Worried about medications

[Angela033]

Hello,
This is my first post here at BPD Family.  My 16-year-old daughter exhibits BPD traits, and I have been reading and talking with many professionals about the wonder of Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) for this disorder. I am worried about the meds she has been on and how they might be affecting her mood.  I know it's complicated, because there are so many variables.  Her diagnosis currently is anxiety and depression.  She is on Prozac, Buspar and Melatonin for sleep.  Has anyone else wondered about effects of medications or made decisions to change them?
Thank you

Our objective is to better understand the struggles our child faces and to learn the skills to improve our relationship and provide a supportive environment and also improve on our own emotional responses, attitudes and effectiveness as a family leaders

[Yepanotherone]

Hi there  
Just my tuppence worth regarding our experiences with my DD17 and her journey so far with medications . At 15 and diagnosed with depression with her first hospitalization , she started on Celexa which was quickly changed to Welbutrin . Within 10 days of being on Welbutrin she was seen by a different psychiatrist who diagnosed her with bipolar 1 and started her on a cocktail of mood stabilizers - lamictil and trileptal as well as the Welbutrin . During her second hospitalization the hospital psychiatrist took her off her existing drug cocktail saying he " hated it " and started her on a low dose of abilify . It was this dr that told me he thought she presented more like BPD rather than bipolar but given her age at that time (15) , he would not diagnose that . Upon discharge her regular psychiatric who continued to insist she was bipolar with extreme rapid cycling , immediately upped the dose of abilify , then shortly after , lamictil and trileptal were added into the mix again . My daughter was like a zombie . She was also given seroquel to aid sleep but she was so dazed the next day after taking it , it was short lived . She remained on abilify , trileptal and lamictil for quite some time but was extremely tired and dazed most of the time . She would literally fall asleep in the middle of the day in restaurants etc ... Would just lay her head on the table and was zonked out . After a family holiday were my DD was literally glazed for most of it , she asked if the dr would wean her down on the meds . She was also starting to develop Extrapyramidal side effects ( eyes would roll up involuntarily ) . So she started to wean down . Further hospitalizations occurre ( she's been in hospital 7 times ) , and a number of DR's have wanted her to try lithium . She tried Welbutrin again for a wee while but then during her 7th hospitalization she decided she was done with all meds and absolutely refused point blank to try anything else .
Since stopping all meds , I have to say I don't see a significant difference or decline in her moods or behaviors . I would have liked for her to try the lithium but she has put her foot down and has adamantly refused any further medication because she said that they don't make her feel any better . She said if anything , the abilify did help with her suicidal thoughts , but otherwise she felt worse. So that's 5 months now on no meds . It's important to add however she does abuse substances - Marijana being her main drug of choice . She had a significant daily habit for months using dabs but then was caught by police 7 months ago and is now on probation . Her drug use has reduced but not completely . She'll still smoke Marijana when she's upset or stressed and her last 3 probation drug UAs have been positive . She had a discussion with her probation officer on Monday who has told her she needs to get back on track as she had actually been doing quite well .
I know she's out tonight smoking the last of her Marijana before she has to give it up again to ensure her drug UA's start coming back clean again .
She is determined that Marijana is the only thing that makes her feel better and she says she is going to apply for her medical card for Marijana when she turns 18 in 6 months time .
Obviously I'd far rather she was not using Marijana and I stand by that . She has had her car confiscated for the last 7 months and we do not budge on this. At the moment she's choosing the Marijana rather than the car . It's her choice .
I had significant worries about the prescribed medications but still felt they were a safer choice than Marijana ! But what can I do . I can't force her to take them , nor can i force her to not smoke Marijana !

[incadove]

hi Yepanotherone

Just a thought - I don't like any of the drugs myself, but my husband who went thru abandonment and abuse as a child has found marijuana to be very helpful long term.  It may be less of a cognitive issue than prescription drugs (as he points out, he can beat me at chess 5 games out of 7, despite smoking daily) though I think it does have long term psychological effects.  One of my dd's has also started smoking and finds that it helps her with anxiety.  She's going to start therapy again shortly and I really hope that helps her deal with it in a non-chemical way.  So I don't know if this is really informative, but I guess I am just sharing that its pretty common for people to use marijuana to stabilize anxiety and emotional pain, and at least it is not dangerous or addictive the way opioids are; it may be better than many prescription meds.  But I definitely think therapy and finding ways to deal with the emotions without external chemicals is best if she can go that route, as I'm hoping my dd will.

