Anti depressants (fluoxetine/praozac) for teenager

[londonmummy1966]

Would like a bit of information/advice/support on this.

My daughter is 15 and has been referred to CAHMS for binge eating, low mood, self esteem, self harm. She went to her appointment yesterday and they gave her a prescription for fluoxetine. No follow up appointment was booked - they usually call us to arrange one every 3 weeks or so.

My concern is that I went on this AD myself when I had PND and I became suicidal and had to be taken off it. The CAHMS doctor didn't seem to think this was a problem although my understanding is that this reaction is a bigger risk in adolescents than in older adults.

Has anyone out there had experience of teenagers being put on Prozac and what precautions might have been put in place. My gut feeling is to suggest that she doesn't start taking it until the school holidays when I can keep an eye on her but I also feel that CAHMS ought to be offering some support if only advice/a phone number if she has problems plus some regular monitoring appointments.

Am I just being a bit OTT because I have had problems with this medication or should she be offered some support with this?

TIA for any help advice you can give on this.

[NK346f2849X127d8bca260]

My son took it for a year when he was 16, he was fine on it and it really helped with his depression, he was reviewed regularly by our GP during that time, I think it was every six weeks if I remember rightly.

[londonmummy1966]

Thank you

[Littleguggi]

The first line treatment for depression should be some form of therapeutic input in the first instance, if this isn't successful or if the symptoms are causing high levels of distress or making it hard to engage in therapy then antidepressants may be considered. I agree with you that whilst antidepressants can have very positive effects for most people, there should be some form of monitoring or therapeutic input as a way of managing or containing any risks around increased agitation or suicide.

[londonmummy1966]

Thanks @Littleguggi do you have any experience/ideas on what monitoring etc I could ask CAHMS to give? I'm just a bit at sea over this.

[Littleguggi]

I'd be contacting your CAMHS and asking how you go about accessing a duty medic/ clinician during office hours and whether there a crisis/ out of hours CAMHS team you can access should you need it. If neither of these are options, then you may need to contact your GP or 111 if your daughter suddenly becomes suicidal, or in the event of an emergency A&E