made in my life..ive tried other things and this makes my panicattacks subside.. my son is 4 and on risperdal,depakote(seizures) and adderall...but when i had tried diff. things for me klonopin was the answer..and i also am adult adhd and take adderall..this helps me alog in daily life..i wish you luck..no one wants there kids on meds. but if it helps them then why not try it..you can always ween them off..what works for one maynot work for anotherHi! My 17 yr old is PDD w/some overlying OCD and he takes Luvox & Anafranil. Both are extremely helpful. He's been taking them since 3rd grade. Side effects: sleepiness - extreme. So, we started him on Provigil to counteract that and life has been fabulous. As for the depression, some of that is normal for that age, particularly if they can sense their differences from their peers. In my experience, it is simply magnified in teens with PDD so keep a close eye on him and be as supportive as you can.
Hello Lucy (and others). I have a 16 yo newly dx with PDDNOS.... This was after an incorrect diagnosis of bipolar, which didn't quite ring true with us. Until we moved a year and 1/2 ago things were manageable, although in my heart I always wondered if there was more going on beneath the surface. Everything I've read recently explains a lot. When we moved, he gradually slipped into depression and anxiety. We are still dealing with that, on top of the PDDNOS, now. He has had adverse reactions to several medications but we're now seeing a glimmer of hope with Lexapro and Klonopin. Although he can't stay on the Klonopin because it is habit-forming so we are in the process of weaning him off. Does anyone have experience with that? We've seen quite a bit of irritability and anger lately and it's hard to know if it's withdrawal or a PDD characteristic, or simply adolescence! (Remember we're new to this!) Anyway, we're so glad to read of others experiences and be reminded that there really are others who understand and are going through similar things. Let us run the race with perseverance!
Hi Hopefulmom, Klonopin is a "benzodiazepine" and if used over a fairly long period of time, can be habit forming and in order to get off safelly, you should not just stop taking the medication "Cold Turkey" but "Taper" down slowly. It can be very dangerous to just abruptly stop taking them, tapering allows you're brain to get used to the lower doses of the medication and get used to not having it in the system. It may be that you're child is in Withdrawl from the meds but I can't be totally sure.
Here is a link that explains about "benzodiazepine's" and how to taper off of them, good luck!
http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/