Posted by ed_uk2010 on December 11, 2011, at 15:19:28
In reply to Re: 15 yr. old nephew pot addict and depressed. How, posted by Laney on December 11, 2011, at 14:47:48
> He won't quit the pot. Can't pot be a depressant? How can an AD work if your constantly putting something into your brain that has a counter affect? So is what your saying drop the citalopram and add a NE/dopamine drug combo to the current addiction?
There are no NE or dopamine drugs which have been shown to be useful for depression in adolescents. Fluoxetine is the best studied AD in children but hostility and anger can occur, as is the case with other SSRIs. Trials show that only a minority of adolescents clearly do better on SSRIs than placebo. Some do much worse. All ADs needs to be very closely supervised in children and young people. If distressing psychiatric reactions occur, the drug should be tapered off. A common clinical error in these circumstances is to increase the dose and compound the problem.
>He won't quit the pot. Can't pot be a depressant?
He is going to need help here. I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist who has a particular interest in drug misuse. Pot can cause a variety of psychological reactions. It may induce paranoia in those who are susceptible. At the moment, stopping or reducing the pot and finding him a therapist who he respects are the main things you need to do. ADs are not likely to play a major role at this stage. Reponse to ADs is normally better in those 20 yrs +, once the brain has developed. There have been so many attempts by different companies to show that their ADs work in children.... and so many failures. Even in the few 'successful' trials, the differences between active drug and placebo were marginal, and significant adverse effects were always reported.
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:1004677
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111208/msgs/1004690.html