Medicating Teens with Antipsychotic Drugs Generics vs. Brands

Administering Meds To Teens Can Be Troubling

There tends to be a trend of medicating children with special needs, the magic pill. As a parent I always hoped it was the wonder pill that made everything better.  When I speak of special needs I am including anxiety, ADHD, Asperger’s, Bipolar the many  diagnosis that make it difficult for children to cope in  mainstream society. I am not against medications if it makes life better for someone to help one cope it is definitely worth it. Non-generic meds. can be so pricey it is prohibitive for many families. This is a study on generics vs. brand name drugs, Study finds new anti-psychotics no better than generics for kids .  Included in the study is a chart of the amount of money the state of Texas has paid for meds by year from 2003-2007 and what meds have been prescribed in 2007 by specific ages. The findings showed that brand drugs had some of the same adverse side effects as the older generics.

From an early age my son was put on meds. for ADHD and then later for depressive disorders there was a time when we were experimenting with different medications and times when he was on a ”cocktail” of different medications. The difficulty with kids / teens and drugs they are always changing and their bodies are growing, what works one day won’t work the next. When my son went into treatment he was on many different meds including antipsychotic drugs , he is not schizophrenic or bipolar, but they told us small doses of certain meds, like Abilify,  help teens with his symptoms. At one point he was taking meds three times a day.  The negatives, he did have some minor side effects (lethargic, drowsy, weight gain) a few of his medications were not in ”formulary” and cost us hundreds of dollars for a month supply. Would I have chosen a generic if available over the brand name, possibly.

The good news, today he is off all meds. As time went on the treatment center he attends did not feel the drugs were helping (ADHD, anxiety …) and possibly having some adverse side effects. This is one of the positive aspects when your teen is having trouble that a treatment center handles well, they watch them 24 x 7 and monitor how they are doing. I always found managing my son’s medications to be daunting. My son could never communicate wheher the meds were helping or not and I was always confused.

Is my son med free for life? Maybe. Should he be on meds? Maybe. But for today he is not and if that makes him feel better about himself then it is the right perscription.  When he transitions to a new program or home at the end of his year it may be different.

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Tagged as: abilify, ADHD, antipsychotic drug, brand medications, generic drugs, Medication, meds