My mom put my 15yo sister on Lexapro. WTF?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I just got an Email from my sister saying that my mom got her put on Lexapro, an antidepressant.

My sister’s 15. She does very well in school, has a lot of friends, is very chipper, and has not once mentioned feeling constantly depressed to me (Liz shares, oh, everything with me).

Sure, she has her mood swings like EVERY OTHER TEENAGER. Sometimes she’s really perky, sometimes she’s kind of down. That’s what you go through when you’re a teenager, right?

My mom recently went on Lexapro. Since then, she’s been reccomending that EVERYONE needs to be on it. I’m perfectly happy (MUCH happier than when I lived with her), and every time I see her, she tells me about the Wonders Of Lexapro.

Am I the only person who thinks that kids need to be allowed to experience their normal emotional swings, to learn what they are an how to control and deal with them?

WTF is up with the overmedication of people these days?

I was severely depressed in HS. Nasty bad. Nasty. (I went from straight A’s, doing well at work, having lots of friends to, eh, none of the above - nearly failed HS). Mom never put me on Meds, and I feel like I learned a lot from what I went through.

Arg!

2

IANAD, but I am assuming your mom had your sister see a psychiatrist, rather than giving her her some of her own meds (which is illegal)? If so, then I presume the psychiatrist had cause to prescribe the medication. I don’t know your sister, but I do know that there are times when a teenager can legitamately be prescribed drugs to combat depression, even if it isn’t immediately noticeable to other people. What are mood swings to some people are manic peaks and lows to others. You may have learned a lot from your experiences, and I am glad that things have turned around for you, but perhaps your experiences could have been avoided entirely -it’s really a case by case call.

Ask your sister about it, and ask your mom. Perhaps Lexapro has other side effects that are beneficial for non-depression cases? My sister is starting a med to combat a form of arthritis which is more commonly prescribed as part of chemotherapy regimens. In her case, the dose makes all the difference!

Guess I’m just playing a bit of devil’s advocate, but my SO’s father is a psychiatrist, and a well-respected one at that, and I’d like to think that most times, the decision to medicate is the correct one. Maybe I’m too much of an optimist!

3

That’s an interesting point. My mom takes Enbrel not for arthritis like they tout in the commercials, but because they’ve discovered it’s also very effective at combating psoriasis.

4

I’m sure that there were reasons for her to go on meds. I don’t really know why it bothers me as much as it does.

It just seems to me that everyone’s being perscribed medications for anything and everything these days. I mean, c’mon. She’s 15. I feel that she should have an opportunity to experience her real emotions without automatically being told she’s depressed and here are some pills to make you Normal.

And I’m not saying that I never noticed her depression (because, well, I didn’t), I’m saying that she’s never told me about feeling depressed, other than “my bf cheated on me and I feel like crap.” My sister and I have a VERY close relationship.

And my sister’s been moody her entire life. Eeeeeentire life. Cries over little things, occasionally gets upset easily and suchlike. But this has been for as long as I can remember.

When I look at the things that are a checklist for Depression, yeah she has some. But she’s had these “symptoms” for as long as I can remember, again.

I have seen her depressed before, so I have a vague idea of the difference between Depressed Liz and Normal Liz.

And I certainly agree that there are legitamite reasons for teenagers to be perscribed meds. I’ve met plently of people who either could use them, or benifited from them.

OTOH, there seems to be a lot of overmedication going on these days. Or the idea that a persons depressed and needs meds instead of counseling or support. That depression is only caused by brain chemicals and not surroundings. Y’see what I’m saying?

And it also seems a little strange that my sis gets put on meds right after my mom’s trying to convince everyone that they should be on meds. Do psychiatrists talk to parents of a child before prescribing them something? If so, I can almost hear the conversation in my head about how my mom says she feels so wonderful now, I wish my daughter felt as wonderful as I do, here are the Depression symptoms I see, yadada.

I Emailed her back to ask WHY she was on meds. I’m going to give her a call when I know she’ll be home sometime (they’re in the process of moving into a new house). I may find out that she really was depressed, and it’s not just my mom “pointing out to her” that she is. Mom has a tendancy to do this, which is why I’m raising an eyebrow at this whole thing.

