Suicide Attempt/Cutting Prozac 25/08/2011 England 13 Year Old Girl Feels Worse on Prozac: Cuts Herself: Few Days Later Attempts Suicide
Suicide Attempt/Cutting Prozac 2011-08-25 England 13 Year Old Girl Feels Worse on Prozac: Cuts Herself: Few Days Later Attempts Suicide
Summary:

Paragraph 11 reads: " 'When I got there, the doctor put me on Prozac but I suddenly felt a lot worse,' says Amy, now 16. Just months later, following the decision by her private doctor to double the dose, Amy tried to take her own life. Only then did she get referred as an emergency on the NHS.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8720513/GCSEs-Pressure-of-exams-leaves-teens-suffering-from-mental-illness.html


Thursday 25 August 2011

GCSEs: Pressure of exams leaves teens suffering from mental illness


The pressure of the GCSE results will lead to an increase in the number of young people suffering from mental health problems, a leading charity has warned.

Pressure of exams leaves teens suffering from mental illness Photo: PA

7:00AM BST 25 Aug 2011

Record numbers of students - aged 16-18 - have already sought professional advice ahead of their exam results.

Lucie Russell from YoungMinds, a charity which helps young people with mental health issues, said: "Every year we get calls from parents asking for advice on how to help their children cope with exam stress.

"For many young people, the increase in tuition fees will make university prohibitively expensive.

"So they feel under great pressure to get top grades first time round - retakes are not an option as this is the final year of lower tuition fees before they increase"

It is estimated that more than 230,000 students will miss out on university this year as the rush to escape the higher tuition fees generates record demand for places.

In 2010/2011 YoungMinds received 6332 calls to the helpline, 884 calls were about 16-17 year olds and, of those, 39% were about school problems including exam stress.

"Increasing pressure and stress will have an adverse affect on many young people leading to a range of mental health problems including self harm, eating disorders and depression. "For a child who has problems in other areas of their life, such as family breakdown or friendship issues, exams can be the 'last straw'.

Lucie Russell said: "We need to do much more to protect young people, help them to develop resilience and support them when they find life hard to cope with."

Amy Feltham's story

When Sarah Feltham's 13-year-old daughter Amy told her how depressed she was feeling, she took her youngest child straight to the GP. But she was alarmed to be told they would have to wait six months to see a specialist on the NHS.

Desperate for the right help, she and her husband Robert used their private medical insurance to get her immediately referred to the Priory clinic in London.

"When I got there, the doctor put me on Prozac but I suddenly felt a lot worse," says Amy, now 16. Just months later, following the decision by her private doctor to double the dose, Amy tried to take her own life. Only then did she get referred as an emergency on the NHS.

Family breakdown, target-setting by schools and cyber bullying - all reasons why a growing number of youngsters are more vulnerable than ever and prone to mental health problems.

But instead of being seen quickly, many are left languishing for months on waiting lists. When they're eventually seen, they are often prescribed drugs which can make things worse.

Amy is unsure where the roots of her illness stem from. She was brought up by loving middle-class parents in south London and is close to her older sisters Zoe and Emma.

She says she suffered bullying at secondary school when other pupils stole some of her belongings but it blew over. However, it was shortly afterwards that her self-esteem started to ebb away.

In the depth of her depression after starting the Prozac, Amy started to self-harm.

Amy says: "I cut myself with a razor. All I could feel was pain so for a few moments you forget about the depression."

Amy told her private doctor how she felt but instead of taking her off the medication he doubled the dose. "I became suicidal," she says. " I was so low I didn't want to go on.

"I took an overdose of Aspirin and paracetamol and my parents found me on the bedroom floor, very sleepy. They were horrified and rushed me to A&E where I stayed over night and saw a psychiatrist."

Amy was discharged only to take another overdose three days later. This time her parents rushed her back to A & E and insisted on seeing a specialist. Only then was she referred as an emergency to the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

By the time Amy was referred to CAMHS, she was so low that she had to be admitted as an inpatient for four days. She was taken off Prozac, given counseling, then discharged. Then she had to go back every day for three months for more counseling.

