Need Advice

[carol 63]

Hi everyone
my daughter is 13yrs old and has cah and is a salt/loser,
she has been having some problems lately with feeling
low and depressed she is seeing a councilor.
Today we went to see her and she suggested antidpressents
and asked what i thought.
Iam not to keen on her taking more medication, i annoyed
that she suggested this to me when she doesnt know weather
they will intervere with her medication,she said to me think about
it and ask her specilist when we go for a check up and to let
her know.
She is only 13yrs old and is that there answer put her on more
medication is that getting to the real problems.
She has suggested fluoxetine and citalopram antidepressents
has anyone got any advice as im not sure what to do.
carol

[Glenn]

I'm far from being a doctor, but my first question is to wonder why your doctor thinks she needs antidepressants. After all, nearly every 13-year-old on the planet gets blue, but that's hardly cause for medication. Is there something particularly serious or severe about your daughter's depression? Why does she think she's depressed?

Glenn

[Victoria]

Dear Carol,

I read your email about your daughter's psychologist suggesting medications. The two medications she suggested are more commonly referred to as Prozac and Celexa. They are in the newer family of antidepressants also called SSRI's. They work by blocking the re-uptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin to the brain thereby increasing the amounts of serotinin she gets. Low levels of serotonin are the cause of many people's depressions.

You may be asking why I'm telling you this about these med's. Well, I'm training to be a psychologist and a child psychlogist in particular so I know a little about these types of medications. As far as prescribing children antidepressants, these newer meds are much safer than some of the older ones which were much more sedative and had more food and drug interactions. I am not sure of whether Prozac and Celexa would have any negative interactions with the meds your daughter is taking for her CAH, however, I do know that these antidepressants have few if any food and drug (medications) interactions. However, do check with your doctor on that one.

You also mentioned that your daughter has been feeling down lately. I am wondering whether she has normal teenager blues or if it is something more serious. I do understand your concern about her being on a lot of meds already and your concern of any possible interactions if she were to go on the antidepressants. Both are very legitimate concerns. After you talk with your daughters doctor about any possible interactions between the different medications, I would recommend you talk further with her counselor about why he/she suggested she go on antidepressants. If it is something more serious than just the average teenage blues, a low dose antidepressant in combination with the talk therapy she is already receiving might really help her.

Hope this helps and please e-mail me privately if you need more info.

Take care.

Victoria

[carol 63]

Hi glen and victoria
Thanks for yr advice and help.
I need to tell you abit more on whats been going on with my
daughter.
In may she started selfharming(cutting herself) this was such
a shock to me but i have got her help.
She said it was because she didnt like herself skin and weight
i have got her help for this her skin is nearly cleared up with
antibiotics and she is losing weight so far she has lost about
13lbs which is grt for her.
I am being very strong for her even know it upsets me i dont
let her know this.
Well 2 wks ago she cut herself again she said it was because a
couple of friends didnt wont to know her because of what she
was doing, i said then they are not very good friends and she should hang about with her friends it doesnt bother.
That why antidepressents wre suggested for her im not sure
as to what to do as i need to get her levels checked out as i
been told that meds for cah can make you depressed.
I think it enough to cope with the cah without having added
problems and her hormones are all over the place at the moment
being in her teens i know they will settle down.
She is a very senseative girl and takes everything to heart i told
her she is getting a young lady now and we have a lot of problems in life as we grow up and she has to find another way of
dealing with her problems.
I am very worried and not sure what to do it rearly hurts inside
knowing that your child is doing this but there is nothing you can
do it is out of your hands im very strong for her and she doesnt
know how i feel about it i cant show her that or that might worry
her also.
That is why antidepressents were suggested for her i need advice
and need to get things checked out for her sake before she takes
anymore medication iam just not sure what to do.
Any help or advice would be so grateful.
carol

[Victoria]

Dear Carol,

I just wanted to let you know that I think you are doing the right thing by getting your daughter help. In addition, you seem to be a very strong woman and it is clear that you are very concerned about your daughter and are holding it together to help her. It sounds very difficult but know that you are doing the best thing for your daughter by being a concerned parent and doing all you can do for her.

As far as the cutting goes, that is very serious. I know this because I've been there myself. I used to engage in self-injurious behaviors and needed to see a psychologist for it. Now go figure, I'm studying to be a psychologist!! I would recommend that you read the book, A Bright Red Scream. I forget the author but you could go on-line to Barnes and Noble or Amazon and type in the title and get the author. I found that book to be very helpful to me in understanding why I and so many others feel the need to hurt ourselves.

When you said that your daughter cut herself just recently because her friends did not want to talk to her because of what she was doing did you mean because she is in therapy? Just wondering because it wasn't clear why they were upset with her. At your daughter's age, peer approval is so important. I think adolescence is one of the hardest times in a person's life. Having her see a therapist is a good idea. I hope that it is helping her. That is great that her skin has cleared up and she has lost weight. Those things will definitely help her to feel better about herself.

Well, please keep writing and keep us informed about how things are going with your daughter. And hang in there, you're doing the best you can do for her and know that we're here to help you.

Victoria