Anti depressants and teens

[Nochangeplease]

I’ve done a similar thread in the past. My dd 15 now has a history of depression, anxiety, and self harming going back 3/4 years now. I genuinely can’t remember if she’s taken 2, 3 or 4 overdoses resulting in an overnight hospital stay. She’s been discharged from Camhs for around a year and seemed to be doing ok. CAMHS support has been very intermittent on the whole.
She took an overdose about 2 months ago and told the other night when I asked if I needed to take her to a&e for her own safety because she was so low, that Xmas is what’s keeping her going. That makes me worry for January. I worry one day she will take an overdose and not be ok. I can’t rely on CAMHS support.
Aibu to ask them to put her on medication?
It was briefly discussed before but I wasn’t keen and neither was the medical team beciase of her age and hormones.
But I really feel the risk of the medication is now a lot lower than the risk to her life if things carry on this way.

We were in exactly this situation when our dd was the same age. In the end, CAHMS agreed to put her on medication and honestly it's made all the difference in the world. Not that it took the depression and anxiety away, but it took the edge of it to the point where she could start engaging with therapy. She still managed to make one more suicide attempt after taking medication for a whole, but it was the last- and I feel confident it will be the last.

Dd is now 24, she has accepted that she will probably suffer from MH issues for the rest of her life, but she is coping, she is enjoying life, and she is shortly about to graduate from the training she has dreamt of all her life. She is still on anti-depressants, but she is alive and wants to stay alive.

corythatwas

I agree with the advice here - but getting the right medical balance is the key

Yes, indeed StoneofDestiny Dd has had to try a few different things and there is certainly a risk element involved.

My daughter is 17 and she has a very similar medical history to your daughter. She takes antidepressants and they have really made a difference. She stopped them at one point and things got really difficult again. She is back on them now, things aren't perfect, but better.

I understand how difficult it can be for you also. The constant worry has affected my mental health. I wouldn't change her for the world, but the teenage years have been the hardest to deal with for me.

I accept there is a balance between medication and therapy, however there is also a very long waiting list for therapy. CAMHS have been good, but they lack resources.

I was medicated at 15 and it saved my life. Got me well enough to engage with talking therapy that had been absolutely useless before. I would 100% be dead now if i hadn't been put on antidepressants as a teen.

You've tried therapy. She's still suicidal. She needs more help, or you will lose her.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. It seems like it might be the way to go. She’s only back in contact with CAMHS because of the recent overdose and social service involvement. But it’s taken a while to get through and they’re only offering teams meetings.
I think therapy through CAMHS alone would work if it was consistent. Problem was we was only ever offered 12 sessions. I squeezed a few more out of them but then that was it.
It needed to continue because within months of it stopping she was bad again.
I’m aware that the medication comes with its own risks, including risk of suicide. But we’re there anyway so it’s got to be worth a try. It can’t get much worse.

@Ohalrightthen Thank you for being honest. Your comment has really hit me. I hope you’re doing ok now

Hi op, my ds is 17, 18 in March.
He has Aspergers and anxiety and has struggled with his MH for a while but no self harming or overdoses.

Lockdown was the final straw for him. His routine was gone, he really missed his large group of friends and doing his A levels remotely was not working.

After a few phone consultations with our doctor he was prescribed 10mg Fluoxetine. It hasn’t been a magic pill but has taken the edge off his constant worrying over covid and other things that were affecting him.

It took a while to see an improvement but it did come. Several of his friends also take antidepressants which shocked me but it just goes to show how much they are needed in our young people.

Please ask for them. I hope your dd has a better new year

Antidepressants at 17 saved my life. I'll be eternally grateful that my mother didn't hesitate, and that the GP prescribed.
I have battled MH issues on and off since then, but in general I live a normal (maybe even successful?!) non-medicated, independent life - married, kids, job - things I worried I'd never manage.

I started taking them at 18 and they saved my life. Looking back I wish I’d started them years earlier but I was too afraid. If your daughter is open to go on them, I would really push for it. Good luck, I know how awful it can be

DS2 started on Sertraline at 16... ASD and OCD and highly anxious. It has transformed his life!
Stil on it at 23..happy, functional (within his ASD limits)
Fight for medication It might take a while to get the right one at the right dose but it's worth it.

