Teen Anti-depressant question

[SmilingJudyNotSmiling]

DD prescribed Fluxotene. All done without my consent involvement as she's at the age where she can go to the doctor and choose for me not to be involved.

She's 16.

Just read that the above is a form of prozac. Very concerned about this. Anyone any experience in teens taking this?

I think it's been prescribed for 6 months. She hasn't had CBT just an initial camhs appointment and now one with the specialist.

Have nc'd for this.

[cory]

Dd (16) has been taking fluoxetine for about a year now. They were reluctant to prescribe anything for her until she turned 15 as fluoxetine is only licensed for this age upwards and it is considered pretty well the safest thing you can take in the way of anti-depressants.

To give you an idea, dd took a fairly hefty overdose (16 times the prescribed dose) and there were hardly any ill effects; they kept her in over night to monitor and then discharged her without any treatment (the doctors were saying how lucky it was she hadn't found the paracetamol instead as that is a lot more dangerous).

Having said that, there is always the risk of side effects. They should be listed on the packet. Dd found she got quite hyper at first and had more mood swings for the first few weeks, so needed a bit of extra propping up. She has been far less depressed and much more open to counselling since she started taking it; before that she was basically huddling under the blankets in her room and refusing to engage. She has made two suicide attempts, but I don't think the drugs were to blame for that; it was long after she started them and a bit of a sudden impulse thing on both occasions, and she had been self harming before.

She is taking them together with CBT and family therapy.

Not something you want to do unless you have to, but in our case we were pretty desperate; dd didn't really have much quality of life at all.

[SmilingJudyNotSmiling]

Thanks Cory. Did the doctor involve you at all? Do you know what is at the root of the problem. This is what I am finding difficult. I don't know what the hell is going on. She isn't depressed all the time, she seems quite happy when talking to her friends, but of course I don't know what goes through her head. She won't open up to me at all, but there are people (professionals) who she has been able to go to.

I just find it rather strange that after two chats with the doctor, one assessor and one psychologist, she is given these drugs without anything else being tried first.

Quite a few of her friends suffer from depression, have had suicide attempts and she has self harmed in the past, although she says that all stopped ages ago.

I am very worried to be honest. CBT has been offered but she declined it.

[NuttyNewDog]

Can I ask how both your DDs are getting on? Mine (17) has just been prescribed it. She was self-harming two years ago and referred to CAMHS which she seemed to find helpful. She discharged herself July last year as she was feeling much better but has been lower than ever this year. Winter always seems to be harder for her. She's bingeing on carbs and piling on weight which is upsetting her but she can't stop herself. She's admitting to suicidal feelings so the GP prescribed fluoxetine immediately, is monitoring her weekly and has made another CAMHS referral. I'm on my on with her and finding it very hard to know what to do for her.

[cory]

Sorry to have missed your post, Smiling. I was very much involved with the doctors from the start as I was the one making the appointments. And they were very anxious to try everything else first: dd had a full year of CBT before they would even consider medication.

In dd's case, the root is extreme anxiety tied up with a chronic joint condition (Ehlers Danlos syndrome). She is frightened of her body not coping and will react to stress by trying "to make the moment stop".

I have had to accept that she will talk to the professionals without my being there though, and that this is part of the treatment, to make her take responsibility for her own health problems as there is no way I can keep her safe in the long run.

Nutty, dd isn't doing too badly atm. Her last suicide attempt was in January, since then she has had a few panic attacks and a couple of extreme highs (she has some mildly bipolar tendencies) and has missed a fair bit off school due to illness, but not really too bad. She will be getting at least some good GCSEs and is moderately hopeful about going to college.

[NuttyNewDog]

Thanks all. It's reassuring to know that some of your DDs have found it useful. The initial side effects have knocked her for six - I've tried to tell her that this is the first step to getting better. She's an absolute zombie most of the time, staring into space or crying. I just hope things pick up for her soon.

[Magdalena45]

If they do take it, don't give it up if it doesn't change things quickly, it takes months to, start working (unless she's having serious side effects). Meds work differently for each person, but they can help.

[Coffeenowplease]

Reading with interest as I was prescribed this at 12 which is much younger than is advised now (Or even then tbh.)
I have to say I never experienced side effects like Nuttys DD describes,( if they continue do encourage her to go back as it may not be the right drug for her.)

I was put on it again as an adult and this time I did notice side effects but they are not severe and Im quite happy to live with them.

I dont know if Im in a position to give advice really but for me it saved my life not once but twice. That said it can have serious side effects so she needs to be aware of them and go back if she had any of them or is worried about taking it for any reason.

[NuttyNewDog]

Mindful, thanks. She does spend a lot of time cuddling the dog she didn't want me to get but now adores! I hadn't realised till your post that it's unconditional affection. I'm finding it tough to the point I'm now on sertraline myself, which has helped enormously.
Mag and coffee - thanks, she does appear slightly better today. She's seeing the doctor every week so I'm just making sure she's not alone too much as she says herself she's inclined to wallow (and listen to the Smiths!)