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Michele17

Prozac - your experiences please

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My DS is so depressed about school and not coping and his psychiatrist mooted Prozac. Our next appointment is at the beginning of March and we're going to tell him our thoughts then. I've read loads online, but am finding it difficult to find first hand information from parents.

DS is 12 (on Monday anyway), Year 7, BIG secondary school, a statement is in the process of being considered, severe end of Asperger's, no hope of an AS unit for a year and a half (they haven't started building it yet, and no guarrentees he'd get in), spends alot of time in behaviour support, and absolutely hates school - although he loves learning.

I'm tiliting towards agreeing to medication, anything to help him, but would really like to hear your experiences and opinions. I so hate sending him to school everyday (home schooling isn't an option economically, but would pull him from school in an instant if he had a definite place at the AS unit) - it breaks my heart. :crying:

TIA!!

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i was put on a different antidepressant at 12/13. as far as i remember there were no problems. my parents didn't even know it was an antidepressant until i googled the name a couple of years ago (they were just told it was something to help me). i've heard bad things about them in young kids where they are prescribed for suicidal/self harm behaviours. i was just unable to cope with school so i went to bed and wouldn't get back out again for a couple of months. the drugs helped and i went back to school. however, unless there are other things running alongside (therapy, change in situation) they're nothing more than a plaster to stick over the wound, they dont actually fix anything they just hold you over until you learn to cope.

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I don't know about Prozac for children but I can speak as an adult who's used it in the past.

 

Prozac is an amazing drug for those it works for, but a nightmare for the rest. In about (iirc) 70% of cases it is fabulous, lifts the mood and sustains that feeling, helps you to cope well enough to address the underlying issues and can be a life-saver. However, for the other 30% there's a risk that it either doesn't help or can in fact make symptoms worse. The side effects, for those who have them, are awful - I never got over the swimminess, nausea and physical other-worldliness I felt and I actually felt more miserable and depressed than before. Maybe the physical symptoms contributed to that, I don't know. There have been some cases (though I stress this is not a common feature) of people using Prozac and other SSRI anti-depressants who have become so depressed with its use that they've attempted suicide.

 

In my case, I tried it on a number of occasions for different reasons - first for depression at regular dose of 75mg then later as pain relief for my ME/CFS, as low as 10mg but I still got the horrible side-effects. The only safe dose for me was none at all.

 

As I said at the beginning, this is MY experienced of Prozac and not a general guide. Things may have changed with this drug since my day so I can't say for sure. I guess you don't know whether you're one of the 70% or the 30% until you try.

 

Good luck

Karen

x

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My youngest son went on amitriptaline for a while, and it did help. I was wary of Prozac.

 

I think you need to seriously consider what you can do about school first - as Nobynobbs said - anti-depressants won't be a long-term solution. Why should your child have to be on them for the rest of their secondary education, just to get through it?

 

What else can the school do? (he does not need to have a Statement to get the help). What aspects of school is he not coping with?

Have you looked at independent and specialist schools? Once he has a Statement, more options open up. There are schools out there where he can be happy and get an education.

 

My youngest son (in mainstream) hated Years 7 and 8, but has been keen to go in Years 10 and 11. I'm not sure what changed, as the school have not been very helpful.

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As Nobbynobs says, you need something else running alongside else when you come off you're back where you started, but what it can do is help that other something to work better as you are better able to engage with it.

 

There have been some cases (though I stress this is not a common feature) of people using Prozac and other SSRI anti-depressants who have become so depressed with its use that they've attempted suicide.

I've discussed this link at length with my GP. There is a stronger link with children and especially adolescents, but an increased risk with all on SSRIs. There are two (known) possible reasons behind this:

  1. You would (unfortunately) expect higher levels of self injurious behaviours in people who are depressed than in the general population and those taking anti-depressants will only come from the depressed group, hence, in comparison to self-injurious rates in the general population it appears that those on ADs are more likely to engage in such behaviours, but in fact the risks may well be higher if they weren't taking ADs at all.
  2. Secondly (and this is the one that worries me and actually why, for now I'm trying alternatives to SSRIs) there may be a greater risk because in the first few weeks of taking them, activity/energy levels rise before mood levels so the individual who was severely depressed may still have such thoughts and feelings but they will now also have the energy levels they didn't previously have to carry out their thoughts, hence a danger period. It should be stressed though that this is only a possibility and things can stabilise once that period is worked through but the individual may require very close monitoring.

