Medication & Depression

[sacs1996]

My son has been on Pentasa and Mercaptopurine (MP6) for the past couple of years. Everything has been fine, but within the past year he has become depressed with thoughts of suicide. We did some research, and although depression is not a side effect of Mercaptopurine, we have found information online that disputes this. His doctor is adamant that his depression is not being caused by his medication.

Has anyone else had a similar incident with their child? Also what other medication options are there?

 

[my little penguin]

Depression is common in Ibd kids and adults due to everything they have to deal with regardless of medication.
Has he seen a therapist on a regular basis ?
Finding a kiddie psychologist with experience with medically complicated kids.
Most larger Ibd centers have them as part of the clinic.



Haven't heard of 6-mp causing mental issues.....

Teenager /pre teen years are when mental issues tend to surface regardless of medication or other diseases .

Can you see a second opinion gi ?
What does his psychologist/psychiatrist say ?

 

[Mehita]

Ditto what MLP said. I'd get him in to a therapists ASAP since there is concern of suicide, but generally, I think our kids just get tired of it all. The pills, the dr visits, etc. Toss in teen hormones and it's the perfect storm.

Hugs to you... please keep us posted.

 

[sacs1996]

He has spent some time in counseling and we've doubted it helped. Don't want to put him on medication for depression so we're trying a new counselor. My son doesn't seem to let his Crohns affect him too much. The only time it impacted him was when he went for an FAA medical for his private pilot license. They made us provide more information from his doctor because of the meds he's on. He finally got his clearance, but it looked dim at first.

 

[Mehita]

That's cool to have a pilot license

I think a new counselor is a good start. My son never really hit it off with his and when we started talking about a second round, he didn't want to see her again. Teen boys aren't exactly easy to talk to either!

Would your doctor be open to reading the info you found about depression and the meds? I know our GI appreciates the links I send him. He says while he tries to stay up to date on the latest research, sometimes he's just too busy and likes that he can just click on my links.

If you really, really think it's the meds, other options in that same class are Azathioprine and Imuran, or methotrexate. The next step would be biologics like Remicade and Humira, but I doubt your doctor (or insurance) would want to do that with a lack of symptoms.