My little sister drank an entire bottle of NyQuil

The BBQ Pit
1

I don’t know what to say or write right now. i’m putting this in the Pit because I don’t know what’s going to come flying out of my fingers and onto the screen, and I don’t want to get banned for using bad words somewhere like MPSIMS.

I got a call from my mom on Friday. My little sister was missing (she’s 14). She said that she was going to a friend’s house the next town over, and that she would call when she got there. When she was late in calling, my mom tried to call her cell phone. You know, just to make sure she got there okay. No answer. It was ringing, but no one was picking up. My mom left a message. Then, she called one of my sister’s friends to see if maybe she was there. The friend’s dad answered. He said that the friend wasn’t there, either, and that Anna (a girl from school my sister used to be friends with) had called and said that my sister and her friend were planning on running away.

At this point, my mom called me, freaking out. She told me everything. I told her that it might just be a rumor, and that, since Anna and my sister had had a pretty nasty falling out, it was possibly done solely to get my sister and her friend in trouble. I told her to calm down, keep in contact with the dad, and to call me if she hadn’t heard from my sister by eight (it was maybe six thirty), or if she showed up.

I got a call around seven. Jessica’s dad had gone driving around the area, and found them in South Elgin (which is south of us). They were trying to run away (with no money or anything). I think they had to call the police to get my sister’s friend in the car–my sister came willingly as soon as my mom came.

So my mom and sister had a talk, and then my dad and my sister had a talk. I don’t know everything, because I’m certain that there are some things that are remaining confidential (as they should be), but what I do know is pretty bad.

My sister is depressed. Very depressed. She hates school and wants to drop out (she got straight As last semester). She hates being at home because of my dad. She hates my dad. She doesn’t see the point of being in school, or of anything. She said she doesn’t want to live.

And, last week, she drank an entire bottle of NyQuil. An. Entire. Fucking. Bottle. Of. NyQuil. My little sister did this.

My mom is freaking out. She never went through anything like this with me, she says. My sister doesn’t want to confide in her like I did. It’s freaking her out, and she doesn’t need this right now, especially with worrying about my dad’s employment status and all that stuff. So my mom’s been talking to me, and I’ve been the strong one.

I don’t know what to say or do. I told my mom to make my sister talk to a therapist or a psychiatrist or something, because I think she needs it if she’s downing NyQuil as a recreational activity (and she did it to kill herself, NOT to get high, or that’s what she claims). I don’t know if my parents will, though. They’re not the best about this therapy thing. And I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that it’s my little sister who’s doing thing. Standing Operating Procedure is to kick anyone’s ass who tries to mess with her. But she’s messing with herself, and I don’t know what to do.

And I fucking hate this world that makes her feel this way, I hate Motorola for laying off my dad and making life so stressful that it would drive my sister to this, and I hate biochemistry for making her depressed. And I don’t fucking know what to do.

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((((Hugs)))))

I’m so sorry about your sister and her situation. It’s tough being a teenager, let alone not getting along with parents.

I do hope she can get some counseling, or perhaps an intervention. Because she is a minor, I don’t blame you for feeling helpless-- but you are older than her so perhaps you could start the intervention (or whatever you want to call it).

Good luck…try and hang in there.

3

Well, I’m sure some Dopers will come along a recommend a good place to get some help. In the meantime, my thoughts are with you and your family. I hope this difficult time will be behind you in the days ahead.

4

I truly hope your sister does feel better soon.

Even though she may not feel comfortable confiding in your parents, keep being there so she can confide in you. Also, be careful with an intervention. If someone gave me an intervention, they probably wouldn’t see me again (meaning I’d leave). It might be very successful in some cases, but be careful.

Best of luck to your sister and yourself.

5

I definitely sympathize, Angel – it’s horrible to watch someone you love going through such a hard time.

As for the therapy angle, are there any counseling services available at her school? At my HS way back in the day, the counselors were there – they weren’t too useful in and of themselves, but they could provide a sympathetic ear and give recommendations for therapists.

The best of luck to you, your sister and your family.

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Maybe the three of them (little sis, mom & dad) should get some family counseling.

Do you have any idea of what your sister’s beef with your dad is?

Can she come live with you?

Good luck.

Zebra

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You haven’t said how old she is. Is she going through puberty? Because that can mess a girl up BIG time, chemicals running rampant, and getting unbalanced all the time. (take it from someone who went through puberty in the same 6-month period that my mom was going through menopause - not fun!)

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Great googily moogily, thas a blower Angel. One option would be to go to her high school in off hours and find the guidance office and ask that she be called in to talk, or find their PE department and talk to the Health (sex ed. drug ed., usually taught through the Phys. Ed. department) teacher and request that he/she have a chat with her.

