So anyway, things with Girlfriend are rocky now, and the counselor called my mom in for a meeting because he felt like Brother was going downhill. Now he wants to put him on anti-depressants. My parents are very hesitant to do this, and because I have experience in both biology and being a dysfunctional teenager, my mom seems to be weighing my opinion on the issue very heavily. I tend to be very cautious, I am worried about side effects on his developing brain and creating a cycle of dependency. But I have never been on either anti-d's or anti-anxiety medication, so I really don't feel like I am in a prime position to judge. Brother seems to be leaning towards it, but I think it's just because he sees it as a Magic Pill that will make the world all better for him.
The very first time I was tossed into therapy for my ED (completely against my will, and with a family counselor that had zero ED experience and later fired me), they offered me anti-d's but I refused. I was in 100% denial about having a problem. They also recommended that I be hospitalized, but of course I wanted none of that, and my parents didn't want it either. What would everyone have thought, if their golden girl had to repeat the 7th grade because she had to be shipped off to learn how to feed herself? Anyway, in a nutshell, my parents have always taken a very, very hands-off approach to my ED, and I pretty much got away with murder (almost literally) when it came to my disorder. I was extremely obedient and compliant with everything else, really no trouble at all as a teenager, except for that pesky anorexia thing...
During sessions with my current psychologist, I have discovered that I never really realized how much my parents mismanaged dealing with my disorder. I do not blame them at all for my disease (beyond genetics, which they can't help), please don't take me the wrong way. I would not trade my family for the world, and love them dearly. They have been extremely loving and supportive, just in an extremely passive way. But now that I'm more aware of how important early intervention is, I don't want Brother's issues to get swept under the rug as well, so we can play Happy Family and pretend like problems will just solve themselves. At the same time, I don't want him to feel like he has to rely on a drug to function like a normal person. Ack! And I have asked him what he wants, and all he can say is that he just wants to "feel normal, whatever that takes."
So, now for the entire point of me breaking my unofficial blogging hiatus: I am using my Ask the Audience lifeline: if anyone has had experience with anti-depressants, either positive or negative, can you please contact me? If you don't want to post a comment, feel free to e-mail me at gsd0405@yahoo.com. Brother has another therapy session this week and at that time he, the counselor, and my parents will probably make the decision about meds.
8 comments:
I did a short course of anti-depressants in college. It helped immensely. About a year ago I felt like I needed them again, and they have indeed been helpful.
The expression of my depression has been different for me each time, but in both cases the medication helped even out my reactions to events, helped me pull my hands off my face and deal with the world again.
I had a rough adolescence -- I was a self-mutilator -- and I think that anti-depressants and counseling would have been a lifesaver back then. But I don't know for certain -- medication certainly wouldn't have fixed my alcoholic parents or made sure I had clothes to wear and food to eat.
And I, like you, worry a bit about medication for a growing youngster. But you asked for our experiences, and that I can give you.
Ok, this may be as well a time as any to de-lurk. So hi!
I've been struggling with depression (and other stuff) pretty much since my teenage days and finally sought and have actually received help (after several highly unpleasant run-ins with the psychiatric profession where they put on antipsychotics, of all things).
To think that I am 26 by now kind of gives me the creeps, because I have been on Cipralex (Active ingredient: Escitalopram) for two-and-a-half months now – and what can I say? Recovery, a sense of evenness, a generally much better attitude towards food and my body and the whole pesky life-thing … they all suddenly seem possible – maybe I can even be (gosh! dare I say it?) happy.
I've always been sceptic towards taking medication, especially after the antipsychotic drugs, but I thought that I'd give it one last try. So far, they've been a tremendous help, if only because I feel optimistic and clear-headed enough to actually start inpatient treatment and stop revelling in self-pity so much. ;-) It's as if my life was finally worth caring about. Had I known how easy it all could have been, that I needn't feel like this, I'd have sought treatment long, long ago.
Caveat: My psychiatrist is adamant that you have to feel positive about taking the stuff, and I would totally agree.
So, as regards your brother: Maybe a low dosage with good supervision and the obligatory counselling may actually be worth a try. If (and only if) he feels he can get something out of it.
If it doesn't work, he can try another one or leave it altogether, but at least then he tried. If it does work, it might just be that little bit that helps him stay afloat.
I wish you and your brother all the best – it's a pretty courageous and very mature thing to seek and accept help. From how you describe him, I am pretty sure he'll do just fine in the long run, in life in general and with the girls. ;-)
All the best and sorry for the long comment,
Hannah
I am not a fan of the idea of antidepressant medication for people under the age of 18. I was first put on antidepressants when I was 16 and became more self destructive, suicidal, and then manic. This carried on for the next six years - coming off of meds because of intolerable side effects, starting something new that the doctors recommended, and becoming suicidal and/or manic again (I'm not bipolar, it's only antidepressants that do this to me) - until I ended up in hospital at 22. Despite suffering from severe episodes of depression since I was 11 I've been off of all medication for the last 18 months and I feel so much better. I know an awful lot of other people who have been put on meds as teenagers and became seriously ill as a result.
