Does anyone here have experience with children taking antidepressants? My daughter is 11 and was prescribed Zoloft. We still haven't given it to her because the "black box" warning terrified us. She had been cutting and we're worried about her getting worse if we start the medication.
The doctor also wants her to start therapy but they can't get her in until October!! I had no idea it was so hard to get help for mental health issues!
Thanks for any information you can give!
I’m sorry you’re going through this. How scary...
11 seems so young to be on a medication like that...
I’m no expert but I would think that trying therapy first before meds might be a better option? It sucks you have to wait so long.
I’m glad she has you & that you’re on top of it.
I don’t have a lot of information to offer, I’m sorry.
Best of luck to you & your family ✨
Thank you. My husband and I were kind of thinking the same thing that she seems too young for the meds, but I keep second guessing myself. I started calling every therapy office listed on my insurance and I was able to get in somewhere next week so we're going to try that and pray it helps.
Hi I agree that 11 does sound very young to be prescribed meds, but I am sure the psychiatrist knows what they are doing and gave it for a good reason. If it helps for the meanwhile why not? x
My daughter has taken it since she was 9 it works in small dowes for them. It is a help until therapy shows signs of getting through or it might be a chemical that the Zoloft relieves. My daughter tried to end her life at 9 and cutting is just as scary as suicidial ideations. She has been in family based therapy one on one therapy and mobile therapy. She has a case manager and a BCM to help cordinate her services. Do what you feel is best for your child but if it will calm her mind for now to stop cutting therapy will be so much easier for her. My daughter is weaning off Zoloft after 4 years it is going quite well because I kept he dose low but if she needed meds to help I would do it again. As they say if your kid was diabetic would you with hold insulin if her body needs it, sometimes the mind needs something too. Good luck and gentle hugs!!
I’m so sorry for all that you have gone through! When I think back my daughter showed signs of depression at nine, but I didn’t know then that’s what it was. We are working on getting a second opinion. If that doctor feels she needs the Zoloft to we’ll do it. I’m just so scared.
Trot6006 I think that's an excellent idea. We sense when something isn't right and we wait hoping for a sign we were wrong, we rarely are. I didn't get the second opinion because I admitted her into the child psych ward because I was scared what she would do if I left for even 10 minutes to the corner store. I swear no one ever said when you have kids watch for mental disorders, I didn't see it in the manual...lol It's a learning game as we go. Good luck and I know everything will turn out alright with supports in place. Gentle hugs!!
I went on medication when I was 13, Prozac and supplement basis melatonin at night. I remember being scared to tell people what it was doing to me because I was worried they'd make me take it anyway or force me to take it. Imagine the imagination of a child mixed with crippling depression/anxiety/panic disorder/etc; their brains don't need to come up with something that makes sense for it to be scary enough to incite fear at the very thought of it. I still remember that sensation of the scenario happening in my mind and as soon as it happened if blown it so out of proportion in my head that I already believed that would be the response solely fixated by that fear/anxiety. Things need to be explained to children, they need to be reminded they are safe to talk about anything without judgement and there's no possibility of punishment (I was never told this and forever feared it) and that talking about it is more important than anything else, they need to have idiosyncratic signals or traditions/routines that are special to remind them of happy times.
Do the meds if you think it's the right decision for your child, I don't disagree with it. Just make sure the child knows and is reminded every so often that you're there to talk, and if they don't want to talk to you, therapy is there too, she has the right to that if she's too uncomfortable with people she's close to. What's important is she talks and gets a lot of encouragement and support, good luck, and I'm so sorry this is happening, I hope things get better.
hi, I'm sorry to say I don't really have advice for your question, but I just wanted to say that you are a good parent for noticing, and caring, and doing something about it. as someone whose mother really screwed up raising me (then blamed me) and is the biggest cause of my mental health issues, I notice when parents do or don't do a good job, and I really appreciate the ones like you 
Sounds very similar to my situation, my mother destroyed my family and blamed everyone else for it. Hope you're working through your stuff, I'm doing my best with mine. Do you still talk? I still have a kind of relationship with mine due to unexpected circumstances and me apparently being too forgiving/a mug. -sigh- family eh.