[MrsD]

My s14 is on abilify 7mg, lamictal 100, and pristic 100.  But I am not sure any of them really help.  Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to just slowly take him off everything and see who he is without the meds.  He started on 1mg of abilify at age 5 and it made a huge difference at the time.  Right now he is doing terribly and I wish we could just get him off it all.  But that could be a disaster too!

I think Prozac is a pretty safe drug.  I have been on 20mg for 25 years and I think it is a miracle drug for me.  That is the thing with these drugs, they affect everyone differently.

Melatonin is  awesome.  And as far as I know totally harmless.
Good luck!

[Yepanotherone]

Hi inca thankyou for your thougts I'm conflicted with my feelings about the Marijana , main fears being i worry that it just leads to additional drug use ( my DD also enjoys psychedelic drugs - acid, schrooms ) and affects her long term . I too wish that she would get through the stressors of life without need for anything ! Wishful thinking at this point though . She has been working with a substance abuse counsellor since January , really bonded well with her but this therapist is leaving and my DD meets her new substance abuse therapist next week . Fingers crossed she develop a good relationship with this new one too .

My DD was truelly zonked on prescription drugs and I blame them in part for her dropping out of traditional high school . She would fall asleep in school and was bullied and laughed at for that . At one point she was in 20mg abilify , 900mg trileptal and 300mg lamictil daily . She was being " snowed " i.e. The doctor she had at that time was so uncomfortable with the risks of her impulsiveness , suicidal thoughts and extent of her self harm , he was overmedicating her to point she couldn't really function . My DD was told that this is what was happening during her 5th hospitalization so she has basically lost trust in doctors and medications .
My husband is not as worried about her Marijana use as he was about the effects the prescription drugs had on her . He has said that whilst he would rather she not take anything at all , he feels less worried about the Marijana than he does about psychiatric medications . I do have to say that her self harm with cutting has reduced somewhat in its severity since stopping the prescribed meds . I wonder if she was cutting more just to " feel something " when she was on meds , because she told us she felt no emotion whatsoever when on them . She still cuts but not nearly as often and not nearly as severely .( at one point she was cutting daily , and it would be deep cuts , and she would cover whole body parts at a time )  Whether that's co-related to coming off prescription meds or her learning to use other skills , I don't know .

[Angela033]

Thank you for these very helpful replies.  I didn't mention my daughter's marijuana use, but she was using daily for self-medicating.  I do think it's safer than some prescription drugs, but don't want her to be getting in with the wrong people (and other drugs) or in trouble with police.  We recently moved, and the stress is too much for her.  With no marijuana source, she has had more radical behavior and is now hospitalized.  They want to give her seroquel, but I have said no (she won't take it anyway).  I wish I had enough money to send her to a therapeutic school.  I think she needs lots of time and work to heal (i.e. not a two-week hospital stay).

[Yepanotherone]

I'm so sorry to hear about your DD being hospitalized    I know that feeling all too well . It's a time where you can at least catch up on some sleep but yet it's not restful because you have all the visits , phone calls , meetings and discharge planning to be involved in . My DD' symptoms only became apparent after we moved States when she was 15 . We had no idea she was having any issues at all and 2 months after moving , that's when our world was literally hit by a bolt of lightening out of the blue . We had ripped her out of her support system of friends ( unbeknown to us ) and that's when all hell let loose  
My DD has been hospitalized 7 times in the last 22 months . The last one was in March , she was in for nearly 3 weeks and we almost had her transferred to a residential DBT facility in Indiana , but at the last minute , insurance refused to authorize . I was furious , it had taken so much effort and communication with trying to get her a bed in this facility and when one eventually came up , insurance refused so she had to come home . That's 4 month she's been out now (if we don't count the 6 hours she spent in ER after having a seizure with Benadryl overdose ! She was trying to get a " benziie trip" apparently !)
The longest she has gone in the last 22 months without being hospitalized is 5 months ! So we are approaching this coming month of August with baited breath !
I don't have any words of wisdom , just know you're not alone x