Experts Urge Close Eye on Depression Drugs...

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Experts Urge Close Eye on Depression Drugs

Mon Oct 11, 9:28 PM ET Health - AP

By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer

CHICAGO - Shauna thinks it's a smart idea to put warning labels on

antidepressants. She has good reason. Nine years ago, at age 10, she was put

on a particular brand of the medication and, shortly after, tried to kill

herself.

It's the kind of outcome that has prompted the Food and Drug Administration

(news - web sites) to begin work on writing " black box " warnings — the

strongest caution possible — for young people who take antidepressants. Some

parents have already taken their children off the drugs.

But even with the troubles they've had, and her parents are not

speaking out against antidepressants. Instead, they are among a number of

families, doctors and mental health groups who — worried the warning labels

might stop some people from seeking treatment — are taking the opportunity

to encourage families to get help for young people with depression and other

mental health issues.

They are particularly focused on teaching parents to monitor their children

and figure out which treatment works for a particular child — whether it be

therapy, medication, or both.

" It's a real process and a matter of educating yourself as a parent, " says

Cheryl , who is Shauna's mom and leader of the southern Nevada chapter

of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. She found that it took two

years and more than one doctor to find a treatment that helped her daughter.

Eventually, Shauna was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which causes moods

to fluctuate between periods of depression and high-energy mania. She now

takes an antipsychotic medication.

" The medication I'm on is working quite well, " says Shauna, who's now 19 and

living with her parents in Las Vegas.

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, a Chicago-based organization

with chapters nationwide, provides monitoring tips on its Web site.

In response to the warning-label issue, Massachusetts-based Families for

Depression Awareness also is working on a " depression monitoring tool " that

will provide guidelines to help parents and patients track symptoms and

medication side-effects. They expect to have it done in the next few months.

Mental health experts who specialize in young people agree that monitoring a

child on treatment is key, as is doing a thorough evaluation.

" If a child comes in with symptoms A, B and C, the symptoms should, at

worst, not get worse — and, at best, they should start to get better. If

not, they're on the wrong medication, " says Rich Macur Brousil, director of

child and adolescent behavioral health at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago. If

medication is deemed necessary, he says children should be started on the

lowest dose to see how they respond. He and other mental health

professionals also strongly recommend that any psychiatric medication be

used in combination with counseling — and frequent visits for follow-up.

Dr. Bela Sood, who heads the division of adolescent psychiatry at Virginia

Commonwealth University, says signs that a medication isn't working might

include heightened aggressiveness, unusually bold behavior or a feeling that

" you're crawling out of your skin. "

During an evaluation, she also asks young patients directly if they have

thought about suicide.

" There's this myth that if you suggest suicide to a kid that you might turn

someone into someone who's considering suicide — and that's wrong, " says

Sood, who's noted that parents often have no idea their children have

considered killing themselves.

She and other experts say it is especially important to watch a young person

during the first few weeks of treatment — in part because an antidepressant,

for instance, can give someone who is depressed the energy to act upon

suicidal thoughts.

It's a lot for parents to think about. And Toni Embrey, a parent who lives

on Chicago's West Side, knows how difficult it can be.

She is raising three grandchildren and also has adopted three of her niece's

children. Four of the six are on medication of one sort or another — from

stimulants used to treat hyperactivity to antipsychotics and

antidepressants. Several of the children go the counseling once a week.

" It can be hard to keep track of it all, " Embrey says as she spreads the

children's pill boxes on her coffee table. " But I have to look at what it

does for them on a daily basis. "

One of her adopted sons, 12-year-old , says the stimulant he takes

has helped keep him calm and out of trouble at school. He also feels like

therapy sessions with Macur Brousil at Mt. Sinai have helped him work

through his sadness over his biological mother leaving him with Embrey.

" If I talk to Dr. Rich, I get all my anger and stuff out, " the

seventh-grader says.

Meanwhile, Deborah Gongora, a mom in Victorville, Calif., has found that an

antipsychotic has worked well for her 12-year-old daughter, who's bipolar.

But her 15-year-old son, who suffers from depression, has done best with

therapy and no medication.

