A Change of Meds

My son had a review with his psychiatrist today and the end result was a decision to introduce some anti-anxiety meds in an attempt to manage his overwhelming anxiety, plus a change in the antidrepressant from one SSRI to another by switching over slowly over the next 4 weeks.

It's scary stuff to be introducing new meds and altering existing meds, especially when he emphasizd that we need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of "seratonin syndrome" which can occur. That freaked me out.

Regardless of the risks and possible side effects I think we've reached a point where we need to attack his depression/anxiety from a different angle because he is not doing very well at all.

During the consult today I noticed how introverted ++++ my son is and how non-communicative and vague he is when asked any question. Most direct and simple questions ,such as "How has your sleep been?, are answered with an ill-defined shrug or "I don't know". This makes the entire clinical assessment very, very difficult because he's not communicating how he feels or what's going on for him in any shape or form. I'm not sure whether it's just my son's predisposition, or the fact that he's an adolescent boy, or that he is suffering with depression/anxiety, or all of the above, but he is a clinicians nightmare. It becomes a guessing game which invariably leads to me filling in the gaps based on my knowledge and observations. Has anyone else come across this?

The scary thing about this is that when my son shrugs and says "I don't know", he means it. He really doesn't know because he is so detached/dissociated from his emotions and self. How can anyone begin to help someone when they themselves can't articulate how they feel, or what is going on for them??

So here I am with a new drug regime to introduce with the hope that this will kick him over into a better zone that is more compatible with life. As a parent/carer of a young person this is hard because you feel responsible for their well-being. When all else has failed there seems like no other option than to go with the scientific method of treating depression/anxiety with medications (and adjunct psychotherapy). God I wish there was a simpler solution that was more grounded. We all know (I guess) that there is no guarantee that these meds will alter a thing. Treating mental illness is very much a hit and/or miss scenario. It's not like you have a headache and know that by taking a pain killer it will relieve it. It's so unsure, so inconclusive and like subjecting someone to a trial of meds without knowing what the reaction, effect, side-effect (long and short term) and efficacy is going to be. I don't like this, but I don't know what else to do other than trust a psychiatrist and his professional competency.

Janna ❤️