I’m 18 and still live at home so that’s an unwilling yes. I plan to move out as soon as I can swing it financially. She’ll be mad when I break the news because she doesn’t see any reason for me to move out and likes control, but I’m hoping once she gets used to it it’ll be easier to talk to her since we’ll both have some space
I know myself what it's like having an unstable living situation. Whenever you're ready get yourself out and if you need any advice or pointers feel free to PM me any time x
thank you!!!
My daughter is on Zoloft and was very depressed and high anxiety. She mentioned suicide one time to her friends in 7th grade and that started us believing medication might be needed. I too was terrified. We did therapy first, hoping that would help, which it did, but not enough. We went through Prozac, Lexapro, and now she is on 20mg is Zoloft and doing amazingly well. No problems with any of the meds really except them not feeling very effective. We did the gene testing for her to determine the best med after the Prozac failed because I didn’t want to keep experimenting with meds and neither did she. She is a different girl on medication, she has been able to decrease her therapy to every other week and is more social with us and her friends. I have severe depression and anxiety so we know this is also a genetic issue for her too so it made it easier for me to take the step of using medication.
Thank you. That is reassuring to know your daughter is doing so well. My daughter keeps telling me she doesn’t want to talk to strangers or anyone really about her feelings that it just makes her feel even worse. I’m starting to consider the meds more wondering if that will help her feel better about opening up to someone. The thought of meds making her feel even worse though is scary. I have a brother who is bipolar so I’ve seen what mental health issues can do to your life and I so don’t want that for her. It is all so overwhelming and confusing.
It is overwhelming and it is so scary to have to watch your child suffer yet not know what will work and what might make things worse. That said, doing nothing definitely won’t work so sometimes taking a scary risk, advised by professionals you trust, is necessary. I really watched my daughter those first few weeks, I was so scared her suicidal thoughts would increase vs decrease, every time I knocked on her door and it took a few seconds for her to answer my breathe caught and my heart raced. But I knew we had to try. I’m not encouraging or discouraging your choice, I just want to give you our story to help. It can get better. You’re doing a great job, it’s so hard, give yourself some love for being such a supportive parent and being there for your daughter. I have a history of cutting myself and am in a minority of adults who self-injure. Just give your daughter a listening and understanding ear, she may not always take it but knowing you are there, unconditionally, judgement and shame free for how she is trying to cope with her pain, is huge. The right therapist can make a huge difference. Don’t be afraid to be “a pest” and keep checking for earlier appointments or call around to other therapists and look for someone who has an opening. Great job on being an awesome parent. Best of luck and hope for your daughter.
Just a thought as well, not sure where you live but my daughter’s school counselor was very kind and she talked to her while we waited for her to get into therapy.
I think we would not always assume that doctors know best but educate ourselves and be totally informed on side effects of western medication and on other less invasive methods of treating ourselves and our children before reaching a decision. Ask your daughter why she s cutting herself. Ask her what you as mother can do to alleviate her pain . Ask her if she has problems at school. Read children psychology books on methods of how a parent can handle such situations, on the developmental stage she s in and what is expected from the parent at that stage. You can do a far better job yourself than the therapist . They have taught us to believe we need all kinds of experts or we are helpless!!let s be our own experts! A loving caring parent who looks at the cause of the problem, provides comfort , changes happy environment for a child I believe can do a better job than a therapist she 'll see 2 hours a week if lucky. Borrow psychology books from library or buy one ypurself. Many times one is all you need. Check her diet as it affects mental health! Cut out processed and sugar and fast foods. Add fresh juices, fruits, vegetables, whole grains. Provide a happy loving environment at home for her which I m not saying you don't but many times we might have arguments with our partner and this affects our children. Think of homeopathy or naturopathy as natural non invasive treatments first. Check her exposure to chemicals. The pill does not reach the cause . I m not judging whoever decided that s the best decision for them, but is it always? I think we should be informed on what else is out there for us that could work a lot better without that long list of side effect first. Read Kelly Brogan s book " a mind of your own" . She was a western psychiatrist, turned into diet and natural supplements treatment when she was they provide far better results without causing addiction and harm. Take care
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