to be utterly furious with the GP for putting my DSD on sedatives?

[goldenteapot]

She is 16 and finding her GCSEs very stressful - but she is fine the rest of the time, and happy with her hobbies etc.

She sees her mother every other weekend (with whom she has a difficult relationship) and her mother has taken her to the GP about the stress, to see if he could advise about taking exams in a separate room etc. or refer her to CBT.

He has put her on sedatives, twice a day (beta blockers) with no end in sight.

She now thinks she is 'mentally ill' and needs daily sedation. I just want to cry. I hate being a step mother and having no control over this sort of thing. She is so young and vulnerable and I feel that this could be the start of her unravelling. She is spaced out - with no offer of counselling.

AIBU to be furious? What can I do?

Sorry several cross posts there while I was writing mine and I see you have experience of beta-blockers yourself.

OP I wonder if you're comparing your own experience to hers. If she is usually happy and calm, but getting stressed by exams, then a temporary solution in the form of beta blockers until the exams are over seems entirely appropriate. When you were prescribed them, we're your panic attacks in response to a specific temporary trigger, or we're they something more chronic? Because clearly beta blockers provide symptom relief, they don't cure underlying anxiety. CBT and/or counselling is needed for that.

Beta blockers are also prescribed for high blood pressure and some other conditions. Is it possible that she has one of those?

I take beta blockers for high blood pressure and anxiety. I find they are a great help with my anxiety. Without them, I start feeling anxious, then I get physical symptoms of anxiety that make me feel more anxious, and so on in a vicious circle. Beta blockers break that cycle for me.

Oh for goodness sake I was on propranolol at 14. It's nothing like a sedative. Calms you down a bit and at the start can make you a bit sleepy but it's fine.

Woah! Your experience may not be hers, don't worry so much, she may be fine. Her mum may be a bit OTT but you might be more use to her if you can calm down, do some reading on current usage and reassure her rather than getting worked up on her behalf.

She has a prescription that will see her to the end of her exams. For mist people BBs reduce anxiety, block hormones and allow a person to relax... which maybe why she is sleeping so much. BBs have a great side affect for some people, reduced anxiety = reduced muscle tension, which improves sleep no end.

I hope she feels better and can concentrate on her studies.

Propanalol is fine, it's very good for the control of anxiety.
My dd is 18 and doing her A levels, she HAS to take prozac and modafinal to even function, so I'd stop worrying really.

If you work in mental health then you know that beta blockers are not sedatives and are a recommended treatment for anxiety particularly in young people to avoid the need for sedation.

You weren't at the consultation so you don't know what was said or what your dsd's expectations were. I think being angry at the GP is ridiculous. At 16 your dsd should be competent enough to be involved in decisions regarding her own health. Has the GP refused to refer her to counselling? Or have they used the beta blocker as an adjunct to counselling? They may have also directed her to online CBT specific to anxiety which is shown to have good results.

Your dsd is not a baby anymore and her mother was with her. I'm sorry if I sound really harsh but I think that you anger is mid-directed and I can't understand giving your background why you are so angry about this. After all if she wants to stop the beta blockers she can stop them-they're not addictive.

I think much of your anger is about the lack of control you have over the situation and that must be cry difficult

Yabu. My DSD wasn't taken seriously and ended up taking an overdose as a cry for help. I know which I'd have preferred.

OP, I hope you are NOT 'in the field' if you think beta blockers are sedatives. I would be very worried if you were in the medical profession stating what you just did.
Beta blockers do not space you out and are not addictive.
Are you sure she's not on something else as well as beta blockers?

It sounds as though you are playing power battles with your husband's ex. A 16 year old is able to decide for herself whether or not she wants to take a beta blocker. I'm not convinced they are sedative. I've taken them for music exams and found them handy for stopping me shaking but haven't fogged me mentally. If your stepdaughter finds she feels better without them then she can stop them, no-one is going to force them down her throat.
Don't make this into a your opinion v her mother's opinion battle. Let the young woman make her own mind up.