5

More than likely, your mom got your sister’s regular doctor to prescribe the meds.

Recommend to your mom that she see a trained therapist or psychiatrist. Not only can a therapist help a kid through the troublesome teen years, trained therapists and psychiatrists are less likely to prescribe to people who don’t need the drugs.

I just had a conversation with my therapist this evening about how she thinks GPs are over-prescribing SSRIs.

The mechanism of action and side effects of many psychiatric drugs are not fully understood. This is why only a specialist should prescribe them. GPs will usually not do appropriate follow-up after prescribing, either. Specialists will.

If your mom’s so convinced that something’s wrong with your sister, this might be a way to play to your Mom’s predilections while still helping your sister.

I’m on a variety of psychiatric meds for severe, recurrent depression, as are many members of my family, so I know wherefrom I speak. Those treated by GPs inevitably got knee-jerk prescriptions and no follow-up. Those treated by psychiatrists and therapists got thorough evaluations, thoughtful prescriptions, and lots of check-ups.

6

Hah.

Well, that could describe me. That emotional instability turned into chronic depression when I hit my teens, and it got WORSE when I hit my twenties.

Whatever. Talk to your sister about it and see if she feels it was needed - she may not have told you about it, but people handle depressions in different ways.

7

AnimistDragon - you sound like a great older sister (I assume sister from the way you describe your relationship with your sister - if I have it wrong - sorry.). You talk a lot, confide in each other and you want what is best for her. All very cool.

On the pro side of what you are saying, I can see where you are frustrated. It sounds like your Mom found Lexapro Religion and wants to convert everybody and your sis happened to be in the line of fire. Along those lines, I agree with other posters who suggest 2 actions: 1) Ask your sister if she wants to be taking the meds and how she feels about it; and 2) Ask you mom if your sis visited and psychiatrist before getting the prescription who recommended the meds. Communication is key here.

On the con side, maybe your relationship with your sister is a little different that you think. By that, I mean, because you are as close as you are, there are certain things she isn’t telling you. For example, she might idolize you and not want to look weak or bad in your eyes and therefore witholds some information from you. So while you two seem to talk about everything, there are some subtle gaps. Most relationships have them for one reason or another. Again, communication is key, although if one person doesn’t want to talk about it, you may never really hear that you aren’t getting the whole picture, y’know?

Best of luck and again, you sound like you want to be there for her, which is great.

8

I see where you’re coming from, BUT I think it is a good thing your sister is on something for her depression. If I had been on something when I was 15, maybe I wouldn’t have these scars on my wrist 13 years later.

I don’t think it’s right to say that all teenagers have mood swings and to expect that they should just get over it and learn from it. That sounds very dismissive of a real problem. I speak from experience. I was very depressed when I was a teenager, and it wasn’t because of my surroundings. I have a great family and had no problems growing up. It’s a chemical thing, and it runs in my family.

I finally got on antidepressants when I was about 19, and it made all the difference.

Also, it isn’t true that because you’re best friends with your sister that you would know is she were depressed. Even the closest people to me, my best friends and family, don’t know the true extent of my depression. It’s a very difficult thing to put into words or to share with someone.

One more thing to keep in mind: your sister is at an important time in her life, where doing well in school is critical to her future. Struggling with depression is a sure way to screw that up, no matter how smart she is. I know that if I didn’t have to deal with my depression, I probably would have had straight A’s in high school, probably would have gone to a better college and gotten better grades there, and would probably be doing better professionally today.

If there is something that can help her take her mind off of her depression so she can focus on the important things in her life, there is no reason why she should not be able to benefit from that.

9

My stepson’s psycho hose beast of a mother had him on Wellbutrin by the time we was 8 and now, at 10, he is on Zoloft.

I just have to keep wondering what is going to happen to this kid when he hits puberty or as he gets older. What will be next?

10

I have to agree with Animist, and whole-heartedly sympathize with her aggravation.

I went through a dark time in my teens, it actually started about the time I was 10. I would not be the person I am today, and be as strong as I am today, if I didn’t pull myself out of it. Pills would have made it easier, and maybe make me happier, but would I be on them today? Would I ever get to a point where I don’t need them? Would I have ever learned how to be happy for myself, in my life, without the assistance of meds?

