DD Depression Treatment

[teenhelp]

DD (16) has just been diagnosed with depression and we are discussing and considering treatment. Medication in the form of anti depressants has been mentioned as well as therapy.

This is all new to us and we will be having further sessions to discuss further. I would
Really welcome any advice and both the pros and cons of anti depressants for an adolescent in terms of your experience. I want to consider everything before we decide how to proceed.

I can't explain how overwhelming this all is.

For the op and the other posters experiencing similar issues. My dd17 was diagnosed with depression in mid August. She started on Fluoxitine ( Prozac) initially but this had to be discontinued after 4 weeks as it made her feel very physically unwell and caused panic attacks . She was then started on Sertraline 50mg and the dose was upped to 100mg after 4 weeks as no response . It was so so difficult . She didn’t get out of bed for about 6 weeks and only ate biscuits. She had no motivation , wanted to die ( no suicidal thoughts though) . She also felt so weak and had daily panic attacks and anger outbursts that I felt were medication related . The GP gave me Xanax to give her if she had a panic attack but I used them sparingly as they are addictive . She powered on as we told her things would get better once the side effects wore off and the drug started to work.
Anyway it’s 8 weeks since she started on the higher dose of Sertraline and she’s honestly like a different person for the last 3 weeks or so.
She seems to have forgotten the last few months which is a good thing but my dh and I will never forget it and in fact we both feel very traumatized by it .
Now that her mood as lifted , she has agreed to therapy in the form of CBT in order to address her negative thinking . She was referred to a psychiatrist in view of her age but the waiting time for a private one is 3-4 months .
But it’s great to have her back enjoying life , buying clothes and make up and taking an interest in hobbies and her future career . She’s starting a part time weekend job as a dance teacher this week.
I wish everyone all the best and just wanted you to know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel .
Don’t forget to look after yourselves also as it’s very easy to get caught up in having everything revolve around the depressed person.

Hoping for updates from players - we are five weeks into Prozac and DD is now suffering from suicidal thoughts and very severe panic attacks so seems ah is getting worse not better. Think she may be about to start a prolonged period off school as her meltdowns at school have become so bad she is barely learning - but she doesn’t want to stay at home. Advice welcome as I am at the end of my tether

Bumping in hope?

Haven't been one since November but wanted to come back and post an update.

@BCBG things sound really tough. Is your DD being monitored by a psychiatrist. If things have got so bad it would seem to me that the medication is not suiting. Usually the psychiatrist will monitor weekly during the first 4 weeks to check for signs exactly like this.

I do also think that taking time off school would be best. Things were similar for us. It got quite bad and DD couldn't get through a lesson at school. We took the decision to eventually sign her off school for a couple of weeks. She has now started back at school but only reduced hours. The new medication has really settled with her and there are no obvious side effects. Her energy and focus are building up slowly. Ofcourse she is so behind on her work any thought of catching up seems so far away and we don't know what this will mean for her in terms of schooling. We are taking a day at a time. Having that time off for DD whilst really tough for her was really needed. She felt very bored and as if life had no purpose but she tried to spend that time doing different things like drawing etc. Just to do something that wasn't study related. It has felt like we have been rebuilding our DD back. We are nowhere near out of the woods yet but we keep moving forward. Has been tremendously hard for our family and we have had to take time to look ourselves.

I hope that you all find the right help that you need. I would say keep fighting till you get he right help for your DC. Once that is there the journey can begin to heal. It is very very slow and we have all had to learn a lot of patience.

One more thing one of the things that the doctor said to us when we were reluctant to sign off DD was that when things start going really wrong at school and sometimes publicly then we need to do what we can to protect her. When School is no longer productive you have to stop and take the time as otherwise you are headed for a breakdown further down the line.

Thank you teenhelp - really helps not to feel alone in all this. Yes, she does have a psych - she has been taken off the prozac and is likely to start some other unspecified meds in ten days time. I just feel so sad that such a lovely, clever girl can feel so dreadful about herself and her life, and I seem powerless it seems to help. Often I am the target of the anger or what feels like emotional control.

That is the illness talking. And I completely understanding the feeling of how could this happen to such an amazing person. It's only when they start getting better that your realise how bad it really was. I hope that the new meds are helpful and that work for her. Keep strong and take each day as it comes. Whilst we feel all alone going through there are so many of us out there. Please keep in touch - sometimes it helps to just offload onto a stranger. I have a very limited circle that know much about our situation.

@BCBG, did you read my post of 6/1/19. My dd also had an extreme reaction to Fluoxitine ( Prozac). What works for some doesn’t work for others . If a drug is going to work then , you should start to see at least some positive effects after 3-4 weeks . Prozac has a long half life compared to other ssris so if it’s being discontinued then the doctor has to follow a protocol in how the new drug is introduced .
Wishing you and your dd all the best . It’s hard to see the light at end of tunnel but she will get better

Another one in the same boat - jeez what's going on with our young people ?! Sympathies to all the above posters. Totally share your feelings of desperation and helplessness. We would happily keep dd from school to reduce the stress, until she starts feeling better, more able to cope, until the meds have some effect ... But main focus of dd's despair is failure and stopping school = failure. Continuing with a levels = massive stress and fear of failure, but quitting a levels = failure.

How are you all your DC? Not having a good time here. After getting better we have had some setbacks. DD has been off full time school now for a few months. She is going in sporadically. She is now having chronic anxiety about going to school and doing any type of work. It's like a vicious circle. The more she misses school the more she can't believe how she has for herself in
This situation and the more the mountain grows that she feels she has to climb to get her there. The more this happens the less she is able to go. We have tried breaking
Things down into small steps and motivating all the time.

It's starting to break me and I am just having a really bad day. Can anybody share any positive stories of how they tackled this and turned things around? I really need to hear this and what helped?

Same vicious circle here I'm afraid, can only offer sympathy and virtual hug. Completely understand you having bad days, especially frustrating / upsetting I find when there's been a little glimmer of mood improvement, then back down again. I contacted someone else on mumsnet who'd been in similar position a couple of years ago ... But meds and therapy (and time I guess) had all helped, and her daughter was doing much much better two years on, I found that really reassuring. There are definitely good days and bad days, I think it's just really important to look after yourself as much as possible (though often easier said than done ! And often not much energy left after doing the 'caring'). Have you tried the 'young minds' parents' helpline ? I haven't, but like to know it's there ... Good luck

Hello all - yes Emilizz34 I did read your post and it was very helpful. We have just started sertraline and school starts again tomorrow so a bit worried she will do as others have done and get knocked back again. I am seriously wondering if the answer might be to repeat the year but I appreciate that's not an option for most of us. It is very draining for all of us mums for sure and I thought my heat would break last night when she told me how low her self esteem is and has always been - my beautiful funny clever daughter I just don't get it. I keep wishing that I could put the clock back and somehow undo whatever it is that went wrong - except that I don't know when or what that was

Well it's been a long time since I was back to this post. Just wanted to come back and check how you are all doing and how are your DCs. I hope that there is good news and that things improved.

On our side DD muddled through the year at school. She didn't do as well in the end of year exams and definitely didn't have a
100% attendance. She will be taking a gap year after school to allow her time to heal.

Her medication for increased twice but didn't really work and eventually we made the decision to come off it. Her suicidal thoughts are gone but a lot of side effects mean that it is just not effective. She is coming off the medicine and we will try a few months of no meds before any further next steps. She didn't really have any proper therapy after the initial private psychologist. We are back in the NHS now and waiting for further therapy. But we have all learned a lot in the process about self care. I don't really know what next year will bring.