system
How can depression and mood swings in a child be treated?
human
Hi. My son is 11 years old. He is on Ritalin LA 20mg every morning. he became seriously aggressive with horrible mood swings. And then he would have these meltdowns just sitting and crying. We had him by a doctor and he gave him Respicor 1mg every night and on Epilim CR 300 every morning and night, but the Respicor is giving him serious side effects like he had terrible heart palipitations last night, complaining that he could actually feel his heart beat against his chest, he was cold the whole time even though he was wrapped under blankets and sweating, he had stomach cramps and was nauseous and felt disorientated? The Epilim I could see during the day calms him down alot. Marelise Aldeia
gpt
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. He is on Ritalin and this could be one of causes for his mood swings. Even associated ADD can result in mood swings. This should be evaluated properly. Respicor or Risperidone can cause increased restlessness and palpitations when the drug is started. He was given 1 mg dose and this dose can lead to side effects. You can make the tablet in half and continue to give 0.5 mg doses. At this dose he will tolerate the medicine and will feel better. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.