my daughter weighes 54 lbs. and she has been on ritlin and adderall. Now they have put her on effexor xr at 37.5 mg.

She is to take that once a day for 3 days then she is to take 75 mg each day after that. She was born a drug baby and i am very concerned about the meds. she takes. She is nine years old now. shestarted taking meds. when she was six. She is a adopted child and i am her biolgical aunt, I have bipolar and so did my sister who was her mother.

My questions is does this seem like the right meds for her to take? And shound'nt she have had a blood work up before starting these meds? please email me back I need to know your oppinion since i am new to all this new meds in children.

Thank you


Dear Ms. S' -- 
Sorry to say, but it would be inappropriate for me to comment on your child's treatment without knowing the whole story, including history of symptoms, family history, and just how she looks.  Ask the doc' to help identify resources you can pursue to increase your understanding.  If the diagnosis is leaning toward bipolar disorder for example, there's a good website for parents at www.bpkids.org.  

Dr. Phelps