She says: "I stopped going to school and didn't want to do anything. One night I was lying on the sofa, just screaming. Mum rushed me to hospital yet again and I was referred to Outreach, a service where counselors come to see you in your home."

At last getting support that seemed to help her, Amy went back to school. She's now on the anti-psychotic drug Olanzapine because she hears voices in her head. "The voices say horrible things and tell me I'm stupid."

Despite her struggle, Amy managed to take seven GCSEs this summer and is now studying for a BTEC in health and social care and says she feels more in control than she has in years.

Kat Cormack's story

Kat Cormack, 20, has tried eight different medications, including Prozac but they gave her terrible side effects such as nausea, headaches and stomach aches. Kat's problems started at the age of just six.

"Everything I did had to be symmetrical. If I touched something with one hand, I'd have to touch it with the other. If I walked on a crack on the pavement with one foot, I'd have to go back to step on it with the other as well."

Kat, now 20, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, grew up in a loving home with her mother Mary, dad Paul, younger brother James and older half sister Natalia and nothing in her background hints at why this behaviour started.

She hid her mannerisms so well that even her mother Mary didn't notice anything wrong. But by the age of 12 things had started to get out of control: she couldn't stop counting, checking and re-checking everything she did.

She says: "When I was 14 I plucked up the courage and went to the doctor on my own because I felt so dreadful: I couldn't eat, sleep and withdrew from everyone including my family and friends. MY GP immediately referred me to CAMHS.

"I knew I had to tell my mum and when I did she was supportive but felt dreadfully hurt because she had no idea how bad I felt."

Like the other girls, Kat's referral took an unacceptable six months. Kat was then offered therapy with her parents once every six weeks and one to one sessions every week.

"They also gave me different drugs, including Prozac but I started to feel suicidal. Sometimes I'd feel extremely fragile and would cry at anything, other times I was so low I could hardly get out of bed."

Eventually Kat was offered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which makes you rationalize your fears, and she gradually started to feel more able to cope.

"When I was 17 I took myself off the medication and stopped the therapy. I already felt so low I knew I couldn't get any worse."

She says: "I took my GCSEs and A Levels and managed to get onto a degree course in psychology at Roehampton University in London."

Kat still takes Valium and sleeping pills and occasionally sees her GP. "Generally, life is much better. I'm more able to manage the anxiety and am aware of the signs. My mum still worries but she's very proud of how I've got through this.

"Waiting lists have got to get shorter. The longer you leave someone with a mental health problem untreated, the worse it gets."

Consultant child psychiatrist Dr Kami Saedi says there is no easy answer: "The NHS is a lottery and if you live in a big city with lots of resources you are likely to be seen faster than out in the suburbs.

"There's rarely one cause. Often, there's a family history, other stresses going on in their life and then there's a trigger such as a bereavement or divorce.

"Mental illness is very complicated; there are successes and failures with treatments as it's difficult to know what works and what doesn't. But once these young people are seen, assessed and treated, the recovery rate is very high."

Consultant child psychiatrist Dr Kami Saedi says there is no easy answer: "The NHS is a lottery and if you live in a big city with lots of resources you are likely to be seen faster than out in the suburbs.

"There's rarely one cause. Often, there's a family history, other stresses going on in their life and then there's a trigger such as a bereavement or divorce.

"Mental illness is very complicated; there are successes and failures with treatments as it's difficult to know what works and what doesn't. But once these young people are seen, assessed and treated, the recovery rate is very high."

YoungMinds' parents' helpline provides expert advice on issues ranging from aggressive toddlers to teenagers who are self-harming. Call free on 0808 802 5544 or email parents@youngminds.org.uk

YoungMinds has produced a young persons' manifesto, calling on the Government to improve the lives of people with mental health problems. You can sign the petition at www.youngminds.org.uk