My eagle-eyed husband called me early this morning. He's on the road and was reading the USA Today and noticed the whole front section was covered with articles on children and antipsychotic meds. This same sweet husband is a regular reader of this blog (perhaps my only regular reader). And he knows good blog material when he sees it!

The article: New Antipsychotic Drugs Carry Risks for Children sheds light on the increase of antipsychotics being prescribed to children, even young children. The article cites an 80% increase in the last four years and points out that none of the medications have been tested on children. (Interesting side note, the vast majority of medications prescribed by doctors have not been tested on children.)

The medications in question are the newest kind of antipsychotics and include Risperdal, Zyprexa, Abilify, Seroquel and Geodon. Designed to treat adults with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, the medications are often prescribed for children with severe aggression and violent behaviors.

The article outlines several scary prospects -- extreme weight gain (which does seem to be a problem for many when prescribed atypical antipsychotics -- adults and kids alike). And then there's more serious side effects, like aggravating a person's natural tendencies toward diabetes or the emergence of Tardive Dyskinesia (TD), involuntary jerking movements and facial grimaces that don't go away even after the medication is stopped. There have been 45 deaths associated with antipsychotics in a four-year span, many of which were related to diabetes complications, a condition aggravated by the typical weight gain.

The article doesn't totally discredit the use of antipsychotics in children: "Nobody disputes that the lives of schizophrenic or severely manic children may be saved by antipsychotics. " But it does cite the problems in accurately diagnosing children and the lack of understanding of how these medications affect children's growing bodies.

LuLu has been on Risperdal as part of her med regime for some time now. The first round of Risperdal caused the rapid weight gain described in the article. Because she was a waif at the time, the extra pounds were not troublesome health-wise. But our ever-careful psychiatrist quickly pulled her off the med and began trying all its cousin antipsychotics. We affectionately refer to that trial-and-error period of the fall of 2004 as the "descent into hell", which culminated with needing to hospitalize LuLu to stop all medications and figure out what to do next. LuLu immerged from the hospital back on Risperdal, plus an anti-convulsant/mood stabilizer, Depakote. I've been told countless times that these two meds are not the most popular with psychiatrists today because both have "usual" side effects. And being on the Depakote requires quarterly blood draws monitor liver function. But so far (over a year now) they've been the RIGHT combo for LuLu.

I am alarmed when I read the rapid rise in doctors prescribing anti-psychotics. I mean, how many of those children really benefit from these medications and how many more would benefit from behavior interventions, intense therapy and parents who were trained in providing a very therapuetic home?

But, the truth be told, LuLu needs her antipsychotic meds. About a month ago, my same dear hubby and I crossed our communication wires for a day and even though he picked up a prescription of Risperdal for LuLu, he didn't add the pills to her medicine caddy. I assumed he had. So for the next 36 hours she didn't have any Risperdal. We discovered our error when, by Sunday evening, she was raging and totally out-of-control and we were at our wit's end as to where these severe behaviors had come from all of the sudden. It was obvious after that little unplanned test that LuLu is one for whom these medications were designed.

The bottom line is that parents need to know the full story about any medication their child is prescribed. Parents need to actively discuss the use of these powerful meds with their doctor and decide, TOGETHER, what is appropriate. Parents need a clear understanding of the potential risks and side efffects and that these medications do indeed sometimes change children's lives in miraculous ways. In other words, read, research, advocate, and make an informed decision.