Ds took an overdose

[Kenworthington]

He's 19. He started uni in sept. I thought everything was going well. He's been depressed for years, suicidal for months. He's been under the crisis team. He appeared at our doorstep this afternoon. He's come home to try and stay safe. He took 30 paracetamol sat night and his flatmates took him to a&e. This is the first we have heard of it. He didn't want us to be told. I don't know where to go from here. Uni have sent him home for a few days. I just don't know what to do anymore I don't know how to keep him safe. This time there was no warning, no incident that precipitated it. It came out of nowhere and that what's worrying him and is the most. What do we do now?

He's come to you so that is really positive, he's telling you and his friends who helped him that he is struggling, it might not seem it but this is a building block to opening up communication and him getting the help he needs. University are aware and responding appropriately as well so that helps.

I would start with this... tell him how pleased you are he is home, that he is safe and welcome. Remind him uni is fine and he has supportive friends. Ask him what he needs from you, what support does he need? Be open and honest and tell him how much you love him and care.

My brother also had to come home from uni last year because of mental health difficulties (and has pretty much sat in his room for the last 12 months refusing to go to the GP)..

From a practical point (after talking your son to the GPs etc and getting things inplace for his mental health) I would recommend talking to the university. The university had lots of things that they offered to put in place when they realized there was a problem with my brother after he came home, unfortunately he wasnt up for returning. Financially the University decided not to charge him for the years tuition fee which was a weight off his sholders BUT as guarantor my mum had to pay an entire year of private land lord rent for his room.

See he's been under the gp for 3 years for severe depression and has been on anti depressants all that time. He's under the crisis team here at home and also at his uni city. He arranged a meeting with the wellbeing centre at uni to make himself known to them and also sorted out a doctor up there and had an appointment. I've tried talking to uni before but they won't talk to me as he's an adult. I don't know what the immediate next step needs to be. I'm in way over my head now. I'm also immediately concerned that despite the high quantity of pills he took, the hospital just sent him on his way after keeping him awake for 7 hours and didn't DO anything other than a blood test. Because he's tall apparently it should be fine????? He had better be bloody fine because of course I've been sodding googling and now I've scared myself shitless that he's going to go into liver failure in the next day or two and end up dying. I kind of feel that the suicidal thoughts he has are now overwhelming him so much that eventually he will end up succeeding. He's alsresy told his psychiatrist that he has them several times a week unrelated to any trigger. I will get him in to the gp tomorrow but I can't imagine they will be able to do a anything

Hi OP.

They would have tested for whatever paracetamol does to your blood so wouldn't have let him go if he wasn't going to be physically ok. They know in hospitals just how dangerous paracetamol is so they would have given him the antidote if necessary at the very least. Is he sure it was paracetamol and not another painkiller eg ibuprofen? If he's under the crisis team it might be better speaking to them rather than the GP. Is your son speaking to the crisis team about his thoughts? Does he have the option to phone them when the thoughts are overwhelming?

The fact that he told uni friends/you is good and shows he wants help. Suicidal thoughts can be frightening but it's possible to have them and get through it, with support.

It was def paracetamol- he can't take any other painkillers. Also doesn't buy them-have them in the house.
He only told flatmates when he started feeling dizzy, his temperature rocketed, heat rate increased and he felt really peculiar. I think he prob assumed he'd drift off to sleep and not wake up rather than that. And he panicked I guess. He was scared because he's only got close to acting on his feelings before once and there was a trigger. This time no trigger.

well he must indeed be tall/relatively heavy. I was told that what you've eaten etc can also have an effect. They definitely wouldn't have discharged him if his bloods had been odd, so don't worry about that. In the past I had taken less and assumed I hadn't had enough to do anything as I was ok for about 12 hours afterwards. Bloods said otherwise though (I'm small now but was smaller).
But you definitely don't drift off with paracetamol. It's evil and excruciatingly painful.

I know it might sound bizarre but your DS being scared of how he acted, and scared of his thoughts is a really, really good thing. When people are calm about it then that is when it's most dangerous. So although it must be agonising for you seeing your son like this, it's not all negative, the fear suggests that he doesn't actually want to die for much of the time. He's just got to get through the times where he does feel like that.