Antidepressants

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Has anyone given, or thought about, giving their child antidepressants? My son is 9 years old, and I'm reluctant to give antidepressants, but at the same time, he is obviously depressed...Any thoughts?

I don't know if you're allowed to post here if you're not a parent, but uh... we'll see?

Anyhow, on topic, my parents tried several antidepressants on me, and most of them didn't work or made me worse; however, when we got to the right one, it really worked. I was incredibly depressed and I really needed it, and though it took a while to find the right one, it was definitely needed. After we found it I improved almost instantaneously.

I'm on topomax, efexor, and I'm starting on lamictal--I believe both topomax and lamictal are for bipolar depression, and efexor is for regular depression, but I'm not sure. I recommend you figure out what kind of depression your son has first, since as I said, putting him on the wrong kind of meds is uh, bad.

At 9 his brain is not an adult brain. Antidepressants are forumulated for adults. I'd be incredibly wary of messing with the brain chemistry in a developing brain.

If he's depressed, you might want to put most of your efforts into finding out why and then helping rectify that. Running to a pill is not necessarily the best way to go - if there are underlying issues, they'll still be there. The kid can't stay on pills his whole life. Just a thought....

Uhm... wha? I'm pretty sure that's completely untrue. Antidepressants are given to kids all the time--I'm pretty sure that they give them lower doses than for adults, yaknow. Due to smaller body size. Or a different kind, yeah, cause they're kids.
Both my mom and I have been on meds since childhood, and since my mom is obviously an adult, I'm pretty sure you can be on meds for your whole life. Why not?

I'm no expert, of course, and I'm just relying on personal history and experience, but... *shrugs*

No, actually, antidepressants are formulated for the adult brain. There are cautions about prescribing them for non-adults. Google "antidepressants children adolescents warning" or something similar and look around. A person's brain pretty much doesn't stop "maturing" until about age 25. Dicking around with it prior to that has to be carefully weighed.... Just because someone writes a script for them for a kid doesn't mean they are up on the research. The pharmacutical companies stand a lot to gain (as far as profits go) from increased sales, and they flood medical offices with favorable studies, etc....

And yes, one can, if one has a biochemical problem, have to be on some sort of medication for life. However, in my post I had just mentioned the possibility of their being issues at work - situational problems, whatever, that could be potentially addressed. Therefore, it would follow that someone should not be running away from them into a chemical haze for the rest of their lives, rather than facing them. Sorry that I didn't state that more clearly.

Thanks for both of your responses. My son was misdiagnosed with Bipolar before the powers that be decided it was actually FHA. We tried the gamat of medications, and all seemed to make him worse and caused horrible side effects (drooling,etc..) My concern is he has engaged in some pretty serious behaviors (drugs and other dangerous things). At the same time, I've read some scary stuff about giving antidepressants to children. Especially children with different neurochemistry. My underlying question is....has anyone experienced an increase in suicidal ideation?

Wish I could help, sorry. The pharmacuticals in question were not available when I was an adolescent - the stuff they used then was so heavy it would leave you in a stupor. My daughter took an antidepressant, Celexa or the next generation of it, for a little while as a teen while going through a rough spot. She said it basically just zoned her out, so people thought she was feeling better when basically she was not feeling much at all - nor could she think sharply. We weaned her off of that as soon as we could, as being a zombie was not the way we wanted her to live.

I assume your son is in therapy to try to find out what's driving him? Dealing with HFA/Aspergers is enough, really, sometimes. I am Aspie/HFA and my daughter is Aspie and know from both sides of that (personal and parent) that trying to get along in a confusing world can be incredibly bewildering and frustrating for a young person. I wonder if that might be some of what's causing your boy to go the route he's going?

I'm sure trying to cope with HFA is the driving force. I've tried counseling on and off for years, yet I feel like there are very few that are qualified. He has an appointment for a new counselor next week, and I'm in the process of having a substance abuse evaluation completed. I'm also hoping this site may help him as well. I've talked to a lot of adults that said they felt like they were in a fog while on antidepressants, and that doesn't seem like that would actually help the coping skills issue...

I think the case of some autistic people, antidepressants or anti-anxiety meds may work when there is a severe anxiety disorder that interferes with activities of daily living. My husband took an anti-depressant for a temporary stressful situation. He was overworked to the point of blacking out and having amnesia. The first one made him weepy and hallucinate (Wellbutrin) and the next one "worked" but made him really dull and indifferent (lexapro). He still had some forgetfulness with that one (names of coworkers, priorities). I know other people who take the same thing and have the same experience (dullness, indifference). It makes one person I know very weepy (he was angry and explosive before).

Anti-depressants aren't approved for children, with good reason. Anti-depressant use in young adults or children is linked to a higher suicide rate. Also consider other life-altering side effects, though not as drastic, make life even less worth living. Weight gain, inability to orgasm, feelings of emptiness and lack of creativity are common in adults, so I can only assume the effects on children would be amplified. Again, no studies have been done on children.

Psychotherapy or behavior modification therapy are both accepted treatments for depression in children. I would explore these options first.

D9 - This must be very difficult for you. I hope you're not blaming yourself or kicking yourself around for your son's issues.

Yes, I would think it will be hard to find a good therapist. I know, back when I was young and trying to make sense of the world without knowing about Aspergers, it was hard to find a therapist with whom I could work. I went through several, getting more discouraged each time until on my "last try" I ran into someone who was more into getting me functional than the others were. She wasn't into "why", although we did look at that a little. She was VERY non-traditional, we did things on the fly, under the "whatever works" rubric.

She spent more time helping me change the way I thought about things and learning coping skills than anything else. I had a whole suite of... mental recordings, for wont of a better term... that told me I couldn't do this, or that I was bad at that, or that things were a certain way. We had to eliminate them. Once they were gone, we were able to substitute more useful thought patterns. Once I became more functional I had more room to explore the other things - why, how I felt, other people, etc. But I was up on my two feet standing pretty solid before we went there.

I think you're right on the fog v coping. You can't think properly if you're fogged, and, thus, you really aren't going anywhere. It's a useful thing for short term emergencies, I think. But one really shouldn't have to spend all their reality doped up.

Best of luck to you - and to your boy - on sorting his life out. - Nan

my son started taking antidepressants at age 13....far better than suicide.

talk to your doc about what they reccommend you do. depression can be situational, temporary, and/or organic. if you can figure out what type of depression your son has, then you can address the issues more effectively. remember that depression comes with its ups and downs. some days are good, some days are bad.

Mage, I just don't think that is true. On the AAP (American Academy of Pediatricians) website there is a PDF guide for the treatment of autistic children. It covers medication for various things, including depression, anxiety and self-injurious behaviors. I'll post the exact link if I can find it.

Ok, here it is: aap.org/pressroom/AutismMgmt.pdf. There is a table of medications on page 9.

Yes, I am aware that some studies do list "potential" for certain medications, however there has never been any long-term studies of SSRIs on children. Potential is not a proven cure. Most studies that end after 4, 8, or 12 weeks barely begin to scrape the surface of side effects. IMO if the FDA has not seen studies that prove a medicine is safe or effective to use for 6 months or more, as many people use SSRIs, then people should not be prescribed these medications for longer than the 12 week studies that showed their "potential" to be beneficial.

Besides, even the AAP does not say drugs should ever be a first choice when dealing with autism or depression. They go through many, many pages of all the different therapies that are available. My fear is that the OP was looking for drugs as a first resort, rather than the last.