Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Any experience with antidepressants?

I'm wondering if it might be a good idea for us to try something for DS7 who seems to be experiencing more and more profound sadness. I know there are supposed to be cautions with antidepressants in children due to possibilities of suicidal behavior, but when I look into that it doesn't seem like it's as big an issue as it's been made out to be. And then I was looking at St. John's Wort, which I used to take myself but stopped when I was pregnant with him and never started again. It appears to be safe for children, as much as anything.

He's ok when he's busy, but when he gets downtime (and especially bedtime) he starts getting sad about everything. He wishes he'd never been born, he wishes his sister had never been born, he wishes he'd been born "normal", he wishes his friends cared about him, and on and on. The poor little guy is just beyond my understanding with this and I have no idea what to do. He sees a counselor every two weeks, and has tons of counseling at school when it's going.

I just wonder if there is anything chemical going on that a medication might help. Anyone doing/done this?

Nautigal, do you have a professional counselor/psychiatrist on your team? I'd get one ASAP.

Our DS8 has taken antidepressants (the SSRI kind) to help with anxiety. The difference in his life was really dramatic and quite wonderful. It eased his suffering.

We have never used herbal supplements-- they are not regulated by the FDA, which means there's no guarantee as to what's in them or the strength. Some people swear by them, but I have never been comfortable trying them out.

I don't know much about depression in children, though, and I'd have him evaluated by a thoughtful practitioner before making any moves with meds.

DeeDee

Yes, his counselor is a professional, with the mental health services here. He saw the actual psychiatrist once, but then that guy went on a year's sabbatical and he was the only one in the area.

The psychiatrist didn't want to start him on any medication yet (reasonably so based on only one visit), and while the counselor does see his depressive episodes in some degree, nobody but me really sees the worst of it because he doesn't open up on those things to anyone else.

Maybe get a separate (without DS) appt. with the counselor to talk about what you are seeing and what he is telling you? Of course, you'd probably need a psychiatrist to actually do the prescribing.

I would not want to undertake this project under the care of just a pediatrician as the prescriber; you want someone with lots of experience with psychiatric meds to monitor things. Kids react unpredictably to meds, and it can take a while until you find the right thing-- you want an expert to be on top of it in case there is an odd reaction or the med makes things worse.

HTH
DeeDee

I would suggest starting with a very complete physical with the pediatrician. Many physical problems can cause depressive symptoms - anemia, thyroid problems, sleep disorders, etc.

Also, even if the counselor is nice and you like them that doesn't necessarily mean he or she is a good fit for this particular problem.