16 year old on Prozac?

Question

I have a daughter who is 16 that suffers from depression. She has had depression since she was about 11 years old. It has finaly gotten so bad that she fights with everyone all the time including her bf. She really is a good girl and is sweet and funny and outgoing. She is popular and cute and she knows it. But she had been complaining of her mental feelings. She feels like her brain will not allow her to be nice to people and shes tired of crying for no reason most of the time.

I took her to the dr and she is referring us to a counciler but also started her on a low dose of Prozak. 10mg once a day. This is day 2 she has been on it. We went online to read about the drug and the side effects. I would never imagine that any dr would put a child under 18 on this. She does have depression and mood swings but do you think Prozac is a little too strong for her? I am taking her for a 2nd opinion but she has already started taking it.

The only side effects she has had are dizziness when she got out of the bath and a little nausia.

Answer 1

don't worry about the medication. alot of people under the age of 18 has been prescribed this med. as far as the nausea this is normal due to the fact it also has been prescribed for diets. early intervention is most important for your daughter. help her get a handle on this now so she can live a successful life. remember the suicide rate in teens is much higher. things to look for are as follows.
1. when the crying stops and she appeares numb.
2. if she starts talking about suicide. (by asking if she is suicidal will not give her thoughts).
3. if she appears lethargic and she only wants to sleep.
4. if her eating pattern changes.
5. if you notice scars and marks on her body. (usually arms and legs).
just watch her and don't let her slip through the cracks. there are mental health agencies where you can go for support please utilize these. good luck and i hope she gets better. that can happen.

Answer 2

quote Nakita: "don't worry about the medication. alot of people under the age of 18 has been prescribed this med. as far as the nausea this is normal due to the fact it also has been prescribed for diets. early intervention is most important for your daughter. help her get a handle on this now so she can live a successful life. remember the suicide rate in teens is much higher. things to look for are as follows.
1. when the crying stops and she appeares numb.
2. if she starts talking about suicide. (by asking if she is suicidal will not give her thoughts).
3. if she appears lethargic and she only wants to sleep.
4. if her eating pattern changes.
5. if you notice scars and marks on her body. (usually arms and legs).
just watch her and don't let her slip through the cracks. there are mental health agencies where you can go for support please utilize these. good luck and i hope she gets better. that can happen. "


i agree^^ 10mg is normally what most people start on.
however if side effects occur, you should talk to the dr. but normally prozac takes like some time to react and you must take it regularly.. so dont stop the medicine if it doesnt work yet:)
spend more time with her.i hope she's not getting worse..
which dr is she seeing at which hospital? sometimes the dr may not be the right one..

Answer 3

I used to work as a psych RN for many years with at least a year of that on adolescent psych. I wouldn't worry about the Prozac. I saw many adolescents that were on Prozac that had no ill effects. With any medication you have to be aware of potential side effects and watch for that.

That is one of the reasons why doctors start a person on a low dose of an antidepressant, so that any side effects that show up will be less severe. If the patient has no side effects or just minor ones, then the dose can be gradually increased to one that is more effective for the patient.

It does take at least a week or 2 on this type of medication for the patient to see any positive effects and about a month before the full positive effects. Unfortunately, side effects show up right away. With this medication and some others like it, most of the minor side effects usually go away after the person is on it for about a month.

Because no antidepressant is effective for all people, sometimes the first medication may not adequately relieve the symptoms, and the doctor may have to try a different one. Please be patient with this and don't give up on medication for your daughter's problem if the Prozac is not as helpful as needed.

I hope that the doctor that your daughter is seeing is an Adolescent Psychiatrist. A Family Practice doctor can prescribe psych meds but I believe that adolescents, because of their special issues, need a specialist to adequately diagnose and treat issues such as depression.

I'm glad that your daughter has started on an antidepressant and will begin counseling. Depression is a miserable thing for a person to have to go through and you are doing what is best for your daughter. God bless you.

Answer 4

I know you must love her and are concerned for her well being. Prozac is a seritonin uptake med. It is the original med of that kind. They have done the most studies of prozac than anyother type of seritonin drug. She will not feel or get the full benefit of the drug for at least 2 weeks.

You should get your appointment for counseling asap and discuss your concerns with the therapist.
Because your daughter is under 18, I would keep an eye on her and talk to her about her feelings and let her know she can tell you anything no matter how it may sound. If for any reason she says anything about killing/hurting herself, TAKE HER IMMEDIATELY TO THE HOSPITAL!!!!! This is a side effect of the drug in younger children. If you are too worried, call the doctor and tell him/her you've decided against giving her the meds. If she just started and has not taken it for the 2 weeks, she mostlikely will not suffer any effects from stopping the meds.
I am not a doctor, so this is just my opinion, not medical advice. I have been on prozac and have had no problems with it. good luck and take care.

Answer 5

You might want to get a second opinion. I don't know which anti-depressant is implicated but I heard reported on the news that anti-depressants given to children can increase thoughts of suicide.
Prozac is a good drug for the right people. I take it with quite good results, but I'm an adult. Maybe there is another one your daughter could take that wouldn't carry the possibility of this side effect.

Answer 6

Hey there,

She is on low dose, and anti-depressants take a while to get into the system.

I dont know what you doctors like but i found when i was seeing people about my depression that they just hand Anti-depressants out to anyone who is feeling a bit blue with out actually diagnosing properly or chatting abut the person life.

Ma be take her to psychiatrist, they can treat , dinose and write prescriptions for the write dosage and medicine ur daughter needs.

Answer 7

i am now 19 yrs old, and have been on Prozac since i was 11 yrs old, i was diagnosed with manic depression. and i still take it... but the thing is, it takes 30 days for your body system to get enough of the medication to build up in her body system, and then her side effects will disappear. but if you think that it is too strong, then by all means get a second opinion, but with my experience, it takes 30 days for any medication to build up in your system. until then, since she has already taken it.. you may as well see if it will work, Prozac is on a time release, 10mg will really not do much for her, other than help balance the chemicals in her brain. if they put her on Prozac it is mainly to balance the chemicals in the brain. I, myself, have had no long-term side effects, but after a couple of weeks, all side-effects disappeared.

Answer 8

Try it, and have her start on a low dose. Despite all the bad things I've heard about prozac, I've also heard a lot of good things. If it doesn't work, or she's having bad side affects, go back to the doctor.

Good luck. I know how she feels, as do a lot of people. =)

Answer 9

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Answer 10

i had depression when i was a teen i never hear of a dr giving prozak either to child under 18 i had depicote i think thats how you spell it ... i had major depression and i was in fights and ran away from home many times ..but to also tell you ive heard that prozak is not a good drug to take