I have just picked up ds medication. Would love some support.

[Beapoppy]

Nobody wants their child to have to take medication but here I am with it Sat on the table. We first sought help 3.5 years ago when my son was 11. He is now 14.5 and we have just had his assessment with camhs, even they were really sorry we had to wait so long. He has been diagnosed with severe ocd, however the wait for therapy could still be months. We have seen the psychiatrist and he's given us fluoxetine, he said as we have been waiting for so long and because of its severity he will try this before the therapy. I really hope this will make some difference to his life. Any positive experiences would be really helpful x

@Beapoppy My children are both on Sertraline due to anxiety and burnout (both diagnosed with ASD last year) rather than OCD. However, it has enabled my son to feel much more like himself and together with counselling has enabled him to go to university. My daughter is still recovering from her breakdown but I do feel we would have much further to go with her recovery if she wasn't taking them. They have given my children an opportunity to get on more of an even keel in order to start addressing their issues. They take a while to work so your son might be in a better place to work with the therapist when the appointment finally arrives. Hope this helps.

[quote VMJ1]@Beapoppy My children are both on Sertraline due to anxiety and burnout (both diagnosed with ASD last year) rather than OCD. However, it has enabled my son to feel much more like himself and together with counselling has enabled him to go to university. My daughter is still recovering from her breakdown but I do feel we would have much further to go with her recovery if she wasn't taking them. They have given my children an opportunity to get on more of an even keel in order to start addressing their issues. They take a while to work so your son might be in a better place to work with the therapist when the appointment finally arrives. Hope this helps.[/quote]
Thats so much for your reply. I'm really pleased your children are getting on well now and please that the medication has had a positive effect for them. My ds has Fluoxetine but I thi

Didn't mean to send that early. I was going to say that I think Sertraline and Fluoxetine are very similar!

My then 16yo started on Fluoxetine around a year ago and it has been fantastic for her.
She missed all of y11 due to anxiety & depression, but recovered enough to sit some GCSE assessments and has mainly been managing to attend college since September.
Recovering enough to engage, she has been able to access therapy, which she would never have been able to do when at her worst.
She's not out of the woods yet but in so much of a better place than 18 months ago.

We started on 5mg building to 20mg for a while which helped but not enough, and then built up to 40mg.

My child’s the same age as yours and we had tried talking-therapies for 18m before ADs. It is what some people need to have to function, especially when neurodiverse and with co-morbid MH conditions. Living with intrusive thoughts is so overwhelming and tiring -I wish I had been able to access SSRIs as a teenager and not had to wait until my 30s. As my GP said to me when I first took them myself, no-one queries taking medication for diabetes, high blood-pressure or asthma.

My DD is on sertraline for severe OCD and I feel it's been very positive.

We're on other immune meds as well as her OCD is immune-mediated.

Overall, she's doing so much better.

You have to titrate up slowly on SSRIs til you get the optimal dose.

Young adult DC2 had fluoxetine for terrible anxiety.
It really helped, to the point need any more.
Go for it, and just keep a quiet eye on it in the background. If after two weeks or so, your dc doesn't feel it's helps g, it's time to think about dosage or another medication.

Sorry for the typos!

@Sideswiped

Young adult DC2 had fluoxetine for terrible anxiety. It really helped, to the point need any more. Go for it, and just keep a quiet eye on it in the background. If after two weeks or so, your dc doesn't feel it's helps g, it's time to think about dosage or another medication.

That would be at least 2 weeks at the 'full dose' if the doctor is taking a stepped approach.

How is it going @Beapoppy ?

My daughter was prescribed Fluoxetine for anxiety and depression last year when she was 14. It was a big decision but we had tried everything over a period of three years. I have to say its been the best thing for her as it's brought back our daughter. She's back to being chatty, enthusiastic, smiley, involved with daily family life, and sociable.
Initially they started her on 10mg. We had to be watchful of her for the first 2 weeks as the tablets can have side effects. I wrote these down as and when they occurred and notified the doctor each week. After two weeks things started to slowly improve. We were then upped to 20mg and our daughter has continued to make progress. She has also had counselling sessions alongside these. It's wonderful to hear her roaring with laughter when she's chatting with her friends, taking pride in her appearance, sleeping etc I would say it's quietened her mind and given her peace. We were told that once she's feeling okay then she has to remain for another 6 months and then she'll be weaned off them. We seem to have reached that point now.
Hope your DS gets on well with them.