Sertraline for 12 year old.

[WishfulThinkingToday]

My DD is going through a critical period of mental health (severe depression, self-harm, suicide ideation, PTSD, OCD and neurodivergence), and we had a conversation this morning with a psychiatrist who recommended Sertraline (and counselling).

I am worried about her suicide ideation and it getting worse.

Has anyone had a child take Sertraline? Is it effective?

Sertraline has been very helpful for my son , ASD. OCD.

It worked pretty quickly to raise his low mood and he found there was very little in the way of side effects. He was about 14 when he began taking them .

I think the councilling will be more useful if she's feeling calmer and less down . It's worth giving it a try .

Anti depressants are designed to be used short term, for those with extreme feelings of depression and especially those with suicidal tendencies.

I hate anti-depressants for many reasons, but I think in your daughter's case it's a good call. Just don't keep her on them for longer than needed. Get her into therapy as soon as you can. Good luck

Has she tried any meds for
adhd if that is the ND? My dd ended up on both but the stimulant meds for ADHD have had a hugely postive impact it’s like a switch goes on in her mind, coupled with lifestyle changes. She is still on setraline after two years but I’m hoping we can wean her off those longer term.

I’ve realised recently with my 11yr old DD, that the more she’s indoors on a screen, the more her anxiety/intrusive thoughts occur. As soon as she’s outdoors, it’s like someone flipped a switch and put her back to being the giggly, silly and fun loving girl she’s always been. If she’s spent a higher than usual amount of time out of the house one week, then she’s back to happy & giggling and vice versa. Yet it’s not that she’s ever said that being indoors is something she dislikes - quite the opposite in fact! Sometimes I have to drag her out! Yet she lights up once she’s out, so in DD’s case, it’s definitely subconscious.

However….. I myself have been on either an SSRI or SNRI (not much difference tbh) since I was 17 and I would go to the ends of the earth to find any other solution for DD before putting her on either of the above as I know what a life sentence they can be. Don’t get me wrong, once I found the one which helped me best, it’s been amazing and made a huge difference to me as an adult. However coming off them is no ball game… I’m currently trying to reduce mine due to side effects and having to go 5mg at a time with daily phone calls from the GP’s in-house clinical pharmacist and a pre-arrangement for emergency care for any adverse withdrawal effects; like I said, it’s no joke! SSRIs are not simple and my GP has told me a few times that some people never manage to come off them.

Thank you all for the replies - it is such a difficult decision, because I myself have been on Sertraline for 6 months, and it felt like it just made me numb. I stopped quite quickly. So we are really thinking about this serious step.

I am just worried at she will be using these for life, but I know she is going through a horrible time at the moment. The self-harm didn't stop, even when I took all the sharps away (sharps / medicines / poisons / and bath plug) she told the psychiatrist she is using non-sharp objects and friction to cause harm now. She needs help, and medication and counselling might be the only way forward.