I was just wondering if any of your children have suffered with anxiety or depression and are taking meds for it. My son was just prescribed lexapro and I'm very worried about the side effects, especially nausea, and appetite loss (amongst many others!) when he is already so underweight. Any thoughts? I will also post this on a general thread.
Anxious/depressed kids with CD
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My older daughter (who has arthritis but not IBD) was prescribed Cymbalta, both for pain and for anxiety and depression. It's a different class of drugs than Lexapro, but for what it's worth, she didn't have any side effects at all. The only thing I would warn you about is that she wasn't able to just stop Cymbalta when she wanted to get off it, she had terrible withdrawal symptoms. She had to taper it very slowly and still was nauseous and dizzy until she got off it completely.
Hope your son feels better soon!
Hope your son feels better soon!
I don't think those side effects are very common but of course that doesn't mean he won't have them. If so then you just switch medications - it's usually no big deal unless you've been on it for a very long time. I hope you discussed your concerns with the psychiatrist who prescribed the medication. If it wasn't a psychiatrist I strongly urge you to ask for a referral for one to manage your child's psychotropic medication.
I think it's very important to treat the depression and anxiety and not condemn our kids to live with it. But I also think medication isn't the answer alone (or even most of the time). Obviously getting them into remission helps a lot but that isn't always possible or the trauma of the illness has just been too overwhelming. A good therapist, preferably one who works with kids with chronic illness, can be incredibly helpful. You don't say how old your son is but even younger kids can benefit from play therapy.
And it's OK for mom to have a therapist too. We bear a huge burden and must do so all the time in a way that doesn't drop that burden on our children. Put on your own oxygen mask first so you can help your child and family effectively.
I think it's very important to treat the depression and anxiety and not condemn our kids to live with it. But I also think medication isn't the answer alone (or even most of the time). Obviously getting them into remission helps a lot but that isn't always possible or the trauma of the illness has just been too overwhelming. A good therapist, preferably one who works with kids with chronic illness, can be incredibly helpful. You don't say how old your son is but even younger kids can benefit from play therapy.
And it's OK for mom to have a therapist too. We bear a huge burden and must do so all the time in a way that doesn't drop that burden on our children. Put on your own oxygen mask first so you can help your child and family effectively.
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I have to second what Patricia56 said. I don't know how much Cymbalta helped my daughter (it definitely did nothing for pain but might have helped with the anxiety) but I know seeing a therapist really helped her. My daughter was VERY against seeing one, but finally agreed to go 3 times (after much arguing). 3 times was enough to convince her that it could really help her, so she kept going.
It might take more than one time to find a therapist that works. MY younger daughter saw 2 that she didn't like and then finally settled on the one that her GI recommended (who works with IBD kids).
It might take more than one time to find a therapist that works. MY younger daughter saw 2 that she didn't like and then finally settled on the one that her GI recommended (who works with IBD kids).
Thank you so much Maya and Patricia for your replies. It helps immensely to know of others who have traveled this road. It sounds like your daughter had success with the Cymbalta? I'm glad she was able to wean off and thanks for the warning....my son is also hoping to be on it for a short spell. He is 18 yo. Diagnosed with RA when he was 10 and CD when he was 14, surgery at age 17. It has been a rough ride for him. He saw a Psychologist at the beginning of the year and was referred to the current Psychiatrist, whom he has seen twice. He does not want to continue with therapy after only 3 sessions....says it's not for him, but I will continue to encourage it with perhaps a different psychologist. I will try to find one that works with kids with chronic illness like you said Patricia.
I did not see or speak with his psychiatrist because now that he has turned 18 he wants to see the doc on his own, but I will speak to the pharmacist when I pick up his med. I also suggested he wait until the weekend to try it so he is not anxious about feeling weird at school.
Thank you for mentioning parental anxiety....I know we are all on the same roller coaster and this forum helps so much, not only for the wisdom, but for the support and the knowledge that we are not alone.
