Depression and ADHD -- Qelbree?

[artistmomMe]

Hi! Our 14 yo daughter suffers from inattentive ADHD and pretty bad depression. Our new psychiatrist just added Qelbree to her Vyvanse. Does anyone have experience with Qelbree? From what I hear it is relatively new and has strong antidepressant qualities. I'm on the fence about trying this combo simply because we've lost so much time trying to control her sadness with no luck. I desperately want her to find joy again in her life.

thanks.

[Peerandparent]

No experience with that med. I will say from both personal and professional experience, that no medication is going to make things better on its own.

I often describe medication as being 10% of the solution, but that it was the 10% that let me engage in the other 90%.

With depression, medication can be important, while the difficult and important things that help with recovery is reconnecting with their strengths, engaging in exercise, and staying connected with supportive people.

Maybe see if there are any peer support groups in your area for youth. Also do what you can to learn about recovery principles and modern approaches to recovery.

Also know that I struggled with serious depression since I was 8, and I also now hold two university degrees, have been working on a Mental Health unit for over a decade, and have been happily married for 11 years, and have two kids I love dearly. Depression still needs to be something I pay attention to, but it no longer interferes with the day to day (except on the occasional days when it does)

There is hope. Also, make sure you get support for yourself as well... It's so easy to get laser focused on the needs of our loved ones that we end up neglecting our own.

[Hidden]

Unfortunately this medication has not yet been accepted to be licensed in the UK where we are. I was reading about it and hoping that it would be licensed soon because ‘artificial better mood’ would be good for my son I think😉 I think it would help him to be more resilient with stuff that he’s not good at and has to work on (and there is so much of that, he’s not good at anything really …So he gets down about it sometimes).

All I would say from my reading about this medication in medical journals- keep checking your daughters pulse and blood pressure whilst on this medication. It seems quite a large percentage of people on this medication get ‘increased pulse’ but as long as it’s not dangerously increased then it’s fine. It’s worth checking also at night when a child is asleep. My son had tachycardia on Atomoxetine (which also improves mood supposedly …) hence I am now quite wary or any meds that can have cardiac side effects.

[Elijah1]

Qelbree is an antidepressant that has been repurposed as an ADHD medication. See

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

The psychiatrist is quite astute for using a medication that can serve 2 purposes - further improve ADHD and potentially treat the depression. The combination of a stimulant (Vyvanse) and nonstimulant (such as atomoxetine) has been used for ADHD management for years.

[ASLCODATerp]

Our son, now almost 20yo has inattentive type ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. He deals with general anxiety and social phobia and that, plus some health challenges, have caused him to battle severe depression since he was 14. He began using medications only after he turned 15. It took us 3 years to find the right combination of meds for him.

Unfortunately there is no shortcut to that balance as each medicine needs time to see if it will be effective or if it causes side effects. Once, our son was on a medicine that helped his mood beautifully, but then he gained a lot of weight and his triglyceride level became dangerously high. It was so frustrating!

He still struggles with anxiety but the depression, after finding the balance and dosage of medication, is very manageable. It has allowed him to work on his mindfulness in building more healthy thought patterns and is able to recognize when he is triggered, and has developed strategies like taking a break from an activity, or having a nap, or finding someone to talk to.

We have learned also that doing things he likes to do with him gives him the connection needed. Mostly, for our son, that has been watching movies/shows, and playing video games. We have also invited over like-minded kids to play games( Dungeons and Dragons is a hit) and that has been important with developing his self-esteem.

I would argue that in my son’s case medication has been 25 percent of the solution, not 10 percent.

Hang in there! You are doing well, and showing up for your daughter in the way she has needed goes a lot further than you know!

Definitely find time and space for your own mental health as well so you can continue to stay strong for her.

[anirush]

You don't know until you try it unfortunately. My grandson was started on Zoloft recently on top of other meds and it had brought his personality back.

[mlg80]

I always hesitate to reply to medication experience posts because they affect each person soooooo differently. That said, my daughter has had more success on Qelbree than any other med she’s tried (dozens). But it took at very high dose.