Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Mumjen]

I have ptsd, as does my daughter. She is now 19 years old, She has come so far from where she once was. Her first attempt to harm herself was at the age of 13. She has cut marks all over her body. We have cut off all contact with her abusive father and moved to the other side of the country. She has been medicated for 5 years and the incidents of self harm are now minimal. My questions are how to progress from here. Whilst I found help to deal with crisis incidents but then we were totally on our own. When to reduce medication? How to reduce? <br>

[pip]

Hi Mumjen. It's so sad your daughter had to resort to self harm in order to feel 'in control' of her life. From the tone of your post though I gather the threat is still 'there'. I would suggest you contact your Dr (if you have one), or try to get your medical records sent to where you are now. These will include your daughter's self harm attempts. Take these reports to another Dr (phone around for one). Once you have a Dr your daughter is comfortable with, her medication can then be monitored, she will also be monitored. A Dr is the only person medically qualified to know when and how to reduce/alter medication. When you phone for an appointment, mention your daughter's mental health issues (self harm). It's important any Dr treating her knows exactly where she is emotionally.

[Janna]

Hi and Welcome!

I am sorry to hear that both you and your daughter suffer with PTSD.  Unfortunately recovery from trauma takes a long time and requires ongoing therapy with a trauma informed/trained therapist.  If the medication that your daugher is on is helping then I would suggest that she remain on this medication.  Any decision pertaining to alteration or cessation of medication is best done by a treating psychiatrist.   Please discuss this at her next review appointment.  In the meantime it would be well worth getting your daughter into regular ongoing therapy if she isn't already doing this.  Changing or removing medication needs to be done whilst under clinical supervision as there is a risk that symptoms may worsen as medication is reduced.  My son has just been through exactly this whilst in residential care.  They reduced and ultimately removed his medication only to see an obvious and alarming decline in his mental health.  He was recommenced on meds immediately.  The exercise proved two things: - he needs to be on meds and the meds he is on work.  Because med alterations affect mental health it is usually not until things are bad again that the effects are noticed.  There is nothing wrong with being on medication if it works. The primary goal for your daughter should be to continue her recovery from the trauma and this will require time and patience.  Nevertheless please discuss this with her treating psychiatrist.  Also please ensure that you are also working on your own recovery.

Janna ❤️

[Acacia]

Hi @Mumjen. Welcome to the Forums!

As @pip has suggested, a good GP can be one of your best allies in helping your daughter stay well so it’s a good idea to see if you can find someone that your daughter gets along with. A GP can also refer her to a psychologist for ongoing support if she is open to that idea. It’s also really important that any changes to medication happen in consultation with a doctor or psychiatrist, as @Janna has said.

It sounds like it’s been quite a tough road for you as well. Are you receiving any support for yourself right now?