just because the kids may not relapse as frequently when they take prozac it does not follow that prozac is a good long-term treatment for children.

I sure as hell wouldn’t put my kids on mind-altering substances when diet, therapy and exercise is just as likely to help and much more likely to sustain a positive outcome.

Family therapy is probably very important too as family dynamics often play a part in an unhappy childs life. It does not take overt abuse to effect a child emotionally—good old typical family dysfunction is enough to cause serious emotional problems sometimes. No ones to blame but the whole family needs to work together.

I think it’s really irresponsible to suggest that Prozac is good for kids without looking at other options first.

I have my doubts about the true significance of this study. You have to pay to read the whole article, which I didn’t do. Without that, you are stuck with the summary percentages. As an abstract or summary article, it makes it sound good. I would want to know more details before I jump on that bandwaggon.

Just as an example. Lets say you define relapse as a score above 20 on the HAM-D. Below 20, it’s not a relapse. And further lets say that 69% of the placebo group gets a score over 20 in 6 months. That means 69% relapse right? What if the average score for those who relapse is 21. Now, it may be that 69% of the prozac group had an average score of 19 during that 6 months, but only 49% scored over 20. Doesn’t look so good does it? Only 2 points difference.

Now, I’m not saying that this was how this study defined things, because I didn’t read it. I’m just saying that this is how it often tends to be done with these articles. In other words, show the stats that make the drug look the best.

Thanks John. I didn’t see the editorial. There are still potential problems I see with how it was conducted and presented. I’m probably going to just go ahead and buy the article so I can read the whole thing.

But here one problem I see. The define relapse as “a persistent worsening of the CDRS-R” scores OR clinical determination of significant worsening. To me, it all comes down to how they define peristent worsening. Does that mean that scores are higher on a few subsequent administrations? Again, this does say anything about how much of the worsening was clinically significant. Then they present stats only based on the CDRS-R scores which show 22% of the prozac group worsening and 48% of the placebo group worsening. Again this is of unknown clinical significance because “worsening” is not clearly defined.

Now, if you take the stats the other way and look only at the clinical impressions of worsening, you get a different picture. If I am correct in understanding that the first measure of relapse simply pooled the clinician rated worsening with the CDRS-R, then we have no idea of what the results are when looking at clinical ratings of worsening only.

They other problem is that there was an initial phase when all patients took prozac, and then half were taken off and put on placebo. This, by itself, could have been the factor in producing the difference in the groups. The study has a potential confound with the effects of being on the medication and stopping it versus the drug’s ability to prevent relapse.

I went ahead and purchased the article. They did indeed use a set cutoff score to define relapse >= 40 on the CDRS-R, which had to be displayed over 2 consecutive meetings with the psychiatrist (separated by 2 weeks).

Additionally, if the score was under 40, they were considered to be relapsed if a clinician determined that “significant clinical deterioration suggested that full relapse would be likely without altering treatment, even if the CDRS-R score was

my child is on prozac he has ADHD and he was put on it for his anger outburst he is also going through puberty is it helping? sometimes i think it is. I am not a drug pusher I look after mys son and stay on top of him & things, I don’t let him use his ADHD as an excuse for his behavior and he is held accountable for his actions. Unless you are in my shoes, u should not judge! Prozac is not a “mind altering” drug! It is not fair to the child to not find the best thing for him to allow him/her to be the best they can be, if they have problems! DIET AND EXERCISE for depression? give me a break!

My child is on Prozac and my anxiety level increases every time I read an article about kids and Prozac. However, our experience with it has been an unmitigated success. My 9 yr old child was able to say I love you for the first time this year, and to make jokes and to laugh, and to make friends……
And to the earlier writer- of course we tried diet, excercise, therapy, hypnosis etc. etc. -that only works with regular kids who feel be “sad or worried”.

My 11-year-old (soon to be 12)step-son is on Prozac. His mother found a psychologist who agreed to put him on it when he was 5 (right after the divorce). I have been dating his father for almost 4 years, married for 1 year. The fact of his son being on Prozac has always concerned me. Even on the medication, his son displays disturbing behavior which seems to be escalating the older he gets. He is very violent, but only towards others, not himself. I always find myself wondering if the drugs are keeping him from being totally disturbed, or if they are harming him and his abilities. He has been on Prozac for more than half his life! I would have never put a child on mind altering medication unless it was a last resort, but this decision was not mine (or my husbands–who also disagrees with it). I have spoken with a child psychologist here who thinks we could (and should) wean him off of Prozac. When we approach the subject, my step-son says that his doctor has told him that he has to be on Prozac for the rest of his life. I am angry that such a young and promising child has been told that there is no other way. He is a smart kid, but has no self-estem because he has always been told that there is “something wrong with him.” I find it hard to believe that a 5-year-old, saddened by divorce, could have possibly been diagnosed as having such insurmountable problems that he would need to be heavily medicated for the rest of his life. I feel that he has been done (at the very least) a grave disservice.

