18 year old is considering taking medication for OCD and anxiety

[Anonymous]

OCD developed overnight in my 4th grader. After many months of therapy and watching her suffer—it is truly suffering we tried a low dose of Prozac. It made all the difference. Her mind quieted a bit and she was able to implement the strategies she was learning in the CBT therapy sessions. It broke my heart when she finally felt better and asked us why we waited so long to use the medication.

She is now in 8th grade and doing well. We will see about weaning off the Prozac once she has gone through the big changes of early adolescence

I also worried and fretted about medicating my young daughter. But once I researched and realized that she would
likely struggle with this condition her whole life, and it is just a piece of her like everything else, it seemed senseless not to give her the best shot at managing it. The medication is a tool. Why wouldn’t you use it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OCD developed overnight in my 4th grader. After many months of therapy and watching her suffer—it is truly suffering we tried a low dose of Prozac. It made all the difference. Her mind quieted a bit and she was able to implement the strategies she was learning in the CBT therapy sessions. It broke my heart when she finally felt better and asked us why we waited so long to use the medication.

She is now in 8th grade and doing well. We will see about weaning off the Prozac once she has gone through the big changes of early adolescence

I also worried and fretted about medicating my young daughter. But once I researched and realized that she would
likely struggle with this condition her whole life, and it is just a piece of her like everything else, it seemed senseless not to give her the best shot at managing it. The medication is a tool. Why wouldn’t you use it?

If OCD developed overnight, you should look into PANDAS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OCD developed overnight in my 4th grader. After many months of therapy and watching her suffer—it is truly suffering we tried a low dose of Prozac. It made all the difference. Her mind quieted a bit and she was able to implement the strategies she was learning in the CBT therapy sessions. It broke my heart when she finally felt better and asked us why we waited so long to use the medication.

She is now in 8th grade and doing well. We will see about weaning off the Prozac once she has gone through the big changes of early adolescence

I also worried and fretted about medicating my young daughter. But once I researched and realized that she would
likely struggle with this condition her whole life, and it is just a piece of her like everything else, it seemed senseless not to give her the best shot at managing it. The medication is a tool. Why wouldn’t you use it?

If OCD developed overnight, you should look into PANDAS

Thanks. That was part of the initial assessment and effectively ruled out.

[Anonymous]

She’s 18 and a legal adult. This is her
choice to make.

[Anonymous]

My daughter started Zoloft her Sophomore year of high school due to crippling social anxiety. It took a while to find the correct dose but once the medication kicked in at the right dose it made a huge difference. By her senior year she had actually tapered down to 1/4 of her “normal” dose and was doing really well. She and I both initially struggled with the thought of “what if meds are needed forever?” but the conclusion was that IT’S OKAY and to cross that bridge when she comes to it. Her social anxiety was debilitating and she felt/recognized that she was missing out on so many experiences because of the anxiety.

Particularly if your daughter’s anxiety is related to social situations, my advice is definitely to start now, before she goes to college, and let her know it’s always okay to tweak the dosage as needed (under her Dr’s supervision/recommendation).

Another suggestion I have is to always go with your gut feeling and encourage your DD to listen to her intuition as well. My daughter had a really rough start her first semester of college (in Boston) and ended up increasing her meds to 3/4 of her “normal” dose. When she was really struggling those first few months of school, she came home or I flew up to Boston every other weekend and SO MANY people (well meaning family and friends) were insistent that she needed to learn how to “just deal with it” and not come home (or see me) so often—saying things like she would never get adjusted to college and make friends if she was coming home a lot or FaceTiming me everyday, but she was literally in tears every day because of the social anxiety and not making friends. My gut instinct told me she needed to see me (just to have some sort of human connection) so I went against everyone’s advice and continued to have her either come home or I would fly up there every other weekend, and by the end of her first semester at school, she had started making friends and was actually enjoying school. She had always enjoyed her classes but finally felt like she fit in and liked college. She also joined a sorority and several clubs in the fall, which helped with her making friends.

I have never been a helicopter mom and my daughter has always been very independent. She had traveled internationally by herself several times before college so it was somewhat of a surprise that she had such a hard time adjusting. She had a great second semester and obviously didn’t need to physically see me or fly home. Pinpointing the dose that worked best for her made all the difference—she is doing so well that she is staying in Boston though the summer, taking classes and working.

