[hopeless85]

My son was prescribed lexapro 10mg for about 4 months and it did nothing for him. He is around 280lbs and the therapist felt it was not strong enought. He is now on generic zoloft 25mg to start. Not sure if it will work, just started. Is there ever going to be a time where he will not need these?

[Forever hopeful]

My personal experience to give you a little reference is I have been on and off meds for number of yrs first time I was on serzone for approx year then off meds for 10 yrs then back on another celexa for 8 yrs.. I am currently off again trying to manage without meds I am choosing to go back on in the fall if I don't improve back to a more functional level as I still have many symptoms but it's always easier during summer. I suffer from SAD on top of anxiety depression in the winter. One thing I will say I have come farther in the 8 yrs with meds conquering my agoraphobia , panic anxiety disorder, depression while learning CBT and had a life than I did without meds.. Everyone is so unique and different approaches and results are just as unique. To me i am for what works a person and let's them lead the best quality of life possible. I hope your son finds some relief soon and try not to worry about if he will be on meds long term. Most important thing is supporting him while he gets back to wellness.

[Danny Leary]

10 mg sounds like a relatively low dose, and 4 months is a long time to go without titrating upwards. 25 mg of Zoloft is also a low dose, upping the dose of Zoloft might help. Assuming your son is old enough and mentally capable of making decisions for himself, the only person that can decide whether or not he can go off of medication is him. If he's young or not capable, keep consulting with the doctor/therapist, but make sure you listen to what your son has to say as well. As the above poster said, everyone is different, and I'm sure he knows himself better than anyone else.

[Rose76]

Originally Posted by hopeless85

My son was prescribed lexapro 10mg for about 4 months and it did nothing for him. He is around 280lbs and the therapist felt it was not strong enought. He is now on generic zoloft 25mg to start. Not sure if it will work, just started. Is there ever going to be a time where he will not need these?

Well, he certainly doesn't need Lexapro, since it didn't provide any benefit to him. The question now is: "What benefit is the Zoloft providing?" Sounds like you are not seeing any benefit yet. 4 months is plenty long enough time to give a drug to work. See what happens over the next few months. There is a widespread expectation that every psych patient needs to be on psych meds. Even when the patient does not become more well on them, doctors and the public tend to say, "Well, he would probably be worse without the meds." I don't buy that. Sometimes the solution to a person's difficulty is something that cannot be put in a pill.

Difficulties that bring a person to the attention of psychiatrists tend to be chronic issues, I believe. If taking a med improves life for your son: fine. Most likely he needs to develop maturity in some area where it is lacking. With time and experience, he may. Lots of people who take meds eventually go off them and find that their lives are not worse because of that. I believe anyone taking a med long-term should periodically come gradually off it to see if it really is doing anything positive. (Unless there is some compelling reason to believe that would be dangerous.)

If your son takes a drug that seems to contribute to weight gain of great magnitude, that - to me - would be a good reason to not take that drug. Morbid obesity causes great harm, both physically and psychologically.

Not everything that causes a person to have great difficulty coping with life is a medical problem. So medical solutions are not always the answer, but we live in a culture that tends to think they are.

Your son's therapist felt the Lexapro wasn't strong enough? I'm not aware that Zoloft is necessarily stronger than Lexapro. That's not how you compare antidepressants. I presume the drugs are being ordered by a physician and on some basis other than recommendations from the therapist. Non-physicians, including therapists, have a lot of misconceptions about psychotropic drugs. I've gone into my psychiatrist to say that my therapist recommended this or that drug change, just to see my pdoc shake his head back and forth, indicating "No" and obviously wishing that therapists would stick to what they are qualified to have opinions on.

I hope things improve for your son.

[Travelinglady]

I have bipolar and have committed to staying on drugs the rest of my life. I have been able to reduce the number of antidepressants and cut down on my Klonopin, however. Best wishes for your son.