Says Gongora: " It really is a case-by-case basis. "

___

On the Net:

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: http://www.DBSAlliance.org

Families for Depression Awareness: http://www.familyaware.org

___

[Guest guest]

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & ncid=1417 & e=10 & u=/ap/20041012/ap_on_\

he_me/monitoring_medication & sid=95832451

Experts Urge Close Eye on Depression Drugs

Mon Oct 11, 9:28 PM ET Health - AP

By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer

CHICAGO - Shauna thinks it's a smart idea to put warning labels on

antidepressants. She has good reason. Nine years ago, at age 10, she was put

on a particular brand of the medication and, shortly after, tried to kill

herself.

It's the kind of outcome that has prompted the Food and Drug Administration

(news - web sites) to begin work on writing " black box " warnings — the

strongest caution possible — for young people who take antidepressants. Some

parents have already taken their children off the drugs.

But even with the troubles they've had, and her parents are not

speaking out against antidepressants. Instead, they are among a number of

families, doctors and mental health groups who — worried the warning labels

might stop some people from seeking treatment — are taking the opportunity

to encourage families to get help for young people with depression and other

mental health issues.

They are particularly focused on teaching parents to monitor their children

and figure out which treatment works for a particular child — whether it be

therapy, medication, or both.

" It's a real process and a matter of educating yourself as a parent, " says

Cheryl , who is Shauna's mom and leader of the southern Nevada chapter

of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. She found that it took two

years and more than one doctor to find a treatment that helped her daughter.

Eventually, Shauna was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which causes moods

to fluctuate between periods of depression and high-energy mania. She now

takes an antipsychotic medication.

" The medication I'm on is working quite well, " says Shauna, who's now 19 and

living with her parents in Las Vegas.

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, a Chicago-based organization

with chapters nationwide, provides monitoring tips on its Web site.

In response to the warning-label issue, Massachusetts-based Families for

Depression Awareness also is working on a " depression monitoring tool " that

will provide guidelines to help parents and patients track symptoms and

medication side-effects. They expect to have it done in the next few months.

Mental health experts who specialize in young people agree that monitoring a

child on treatment is key, as is doing a thorough evaluation.

" If a child comes in with symptoms A, B and C, the symptoms should, at

worst, not get worse — and, at best, they should start to get better. If

not, they're on the wrong medication, " says Rich Macur Brousil, director of

child and adolescent behavioral health at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago. If

medication is deemed necessary, he says children should be started on the

lowest dose to see how they respond. He and other mental health

professionals also strongly recommend that any psychiatric medication be

used in combination with counseling — and frequent visits for follow-up.

Dr. Bela Sood, who heads the division of adolescent psychiatry at Virginia

Commonwealth University, says signs that a medication isn't working might

include heightened aggressiveness, unusually bold behavior or a feeling that

" you're crawling out of your skin. "

During an evaluation, she also asks young patients directly if they have

thought about suicide.

" There's this myth that if you suggest suicide to a kid that you might turn

someone into someone who's considering suicide — and that's wrong, " says

Sood, who's noted that parents often have no idea their children have

considered killing themselves.

She and other experts say it is especially important to watch a young person

during the first few weeks of treatment — in part because an antidepressant,

for instance, can give someone who is depressed the energy to act upon

suicidal thoughts.

It's a lot for parents to think about. And Toni Embrey, a parent who lives

on Chicago's West Side, knows how difficult it can be.

She is raising three grandchildren and also has adopted three of her niece's

children. Four of the six are on medication of one sort or another — from

stimulants used to treat hyperactivity to antipsychotics and

antidepressants. Several of the children go the counseling once a week.

" It can be hard to keep track of it all, " Embrey says as she spreads the

children's pill boxes on her coffee table. " But I have to look at what it

does for them on a daily basis. "

One of her adopted sons, 12-year-old , says the stimulant he takes

has helped keep him calm and out of trouble at school. He also feels like

therapy sessions with Macur Brousil at Mt. Sinai have helped him work

through his sadness over his biological mother leaving him with Embrey.

" If I talk to Dr. Rich, I get all my anger and stuff out, " the

seventh-grader says.

Meanwhile, Deborah Gongora, a mom in Victorville, Calif., has found that an

antipsychotic has worked well for her 12-year-old daughter, who's bipolar.

But her 15-year-old son, who suffers from depression, has done best with

therapy and no medication.