I did not see or speak with his psychiatrist because now that he has turned 18 he wants to see the doc on his own, but I will speak to the pharmacist when I pick up his med. I also suggested he wait until the weekend to try it so he is not anxious about feeling weird at school.
Thank you for mentioning parental anxiety....I know we are all on the same roller coaster and this forum helps so much, not only for the wisdom, but for the support and the knowledge that we are not alone.
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My son just started celexa, the psych didn't feel he was depressed or anxious but did agree with his other docs that his serotonin levels may be low and was affecting his sleep schedule. I thought it was a good add since we are in a flare and new treatment or surgery may be on the table. Having celexa on board when that time comes could only be helpful, I think.
Maya, sorry, I just saw your second post. HOw long was your daughter on the Cymbalta? Is your daughter talkative? My son is very quiet and has difficulty opening up which is why I imagine it is difficult for him. But I agree that therapy is so important and can really break through alot of the anxiety. I will try again....maybe I'll try to have my son agree to a number of sessions as you did. I did suggest he try a different therapis, so we will work on it this week. Thank you so much. I hope your daughters are doing well.
In our town there are a couple low cost/sliding scale programs that work specifically with teens and families. If there's something like that in your town that might be a good resource although they often rely on interns who only stick around for a year or two. That is a disadvantage but not all the therapists are interns so you can ask about that.
My son is also 18 and will not have anything to do with therapists either. I personally think it is a "tough guy" macho sort of thing and gave up trying to push him in that direction a couple years ago. He has a reasonable amount of insight and feels he handles his problems well and that's enough for him. He does take medication because he had some extreme behavioral problems when he was younger including suicidal thoughts and sees a psychiatrist for that. He likes this psychiatrist (plus he's been doing very well for a couple years) and doesn't argue over seeing him.
My son is joining a Youth Advisory Council for the hospital he goes to and I expect that to be a very helpful experience for him, psychologically speaking. all the kids on the council have chronic illnesses or have experienced life threatening illnesses. My son also attends a special camp for kids with IBD and has since he was 10. He will be a counselor this year, provided he's well enough, and it is absolutely the highlight of his year.
My son is also 18 and will not have anything to do with therapists either. I personally think it is a "tough guy" macho sort of thing and gave up trying to push him in that direction a couple years ago. He has a reasonable amount of insight and feels he handles his problems well and that's enough for him. He does take medication because he had some extreme behavioral problems when he was younger including suicidal thoughts and sees a psychiatrist for that. He likes this psychiatrist (plus he's been doing very well for a couple years) and doesn't argue over seeing him.
My son is joining a Youth Advisory Council for the hospital he goes to and I expect that to be a very helpful experience for him, psychologically speaking. all the kids on the council have chronic illnesses or have experienced life threatening illnesses. My son also attends a special camp for kids with IBD and has since he was 10. He will be a counselor this year, provided he's well enough, and it is absolutely the highlight of his year.
Therapists who work well with teens often do activities with them like taking walks or shooting hoops. You could ask if that's something the therapist ever does with their patients as a screening tool when you're looking for someone who is good with "kids".
Thanks Clash. It's interesting that you mentioned C's sleep was being affected. My son has had much difficulty with sleep for the longest time and takes clonidine to sleep at night. Nobody ever mentioned seretonin levels. Has C started the Celexa yet? Is he taking the brand name or a generic. Has he had any side effects?
I hope the new treatment works for him (EEN correct?). But if it doesn't, I just wanted to tell you that N had surgery a year ago and I think it helped quite a bit. Not perfect, but definitely better in appetite, tolerance of a wider variety of foods and less GI discomfort. Thanks for your response Clash. I hope C improves tremedously.
I hope the new treatment works for him (EEN correct?). But if it doesn't, I just wanted to tell you that N had surgery a year ago and I think it helped quite a bit. Not perfect, but definitely better in appetite, tolerance of a wider variety of foods and less GI discomfort. Thanks for your response Clash. I hope C improves tremedously.
