medications & relapses??

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2004
medications & relapses??
7
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 4:19pm
Hi. I am new to the board. I am the mom of a wonderful 16 yr old boy (man) who has been struggling with depression for at least the last 5 years. I recently, finally got him in to therapy and he is taking Celexa. This has only been for about 2 months. The medication seemed to work extremely well and that and his therapy session (about 1 per week) seemed to have him happy again. Even he agreed. Now he is spiraling downward in a relapse it seems. For about 3-4 days he has been extremely irritable and depressed. I talked to him about it and he tells me he is annoyed with having to tell everyone how he is all of the time and I just need to leave him alone and not worry about it. He and I are very close and he tells me the majority of things that are going on. I am very worried about this relapse. My mom is bi-polar and has been for all of my life. I have watched her cycle back and forth for so long. My question today is...are these relapses typical? Are there stages of this we will experience as we go through treatment? Should I call his therapist and doctor and let them know? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanx!

Trish

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-18-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 5:14pm
Trish,

Welcome.

I am bipolar and I know that I go back and forth alot I can have a few weeks of normal mood then become depressed and then manic but not the happy energetic manic I am talking very agry annoyed frantic manic and then back to normal again.

I have been on meds for almost a year now and it helps to take the edge off but it doesnt make it all go away, I would encourage your son to let his therapist know that he has taken a step back and it is normal to do that we are all not out of the woods 100 percent there will be times when it is very hard to get out of bed for some I know they can get that way I am lucky and have never had a probelm functioning but I know some do have to deal with that and it sucks, tell yor son that you ask because you are his mom and you are just concerened I know that I get annoyed when people are always asking how I am feeling if I am okay..

I would encourage him to at least talk with his doctors.

erin

Avatar for luv5monkeys
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-29-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 6:58pm
You are a good mom! I wish I had some help with my depression when I was teenager. I just felt useless and wierd and stupid.

To answer your question - Yes! I found most days are better with an antidepressant and some just aren't. The longer I have been on the meds, the better the consistentcy in the mood.

But some days just aren't all great... On those days, I take a nap and then I go to the gym and get some exercise ASAP. The exercise helps balance my body with the meds and they seem to do their job better. I hope this makes sense. I discovered this through a lot of trial and error.

Exercise 3-4 times a week!

God Bless you family:)

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2004
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 9:12am
Thanks so much Erin. It is good to know that the relapse may not be so unusual. I talked with him last night and I believe he is going to call his therapist today just to fill him in. He is the type of kid who really has to initiate things on his own (which he did with the therapy) so I believe him when he tells me this. I know that we will have good and bad times I just expected them to progress a bit "slower" rather than "hop" from one day to the next. With my mom it seems to be more of a phasing into it and I was able to note the signs very well after a while. Thanks again for the support. I am sure I will have more questions over the course of his treatment.

Trish

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2004
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 9:15am
Thanks. I appreciate the answer and the blessing. He and I are extremely close and I am going to let him know about the board just in case he wants to "lurk" or exchange ideas with others in his position. I know he is scared and confused but happy at the same time with his therapy.

If anyone knows of a more age/gender appropriate board for him please pass along!

Trish

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-24-2004
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 10:11pm
Yes, it would be advisable to go tell your son's doctor. A relapse can occur...I am on Celexa, 15 mg. I was started on 10, and I was doing great! And then it got a lot worse, so the doctor rasied the dose and I am doing fine again! Maybe he just needs a little motivationa and possibly a raise in dose.

Another thing that kind of disturbs me, is that your username....mom2crazykidz...if you are talking about depression, which is a mental illness, being 'crazy', I am a bit offended. I, being 13, hate when people tell me that I am crazy because I am depressed. No, I am not crazy.

Sorry if I falsly accused you. I know you could have meant that they are 'crazy' in the sense of hard to control, oppositional, defiant, moody, hyper...that is normal for teenagers!! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! <= My evil laugh...MWHAHA.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2004
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 9:05am
No offense meant by my screen name. I actually do not have any negative conotations to the word crazy. My family has an enormous history with mental health and crazy has never been a word we have used in regards to this. Crazy for us is happy, out of control (in a good way), and highly unique. For instance, both my son and daughter have had about 6 different hair colors in the last year, they both express themselves creatively through music and "dance to the beat of their own drummers" which I find some of their best qualities. Please accept my apologies if you were offended...however...krazykat6 is quite similar?? I am sure that you use the term just as we do!!

Thanks for the advice. He was actually taking 10mg of Celexa to start and we recemtly increased to 20mg...possibly the increase in med may have something to do with it? I dont know, just a thought that his body could be "adjusting". He also told me last night that his part time job is really not working out and he feels much worse when having to deal with the man he works for so we have decided to give his notice and look for something a bit less stressful or at least with someone he gets along with.

trish

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 9:49am
Your son is so lucky to have a terrific supportive mom like you!
AcornLeaves