My 15 year old son is on medication for OCD, it's made such a difference. He's not "cured" but it's taking the edge off when he's trying to stop doing the compulsions from OCD. He does have CBT though CAMHS too but he's not really engaging with that but I've noticed a difference in his mood and anxiety since he started medication, especially after his dose was increased.

@StillMedusa

DS2 started on Sertraline at 16... ASD and OCD and highly anxious. It has transformed his life! Stil on it at 23..happy, functional (within his ASD limits) Fight for medication It might take a while to get the right one at the right dose but it's worth it.

That's great to hear how well your son is doing! My son is 15, has ASD and OCD. He was started on sertraline 3 months ago as the OCD was so out of control. A couple of months ago I honestly couldn't see how it could ever go away. I've noticed a difference now though. It's given me hope to hear much it's helped your son!

[quote Nochangeplease]@Ohalrightthen Thank you for being honest. Your comment has really hit me. I hope you’re doing ok now [/quote]
My language was harsh, and I'm sorry, but I hope it helped, even a little.

And i am doing OK now. I've been medicated off and on since then, I'm now 28, married with a baby and a house and a job i love. I never in my wildest dreams imagined i could have those things when i was your daughter's age. I would have bet heavily against my reaching adulthood.

Dd15 been on sertraline since she was 13. She's a different girl and I'm thankful.
Ds20 had also been on sertraline since he was 14. He had a year off age 17-18 and he spiralled to the point we thought we had lost him. He now back on it and I have my boy back.
Push for what you want. You need to shout to be heard unfortunately

Not at all OP
Medication is a life saver
I get so frustrated that in cases like this we don’t medicate immediately

We’d give kids medication for everything else but not for MH

Please Keep pushing

Regina my dc has chronic ocd, can I ask be what your dc is on and the dose. Thinking my dc may need to up dose.

DD1 has been on anti depressants for over a year now, first Fluoxetine and then Sertraline. She's just turned 18.

I didn't hesitate when CAMHS first suggested medication, because I had been on Fluoxetine myself and knew it had made a positive difference for myself.

I wasn't thrilled that my daughter was going to be on anti depressants (to be dependant, I have a fear of addiction but it's purely my own issue!) but it's definitely better than the alternatives of self harm and suicidal tendencies.

DD says the Sertraline makes her feel a bit numb, but admits that that's better than constantly feeling suicidal.

Just be aware that your daughter may have to try more than one dosage or type of anti depressant before it works. It will take more than a few weeks but it will work and I hope she will feel happier

Wow all positive stories. I’ll definitely pursue it.
Does anybody know if I have to go through CAMHS to get it, or can I just go directly to gp?

I know before her therapist had to talk to someone on the medical team, and the feedback she came back to us with was that he wasn’t happy to go down that route until she had first tried helping herself with things like exercise try getting a depressed teen to exercise....
But this was probably around a year or more ago and she’s been discharged and taken another overdoes since then.

We haven’t seen CAMHS since ds was in year 7, he’s now in year 13.

Our GP prescribed his. He is now on a repeat prescription.

Apparently anti depressants can only be prescribed through CAMHS for under 18s.

We saw a couple of psychiatrists at CAMHS who prescribed the anti depressants.

@Zoflorabore

We haven’t seen CAMHS since ds was in year 7, he’s now in year 13.

Our GP prescribed his. He is now on a repeat prescription.

Yes, we're now on repeat prescriptions from the GP too.

@B0ttleTr33s

Regina my dc has chronic ocd, can I ask be what your dc is on and the dose. Thinking my dc may need to up dose.

My son is on 50mg Sertraline. Started off on 25mg then increased to 50mg after a month. Just to try avoid any side effects.

Ended up in hospital again. Hopefully they’ll do something but I have a feeling we’ll just be sent home.

I’m so sorry to hear that
Please keep chasing , as once you are on them you will get an improvement xx