Prozac for Teen?

[Hugga]

My DD (15) is suffering from acute anxiety which causes strong physical symptoms of various kind when in situations that she finds stressful. She's not been able to attend school recently due to these issues. She's started seeing a counsellor and her doctor recently suggested that she takes prozac. He said that Prozac combined with counselling will be more effective than counselling on it's own.
DD's Dad (my ex) is against the idea of offering her the choice to try Prozac. I've asked him to talk his concerns through with the doctor.
If you've had similar experience with your teen I would be grateful to hear how you and they have managed and whether they found prozac helpful?
Thank you!

Yes, but antidepressants can only be prescribed by a psychiatrist under 18.

I did not want DD starting antidepressants when they were offered when she was the same age. I felt that there were some quite clear reasons why her anxiety was so bad. It made no sense to me to give her antidepressants without addressing the root causes of her issues, at least to some extent. Additionally, I feel that, for some people, once they start taking antidepressants, they never come off and I just didn't want her to go that route immediately. It was difficult, because of course I wasn't going to GP appointments with her so couldn't discuss this. She agreed to wait - we did have a very hard year, then a lull, followed by another hard year but it was (mostly) school related. I tried different things at home and also got her counselling. As soon as she finished school, the anxiety reduced enormously and has continued to do so; she's now at a point where I'd say she's 'typically' anxious rather than the state she was in which was just horrendous. I really didn't want her to suffer but my concerns around medicating a growing brain made it extremely hard for me to trust that was the right route and I'm very pleased DD did not have to - obviously if leaving school hadn't helped I'd have marched her to the GP myself. I hope things improve for your DD, it's the most awful time, watching them go through this but not being able to fix it.

We aren't UK based.

I was prescribed Prozac as a teen and it was awful. It numbed my feelings and dulled the world. I'm sad on reflection that I wasn't offered proper therapy and coping strategies instead.

I understand your concerns and am very glad that things got better for your DD post school supporting a teen with extreme anxiety is really hard. It's a difficult decision but I'm more leaning towards offering DD a choice to take the anti-anxiety medication as if it works well for her it could make the school years a lot more positive.

I know adults that have benefitted a lot from taking Prozac short term for anxiety. She is quite young to be taking medication but the doctor said a lot of teens take Prozac and find it helpful as the teen years can tend to be the ones when anxiety peaks. It would be good to hear from parents whose teens have tried Prozac also.
Thank you!

Ok. My eldest DC took Prozac for a year for severe depression. They were on the verge of leaving school, dropping out. A year later they were back on track, loving school again, able to function, had a social life, achieved 3 A* at A level and went on to a RG uni (in year two and thriving).

It was taken together with therapy from a clinical psychologist.

No regrets at all. It is an illness like any other. If your child had excruciating muscle pain you would allow them to take painkillers alongside physiotherapy.

Thank you for sharing your experience, I'm sorry that you weren't offered more support. I was thinking if DD felt worse on the Prozac she would just stop taking it. From what I've read elsewhere it takes about 4 weeks to start working so if she didn't feel better after than or felt worse she could discontinue it. I'm trying to be open minded about options that could be helpful for her but definitely plan to keep offering the counselling as the main support. I'm encouraging her to do more exercise also but she is not always motivated to do that.

Thank you this is very encouraging to hear, I do feel that if a teen is suffering from a debilitating condition of any kind and medication can help it shouldn't be ruled out.

Dd started it at 13 for severe depression and anxiety linked to an ED. Being prescribed Prozac was the turning point in her treatment. I firmly believe she would have been admitted to hospital within weeks if we hadn’t done it.
She had been having talking therapy for months before it, and nothing was getting through. The Prozac lifted her mood enough to be receptive to other treatments. She could see positive things around her again and reasons to keep trying to get better.
She has said it has made her emotions less intense in the sense that school drama that would have upset her now washes over her for example, but she describes it as being more of ‘water off a ducks back’ feeling rather than numbness. She is definitely still able to feel joy while taking them.
For her, it’s the best thing we ever did.

Thank you this is very helpful to hear. I have a feeling that if the Prozac works for DD it could make a huge difference to her quality of life. I'm really glad to hear that it worked so well for your Dd. May I ask whether she's still taking it and how long she's been using it for if you're comfortable sharing that info? The doctor said that some people take it for life and others might take it for 6 months to a year then see how they feel without it for a while. Thank you.