Wow Patricia, the camp and the Youth Advisory Council sound amazing and has to be extremely rewarding for him. I can think of nothing better to pick you up than to involve yourself in a place where you can help and be involved with others. I wish N would do something like that, but he has always been resistant to doing any "group" or "organized" activities. Definitely not sports, which are also healthy and rewarding. I am not pushing activities on him too much now because he is very tired all the time and I don't know if it is physical or emotional, or both. All I can get out of him is a 15 -20 walk around the block after school.
Do you feel his medication is working for him? Did he have any bad side effects? How long does he spend talking to his psychiatrist? How often does he go? I'm sorry for all the questions, but both sessions my son had with his psychiatrist lasted about 15 - 20 minutes and he felt the doc was rushing him. Doesn't sound very therapeutic to me!! I have suggested switching but he says no, that they are all the same. Unfortunately he has had bad luck with docs (GI's) and we had to go through a few because our clinic had alot of changes in their GI department at the time....we got a few really uncaring docs.
THanks again Patricia.
Do you feel his medication is working for him? Did he have any bad side effects? How long does he spend talking to his psychiatrist? How often does he go? I'm sorry for all the questions, but both sessions my son had with his psychiatrist lasted about 15 - 20 minutes and he felt the doc was rushing him. Doesn't sound very therapeutic to me!! I have suggested switching but he says no, that they are all the same. Unfortunately he has had bad luck with docs (GI's) and we had to go through a few because our clinic had alot of changes in their GI department at the time....we got a few really uncaring docs.
THanks again Patricia.
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He is taking the brand name and at 10mg. He had only been on it for 6 days but he has had no side effects. Of course, the doc said it would take some time to help with the sleep pattern so we are just in the waiting pattern. C is really hoping this helps with his sleep. Thank you for your caring support and it does help to hear positives about surgery.
I hope that lexapro is something that can help your son. C is considering therapy in case the step is surgery. He says he'd just like someone to bounce his surgery fears off of who wont respond with sad puppy dog eyes and baked goods(my usual response). The hard part for us is finding one near us with experience with chronic illness. The local one that deals with teens doesn't specialize with chronic illness. He also uses drumming(with bongo looking drums) to connect with kids which C isn't real impressed by.
I hope that lexapro is something that can help your son. C is considering therapy in case the step is surgery. He says he'd just like someone to bounce his surgery fears off of who wont respond with sad puppy dog eyes and baked goods(my usual response). The hard part for us is finding one near us with experience with chronic illness. The local one that deals with teens doesn't specialize with chronic illness. He also uses drumming(with bongo looking drums) to connect with kids which C isn't real impressed by.
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theOcean
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I'm sorry to hear that your son has had bad luck with psychiatrists... I lucked out with my first one, and have been seeing her regularly since January of 2011 now. My sessions with her are usually 45 minutes at minimum, and I never feel rushed.
I realize that this is in a section for parents of kids with IBD, but I'm 22 and also started taking anti-anxiety/antidepressants lately so I figure I can give some input, too. My psychiatrist has put me on Effexor, which has been pretty effective for me -- although one of my goals with it has been not to rely on it completely, as I don't want to be on it long-term. So I'm trying my best to be productive and try to get over what triggers my anxiety/depressive moments, and my psychiatrist helps a lot with that. (Especially since it's been a combination of school and my health causing it.)
I hope your son feels better soon!
I realize that this is in a section for parents of kids with IBD, but I'm 22 and also started taking anti-anxiety/antidepressants lately so I figure I can give some input, too. My psychiatrist has put me on Effexor, which has been pretty effective for me -- although one of my goals with it has been not to rely on it completely, as I don't want to be on it long-term. So I'm trying my best to be productive and try to get over what triggers my anxiety/depressive moments, and my psychiatrist helps a lot with that. (Especially since it's been a combination of school and my health causing it.)
I hope your son feels better soon!
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My daughter was on Cymbalta 6 months. She thought, like your son, that therapy just would not help her, it wasn't for her. After she went a couple times though it changed her mind. We chose a psychologist that her rheumatologist recommended, who works with lots of kids and teens with chronic illness. In her case, the psychologist and her psychiatrist said that her depression/anxiety came from her illness (she was in so much pain that year that she had to take a semester off from college and was distraught), so getting her disease under control and working with the therapist did more than Cymbalta did.
