Hi, just looking for advice, similar experiences please.
He has been on 50 mg of sertraline since early Nov 2017. We are meant to go back each month because of his age to have an assessment. It has been very hard to get an appointment with the prescribing Dr, that suits both my work( I am a teacher on zero hours) and my son's study patterns. He is revising for GCSE's now and is doing a lot of tests, revision sessions after school.
Initially, he wasn't taking it properly. I would give it to him but not watch that he was taking it and once in between packets we missed a week because we couldn't get an appointment.
We had an assessment for CAMHS mid February and are waiting to hear if we will be offered anything. At this meeting, son disclosed that he had started self harming but I don't know if he still is as he won't talk about it. I know in the past he has had issues with how he looks. He was chubby but is now 6 foot and I feel on the skinny side. He is keen to join a gym but wants to wait until he is 16 to make full use of the weight lifting equipment. He walks around the house in just his pants and I can't see any marks but he could be cutting in his pants area which I would never see.
The person we saw at CAMHS did say that he needs to take the sertraline regularly. He is now taking it daily. He says he doesn't see a point , that it isn't making a difference but I don't know.I would say we are into our 3rd month of regular taking.
It's hard for me because I didn't even know he was depressed, he confided in his older sister. He has had suicidal thoughts and I was worried when he first started taking them as it did say it could make you feel suicidal. I know my pharmacist really well and had a long discussion with him initially and he said although not ideal because of his age (15) that he did think they would make him feel better.
I'm torn though, how long do you stay on them? How should he be beginning to feel? How do you decide to try something else? Can he have the dose increased once he is 16?
He is currently waiting to see a counsellor at school but he is on a waiting list. He got excluded for a day for defending himself in a fight. It was a proper throwing punches fight. He has a lot of anger and I think he wanted to get into a fight to get hurt because of the depression, he wanted to feel something as the counsellor said he was 'emotionally dead'.
I feel he was worse before, mood wise, as he used to say he felt hopeless, there was no point in doing anything, that he didn't want to be here for his 16th birthday, that he didn't think he would be here to do his GCSE's so hadn't thought about revising, but he has been going to revision sessions, doing homework, and recently got an 8 in a science test!
He also talks about the future, having children etc, getting a dog when he's older that sort of thing.
I think he has been bullied at school but he denies it. He does have friends, he goes out, he's well liked, he's interested in girls.
He is very tired though which from reading this board I now realise could be the sertraline. I think he also puts up a bit of a 'happy' front when at school which he finds draining. The counsellor he did see briefly said he has a dual personality, the school one and the home one and they are too far apart. She also said he was also emotionally weak and needed to work on his resilience.
I realise this is very long(apologies) but I just feel in a bit of a limbo as I want to help him as much as I can. I know there are help lines and I have tried phoning for a bit of support but I can never get through. My son has things he can assess too, is it Kootch? and other things. He does talk to his friends and it just seems like a lot of teenagers today are suffering which is very sad.
Any advice, experiences, gratefully received, thanks.
Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.
Child mental health
Son (15) diagnosed with depression, prescribed sertraline
campingismyjam17 · 09/03/2018 11:26
Hi, I am new to this & looking for some more understanding to my 12 yr old daughters depression. I understand totally how you are feeling, & I too are waiting for the antidepressants to kick in. My daughter is on sertraline but they don't seem to be making much difference, so the psychiatrist from CAMHS will prob up the dose soon. My daughter hasn't been to school since end Feb this yr. She's just started getting home tutored. She seems ok with the teacher & her friends when they come over on a Friday. But then she goes back to her depressed self when there gone & won't speak to me! Is she just putting on an act with everyone else? Its so frustrating! 
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.