Says Gongora: " It really is a case-by-case basis. "

___

On the Net:

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: http://www.DBSAlliance.org

Families for Depression Awareness: http://www.familyaware.org

___

[Guest guest]

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & ncid=1417 & e=10 & u=/ap/20041012/ap_on_\

he_me/monitoring_medication & sid=95832451

Experts Urge Close Eye on Depression Drugs

Mon Oct 11, 9:28 PM ET Health - AP

By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer

CHICAGO - Shauna thinks it's a smart idea to put warning labels on

antidepressants. She has good reason. Nine years ago, at age 10, she was put

on a particular brand of the medication and, shortly after, tried to kill

herself.

It's the kind of outcome that has prompted the Food and Drug Administration

(news - web sites) to begin work on writing " black box " warnings — the

strongest caution possible — for young people who take antidepressants. Some

parents have already taken their children off the drugs.

But even with the troubles they've had, and her parents are not

speaking out against antidepressants. Instead, they are among a number of

families, doctors and mental health groups who — worried the warning labels

might stop some people from seeking treatment — are taking the opportunity

to encourage families to get help for young people with depression and other

mental health issues.

They are particularly focused on teaching parents to monitor their children

and figure out which treatment works for a particular child — whether it be

therapy, medication, or both.

" It's a real process and a matter of educating yourself as a parent, " says

Cheryl , who is Shauna's mom and leader of the southern Nevada chapter

of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. She found that it took two

years and more than one doctor to find a treatment that helped her daughter.

Eventually, Shauna was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which causes moods

to fluctuate between periods of depression and high-energy mania. She now

takes an antipsychotic medication.

" The medication I'm on is working quite well, " says Shauna, who's now 19 and

living with her parents in Las Vegas.

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, a Chicago-based organization

with chapters nationwide, provides monitoring tips on its Web site.

In response to the warning-label issue, Massachusetts-based Families for

Depression Awareness also is working on a " depression monitoring tool " that

will provide guidelines to help parents and patients track symptoms and

medication side-effects. They expect to have it done in the next few months.

Mental health experts who specialize in young people agree that monitoring a

child on treatment is key, as is doing a thorough evaluation.

" If a child comes in with symptoms A, B and C, the symptoms should, at

worst, not get worse — and, at best, they should start to get better. If

not, they're on the wrong medication, " says Rich Macur Brousil, director of

child and adolescent behavioral health at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago. If

medication is deemed necessary, he says children should be started on the

lowest dose to see how they respond. He and other mental health

professionals also strongly recommend that any psychiatric medication be

used in combination with counseling — and frequent visits for follow-up.

Dr. Bela Sood, who heads the division of adolescent psychiatry at Virginia

Commonwealth University, says signs that a medication isn't working might

include heightened aggressiveness, unusually bold behavior or a feeling that

" you're crawling out of your skin. "

During an evaluation, she also asks young patients directly if they have

thought about suicide.

" There's this myth that if you suggest suicide to a kid that you might turn

someone into someone who's considering suicide — and that's wrong, " says

Sood, who's noted that parents often have no idea their children have

considered killing themselves.

She and other experts say it is especially important to watch a young person

during the first few weeks of treatment — in part because an antidepressant,

for instance, can give someone who is depressed the energy to act upon

suicidal thoughts.

It's a lot for parents to think about. And Toni Embrey, a parent who lives

on Chicago's West Side, knows how difficult it can be.

She is raising three grandchildren and also has adopted three of her niece's

children. Four of the six are on medication of one sort or another — from

stimulants used to treat hyperactivity to antipsychotics and

antidepressants. Several of the children go the counseling once a week.

" It can be hard to keep track of it all, " Embrey says as she spreads the

children's pill boxes on her coffee table. " But I have to look at what it

does for them on a daily basis. "

One of her adopted sons, 12-year-old , says the stimulant he takes

has helped keep him calm and out of trouble at school. He also feels like

therapy sessions with Macur Brousil at Mt. Sinai have helped him work

through his sadness over his biological mother leaving him with Embrey.

" If I talk to Dr. Rich, I get all my anger and stuff out, " the

seventh-grader says.

Meanwhile, Deborah Gongora, a mom in Victorville, Calif., has found that an

antipsychotic has worked well for her 12-year-old daughter, who's bipolar.

But her 15-year-old son, who suffers from depression, has done best with

therapy and no medication.