The other thing I've discussed with my GP is that SSRIs 'level out' moods - so rather than having highs and lows you have a more stable middle. Apparently some people don't like loosing the highs and would rather keep and deal with the lows than lose the highs as well. I guess this depends on what the highs are like and how they impact on the individual - I know for me they can be pretty devastating too so I was quite surprised to hear that some people want to keep them, but I can understand that everyone experiences things differently.

 

I suppose one question you have to ask is who are you doing this for? If it's to make things easier for anyone but your son, is it the right decision? What does your son think - after all, it will be him who has to take them? Have other possibilities been exhausted? Can the school offer further/different support? And, if you go down the drug route, going back to what Nobby said, the school still need to be doing something to fix the underlying problem - this does not take away their need to do anything (which, unfortunately from my experience is the easy option for others - oh good, someone else is 'fixing' the issue, we don't have to - but of course it isn't an actual fix).

 

Hmm, sorry if that's confused you further and sorry if these issues are upsetting to anyone - I've found it quite difficult to write myself but strangely I think it's helped. :tearful:

 

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My youngest son went on amitriptaline for a while, and it did help.

thats the one i was on. i remember it made me hyper in the evenings, but they gave me something else to help with that (no idea what). i was on prozac when i was a bit older for a little while, but it did nothing for me. i wound up on citalopram for a couple of years, but again, in the end i decided i wanted to try without it as i wasn't sure what effect it was having, and through CBT, change in circumstance and growing up it turned out i didn't need it any more.

 

if you are aware of the possible side-effects, and watch carefully the effect it has on your son i wouldn't be too worried, although i'd ask for something other than prozac, as thats the one with the bad reputation. then again when you think about it, its very hard to judge increased levels of self-injury and suicide, as the drugs are being given to people who are most likely already walking a fine line with those problems.

 

oh and i say you need to monitor your son because the person taking the drugs wont notice so much. something i was on turned me into a complete zombie, i dont even remember the year i was on that drug. my parents knew this was happening but chose to keep me on the drug because at that point therapy was unavailable, and with the drugs i was attending school and passing exams, which considering i was in year 12 was essential. eventually i got some therapy and things sorted themselves out, but its rather odd not being able to remember anything about the year except that i couldn't sit on a chair - i would kneel, stand and generally fidget all the time.

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Hi,

 

Our experience with Prozac has been pretty much good. OJ was prescribed 2 years ago to help with all the anxieties he experiences with OCD, Tourettes and AS. He has had no side effects and when he doesn't take it for a few days (holidays etc) I am aware that he gets louder (volume wise) and more out of control. However he is still very anxious and prone to what I take to be depression. Mind you having to deal with all the everyday school issues he also has the brother from hell and that is having a huge impact on him psychologically. Not sure where I am going with this but all I can say is it has not been a bad drug for him.

 

Stella x

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Personally and as a an adult that takes prozac I find it works well and is non additive.

 

My son was referred to discuss such medication as he was in a very simular situation to your child, however since starting a specialist school he has come on leaps and bounds, he is no longer depressed, yes anxious at times but nothing like the levels he previously expereinced. Personally we wanted to avoid medication as we felt that with the appropriate support and environment he would not need to be medicated and this move to a new school has prove that. Obviously we have been lucky to reach that stage (though I hasten to add we had to fight long and hard with the education authority) had we not been so fortunate I would have deffinately pursued this route to enable him to have access to an education of sorts.

 

My suggestion is to have a full and frank conversation with your psycharatrist to discuss any pitfalls and to ensure that the medication and its effects are closely monitored.

 

Clare x x x

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Thank you for all your replies. We went back to the psychiatrist last week and had a very in depth talk about the prozac. We have decided to try it - my son was worried that it would 'change who I really am', but we have had lots of discussion and let him mull it over. He has decided to give it a try - we'll start at the beginning of the Easter holidays as I understand that it can increase irritability during the first couple of weeks.

 

It really wasn't an easy decision to make, but there is no possibility of a place at an AS unit for 2 years (they haven't started building it yet!!) and that's not a guarrantee. Mainly, it's to target his oversensitivity and intolerance to unwanted stimulation. Apparently, Prozac is used quite widely round the world to help kids in these circumstances. I sound like I'm trying to justify our decision, which isn't the case at all! :rolleyes:

 

So, fingers crossed for any positive results!! Thank you again!!

Edited by Michele17

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