Can anyone.help. my daughter is 15 and currently in.hospital with acute depressed with phycotic symptoms. Any successful meds out there?

[sara19]

She has been on.fluxotine ecitlopram, risperdone olanzapine and is currently taling amiprizerole with no joy.

[mimii]

Hi Sara, my daughter had depression and psychosis, has been on fluoxetine and olanzapine which thankfully helped and she's a lot better, I hope there's something that can help your daughter too, don't know what other meds would work sorry x

Mimii xx

[amanalondon]

Hi

you could see your GP to refer your daughter to CAMHS Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service. where she may benefit from psychological therapies.

try it.

amana

[chris9281]

Hi Sara,

Someone very close to me recently went through a period similar to this. We were based in Leicestershire at the time, and really struggled to get help! She was going through a long period of depression and psychotic episodes, and was prescribed drugs such as mirtazapine (similar to fluoxetine, as its an anti-depressant but not SSRI), and risperidone (0.5mg). The risperidone was an anti-psychotic, but the dose was not strong enough. I have some experience with mental health illnesses and medication from my background, and realised that dose was usually attributed to a child, not young adult. After speaking with various professionals (pharmacists, mental health pre-registration) in Leicestershire, they tend to prescribe that for "personality disorders" which basically means, they do not know what is wrong.

It turned out after around 3 months of fighting, around 7 visits to A and E departments and two admissions in mental health hospitals, she had bi-polar disorder, type II. She was prescribed quetiapine and since then, despite a few ups and downs along the way, she is completely better now and lives a normal life.

I am really happy that you have managed to get your daughter "into the system" as that was a massive struggle for us at the time, also referring to AmanaLondon (CAMHS) is a great support line, but there have been many reports into young people being lost in the system when they turn 18 and go into adult mental health services, so be aware of that.

Finally, we had to fight, very very hard to get the help we needed, and i do not wish that upon anybody ever, however do not give up and it seems like she is getting the help she deserves.

I will not give the detail of our ordeal with the NHS, (some were not nice experiences) and I do not wish to say that all mental health services are the same in England, but just be aware and as I am sure you would and already have done, fight for her, and go with your gut feeling.

I hope this helps, and always know there are many different types of medication our there, and it seems already like they are trying new things which is great, as what will not work for one, may work for another etc. These treatments are very expensive (aripriprazole as the brand Abilify is around £150 per box, dependent on strength) along with many other treatments for mental health illnesses, which although I have a very pessimistic view of the NHS from our experience, believe this high cost contributes to doctors not being willing to diagnose (as people are likely to be on the medication for life). however it also gives me great joy in knowing we have a NHS that pays for treatment, unlike USA system, as in that time, there was no way we could afford the costs of these drugs and no way we could affor health insurance today.

In my opinion, the great news is that mental health services are beginning to be at the forefront on national news, tv (bbc mental health season) and political agenda. Mental health services have been cut for the past few years, in all these austerity cuts, and before recently, there was no NHS target to treat mental health patients unlike the 18 week target for physical conditions. I feel that the services will continue to become better with this increased pressure, which will benefit all of us.

I wish you and your daughter well! hope this helps. (Sorry this turned into an essay)

[sara19 in reply to chris9281]

Hi just read ur post ur problems ae v similar to mine funnily enough she has been given yet another diagnosis of dependant personality disorder and has recently come off amiprizole. Recently she has totally gone off the rails docs are very reluctant to change her meds because of side effects of anti phycotics she has used in the past. She can cope day to day but when the voices start being nasty,degrading,cruel and demanding especially to harm others screaming and shouting she finds everything to cope so difficult. She has been warned she may have to change units far away from home and say she doesn't try hard enough to distract herself. (which is difficult when everything has been taken away!!!!!) my experiences are so similar to yours can u get in touch? Many thanks

[chris9281]

Just to quickly answer your question about other meds, it is completely dependent on her symptoms. it is important to not read into reviews on the internet about terrible side effects, as i said previously, what works for one person will not work for another.

However other potential treatments include:

-Quetiapine

- Clomipramine

- Sertraline

- Zopiclone (sleeping aid, sleep is very important to those with mental health illnesses) however, shouldn't be used on long-term basis unless reward outweights risk

- Diazepam/Lorazapam (very strong, used to treat anxiety which can be closely associated to depression some times)

- Lamotrigine

- Olanzapine

- Lithium (though regular blood tests are needed, usually only used to treat bi-polar)

- Carbamazepine

the list goes on and most medications can be placed into only several groups that do very similar things.

However, i am claim to be no doctor, but have a lot of experience not only personally but professionally of these drugs, but it is important for you to be aware that there are many many treatments out there.

[sara19 in reply to chris9281]

Has had lorezepan mainly for anxiety in the past 1.5mg and several PRN meds she has tried olazapine but severely affected her white cell count, risperadone gave her muscle stiffness and terrible tremblings so had procylodine to counteract. I realise there isn't a magic medicine that will perhaps tale it all away but their reluctance to try meds whilst an inpatient is peeing me off tbh!!!!!!!!! She has received a course of cbt and is awaiting a transfer nearer home for dbt as therapy.

[Phoenix27]

i was offered cbt, the structure n demands scared me off, just wanna talk n let it out rite now, on a side note, lorazepam made me hyper aggressive xx