My sister also went through deep depression in her teens. Psychiatrists and meds did little to help her, but getting pregnant forced her to straighten up, and now she’s a very well adjusted mother of 2 wonderful children. If shewas on medication and never had them, I’m pretty sure she’d still be depressed today, and on medication.

My mother has recently gone on medication to help overcome depression, but her dependance on it has her depressed. The fact that she’s depressed, even on the medication, depresses her more. Now she’s on a pill, that upsets her, but if she went off it, she’d be morre upset. The dependance cycle, specifically in her case, is disgusting.

In some extreme cases medication is necessary, but it seems today people are too quick to take a pill for thier probelms. My sister was obviously depressed, even suicidal, but was never on medication, and it was the lack of medication that led her to become the happy person she is today. It was the lack of medication that led me to be the strong person I am today.

A good pill is no substitute for a strong will.

11

Strong will? For many people, depression is a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. Blaming the depressed person for not having ‘enough will’ to ‘overcome’ depression is only going to make things worse.

I hope one of our doctors on the board will notice this thread and comment…

12

Problems with depression don’t know/care how old you are. I’ve had problems with social anxiety disorder since I was six and it made me a pretty sad, lonely kid, teenager and young adult. I’ve really enjoyed only the last five years of my life and would give anything to have known about treatment earlier.

My whole family was convinced it was just my personality and that I could be happier just by applying a little will power, or that I would grow out of my problems. That didn’t happen because it couldn’t happen, any more than a cancer patient can make the tumor go away by smiling a lot.

You’ve got reason to be cautious, so look into the situation thoroughly. Try to keep an open mind about the medication though. Some people are uneccessarily medicated but a whole heck of a lot more truly need it!

13

OH PLEASE. A “dark time” is not nearly the same as clinical depression. It is a disease just like cancer, and clearly you have never had clinical depression if you are acting this way towards people who do, and who have to take medication. Would you tell someone with cancer to just “pull themselves out of it?”

Oh yeah? How happy would she be now if she had committed suicide? Are you saying that if she had gotten treatment for her disease, she wouldn’t be happy today? How do you know this?

Speaking from experience, I know I wouldn’t be doing too well today without the medication. Heck, I might not even be alive.

Would you say this to someone with cancer? Depression is a life-threatening disease just like cancer…how dare you minimize the plight of people afflicted with it? You really piss me off.

14

[sub] reads your second message[/sub]

I dunno AnimistDragon if it was my younger sibling who’d seemed depressed their whole life, I think I’d be happy mom finally took a seat on the clue wagon and got the kid some help…before the ‘real emotions’ she experienced lead her to harm her self or chronic feelings of low self-worth brought on by the depression.

As for why so recently after mom’s own medication change, maybe talking to a doctor about her own symptoms woke her up to your sister’s symptoms. Epiphanies about yourself can have off-shoots like that.

15

Sigh. How many times does this need to be explained? I am ON Lexapro myself, and I can tell you that it does not keep you from “experiencing your true emotions” AT ALL. This is true for all mainstream anti-depressants. They are not “pep” or “happy pills.” Many people seem to have this notion that anti-depressants and other mild psychiatric medications (i.e. the only physchiatric meds that will be prescribed to 99.9% of the population) change your personality or make you feel something that isn’t real. THIS IS NOT TRUE. I still get angry, sad, and frustrated, and go through the whole spectrum of emotions. The difference is that I don’t swing into cycles of feeling moody and depressed and hopeless. I have some farkin perspective now. Other than that, I don’t notice anything else from being on the stuff.

Just doing my part to eradicate ignorance. It sounds like your sister has a history of depression. Nothing wrong with dealing with that - see above. There is no real reason not to prescribe an anti-depressant to someone with depression.

16

Grelby, I agree with you wholeheartedly!

I have been on Lexapro for about a year now, and I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through the fall without it!

I couldn’t go back to college because we couldn’t afford to pay for it and we didn’t have the paperwork to fill out the financial aid forms. Dream postponed!