Having said that, I'm a very chemically sensitive person - I can't tolerate caffeine or alcohol either - and medication has different effects on different people. It saves some peoples lives and has been implicated in the deaths of others. It would be so useful if there was some sort of blood test to see how someone would react! I don't mean this to be all melodramatic and horror story-ish, but I think doctors can be rather too quick to suggest medication, especially when it can potentially have some quite devastating effects on young peoples brain chemistry.
This is terrible, I've been reading your blog for months and THIS is the first thing I comment on?! I'm really sorry! You did ask for experiences though, and I certainly have that...
I am pro-anti-depressants and I'm under the age of 18. I'm one of the kinds of people that cannot function without it. I used to be so skeptical because I thought they would "scramble my brain," but they didn't. Without meds I probably would have jumped off the deep-end by now. I do know, however, that I will likely take medication for the rest of my life (and I'm okay with that because they help).
I've been on anti-depressants since I was 13. When I was first put on medication, it clearly didn't work. I was misdiagnosed and the doctor I had was a crackpot. I'm very sensitive to medication and the doctor did not see that. At the ripe age of 16, I finally found a GOOD doctor.
I think it's a good idea to get a full diagnostic exam before being put on medication. Had I done that, I would have spared years of suffering with wrong medications.
The most important thing is finding a psychiatrist who works with adolescents, knows how adolescent brains function, and can tailor the medication to an adolescent's needs. Therapy is also important because medication needs a platform to stand on.
I think it is important your brother undertands that these drugs are not some chemical substance that is going to change his personality. If he was diabetic, he would have to take insuline, if he was anemic, he would have to take iron and so on. If he is (sub)depressive and is diagnosed with some problem which antidepressants can solve (I didn´t get it exactly), it is the same situation. He lacks some chemical substance which he needs now. He should be prepared on situation that it is not some magic pill that would make him extrovert and happy. However, it can really dramaticaly enable him not to think too much, relax a bit and enjoy himself (even introvert himself:)
Your brother´s insight into his problem and proactivity makes the situation easier for him, you and your parents, I think it is wonderful base of getting better!!
(I´ve been on antidepressants more or less since my 15, first couple of weeks on Fluoxetin which didn´t work for me, later on Mirtazapine (good stuff when someone need to gain weight), then Fevarin (Fluvoxamine, antidepressant which helps to treat obsessive behavior as well). They REALLY HELPED me to get over the worst period of depression and enabled me to get perspective over anorexia.
I understand your worries about side effects. Every drug has some of them, but I think the benefits are much bigger. As biologist you know how enduring stress in developing adolescents reduces number of synapses in some part of brain.
So I think: absolutely YES for ADs in teenagers if they are correctly indicated, measured and combined with another kind of suitable therapy (maybe some group therapy?).
I hope the appointment will be helpful! Fingers crossed for your decision, your brother and for you of course Cammy!
I confess that my concern is less about his age and more about antidepressants in general.
I was 18 when I started taking antidepressants, and I took them on and off for a number of years. My doctors and I experimented with different drugs and different dosages, but nothing really worked. At a low dose they didn't work and at a high dose the side-effects were too unpleasant. Finally, about a year ago, I decided that enough was enough and I wasn't going to take antidepressants again. Even with proper medical supervision I found that the side-effects from weaning off the drugs were bad enough that I nearly went back to taking them.
I'm by no means cured of my depression, but you couldn't pay me to take antidepressants ever again.
Having said all this, I do know some people they work for. If your brother wants to try them then maybe it's worth it, but I would be very cautious about making sure he is properly supervised. Too many antidepressants make you feel worse before you feel better, and that has to be monitored. The side-effects can also be dangerous as well as unpleasant, so supervision should monitor those changes as well as improvement.
I hope that whether he chooses antidepressants or not he is able to find some relief.
Jen.
I haven't read through all the comments, so I hope I am not too redundant.
I'm normally skeptical of meds for MYSELF but I also know how helpful they can be for other people (yes, totally hypocrtical). I also know they can be tremendously useful at certain times in your life when nothing else may be.
I've been on a few anti-depressants. In high school, I was on prozac, then effexor. Neither proved successful and gave me side effects. In early college, I was on zoloft, then tried lexapro later. Both were okay but no drastic difference but probably did take the edge off a bit.
So even in taking those meds, my brain has remained intact more or less. ;-)
As for your brother, first off, I am glad that your parents are trying to help him and that you also don't want to see him fall through the cracks.
It does sound like your brother is willing to try medications. Perhaps, the best approach is to make sure he has all the information at hand, ie in realizing that a med is not a happy pill, that there can be side effects, that this may only be temporary, that this can be a good thing in the long run, etc. And of course, supervision from parents and therapist is a definite.
Just my two cents.
Anti-D's can be good, when needed. I hate meds as a rule of thumb, but when i've needed them, they've mostly helped--again, it depends on the situation, and the medication--i've been on Celexa, Zoloft, and Lexapro.they all had different effects.
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