My daughter (now 11) was put on an a/d when she was almost 9. Her diagnosis was ODD and depression. It was right around the time the warnings came out about the increased suicide risk so I was very aware of that issue. However, she was always very angry and said she wanted to kill herself so I was concerned that suicide was a risk anyway as she got older, especially. It did make a huge difference for her at first. We ended up having to increase the dose several times and were going to have to add something else. Around that time, we discovered she has food allergies and that was causing her troubles so we've been able to wean her off the a/d just by avoiding her allergens.
My younger daugher, who is 9 now, has anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). We are going to the psychiatrist for her in a few weeks and I'm expecting her to be put on an a/d then. It is less scary the second time around but of course I am wishing she didn't have to be on any medications. In her case, her anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are interfering with normal functioning enough that I think we have to do something. The actual risk of suicide is very low while the problems she has are very real right now. For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), the most successful treatment is CBT/ERP but my daughter is not able to do the exercises yet due to her anxiety. My hope is she will be able to work on the CBT/ERP with the medications and then be able to get off from them.
We've just known we were dealing with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since February, but from what I'm reading, it is important to get a therapist who does CBT/ERP for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). If your therapist does CBT/ERP starting in a few weeks, you will have some time to decide if he needs medications before your appointment.
I took an a/d myself for a while and that experience convinced me that there are chemical imbalances in the brain that cause behaviour problems. I always felt irritable and had a "tone" in my voice pre-a/d. Once I was on it, the same things didn't irritate me anymore and I rarely had that tone in my voice. So to me, it seems a little unfair to not give a child medications if they need them. There are risks to the medications but there are risks to going without them as well. Every parent has to make the best decision in their own circumstances.
