15 year old with anxiety

[jlannaa]

i have a 15 year old who has had 3 or 4 anxiety attacks always seem to stem from her feeling overwhelmed at school so we see a therapist once a week to learn techniques to deal with it before it becomes a a attack, so the therapist thought maybe she could use some medicine which i assume she meant zanax she said sometimes people feel better just knowing they have them  i said lady my daughter is 15 she cant carry that around at school or any where for that matter so we see the psychiatrist now he says he wouldn;t prescribe a as needed pill because you can become dependent on them which i agree but then he says maybe she could use a antidepressant i said i have heard that they can cause Suicidal thoughts in teenagers he said for me not to look on the internet and get that kinda info i'm confused i feel like they are trying to push drugs on her i said no to them now would see how she is feeling an a month or two , however this therapist hasnt really even should my daughter and techniques yet any help would be really appreciated

[jlannaa]

thank you for the comments i was also a anxious child but as i grew up i kinda grew out of it, i tell her that it makes her mad so i stopped saying it , i asked her to lets join yoga or a writing class cause she really likes writing, i always tell her everything will be ok , i explained to her i love her and would do anything to make her happy, that may be a problem though because i do everything for her she only has to go to school and homework and thats a struggle but i again i was the same way at 15 lol, when we are done her therapy i asked how it went i dont pressure her, she think i'm rude to the therapist sometimes but i explained you are my daughter i will do whatever it takes to make you safe and happy and one day you will understand everything i am doing  i told her next time we see the therapist i am going to ask about the breathing techs she said please mom dont be rude i promised i wouldnt be i'm just a mama bear lol, and also she told me the therapist doesnt agree with what the doc said so these people arent on the same page

[obetas]

Im a 34 year old mother of 3, I had anxiety attacks when I was a teen and they went away until about 7 years ago. My mom used to stress out about everything and I use to tell her to relax as a child, but as I got older I started to be like her.
Once you relax about your daughter she will relax about herself. When I was a teenager I was always nervous and anxious and it was mostly cuz I had no friends and took school way to serious. Maybe go on a holiday or turn her focus to something she likes to do afterschool.. But If I were you knowing what I know, I WOULD NOT give my daughter  meds. I have  my Ativan if I need it but it just makes me tired. I know its in my head once I learnt how to calm myself  down and relax while having it. I still get my attacks depending on how my day or week goes. Just minimize the situation and stay positive, laugh it off or distract her.  
Thats just my opinion, I dont mean to offend anyone who agree to take meds :)

[Aveelite]

I'm 21 and I have an anxiety dissorder and there are pills out there that you only take when the attack is happening such as Ativan ( witch I take daily) but it does make me feel better knowing I have my pills with me and keeps my mind at ease for most of the day ( my anxiety comes at night)  what your child is going threw is really hard and scary you do have to out weigh the good and bad effects of any medication for ex. I took Prozac fror not even a week my body got really stiff and I could barley walk these side effects were due to bassicly a sencery overload and is very very rare but still antidepressents could work great if your kid is depressed and not just anxiety I don't trust antidepressents but I do trust my Ativan it does the job it's supost to.

[mandapanda928]

When i was 15 I had some of the same problems that your daughter did overwhelming emotions can be very scary. The fact that she is in therapy is a great thing, but i would find someone that you really trust. I'm just going to say this from my point of view. Cause i talk to my mom about this all the time. I got diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, Which is a very scary diagnosis, but is cause by not being able to regulate emotions, being extremely sensitive and having overwhelming emotions. My mom says now that if she could have seen the symptoms she would have got me help way earlier i didn't get help till i was 20 and struggled with depression since i was 7. In my opinion i think that xanax is probably not a good idea at her age. There is however a medication that is similar called Buspirone it is supposed to do some of the same things as benzodiazepines WHICH ARE ( XANAX, KLONOPIN, ATIVAN, VALIUM) without the addiction.  But i'm not sure if it helps stop panic attacks. If i had to choose a benzodiazepine i would say klonopin, it is the only medication that worked to stop my panic attacks and has never had any side effects for me, but she may react better to something else. Because everyone is different. But i would say you take the bottle (if you decide she gets prescribed one of these) And give it to her AS NEEDED. Meaning if she has one feeling that she is going to have a panic attack she should take it before it starts and it will stop it in it's tracks. Anti depressants on the other hand this early I'm not so sure about it, if i were a mother that would be my last resort, i say try buspirone first, if that is not successful a benzodiazepine, and then if that is not successful an anti depressant.  I've went through seriously about 12 - 13 anti depressants - mood stabilizers for over a year now and none of them have worked greatly. Right now I am on effexor and it seems to work better than any of the other anti depressants,  but after i got started on it i found out that i would have withdraws if i ever came off of it, which scared the **** out of me. Not all anti depressants have a withdraw. But i wouldn't suggest one , but then again if worse comes to worse you never know, it could work for her. If she gets suicidal thoughts from it call the dr right away. But watch her closely . But make sure that you stay very sensitive to her needs. Because something may help her, and i'm sure she's having a very hard time...as I'm sure you know. You are a great mom. If you have any other questions i would love to help. xoxo

[cj29]

In my opinion, you defintiely have to weigh the benefits vs the risks of anything that goes into our bodies.  I have used an AD off and on for years with great success.  I would tend to agree with the psychiatrist in that he says to be careful about what you read on the internet.  While it is true there is that 'black box' warning on the side of SSRIs like Zoloft, Prozac, etc, I would probably place money on that they help so much more then they hurt.  Remember, that they have to put a warning about something even if that particular side effect is experienced by one person during trials.  Furthermore, it also looks like you are very proactive in your daughter's treatment and I assume that you would monitor her closely anyway.

So many studies show that the best way to confron this is through the combination of medication and therapy.  But, it is your (and your daughter's) choice whether or not to try medication.  I can only tell you that it helped me tremendously when I was going through this.  Please keep us posted!