What will they come up with next. Some quack pur my 12 yr old grandson on Prozac and he seems to be worse. Instead of filling him with meds why don’t they start with the root of the problem? No that’s too simple. Lived with a mother that plainly prefered her daughter by her boy friend, and he knows it, says the whole family knows it. And then the boy friend verbally abuses my grandson and his own daughter. And the mother tells him not to do that. Find the root of the problem FIRST

I really think that unless you have lived and breathed a situation its all too easy to sit up on high and say I wouldnt do this or that!.
I am a mother of 21 years and 3 children, a full time child carer professionally also.
My 12 year old son has had problems since he was 5, ranging from eating disorders, OCD and seperation anxiety disorder. He knows he is loved very much, but having his grandad die and his dad leave us all in the same month some 7 years ago has had an enormous effect on him. We have tried family therapy, natural remedies, relaxation techniques - you name it, it has been tried. But when your little boy/girl of 12 tells you that they dont think they want to live anymore, and they have constant suicidal thoughts and violent outbursts to you and your family you consider ‘mind altering’ drugs! We know what the root of the problem is but when a child is so down other things become a problem also and then your left with a mess. Please dont judge parents decisions to put their most precious possession in the world, their child on drugs, because beleive me it is the hardest decision to make ever.!

I have a son that is very depressed. There are alot of things that have contributed to his depressions. He was diagnosed by 1 doctor as having a mood disorder & depression and was prescribed risperidone. I was told by 2 other doctors that he looks severely depressed and they want to start him on prozac. My son is 8 and has been saying that he wishes he was dead and his behavior in school, when he has been allowed to go, has not been good. We have been doing therapy and even with the therapy, he doesn’t seem to be getting better. Instead, he seems to be getting worse. He is currently in a hospital because I want him to get better. I feel like having my son take an antidepressant is my last hope.

My 12 year old daughter took an overdose of Tylenol a few days ago when a boy upset her and was taken to the hospital and is currently in their Psychiatric Dept. We recently learned about sexual abuse that was occuring at her bio dad’s house by her half brother. She has not been severely depressed and in fact is always laughing and talkative. I feel the main problem is that she does not know how to deal with her emotions, especially anger, and acts impulsively. Her doctor wants to put her on Prozac. Will this help her or hurt her? Is this drug right for her even though it does not seem that she has major depression?

I have been a part of my step-daughter’s life (she’s 10) for more than 5 years. In that time I have seen her give her sister a black eye, throw stuff at her mom, and lash out at my daughter (from a previous marriage) and myself. Both my husband and her mom have been active in trying to figure out what is causing the anger issues. Therapy, diet, and exercise have all been tried. They finally allowed the doctor to put her on Prozac and it has made a huge difference.

It turns out that she blames everyone, but her dad, for her not being able to be with her dad all the time. It took putting her on the Prozac and in therapy, for them to get the chemicals in her brain firing correctly so she could then calmly figure out what was causing the problems.

Those who say they would never put their child on a “mind alltering” drug must not know what it’s like to watch a child act out that way. When they realize what they have done, well, it breaks my heart watching her heart break. I agree, giving them Prozac does not “fix” the problem, but what it does do, is help the child get to a place where they can be calm enough to work on the issues.

My step-daughter does not get away with anything just because she is depressed and on Prozac. But her outburst have curbed drastically and now she is working on how to control them herself, so she can stop them before they lead to violence. Without the Prozac I don’t feel like she would ever have been able to calm down and work on the issues. (So hopefully she doesn’t have to be on it for life!!)

I really think before someone judges others they should walk a mile in their shoes. I never had problems with my first child. Then I started foster kids and I have one that if he wasn’t on meds he wouldn’t, no better word couldn’t function. Sometimes we go thru life saying what others should do instead of offering to help them do what they are trying their hardest to achieve.