I took beta blockers for my phd viva to deal with anxiety and my dh was prescribed then to deal with nerves for his driving test so pretty sure they don't have a sedative effect. I think it's good you're looking out for her but shouldn't worry.

propanolol is fine.. my dd nearly 15 takes this for migraines and has done for two years now it has made a huge difference. it is really one of the better drugs to take and can be taken long term. yes you have to wind down off it but it isnt an anti depressant .

she may feel tired or other side effects but they should wear off.

you could support your dsd, reassure her tell her many teens take propanolol with no problem and if it helps her then it is the best thing. there is no shame to mental illness.

congratulate her for going to gp and speaking up and getting some help. #

I hope the OP isn't in the field either.

And I want her doctor. I can only get 2 weeks worth of propranolol at a time.

Why did you say they were sedatives in your thread title when you claim you know that they are not Also saying that you were addicted to this medication when it is non-addictive is very strange. You may have had a psychological dependency but that is very different to a physical one. You don't seem very informed for someone who works in a relevant field.

Nothing wrong with being prescribed beta blockers to help someone cope with short-term problems relating to anxiety. CBT etc. will be useful long-term if your step-daughter is prone to anxiety but the important thing is to deal with the problem now so that she can concentrate on her exams.

It's not the beta blockers you should worry about - it's the attitude of anyone around her saying she is 'weird' 'mad' or 'mental'. Not useful in any way.

Agreed girl but we only have the OPs word for it that the Mum used those terms.

OP why don't you look into private therapy/CBT for your step-daughter if the medication worries you. Hanging around waiting for the school to refer, or CAMHS to be able to pick up the work could take a very long time so perhaps you should be more proactive about this.

Twice a day is what a medical professional has decided is right for your DSD OP so YABU.

And if you are in the field/a service user you will know a CAHMS/CBT referral won't happen straight away and probably won't be of help for her exams. What else was the GP supposed to do?

They aren't addictive. They don't do anything except make you feel like you must have got twice as heavy because your heart won't go properly any more. So comfort yourself knowing she's not properly mental like some of us are.

Stop talking about her being "on sedatives" and how she's "unravelling" and "vulnerable" - there is every likelihood that this will all be fine again when she's finished her exams. The GP agrees and that's why she hasn't actually, you know, been given sedatives. Seriously the effect they had on you? That stopping gave you panic attacks? That's because of the placebo effect. You thought "I am no longer taking the thing that stops me panicking - aaah!!". They literally don't do anything. Please don't get all wound up about this, you think her mother shouldn't and I agree, you shouldn't either, she will feel it off you. I'm not trying to be all like "haha you thought it was real medicine you're dumb" - I completely misunderstood how my actual sedatives worked, I thought they were "wearing off" when it came to the next dose, the panic would resurface - no - they build up and it was all in my head. I was just losing confidence because it had been a while since I took the magic tablet that stops me losing it. It wasn't real. And that is what you did with the propranolol. She does need coping techniques but you need to be in a more stable place to begin to learn them. Hopefully that will be soon.

She could take them 2340234 times a day, THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. I'm totally serious. She is not overmedicated. This is like when people are frightened to take their 10mg citalopram because it's soooo much medicine and they'll get a new personality and be a zombie and omggggggg - no. Propranolol doesn't do anything, she is only over-medicated on it if her heart stops. It does not affect your head at all.

OP, does 'working in the field' mean you're the receptionist or clarking/coding? No disrespect intended, but you sound like you haven't the foggiest.

You are MASSIVELY overreacting.

i'm on a betablocker for a heart condition.

When I first started taking them they did knock me out.

i slept soundly at night for a good couple of weeks.

If she is finding her Gsces stressful, ahat can be done?

Cut down on hobbies for a while?

Does she enjoy seeing her mum?

OK, I get that IABU.

They do seem to have knocked her out. I am frustrated because she said she didn't want any medications and wanted CBT - and now this!

She doesn't get on with her mum, no. They have quite an agressive and difficult relationship. We just don't see this massively stressed child that her mother sees. EVER.