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Meds to take edge off Depression & Anxiety in a Teen

Mhairi

Hoping for some advice from anyone with experience of this. Our 13 yr old has suffered with significant anxiety over past 5 years and 2 bouts of significant depression last months all impacting on his quality of life and on both occasions feeling life is not worth living.

We are hoping meds will take the edge of his high levels of anxiety until he is in a place where he can help himself, find strategies and address the areas that are affecting him so he can enjoy some quality of life. Hopefully they will be a temporary measure.

Any advice on people's experience of meds would be very much appreciated particularly those around in their teens. He cannot swallow tablets but can incorporate a powder/open capsule into food.

We understand it will be trial and error and they may not work for him at all, plus the 2 month settling in period but feel for his sake we have to try this.

Thank you

Parents

  • He is under the Children with Disabilities team which is shamefully small. We were only offered a social worker after my back injury. Before that we were turned away. The social worker has arranged 4 hours of respite per week (2x2hrs) for us with an extra 4 hours during holiday. The cost of our amazing respite carer is therefore funded by the state but not, of course, the cost of the activities he does. My husband, bless him, built a retreat in the garden last year because once you go out its time to come home! So now we have, what is effectively, a wooden cottage in the garden with a tv, armchairs, kettle etc. Lovely. Goodness knows what happens if he loses his disability benefits at 16 as so many high functioning youngsters are. 

    Sadly we have tried just about all the good ideas that you have mentioned. I dont want to reduce his school hours because he is bright and is improving with his social communication with other children. He likes school.

    Just another thought Mhairie. Last year he got a PAWS puppy. (Dogs for the Disabled). She has been a godsend in helping him to stay calm and especially effective when he is coming down off a meltdown.

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  • He is under the Children with Disabilities team which is shamefully small. We were only offered a social worker after my back injury. Before that we were turned away. The social worker has arranged 4 hours of respite per week (2x2hrs) for us with an extra 4 hours during holiday. The cost of our amazing respite carer is therefore funded by the state but not, of course, the cost of the activities he does. My husband, bless him, built a retreat in the garden last year because once you go out its time to come home! So now we have, what is effectively, a wooden cottage in the garden with a tv, armchairs, kettle etc. Lovely. Goodness knows what happens if he loses his disability benefits at 16 as so many high functioning youngsters are. 

    Sadly we have tried just about all the good ideas that you have mentioned. I dont want to reduce his school hours because he is bright and is improving with his social communication with other children. He likes school.

    Just another thought Mhairie. Last year he got a PAWS puppy. (Dogs for the Disabled). She has been a godsend in helping him to stay calm and especially effective when he is coming down off a meltdown.

Children
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