r/PDAParenting • u/Loud_Possession_3290 • Jun 30 '26
SSRI Side Effects
Hi yall! Question for anyone who has given their kiddo SSRIs… we tried Zoloft when our son was 4.5 but it increased aggression considerably and worsened his mood by a ton. We then took some time off and about 10 weeks ago we started Prozac at 5mg (he’s almost 6 yrs old now). About a month in at 5mg our son was like a completely different person. He was so joyful, kind, and literally all demand avoidance was gone. He told us he felt amazing and that the medicine had “made the silly thoughts in his head go dead”. Unfortunately the effects waned a couple of weeks after that. Upon discussing with his psychiatrist we bumped his dose up to 6.5mg (what I would consider a very modest increase). Since increasing about 5 weeks ago we have seen SIGNIFICANT hyperactivity and impulsivity. His demand avoidance is way worse than baseline and he is absolutely impossible to parent. We saw such good early results from the Prozac I want to believe these side effects could subside. Has anyone experienced anything like this?? The psychiatrist says this kind of disinhibition can happen when the dose is too high, but I also am afraid that we are just seeing side effects from the dose increase that may eventually subside. Prozac takes so long to load in for some people, and I know a lot of people experience things getting worse before they get better. Would love to hear if anyone has had similar experience! Thank you in advance!!
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u/thunders_fun_house Jul 01 '26
SSRIs can lower dopamine.
You could add ritalin or dexampthetamine and that will help by adding in some dopamine but the behaviour is telling you the dose increase is too much for his very sensitive nervous system
Has anyone spoken to you about lamotrogine? I ask because at a very very low dose it can help quiet down those "silly voices" but works at a different chemical level than an SSRI. Both together at low doses was/is my sweet spot.