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Anxiety

NAS88137

Hi 

I have 17 year old Daughter who is Autistic. She has felt extremely anxious the past 6 months due to some trauma , she was violently attacked . 
she sees a psychologist about this but she is struggling with severe anxiety. We are considering antidepressants to help her. Before the attack she could cope with feeling anxious occasionally , but it’s unbearable at the moment . It’s difficult to find any information about this. Any advice would be appreciated.

Parents

  • Hi there, 

    I am so sorry to hear about what happened to your daughter, that must be really hard for you all to cope with. 

    It is really good that you have already sought help from a professional, as that would be my first recommendation. Make sure that the therapist is 'trauma informed' or has experience with people handling trauma as if they are not, this might not be the best fit. 

    It might be worth raising with her therapist the possibility of her having PTSD following this violent attack, as this might be what is now limiting her life in the aftermath. 

    I have something called Complex PTSD (sounds similar but is different in some ways) and I have found that anti depressants and anti anxiety meds really help me manage my day to day symptoms, so I think this is definitely worth looking at together with your daughters doctor. 

    If your daughter was to be diagnosed wit PTSD then something called EMDR could be very helpful. This treatment is especially beneficial for someone like her who has experienced 1 incident of trauma like she has. 

    Let us know how she gets on!

  • in reply to Autumn_Trees

    Thank you for your reply, it’s really helpful. The therapist does think she has ptsd and is starting EMDR on Wednesday. What are anti anxiety medications ? How are the different from antidepressants?

    it’s good that you can manage your symptoms and I hope my daughter can soon.

    Really appreciate your reply.

  • in reply to NAS88137

    There are a bunch of things that are used for both but some are more targeted at anxiety (most are prescribed for a wide range of things - I take stuff for anxiety that is also used for physical issues in some people)

    I found propranolol helpful for the physical symptoms of anxiety and it's supposed to possibly also have an effect on the mind side. And I have diazepam for the real emergencies, which is strong and effective and addictive so is only prescribed for very short periods. I also take pregabalin but I'm not sure if that actually helps. 

    I also had that relatively manageable anxiety before a traumatic experience that made it much more extreme and constant. It did get easier after meds and a lot of therapy, but I've had 2 relapses that take a lot of work to get back from. I hope your daughter can get that recovery going soon. 

Reply
  • in reply to NAS88137

    There are a bunch of things that are used for both but some are more targeted at anxiety (most are prescribed for a wide range of things - I take stuff for anxiety that is also used for physical issues in some people)

    I found propranolol helpful for the physical symptoms of anxiety and it's supposed to possibly also have an effect on the mind side. And I have diazepam for the real emergencies, which is strong and effective and addictive so is only prescribed for very short periods. I also take pregabalin but I'm not sure if that actually helps. 

    I also had that relatively manageable anxiety before a traumatic experience that made it much more extreme and constant. It did get easier after meds and a lot of therapy, but I've had 2 relapses that take a lot of work to get back from. I hope your daughter can get that recovery going soon. 

Children
  • in reply to NAS88137

    Good luck! It's not an easy journey but with as much support as you can give her I'm sure she can get there. 

    (Sorry about the double post. It got caught by the spam filter so I tried to remember what I'd said and type it up again.)

  • in reply to T

    Thank you for taking the time to reply. We have spoken with the doctor today and she suggested propranolol, which I have never heard of, we shall give it a go along with continuing therapy, hopefully this will give my daughter some relief that she really needs. It sounds like it is a good option.

    thanks again, it’s so nice there are people that understand what we are going through.