My dd took an overdose

[MummyOf4Kids]

She's just turned 17. I knew she'd been struggling and we'd been to the doctors who referred her to camhs 4 months ago.
Yesterday she was out with her DF and SM and came home and went to a friends. I picked her up from her friends at 10pm last night, all was fine so I thought.
This morning I went in her room and discovered she'd taken 16 paracetamol last night before bed, I found the empty packet and she admitted it.
Que a full day in a&e she's been kept in and is on a drip hopefully home tomorrow after speaking with camhs, she's been on the waiting list for months for camhs so I'm not expecting much

sending all the good vibes for you and your family.

as someone who has been through dark periods regarding mh, i can only tell you it gets better. this storm will pass. the best advice is, that i would make sure your daughter knows, asking for help isn't giving up, it's refusing to give up. there is no shame in it.

maybe check if her school/ college has a good councillor if camhs has too long of a waiting list. if you want, message me and i can point you in the way of some good resources.

Thank you for the replies. I've not heard great thing about camhs so I'm not expecting much from them but will see what they have to say.
I just want her to get better

I hope you and your dd are okay. It's such a hard situation to be in. My dd did made several attempts at 15, having been on the waiting list for over 18 months.

It will probably be the 'crisis' team from CAMHS who will see her in the hospital. They'll then refer back to the local team.

Our local team only sees people who have attempted suicide, in a horrible way this might get her the help she needs.

Do you have support for yourself? It's important that you look after yourself too, if I can help in any way, as a parent who's been there please message.

So hard to go through. You did the right thing to take her to hospital. Even suicide attempts are sadly not enough to bump them up the list with chaos (been there myself)

Try to be kind to you today too. Is there a possibility of private counselling?

@dane8 no, nobody came to see her in a&e
Still waiting for camhs

@chafingstraightjacket thank you. I do have good support around me.
I don't want to wrap her in cotton wool but I feel like im going to have to watch her like a hawk but I want to find the right balance

Did nobody discuss a safety plan with you before you left hospital? If no, get on the phone to CAMHS Crisis team now.

Sorry to hear your dd is struggling. Mine went through the same, though in different circumstances. It took her overdose to get her referred to CAHMS much quicker so I hope this will be the case for your dd.

We bought a lockable medicine cabinet from Screwfix for peace of mind and to remove temptation in desperate moments.

@longtompot

We bought a lockable medicine cabinet from Screwfix for peace of mind and to remove temptation in desperate moments.

Yes this is a brilliant idea, I have locks on the cupboard I keep my knives in too and started keeping razors and scissors etc locked away.

It's very difficult to find a balance with keeping watch but dd was somewhat relieved that she didn't have access to medicines etc.

I hope CAMHS have at least turned up. Thinking of you both.

Been here too with a younger child and it meant that she was seen by CAMHS. They will advise you to lock away sharps, cleaning fluids and medicines - I’d also suggest that you include things like pencil sharpeners, as these can unscrewed and used for harmful activities. As well as your daughter’s support, see if you can access counselling for you too - my public sector employer provided 6 free sessions. It is a hard thing to deal with for the whole family.

Thank you everyone.
Well camhs turned up, they spoke with dd alone and then with me there. They suggested coping strategies for her, most of which she already uses so on the shins I didn't find it very useful but they're following up next week with a phonecall, they says they'll look at the waiting list to see how long she's looking at for an appointment,
Dd seems ok tonight, she's been discharged. All tablets and sharps are locked away

On the whole, not shins