Uncle (one of two, and my favorite) develops cancer and dies in 10 weeks (one week before Thanksgiving, natch). 'Nuff said.

$750 in car repairs. Then $230 more in repairs. And it STILL won’t start!

[soapbox]

Without “the wonder of modern pharmaceuticals,” I would be a sobbing mess right now. I spent my whole life crying for no reason, moody, easily angered, etc. Then my husband said, “You need help.” We were both tired of the frequent “bad days” when I couldn’t stop crying and the whole world was against me and nothing ever went right.

I still laugh, cry, love, hope, fear, and dream … just on a slightly more even keel. The fact that four people (out of twelve) had to back out of a long-planned get-away in a cabin for this weekend didn’t drop me to the floor - I said, “Well THAT sucks that you have to work! See you next week instead.” I’m not a hysterical mess because my damned car STILL won’t start consistently ($1000 later!!) - I just say “Thank God for VISA!”

It lets me feel normal, not wired or lithiumed or ironed out.

sigh

[/soapbox]

17

I can wholeheartedly guarantee your will is not one whit stronger than mine. I just got sick and f@cking tired of fighting depression all the time. There was no end in sight. SO, how long should we wait before we decide it’s ‘bad enough’ to take pills? 20 years, like I did? 30? 50? Until we keel over from old age and realize we spent our lives feeling miserable - for no bloody reason other than brain disorder - unnecessarily? I wanted to be able to enjoy life with my husband - with whom I spent 4 years in a long distance relationship (2500 miles apart) but I guess I’m weak-willed, right?

Please don’t project your own experience onto everyone else. Try to realize that just because something worked for you does NOT mean it will work for everyone.

18

Grelby, the point is that AnimistDragon isn’t sure if the feelings are normal teen angst or depression. She’s afraid her mom jumped the gun with the pill solution.

There’s no point in putting her on Lexapro if she doesn’t need it. In fact, there are side effects that make taking SSRIs, including Lexapro, something you don’t want to do unless you need to.

I know, I took Lexapro. Yes, you can still feel. I don’t think AnimistDragon was saying Lexapro kills your ability to feel. I think she was saying that a kid should be allowed to be sad or angsty without automatically being labeled “depressed” and medicated.

19

Yes, some doctors overprescribe psychiatric medications. But taking them if you truly need them does not make you “weak.”

I struggled from age 8 to age 25, convinced that my strong will could overcome what my doctors now describe as “major depression, severe, recurrent.” My parents thought the same thing: pills are for wimps, people who go to shrinks are weenies, just cheer up.

Yeah, that strong will stuff worked really well for the people in my family. On my dad’s side, all 5 of his brothers and sisters have the same diagnosis I do (including dad). On mom’s side, a bunch of seemingly normal people committed suicide. They were incredibly strong-willed people. Many successful, and self-made. Not lacking in determination. But it’s impossible to overcome a true, biologically-based depression with will alone.

I used to have your attitude. It almost killed me. I wouldn’t see a doctor or take meds until I was practically deranged by suicidal impulses. That was when I gave in and did the “weak” thing, and started on meds.

My multiple psychiatrists now shake their heads and say that if my family members were as willing to admit the need for help, they would probably have led much happier, more productive lives. My doctors say they’ve rarely seen such a strong biologically based depression. Translation: something in my brain is fucked up. I inherited it. And I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the energy to struggle every single day against what feels like a 500 pound weight on my head just so people like you won’t think I’m “weak” or “lazy.”

I hate taking pills. They are not a panacea. They don’t fix everything. They have side effects that suck. But they make things far less bleak. Without them, I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. Without them, I wouldn’t have the mental energy to do my job. Without them, I’d either be dead or on disability. And I’m the most strong-willed person I know.

My first instinct was to tell you to go to hell, but then I realize that it’s probably impossible to understand how severe this disease can get until it happens to you. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to stay blissfully ignorant.

20

I know how you feel. My cousin has been short of breath his whole life, yet they want him to take drugs. I’ve checked web sites about asthma, and he has a few of the “symptoms,” but he’s had them for as long as I can remember. Why can’t they just let him experience normal breathing like the rest of us?