Help! DS (12) has just taken overdose!

[BoffinMum]

I am just leaving London to go home. DS2 just rang me to say he had taken an overdose. AP has managed to get into the bathroom and is sitting with him, I have phoned ambulance etc. Currently on train not knowing what the hell is happening, and very shaky. On my way to meet them at hospital but won't be there for over an hour.

[TheReturnoftheSmartArse]

How are you doing today, Boff?

I know others have said on the thread that they know plenty of people who have had MH issues and have come out the other side and gone on to lead satisfying lives, but I just want to add to that.

I am the mother of a DD who at 14 went through a year of very severe OCD (think so bad that she couldn't get to school because her compulsions were so strong) and who also tried on several occasions to take her own life. She has been on Fluoextine for 2 years now and had a year of CBT, and I can honestly say she is now 100% "normal". Still has her ups and downs, like any teenager, and is definitely not looking forward to starting the GCSE exams in a few weeks! But she has come out the other side, has learnt to recognise the difference between the start of a "down" period and normal teenage angst, and to speak up when she thinks she needs someone to talk to or a little extra help. (She was latterly diagnosed as having a sensory processing disorder and dyspraxia, which may have contributed to the anxiety, OCD and suicidal thoughts.)

So, whilst you will never stop worring about your DS and looking for "signs", I promise you that he will eventually find the right treatment and way of dealing with his differences.

Hang in there! If someone had told me how difficult parenting is, and that it lasts a lifetime, I might have thought twice about it!

[BoffinMum]

That is actually very reassuring. I think that was what the psychiatrist was saying yesterday, that there is a pathological bit to all this, and a teenage angst bit, and that they are teaching DS, us and his school which is which. I think I understand that a bit better thanks o your post.

In essence I am superficially calm but in actual fact stressed out of my box and I am worrying I will fly off the handle at an innocent person if I don't watch it.

[TheReturnoftheSmartArse]

I'm glad it was helpful. Look after yourself, Boff - I hope you have nice people around you who can give you a shoulder to cry on occasionally, because it is hard work and we mums are often overly involved (naturally!) in our children's lives, to the detriment of our own sanity and well-being. It wasn't until we started to emerge from the fog that had been a hellish year that I realised quite what pressure I'd been under myself, never mind my DD.

[duchesse]

Do you have a really good friend/family member who be stand-in responsible adult around the house for a week or so?

[BoffinMum]

Not really, Duchesse. I have an AP so not totally abandoned, but it will be a tough few weeks.

[BoffinMum]

I am in hospital myself at the moment and jolly miserable. They are not looking after me very well either. I am having to draw on significant internal reserves of gumption at the moment.

[Badvoc]

Oh boff :(
Can you ask to see the ward manager?
Oh, I wish I lived near :(

[mistlethrush]

Boff I don't know what part of the country you're in - is there a mnner local that could come in and bring things / get some more help sorted for you?

[BoffinMum]

Back home now as have been sprung by DH, fed, watered and tucked nicely into bed with the right painkillers. Feeling a bit better albeit swollen and sore. Good news is that DS2 is quite perky today which is nice to see.

[BoffinMum]

DH is organising a complaint. They ignored the advice from the consultant, did not feed me and did not give me the right painkillers. When DH intervened they treated him badly too (and he is Mr Old Fashioned Gentlemanly Politeness). I was very unimpressed. This was actually a private hospital (I have BUPA).

[BoffinMum]

DH said it was like the NHS in the 1980s and he had a point. The contrast with the kindness shown to me on DS's ward the other day was very stark.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Glad you are home and that DS is better today.

But that sounds crap of the hospital.

[mummytime]

I'm glad you are home. My DH had dealings with a local private hospital and an NHS one last year. The NHS one was much better (I just wish it was our local one). To be honest I would never use the local private one now - we'd ask for another one.

[Selks]

Hi Boffin, just wanted to post re your son. I spotted your worries earlier on about the problems your DS is experiencing affecting him long term or blighting his life. I'm a CAMHS practitioner myself, and just wanted to say that in my experience children that are going through what your son is generally do overcome the issues and go on to lead healthy, fulfilled lives. Of course a minority do have long term difficulties but it is much more common in my experience that problems such as this - while naturally alarming and upsetting at the time - are generally transitory.
Your son will need continued CAMHS therapeutic support to manage his mood and any self harm risk, and to support him to develop better coping strategies and greater emotional resilience, but young people can make good use of support and treatment and the outcome is likely to be positive. That is the thing to try to hold on to right now.
Sorry to hear of your own health issues....life has a habit of throwing these things at us all at once, doesn't it?...Get well soon.

[BoffinMum]

Thank you Selks. I was hoping a practitioner would come on.

I suppose I just don't know what to think about it all. It is quite a recent thing that children got proper MH care, I reckon, so my only reference point is friends from adolescence who topped themselves or who got anorexia, things like that. That is what I was fearing for my DS.

I do think he is in good hands with the local CAMHS team though, and they are generous about counselling and support for him, so clearly the prognosis is good. We also get parent counselling, and the nice lady who does it bends over backwards to make it work for us.

I have a question about medication, in case you can help. What length of time on average do children take Fluoxetine for, and how do you know if they are ready to come off it?

[Selks]

Re Fluoxetine as far as I am aware it is a totally individual thing. It should be monitored by regular (every few weeks or months) appointments with the CAMHS Dr that is prescribing it to see if it is being helpful/not/still needed/not, also ideally there should be regular reviews of care that you and DS would be invited to to see how things are progressing, so it can be discussed there too. But different CAMHS teams have different ways of doing things, so it might not be quite the same where you are.
I'm really pleased that you are happy with the service you are receiving from CAMHS though; that's always good to hear . I'm sure they will be happy to discuss any queries re medication.

[BoffinMum]

Yes, we have reviews about every 2-3 months and we see them weekly the rest of the time. They said he might be on the meds for a year but I wasn't sure if that was typical.

[Selks]

It can be, yes. Good luck with it all; hope your DS starts feeling a bit better soon.

[BoffinMum]

Thank you Mrs De Vere. Was there a trigger or was he just basically melancholic?

[BoffinMum]

That makes sense and is very reassuring.

[Selks]

I don't feel that you did, MrsDeVere. No worries