Depression in Children Support Group

My son is 9 and has been having trouble with anxiety, separation anxiety, depression, etc. We tried two different SSRI's that were unsuccessful for our son. After many months of ups and downs with that, we decided to try something on our own. To our surprise, it's working very well. Of course, I am not a doctor, and while I don't have a recommended dosage for kids different ages from my son, I can tell you what we've done. I did some research on natural remedies for these issues. What I came up with was vitamin B and Fish oil. I have been giving him a half of an adult B-complex vitamin, and I purchased the Omega Brite Kidz liquid online and am giving him about 1/2 teaspoon a day. We also got the book by James Crist called "What to do when you're scared and worried" and have read this and done the written excercises. (Excellent Book for this age) A couple weeks into giving him these vitamins, he started to get better. He also started giving me a hard time about having to take them everyday, so I slacked off. About two weeks later, the anxiety started to come back. It became bad enough that my son started asking if he could take his vitamins again. He has been back on them for about a month now, and he is again doing well. Now, as a pre-caution on purchasing the Omega Brite. Watch your credit card bill. I asked not to be put on their auto reorder. They didn't send me anymore product, but they did charge my credit card again the next month. After many frustrating phone calls, and finally finding the administrative phone number, they have fixed this issue, just be on the lookout. Also, you may wonder about the taste. We ordered the orange cream flavor. It is a very powerful orange flavor, and although it is not an unpleasant flavor, you do keep getting the orange flavor the rest of the day when you burp. I tried it to make sure I knew what I was giving my son. However, he says he doesn't mind it compared to the anxiety he has without it. Next time I might try the tutti fruity flavor. My son also worries about choking on pills, so to alieviate this anxiety, I put the pill in a spoonful of applesauce. It goes down very easily as he doesn't feel the pill in the applesauce the way he does if he tries to swallow with just a liquid. If there are any other questions, feel free to ask. Maybe this will help some of you that don't yet want to try the psychotropic meds.
Posted on 10/17/08, 05:10 pm