Chances are between guidance and Health they’ll have an adult with their heads on straight, and in my experience the adults in these positions really do care about the kids. My Health teacher, I learned when I aided for her, had helped a lot of girls through a lot of tought situations.

Since she’ll be in school anyway it shouldn’t be too hard to get her into guidance, probably be harder to get her to family therapy but you def want to shoot for that too. Best of luck, damn

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Good grief, Angel. How frightening. Is there anything I can do? I’m right in the area, as you know. My daughter’s 13, but I’d be willing to bet she knows your sister or some of your sister’s friends. Can we reach out to her, maybe have her over for an afternoon of downtime? If there’s anything I can do to help, email me - you know the addy.

10

Shit. I didn’t know about the NyQuil part. If you need late night runs to Dennys or the lounge, just tell me. :frowning:

Take care of yourself too, chica. You know what I mean.

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oh shite.
i’m sorry.
(((((((((hugs)))))))))

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Angel of the Lord, I’m sorry to hear about your sister. You say you don’t know what to - I strongly believe that you’re on the right track with your idea of getting her someone to talk to. But more important at this moment, in my opinion, is getting her a thorough physical examination and some lab tests.

Nyquil contains acetaminophen, the generic form of Tylenol. In excess it can cause liver damage. An entire bottle of Nyquil is a LOT of acetaminophen. Don’t let a lack of symptoms fool you - acetaminophen toxicity can cause remarkably few symptoms until significant damage has occurred to the liver, sometimes days later.

I strongly urge you to do what you can to have her examined by a physician as soon as possible. There are therapies available that can be of benefit, even this late, should she need them.

Good Luck - you sound like a wonderful and caring sibling.

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Well, great god almighty, here all you folks except Ginkgo are nattering away about “getting her some counseling” when that may be the least of this family’s problems. Is she in intensive care? Is she on life support? Acetominophen overdose means liver damage, and not as in, “oh, she’s sick”–it means as in, “needs a liver transplant right now”.

So how IS she?

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DDG, I doubt that AotL would be going on about getting Little Sis into therapy if her life or health were in serious danger.

Angel, my thoughts and prayers are with her, and you, and your family.

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Acetaminophen doesn’t make you keel over and die - liver toxicity has a relatively slow onset. A 10-oz. bottle of Nyquil contains about 10 grams of acetaminophen, which is more than enough to cause liver damage (and I wish I’d thought of it sooner. damn.)

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I’m sorry, all i can say is i sympathize. 2 weeks ago my sister (age 17) tried a similar thing, right now my parents after 31 years of marriage are talking about getting a divorce and it’s been hard on everyone, but especially on her since she is the only sibling that lives at home. So one night when she was on spring break she tried to kill herself by drinking herself to death. She drank a 1/5th of vodka very quickly and her BAC was 2.12. She was with “friends” who apparently let her do this to herself at which point when she got unconcious they freaked out and called some boys to help them. They took her to my parents house (why not the hospital- who knows) who then took her to the ER. Luckily, they were able to save her life and she was put into a psychiatric ward (and was just released a few days ago) I have been dealing with alot of what you are…frustration, anger, denial, all the classic steps. I would say that therapy is a must though. My sister is doing it right now, hates it, but you know- that’s what you get when you do something that drastic. The one thing she did say to me though, was she was glad she didn’t die, and all the people who came to see her at the hospital made her realize that she was loved. I’ve found great solace for myself by talking to other friends who either knew people who killed, or tried to kill themselves- just to get it out of system, since holding it in was tearing ME up. Hope this helps somewhat.

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I agree. Unless this has already been taken care of, HOSPITAL. NOW.

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A daughter of a friend of my mom’s nearly died from a deliberate acetominophen overdose. GET HER TO A HOSPITAL.

THEN get her, and the rest of the family, some counseling. Please. This sounds like a dreadful situation for all involved.

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Angel, first let me say how sorry I am for your troubles. I’ll throw in another vote for your sister needing immediated medical attention.

About 5 months ago, my 15-year-old daughter tried to kill herself by swallowing a bunch of cold medicine. She ended up in the ER, and from there they sent her to a psych hospital that specializes in treating children and adolescents. At that hospital, she was diagnosed as clinically depressed, and put on Prozac. Since then, she’s been switched to Lexapro. I’m telling you all of this because things have gotten better. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. My daughter also goes to therapy twice a week and group therapy once a week. Once a month, we make it a family therapy. It’s a tough road, but it can be navigated.

I will pray for you and your family.

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Oh, I forgot to mention that a couple of weeks before her suicide attempt, she ran away. She was gone all night. Scared the shit out of us! Her story just sounds so much like your sisters!