Taking medication
Kelly Nishan
I am trying to work something out in my head and am wondering if
other parents have dealt with this. One of the biggest reasons i
finally made the leap to take Liz (15) out of school was her high
level of anxiety. Things got bad enough that I asked her doctor for
medication because the school basically threatened me with
prosecuting us for truancy and letting the judge deal with me. The
first medication worked for the short term but after a few weeks her
body got used to it and she went back to feeling anxious. At that
point she became completely unable to cope because once she knew
what "normal" felt like she felt even worse. They changed the type
of medication to an anti depressant for a better long term effect
but that took two weeks to kick in. This is when I took her out of
school. For some reason at teh time it made sense to me to wait
until after break but because of the med issue we stopped early.
Now it is a year and a half later and she has made amazing strides
dealing with her anxiety. By taking one medication every day and
having another for high stress times (mostly sleeping away fom home)
she has done awesome. Two years ago she couldn't sleep away from
home without hyperventilating and throwing up so she had stopped
trying. This weekend she was invited to go to North Carolina and
Busch Gardens with a friend on Sunday so she put a bag together and
left on Monday. Amazing! She hasn't even had to take the special
medicine in about a year. I think just having it is enough to keep
her anxiety down.
So my problem is she has decided not to take the anti depressant
anymore either and is currently difficult to live with. She is
quicker than usual to blow up and very defensive. She is also not
talking to me as much as usual but that is more likely because she
always has friends over now that school is out. I've come to the
place that I am trusting her to make this decision and I let her
know that but also asked her to be aware of finding new ways to
control her emotions. The way she sees it is that she doesn't have
problem with anyone else but me so it is my problem. The other
people we live with (my mom and step son) are also having problems
with her and struggling to be patient. I see them not wanting to
spend time with her and this worries me. I am worried that we will
return to old patterns. I am working hard to support her and
respect her right to control her body but worry about what the
consequences might be. I also miss us liking each other cause right
now we just don't a good bit of the time. Any feedback would be
helpful.
Kelly
other parents have dealt with this. One of the biggest reasons i
finally made the leap to take Liz (15) out of school was her high
level of anxiety. Things got bad enough that I asked her doctor for
medication because the school basically threatened me with
prosecuting us for truancy and letting the judge deal with me. The
first medication worked for the short term but after a few weeks her
body got used to it and she went back to feeling anxious. At that
point she became completely unable to cope because once she knew
what "normal" felt like she felt even worse. They changed the type
of medication to an anti depressant for a better long term effect
but that took two weeks to kick in. This is when I took her out of
school. For some reason at teh time it made sense to me to wait
until after break but because of the med issue we stopped early.
Now it is a year and a half later and she has made amazing strides
dealing with her anxiety. By taking one medication every day and
having another for high stress times (mostly sleeping away fom home)
she has done awesome. Two years ago she couldn't sleep away from
home without hyperventilating and throwing up so she had stopped
trying. This weekend she was invited to go to North Carolina and
Busch Gardens with a friend on Sunday so she put a bag together and
left on Monday. Amazing! She hasn't even had to take the special
medicine in about a year. I think just having it is enough to keep
her anxiety down.
So my problem is she has decided not to take the anti depressant
anymore either and is currently difficult to live with. She is
quicker than usual to blow up and very defensive. She is also not
talking to me as much as usual but that is more likely because she
always has friends over now that school is out. I've come to the
place that I am trusting her to make this decision and I let her
know that but also asked her to be aware of finding new ways to
control her emotions. The way she sees it is that she doesn't have
problem with anyone else but me so it is my problem. The other
people we live with (my mom and step son) are also having problems
with her and struggling to be patient. I see them not wanting to
spend time with her and this worries me. I am worried that we will
return to old patterns. I am working hard to support her and
respect her right to control her body but worry about what the
consequences might be. I also miss us liking each other cause right
now we just don't a good bit of the time. Any feedback would be
helpful.
Kelly
Wendy McDonald
How long has she been off the anti-depressant? Did she wean off, or
just stop "cold-turkey"? Many anti-depressants have some nasty
withdrawals associated with them, and it sounds to me that the short
fuse may likely be withdrawal symptom; it can take time for her body
to get used to not having the drug anymore.
Maybe you can look into some aromatherapy or diet change to help her
cope with the withdrawal, and make it a little less difficult. (I
don't know, just a guess. . . .)
Wendy
--- In [email protected], "Kelly Nishan" <kel9769@...>
wrote:
just stop "cold-turkey"? Many anti-depressants have some nasty
withdrawals associated with them, and it sounds to me that the short
fuse may likely be withdrawal symptom; it can take time for her body
to get used to not having the drug anymore.
Maybe you can look into some aromatherapy or diet change to help her
cope with the withdrawal, and make it a little less difficult. (I
don't know, just a guess. . . .)
Wendy
--- In [email protected], "Kelly Nishan" <kel9769@...>
wrote:
>. . . . <snip> . . . .
