Our 17 year old son was first diagnosed with major depression, then ADD. He was seeming to get a little better on zoloft, when we added adderall, a stimulant, in an effort to help him with ADD. A few days later, he took 30 tylenol pills.
He is now in the hospital for monitoring, but is adamant that he doesn't want to go into a partial (half-day) hospitalization program. His regular psychiatrist is adamant that this is the only and best option for him.
Any parents out there who have had to deal with a similar situation? How did you handle it? Any ideas appreciated.
Written by
AustinParent
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I'm sorry that it's been so difficult. Maybe you can have him watch YouTube
( win hof )
Meditation, also cbd oil, also have full cbc blood work panel. Doctor prescribe medication which also make you feel suicidal. Make sure vitamin b, vitamin d, fish oil that help for add, also learned dealing with add diet needs to be changed. No process food, sweets, chips, remove bread.
Thank you Teresaq - I did look on Youtube, and I found sources of information that I found useful for an older teen. The first was a young girl who detailed daily, for 14 days her Partial hospitalization program.
The second was a young man talking about his experience in a PHP. I thought both were useful, but both were their choice. Which is where I'm challenged.
But good advice! I find these compelling as they are real people, not the marketing material.
Yes I did. It was a very difficult time for the whole family and him. Our son was the same age. He was also addicted to some drugs, not the really hard core stuff. He had ADD but could not take the meds because he was in danger if abusing them. He made a suicide attempt and was admitted to a in patient psych facility for young people for 3 wks. close to home. His doctor insisted he needed to go into a 3 month treatment program, also in patient straight from discharge. The one we choose was about 2 or 3 hrs from us. His dr. had recommended some. When my son was an in patient it was a relief because I felt he was safe.
We had researched and as it turned out we were lucky to find an excellent 3 month program. We did not give him a choice. He stayed there 3 months and then lived in a group supervised homes for another few months in a city about 100 miles away. We had taken advantage of everything they offered for the family at the treatment 3 month program too. The group homes were not much support and he felt for the most part he did not fit in. It was a totaling different life style.
Now none of this was easy sailing. We had no idea if any of it would help. Sometimes he liked where he was and other times he hated it, especially the group homes. He got thrown out of 2 group homes. He spent a night with no where to sleep. It was awful. To boot, he had a relapse soon after he got home!!! Sniffing some glue. Of course i was so discouraged. It was devastating. I told him if he did that again he was going back to an in pt facility because I did not want him to die.
I do not know what made a difference. Most of all we were always available and his in pt facility was excellent. It was still an up and down battle.
So what we did was stick by him. I was always available for him to call / to talk to. We all cared and wanted him to get better and told him that often. I got him a therapist once he got home.
I have had depression for a long time. So I had a tough time coping with all of this. I got myself into therapy for support. It was truly horrible and believe it or not, there are many people going through this situation with their kids. They may not talk about it but there are.
I realize that we were lucky and not everyone is. Many kids have a rough time around that age. He pulled out of it and is employed and happy. It all started about 10 yrs ago . I know there are no guarantees but he has been solid for for about 7 or 8 yrs. All the places he stayed either helped him or taught him something.
We did not take the tough love approach although some say that works. We always made sure he had us and if he needed it, a roof over his head. That is just what we felt comfortable doing.
So yes we went through some very bad times. You can never make anyone get better but he was young so we insisted he followed the advice of his first doctor.
I am so grateful for his good mental health
now and he turned into a very wise and wonderful person.
So I wish you good luck and perseverance in helping you son. My heart goes out to you and your child. It is rough!
Poodie - thank you for the thoughtful words. This helps.
In regards to the 'convincing' your son - it sounds like you basically just said 'this is what it is', and it is based upon your psychiatrists' insistence?
If so, that might be what we have to do as well...
I did not want to tell you what to do. But yes, I would insist on it and tell him attempting suicide and depression are serious. You want him to get better and that does not happen overnight. He has gone through a lot.
Just make sure partial is enough. My son had 28 days in the in pt unit. And then since he was using pills, he was fortunate to qualify for 3 months in a treatment program, which yes the psychiatrist insisted on too. He was very no nonsense direct. He basically told him what he needed. We were grateful for his strong approach. These kids do not know what they need.
I am sorry your son is facing this! Our lives our so valuable and helping your son realize this is so important. I found a great resource that may help him. If you check out the first video here bit.ly/2OVclFW I think it may help! My thoughts are with you!
There’s a great book on ADHD by a Harvard psychologist, called Driven To Distraction. I am recovering from major depression with ADHD. I learned to stop the pessimistic style of reacting to my emotions. Be optimistic. Do not give all your reaction to what is bad in life; accept it and move on. Forgive everything. Learn to trust the good intentions of others. Do not be guilty to receive help. Energize yourself with the structure of goals. Don’t give up. Redirect negative stimulations to good ones. Keep track of your progress. Talk to God and be thankful. I also recommend an app called Replika which I believe I found just in time. I love it so much I use it every day. There’s another app called Woebot.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
How do I support my depressed husband?
How do I convince my family that I need to talk to a therapist? 
How do I help my 19 year old son w/ his depression?
I want to tell my boyfriend that I have depression, but don't know how
My husband can't get past how my depression has affected him
