my 17yr old is depressed on anti depressants and still very low

[misskayla76]

my daughter is very low ...she is under cahms .... she went to live with her dad after her gcses to get into a gd 6th form college .(london).. (very bright) she has always struggled with friendships ...
since sept she has been on anti depressants she comes down to me every other weekend it breaks my heart seeing her deteriorate.. (sorry spelling) .... she rang me last night saying shes going mad and feels panicky etc .... and felt like jumping in front of acar ..i have gave her the option to come home and not to worry about A Levels ...she wants to continue with them yet misses me her dad is fantastic very supportive ... today at a school meeting bi polar and double personality disorder was mentioned ..im now in panick mode .... :( can anyone give me any advice etc ..please thankyou :) x

Just seen your post and I hope my message will help. I've got a 19 year old who has suffered with mental health issues for years. She was under CAMHS but has now decided their support is not required. It's so frightening as I've no idea what is going on inside her head and I feel so guilty because I feel I am responsible for what is going on with her. Who said being a parent was easy!

I can't take away your anxiety but actually it sounds like some good could come out of Wednesday? Could a definite diagnosis be being reached? Could this mean your daughter will then receive the correct treatment for what is ailing her? I know you must be frightened, I would be! But sometimes we have to go through the toughest moments to reach the best ones.

Be stong, don't be stong, cry, don't cry - do whatever feels best to get you through and reach out to those who will listen. I'll be thinking of you and hope things move forward quickly and your daughter gets the help she desperately needs.

misskayla i'm sorry to hear what you are experiencing with your dd. I would suggest that your daughter trusts you to reveal her thoughts regarding self harm and that takes a lot of courage. I would suggest you liaise with her CAMHS key worker to ensure that they can keep her safe. If she is not finding her mood has improved on her medication, ask that they try her on another. There are a few different options that they can try and what is effective for one person may not be for the next.

I'm confused as to who made the suggestions to you about alternative diagnosis as I'm a mental health clinician and have never heard of 'double personality disorder' (they never diagnose children with a personality disorder as the nature of teenage development is that they tend to be emotionally unstable).

I would also ask if she can been seen for CBT with a CAMHS psychologist as Nice Guidelines suggest that CBT coupled with anti-depressant medication proves to have the best outcomes.

Best of luck to you both x