My younger daughter is more like your son - very quiet and shy, not at at all talkative. She hated talking initially and refused to see the first two psychologists because "they asked too many questions." Her GI insisted that she had to see one, which is the only reason I got her to see a third, which worked out. She's now much less stressed out and sleeps much better at night.
It's tough with teenagers because they think they know best and it's difficult (if not impossible) to "make" them go.
My younger daughter is more like your son - very quiet and shy, not at at all talkative. She hated talking initially and refused to see the first two psychologists because "they asked too many questions." Her GI insisted that she had to see one, which is the only reason I got her to see a third, which worked out. She's now much less stressed out and sleeps much better at night.
It's tough with teenagers because they think they know best and it's difficult (if not impossible) to "make" them go.
theOcean
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To some extent that's unfortunately true, though -- if people don't want help, it's hard for them to accept it from others and get better. I grappled with the idea of seeing a psychiatrist at first, but it was one of the best decisions I'd ever made for myself.
Thank you ALL so much for responding....it helps so-o-o-o much!
Clash - I think it's amazing that C is actually considering seeing a therapist and acknowledging his fears (though I'm sure your baked goods help tons!LOL) in case he has surgery....I think it would be really good thing. My son and I both went in scared and I did not plan things well at all.....the surgeon wasn't even convinced it would help so there was a lot of uncertainty. I hope you find someone he feels comfortable with (hmmm, yeah,I don't think the drum thing would fly after a certain age)....it's just such a good thing in the long run for this disease through their ups and downs.
Thanks for popping in Ocean......I'm so glad to hear that your psychiatrist has worked well with you and schedules time for you.....I think we will probably switch. It also helped to hear that your med helped you. I too would hope N won't have to stay on it forever, but hopefully it will give him the clarity to work toward methods of coping. It sounds like you have had a lot to deal with these past few years medically, and adding school to that is no small thing. I wish you the best!
Thanks Maya for sharing your daughters stories of initial resistance and success. I think maybe the key was having pssychologists that had experience with issues of chronic illness. I don't think N has ever really dealt with his emotions regarding his CD and think it must be difficult to explore these. I'm so glad your daughters are doing better. How come your older daughter only stayed on the Cymbalta 6 months? who's decision was it to go off the med? Are they still seeing their therapists?
My son will start the med on Saturday to see how it affects him at home and not at school. I will continue to encourage him to do talk therapy. It is encouraging to know that it is fairly common to resist therapy, but that it has helped so much in your cases.
Thanks again.
Clash - I think it's amazing that C is actually considering seeing a therapist and acknowledging his fears (though I'm sure your baked goods help tons!LOL) in case he has surgery....I think it would be really good thing. My son and I both went in scared and I did not plan things well at all.....the surgeon wasn't even convinced it would help so there was a lot of uncertainty. I hope you find someone he feels comfortable with (hmmm, yeah,I don't think the drum thing would fly after a certain age)....it's just such a good thing in the long run for this disease through their ups and downs.
Thanks for popping in Ocean......I'm so glad to hear that your psychiatrist has worked well with you and schedules time for you.....I think we will probably switch. It also helped to hear that your med helped you. I too would hope N won't have to stay on it forever, but hopefully it will give him the clarity to work toward methods of coping. It sounds like you have had a lot to deal with these past few years medically, and adding school to that is no small thing. I wish you the best!
Thanks Maya for sharing your daughters stories of initial resistance and success. I think maybe the key was having pssychologists that had experience with issues of chronic illness. I don't think N has ever really dealt with his emotions regarding his CD and think it must be difficult to explore these. I'm so glad your daughters are doing better. How come your older daughter only stayed on the Cymbalta 6 months? who's decision was it to go off the med? Are they still seeing their therapists?
My son will start the med on Saturday to see how it affects him at home and not at school. I will continue to encourage him to do talk therapy. It is encouraging to know that it is fairly common to resist therapy, but that it has helped so much in your cases.
