Teen Anxiety and Sleep deprivation

[Mum101010]

Our teenage child didn’t have the best finish to his current year in high school 6 weeks ago. Some bullying going on. He struggled to get to sleep in his last week and it got progressively worse as the weeks have gone by. The initial worry was performance in school work and the bullying. 3 weeks in we attended our GP because he started saying some things out of the ordinary. Like intrusive thoughts. He has been referred to CAMHS who are working with him and had to prescribe medication to calm him down so he could sleep. He is back to himself when he is on the medication but when he wakes up the thoughts start again and he is really scared of the thoughts like fear of being taken away. Other work with him will be talk therapy. 7 weeks ago he was an outgoing boy and high performer in school. CAMHS have said it’s high anxiety. It is so sad to see him like this. When he is on the medication he is more like himself and chatting to us like he normally would. Off it he says he’s in a different reality. Has anyone come across this before caused by lack of sleep? We are very worried. Seems to be getting worse not better.

My DD's anxiety is always worse in the evening. 3 years ago when very bad she wouldn't get to sleep until 11 (very late for her).

She was prescribed Propranolol, melatonin and some magic knock out little blue pills (something like promethazine hydrochloride). Made a world of difference.

@TeenDivided
Waving from other threads.
DD is on 20mg of fluoxetine and 25mg of promethazine but having terrible insomnia for days now.
Am really scared to put her on melatonin which is what the camhs psychiatrist suggested next.
How long did your dd take melatonin?
Upon reading the NHS website, they don't recommend melatonin for long periods.
Strangely the promethazine doesn't knock her out.
We are desperate :-(
Xx

DD has been on melatonin for over 3 years. We did manage to halve the dose at one point over a quiet summer, but when college ramped up again she needed it back at full dose.
We could try again but I am scared as she needs to be awake in the mornings to get on with life and for right or wrong I am more keen to drop the fluoxetine.

DD's promethazine is only 10mg and these days she only takes occasionally and then only half a tablet which gives her the knock out without the sleep hangover.

When does yours take the fluoxetine? DD's consultant said take in the morning as it has an energising effect.

Melatonin stopped working for my DD. She takes luvox in morning & at night. Post bullying she was eventually diagnosed with ocd. She now takes quetiapine for sleep.

Luvox can make some people drowsy.

She takes the fluoxetine before 8.00 am and the promethazine around 8.00.pm
She says she is up till around 3.00 am.
But then she is unable to do anything during the day even when she has slept well.
No self care like moving around, gentle fresh air etc
She is in bed the whole time except bathroom breaks and coming down to eat or going to work which is sadly not much these days as its a quiet January in the restaurant she works

@DarkChocHolic That is good she is managing to go to work when required. I wonder whether upping the fluoxetine would help as she sounds like how my DD was in 2020 when her depression was worst.

@TeenDivided
I thought she seemed happier on 10mg of fluoxetine.
Ever since we upped to 20, we have been really struggling...
I cannot tell if the lying in bed all day is her depression or because she has nothing else to do.
School is a major trigger so we have more off days than on.
At the same time, she wouldn't agree to complete home schooling or being signed off from school as she likes being with friends.
But on the days she is off school and has no work, she is just in bed...this may have upset her body clock quite a bit.
That's the thing I need to figure out..whether she needs the Fluoxetine increased or we need melatonin.