> So my problem is she has decided not to take the anti depressant
> anymore either and is currently difficult to live with. She is
> quicker than usual to blow up and very defensive. She is also not
> talking to me as much as usual but that is more likely because she
> always has friends over now that school is out. I've come to the
> place that I am trusting her to make this decision and I let her
> know that but also asked her to be aware of finding new ways to
> control her emotions. The way she sees it is that she doesn't have
> problem with anyone else but me so it is my problem. The other
> people we live with (my mom and step son) are also having problems
> with her and struggling to be patient. I see them not wanting to
> spend time with her and this worries me. I am worried that we will
> return to old patterns. I am working hard to support her and
> respect her right to control her body but worry about what the
> consequences might be. I also miss us liking each other cause right
> now we just don't a good bit of the time. Any feedback would be
> helpful.
> Kelly
>
Pamela Sorooshian
I'd take the focus off the medication and onto your relationship.
Read "The Parent-Teen Breakthrough: A Relationship Approach."
-pam
Read "The Parent-Teen Breakthrough: A Relationship Approach."
-pam
On Jul 9, 2008, at 10:44 AM, Kelly Nishan wrote:
> I am worried that we will
> return to old patterns. I am working hard to support her and
> respect her right to control her body but worry about what the
> consequences might be. I also miss us liking each other cause right
> now we just don't a good bit of the time. Any feedback would be
> helpful.
> Kelly
Kimberlee
I've heard that Omega 3 fatty acids are being explored as a treatment
for depression. Apparently, some depression at least, can be traced to
dietary deficiencies. You might want to check your local library for
The omega-3 connection : the groundbreaking omega-3 antidepression
diet and brain program by Andrew L. Stoll c2001. Also, some public
libraries provide access to specialize subscription databases that may
have relevant articles not easily found on the free web. Not an easy
situation.
Best of luck,
Kimberlee
for depression. Apparently, some depression at least, can be traced to
dietary deficiencies. You might want to check your local library for
The omega-3 connection : the groundbreaking omega-3 antidepression
diet and brain program by Andrew L. Stoll c2001. Also, some public
libraries provide access to specialize subscription databases that may
have relevant articles not easily found on the free web. Not an easy
situation.
Best of luck,
Kimberlee
On 9-Jul-08, at 2:53 PM, Wendy McDonald wrote:
> How long has she been off the anti-depressant? Did she wean off, or
> just stop "cold-turkey"? Many anti-depressants have some nasty
> withdrawals associated with them, and it sounds to me that the short
> fuse may likely be withdrawal symptom; it can take time for her body
> to get used to not having the drug anymore.
>
> Maybe you can look into some aromatherapy or diet change to help her
> cope with the withdrawal, and make it a little less difficult. (I
> don't know, just a guess. . . .)
>
> Wendy
>
> --- In [email protected], "Kelly Nishan" <kel9769@...>
> wrote:
> >
> . . . . <snip> . . . .
> > So my problem is she has decided not to take the anti depressant
> > anymore either and is currently difficult to live with. She is
> > quicker than usual to blow up and very defensive. She is also not
> > talking to me as much as usual but that is more likely because she
> > always has friends over now that school is out. I've come to the
> > place that I am trusting her to make this decision and I let her
> > know that but also asked her to be aware of finding new ways to
> > control her emotions. The way she sees it is that she doesn't have
> > problem with anyone else but me so it is my problem. The other
> > people we live with (my mom and step son) are also having problems
> > with her and struggling to be patient. I see them not wanting to
> > spend time with her and this worries me. I am worried that we will
> > return to old patterns. I am working hard to support her and
> > respect her right to control her body but worry about what the
> > consequences might be. I also miss us liking each other cause right
> > now we just don't a good bit of the time. Any feedback would be
> > helpful.
> > Kelly
> >
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Kelly Nishan
I was thinking it may just be temporary withdrawal. I think she did
just stop taking it. In the past she would go through periods when she
would forget to take it. She asked me to help her by packaging it for
her every week. She did take that with her this week on her road
trip. It may be that she didn't decide not to take it but just didn't
remember and then got agitated and defensive about it. I'll try
talking to her about it when she gets home.
I like the idea about offering armoatherapy or diet options to her but
I don't know anything about what they would be.
Kelly
--- In [email protected], "Wendy McDonald"
<iwendyiwanda@...> wrote:
just stop taking it. In the past she would go through periods when she
would forget to take it. She asked me to help her by packaging it for
her every week. She did take that with her this week on her road
trip. It may be that she didn't decide not to take it but just didn't
remember and then got agitated and defensive about it. I'll try
talking to her about it when she gets home.
I like the idea about offering armoatherapy or diet options to her but
I don't know anything about what they would be.
Kelly
--- In [email protected], "Wendy McDonald"
<iwendyiwanda@...> wrote:
>
> How long has she been off the anti-depressant? Did she wean off, or
> just stop "cold-turkey"? Many anti-depressants have some nasty
> withdrawals associated with them, and it sounds to me that the short
> fuse may likely be withdrawal symptom; it can take time for her body
> to get used to not having the drug anymore.
>
> Maybe you can look into some aromatherapy or diet change to help her
> cope with the withdrawal, and make it a little less difficult. (I
> don't know, just a guess. . . .)
>
> Wendy
>
>