Thanks again.
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Yes, the right psychologists really did make the difference. That, and the fact that my girls' doctors (GI and rheumatologist) really recommended it. My older daughter was on Cymbalta for only 6 months because her meds kicked in (Humira and mtx) and she started feeling better. Her anxiety and depression was really secondary to the pain and the arthritis, so once the disease was under control, she and her psychiatrist thought she should get off it. She has continued to see her therapist (but less regularly since she's away at college now).
My younger daughter also still sees hers, (her GI really REALLY encourages it) and I hope she will continue to do so because there's always something or the other going on.
My younger daughter also still sees hers, (her GI really REALLY encourages it) and I hope she will continue to do so because there's always something or the other going on.
DustyKat
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My two have never been on medication but they have seen a counsellor for different reasons. My son when he was primary school and my daughter in year 12. Matt’s issues were not related to Crohn’s but I have no doubt that Sarah’s were and this was third year into remission. Sarah use to say to me that it made no difference to her and it was a waste of time but I could see a positive change in her. I don’t think the opportunity to speak with someone that is professional and removed from the situation can ever be underestimated.
As to now, well if there is one positive to come out of two kids having Crohn’s it is that they have each other. It also helps that they have had the same treatments and outcomes. They are closer now than they ever have been and I have no doubt that they bounce worries and concerns off each other without me ever knowing.
Dusty. xxx
As to now, well if there is one positive to come out of two kids having Crohn’s it is that they have each other. It also helps that they have had the same treatments and outcomes. They are closer now than they ever have been and I have no doubt that they bounce worries and concerns off each other without me ever knowing.
Dusty. xxx
I was pretty depressed off and on between ages of 21 and 23. I saw a therapist for a few months and it seemed to help a good bit. I had been sick constantly for those few years and just talking about it in chronological order seemed helpful. I never took any antidepressants, and she never suggested them for me. I'm not in therapy anymore and I'm doing much better.
Thank you so much for responding Dusty and kel. It seems like therapy has such great value and I have asked my son to please continue to consider it. In the meantime he has chosen to take the medication. Therapy can be uncomfortable I know, but maybe the meds will allow him some peace in order to figure things out and work on issues.
I'm so glad you/the kids benefited from therapy......I think it has long life value as life continues to dole its ups and downs. Matt and Sarah must give each other wonderful support....they are very lucky. Thanks again.
I'm so glad you/the kids benefited from therapy......I think it has long life value as life continues to dole its ups and downs. Matt and Sarah must give each other wonderful support....they are very lucky. Thanks again.
When I was first diagnosed (age 9) I saw a therapist for over a year. It was helpful to have someone to talk to. Could have been better if the therapist were better so shop around if you decide to go that route.
I didn't start on depression meds until I was in high school (maybe around 15 years old). They were helpful at first yet would sometimes make me too tired to function so I had to do the trial and error with different ones over and over. After trying about 5 different ones I got sick of it and stopped taking them. That was a long time ago so there are a lot of new ones out there. Hopefully your child won't have to deal with the trial and error so much and keep in mind that they can take a while to start working properly yet I'm sure their doctor and pharmacist will inform them and you about all of that. Good luck!
I didn't start on depression meds until I was in high school (maybe around 15 years old). They were helpful at first yet would sometimes make me too tired to function so I had to do the trial and error with different ones over and over. After trying about 5 different ones I got sick of it and stopped taking them. That was a long time ago so there are a lot of new ones out there. Hopefully your child won't have to deal with the trial and error so much and keep in mind that they can take a while to start working properly yet I'm sure their doctor and pharmacist will inform them and you about all of that. Good luck!
Thank you Jennifer. You are so right about finding the "right" therapist....I explained to him early on that he may need to try several before finding one he clicked with, but he is dead set about not wanting to see anyone at this time.....grr. He is on day 4 of taking his med and so far at least no bad side effects. Thank you for sharing your experience and I hope you beat this flare FAST!!!!