When someone has anxiety, particularly social anxiety, even the smallest thing can feel overwhelming and create a downward spiral. It become easy to focus on what college is “supposed to look like” and feel that you are missing out. In my daughter’s situation, the medication allowed her to successfully be able to apply the CBT strategies and techniques to manage her anxiety. She still struggles with anxiety, particularly in social situations, but is able to function and enjoy life.

Best of luck to you and your daughter as she navigates this journey, and to all PPs who are going through this as well!

[Anonymous]

I only read the first three posts. And I’m going to try to be calm and clear. I have a stepson with serious newish psych issues. Age 20.

You are SO LUCKY that your daughter is trusting you with this information.

You need to change your thinking. She is SICK. If she had a debilitating medical illness like cancer you would be thinking differently. Imagine this is like that.

Depression and anxiety CAN be life threatening illnesses and it looks like your daughter and her therapist are trying to get ahead of it.

I am truly sorry. You need to let yourself *privately* grieve. Things aren’t going the way you planned and dreamed for your daughter and that is hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only read the first three posts. And I’m going to try to be calm and clear. I have a stepson with serious newish psych issues. Age 20.

You are SO LUCKY that your daughter is trusting you with this information.

You need to change your thinking. She is SICK. If she had a debilitating medical illness like cancer you would be thinking differently. Imagine this is like that.

Depression and anxiety CAN be life threatening illnesses and it looks like your daughter and her therapist are trying to get ahead of it.

I am truly sorry. You need to let yourself *privately* grieve. Things aren’t going the way you planned and dreamed for your daughter and that is hard.

I suggest you read the other posts too pp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started seeing therapist in Feb so I feel like it’s a little early to be having this conversation but she feels that she is getting worse. Therapist has brought it up and she is considering it. She feels her anxiety is so bad that it is debilitating her. She is going to a great college int the fall and to the outside world her life is great but I know she struggles. Some things she mentions also seem normal to me so I find it confusing. This year has been hard for her but will it get better without the medication is what I am wondering. I worry that this will be something that she might feel the need to take all her life. If that’s what she needs then I am okay with it but am wondering if she should be trying other things too. All her friends go to therapists and are on medication so this is totally normal for her. But I would like to have a more wholistic approach. Medication plus CBT etc etc.
Any light you shine on this willl be helpful. How did it go with your teen? Did medication help? Do you think the therapist is jumping into this too quickly? I asked her if she tried CBT and she says she doesn’t know and that the therapist doesn’t label things.
I intend to speak with the therapist soon. What kind of questions should I ask her?

My oldest son is 23 and was over for dinner complaining about how all the women he knows and dates are all on mental health drugs. He says they are all nuts, clinically nuts and doesn't understand why they are all drugged up, like it's a trend.

From what I see this is just how they cope with life. Whatever we are doing as a culture and society is creating a generation of people unable to cope.

Flame away, but this is just what I'm hearing.

You and your son are ignorant.

[Anonymous]

She’s 18. You need to be stepping back and empowering her to make medical decisions for her mental health

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started seeing therapist in Feb so I feel like it’s a little early to be having this conversation but she feels that she is getting worse. Therapist has brought it up and she is considering it. She feels her anxiety is so bad that it is debilitating her. She is going to a great college int the fall and to the outside world her life is great but I know she struggles. Some things she mentions also seem normal to me so I find it confusing. This year has been hard for her but will it get better without the medication is what I am wondering. I worry that this will be something that she might feel the need to take all her life. If that’s what she needs then I am okay with it but am wondering if she should be trying other things too. All her friends go to therapists and are on medication so this is totally normal for her. But I would like to have a more wholistic approach. Medication plus CBT etc etc.
Any light you shine on this willl be helpful. How did it go with your teen? Did medication help? Do you think the therapist is jumping into this too quickly? I asked her if she tried CBT and she says she doesn’t know and that the therapist doesn’t label things.
I intend to speak with the therapist soon. What kind of questions should I ask her?

My oldest son is 23 and was over for dinner complaining about how all the women he knows and dates are all on mental health drugs. He says they are all nuts, clinically nuts and doesn't understand why they are all drugged up, like it's a trend.

From what I see this is just how they cope with life. Whatever we are doing as a culture and society is creating a generation of people unable to cope.

Flame away, but this is just what I'm hearing.

You and your son are ignorant.

+1