Says Gongora: " It really is a case-by-case basis. "

___

On the Net:

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: http://www.DBSAlliance.org

Families for Depression Awareness: http://www.familyaware.org

___

[Guest guest]

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & ncid=1417 & e=10 & u=/ap/20041012/ap_on_\

he_me/monitoring_medication & sid=95832451

Experts Urge Close Eye on Depression Drugs

Mon Oct 11, 9:28 PM ET Health - AP

By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer

CHICAGO - Shauna thinks it's a smart idea to put warning labels on

antidepressants. She has good reason. Nine years ago, at age 10, she was put

on a particular brand of the medication and, shortly after, tried to kill

herself.

It's the kind of outcome that has prompted the Food and Drug Administration

(news - web sites) to begin work on writing " black box " warnings — the

strongest caution possible — for young people who take antidepressants. Some

parents have already taken their children off the drugs.

But even with the troubles they've had, and her parents are not

speaking out against antidepressants. Instead, they are among a number of

families, doctors and mental health groups who — worried the warning labels

might stop some people from seeking treatment — are taking the opportunity

to encourage families to get help for young people with depression and other

mental health issues.

They are particularly focused on teaching parents to monitor their children

and figure out which treatment works for a particular child — whether it be

therapy, medication, or both.

" It's a real process and a matter of educating yourself as a parent, " says

Cheryl , who is Shauna's mom and leader of the southern Nevada chapter

of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. She found that it took two

years and more than one doctor to find a treatment that helped her daughter.

Eventually, Shauna was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which causes moods

to fluctuate between periods of depression and high-energy mania. She now

takes an antipsychotic medication.

" The medication I'm on is working quite well, " says Shauna, who's now 19 and

living with her parents in Las Vegas.

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, a Chicago-based organization

with chapters nationwide, provides monitoring tips on its Web site.

In response to the warning-label issue, Massachusetts-based Families for

Depression Awareness also is working on a " depression monitoring tool " that

will provide guidelines to help parents and patients track symptoms and

medication side-effects. They expect to have it done in the next few months.

Mental health experts who specialize in young people agree that monitoring a

child on treatment is key, as is doing a thorough evaluation.

" If a child comes in with symptoms A, B and C, the symptoms should, at

worst, not get worse — and, at best, they should start to get better. If

not, they're on the wrong medication, " says Rich Macur Brousil, director of

child and adolescent behavioral health at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago. If

medication is deemed necessary, he says children should be started on the

lowest dose to see how they respond. He and other mental health

professionals also strongly recommend that any psychiatric medication be

used in combination with counseling — and frequent visits for follow-up.

Dr. Bela Sood, who heads the division of adolescent psychiatry at Virginia

Commonwealth University, says signs that a medication isn't working might

include heightened aggressiveness, unusually bold behavior or a feeling that

" you're crawling out of your skin. "

During an evaluation, she also asks young patients directly if they have

thought about suicide.

" There's this myth that if you suggest suicide to a kid that you might turn

someone into someone who's considering suicide — and that's wrong, " says

Sood, who's noted that parents often have no idea their children have

considered killing themselves.

She and other experts say it is especially important to watch a young person

during the first few weeks of treatment — in part because an antidepressant,

for instance, can give someone who is depressed the energy to act upon

suicidal thoughts.

It's a lot for parents to think about. And Toni Embrey, a parent who lives

on Chicago's West Side, knows how difficult it can be.

She is raising three grandchildren and also has adopted three of her niece's

children. Four of the six are on medication of one sort or another — from

stimulants used to treat hyperactivity to antipsychotics and

antidepressants. Several of the children go the counseling once a week.

" It can be hard to keep track of it all, " Embrey says as she spreads the

children's pill boxes on her coffee table. " But I have to look at what it

does for them on a daily basis. "

One of her adopted sons, 12-year-old , says the stimulant he takes

has helped keep him calm and out of trouble at school. He also feels like

therapy sessions with Macur Brousil at Mt. Sinai have helped him work

through his sadness over his biological mother leaving him with Embrey.

" If I talk to Dr. Rich, I get all my anger and stuff out, " the

seventh-grader says.

Meanwhile, Deborah Gongora, a mom in Victorville, Calif., has found that an

antipsychotic has worked well for her 12-year-old daughter, who's bipolar.

But her 15-year-old son, who suffers from depression, has done best with

therapy and no medication.

Says Gongora: " It really is a case-by-case basis. "

___

On the Net:

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: http://www.DBSAlliance.org

Families for Depression Awareness: http://www.familyaware.org

___