It isn’t just the drug, it’s also the dose. My DC was scaled up to a high dose because of the severity of their condition, obviously you’re not in the UK but a consultant psychiatrist is confident to prescribe appropriately.

No problem at all. She has taken it for just over a year now. We do have a rough plan with her consultant psychiatrist to reduce the dosage in around 4 months. The advice to us was to stay on it for 6 months after she started to feel truly well, so that is what we are doing. I think we will probably start to reduce it at the start of summer hols after school exams and things as they recommended coming off it at a time of minimal stress.
Hope that helps, and sending lots of love to you all. I do truly know how difficult it is seeing your child struggle so badly 💐

My DD has just this month come off (hopefully) fluoxetine (also known as prozac) after 4 years. Prescribed it aged 16 by a consultant psychiatrist due to debilitating anxiety and depression.

Tapered up very slowly to 20mg then to 40mg. Was an absolute game changer as she was then able to engage in therapy and education.

As she has improved we have gradually stepped down the meds in summer holidays.

My daughter missed a year of school, had been suicidal, it was awful to watch.

Within two days of Prozac it was like the old her was back.

Honestly I think anyone who would deny their child - who is in extreme pain - medication is neglectful.

Thank you so much, this is a very good point, it would be helpful to get a second opinion on the dose from a psychiatrist, I'll try to do that. The doctor suggested taking a half dose for10g or a week to start then doubling it. I think this is a standard adult dose for a panic disorder. It would be reassuring to check this, I can also talk to a pharmacist who has been helpful in the past while I'm waiting to speak with a psychiatrist. Thank you so much for your support I'm feeling more hopeful now.

Thank you for sharing your experience, I'm so glad that the Prozac was helpful for your DD. It's great that she has been able to come off it. Wishing you all the very best for the future.

I'm so glad that Prozac helped your daughter recover that sounds like an unbearable situation for both of you. My DD has missed a few months of school already now, I've been really struggling to figure out how to help her and the way forward. I will show these messages to my ex. At the moment he is refusing to agree to the Prozac route. He says he is worried the prozac may cause suicidal thoughts and that there is an opioid crisis because doctors prescribe these type if medications too readily. My feeling is that (hopefully) the Prozac will do the exact opposite because at the moment DD says she has given up. Also if the Prozac makes her feel worse surely that will be obvious and she can just stop taking it?

My DD is the same age and was experiencing some anxiety mostly around school issues. The GP prescribed a low dose of propranolol for when she feels she needs to take it, which she has found helpful as the worry often causes her to have stomach upsets. I was not keen on her taking antidepressants .

WTF has an opioid crisis got to do with Prozac? If he doesn't know shit, don't treat him as if he does.

Thank you! I will look into this.

I don't agree with his position, there are many reasons we are no longer together but our divorce agreement states that we need to make decisions about medical treatment for DD together or use a dispute resolution process if we can't agree so I'm trying to navigate that also.

My DD started taking fluoxetine (aka Prozac) just before turning 13. At the time her anxiety was so acute she couldn't leave her bedroom.and she had been out of school for 8 months.
I was terrified of putting her on it, and horrified my 12 year old needed medication but she was clearly very ill and nothing else had worked.
She is now 16 and still takes 40mg a day (was on 20 for first year), managed to attend school in y10 and 11 enough to pass 8 GCSEs and is now in college.
I understand the hesitation but I am glad that we did this for DD. I cannot imagine we would be in such a positive place now otherwise.

Propranolol was helpful to DD to calm when over anxious but did nothing for overall depression.

Hello,
My DD started on Prozac (fluoxetine) for low mood after her first overdose of paracetamol. They do warn that most SSRIs make you suicidal for the first few weeks and they weren't kidding.
She took a second overdose during her first 2 weeks and it was awful. We carried on as they said it can take up to 8 to 12 weeks to feel the difference but it sadly did not make her any better.
She insisted she switch to another and her psychiatrist agrees to start her on sertraline (Zoloft) and she has been much better on it.
We didn't experience the initial side effects when she switched.
I was terrified she would go downhill but thankfully she didn't.
I am not against medication but your ex is right about the suicidal ideation being increased during the first few weeks.
So please be extra watchful.
I hope it helps her and you.
Xx

DD was prescribed Prozac, to get her through her A levels. Imo, it did nothing for her. No SSRI has had any benefit for her, as far as I can see.

She finds propanol the most useful, for when she is overwhelmed by the physical symptoms of anxiety, like going into an exam.

She is also told to take promethazine (an antihistamine) for anxiety, by psychiatrists.