<p>I would add that we went through a similar situation with our son. Though he reported feeling depressed it wasn’t evident in his daily daily activities (good grades, sports, socializing with friends) and we failed to follow up on it. Turns out he had ADHD (inattentive type, high IQ allowed him to compensate) and a sleep disorder. Neither which was diagnosed until college (last summer). My therapist was the one that pointed out that he probably had ADHD because of son’s irritability and explosive moods. I would have never made the connection. He had good grades and doesn’t have the hyperactivity part of ADHD. Fortunately, my therapist was able to get him into an overbooked ADHD expert and we got the diagnosis. </p>
<p>Son also complained for several years he couldn’t sleep and when he did, he still felt tired. He would often sleep until 3pm in the afternoon on weekends and summers. So, we also got him a sleep study last summer about a month after the ADHD diagnosis and it turns out he also has a sleep disorder. He is now on medication for that.</p>
<p>He was home this weekend and when I went up to his room to wake him, he woke with a smile. Something I’ve noticed more and more since he started on the medications last summer. He said the medications have made a huge difference in how he feels.</p>
<p>My point is it can be the old chicken and the egg problem. Depression could be the root issue or it could be caused by something else. A good therapist should be able to help you sort it out.</p>
<p>It is not easy parenting a belligerent teen but he needs you NOW. </p>
<p>I too would suggest a full and complete blood panel of all tests that could indicate a medical cause for depression symptoms. If he goes to a psychiatrist right now he will be put on anti depressants because he is exhibiting all of the signs. If his pediatrician told you there is nothing medically wrong ask him/her to explain how he came to that conclusion. These blood panels take a few days to get back so if the doc came to that conclusion that day or the next I would question the tests that he ordered. There is no way of checking his medical health by a CBC or SMA.</p>
<p>By the age of 18 your son can refuse to see any doctor or medication even if he is 18 and still in highschool.</p>
<p>^“There is no way of checking his medical health by a CBC or SMA.” </p>
<p>I just reread that line and what I meant to say was that there is no way that a CBC or SMA would give you enough information to say with 100% accuracy that he does not have a medical condition causing this.</p>
<p>We had a good meeting with the nurse psychiatrist. Right now, she feels that his case is difficult and complex, and that he needs to see an MD, and she is working on getting an appointment ASAP. We have set up therapy for him through his school, with a counselor recommended by the school counselor, who thinks this therapist will be a good fit. He will start that next week. The therapist will meet him at the school, so we are out of the picture.</p>
<p>We talked to his pediatrician more about his sleep, and she is reluctant to prescribe medication, though she did tell us about melatonin. We had tried that before, but we used a different dose and a different regimen than what was suggested by his pediatrician, so we will try that as well.</p>
<p>So we have in place for him right now a good therapist, a plan to address the sleep issues and a future appointment with an MD specialist. So I feel in a good place to know that there is a plan and a lot of people with training are weighing in on his case.</p>
<p>skrlvr, I’m so glad to hear that so much progress is being made. The MD that the nurse psychiatrist is setting him up with may be more open to prescribing sleep meds. Having struggled with insomnia, I have found that most doctors really know very little about it and so shy away from treating it.</p>
<p>Thanks. His mom and I sat him down to tell him of the plan, and he was very combative. We did it in a public place, so he wasn’t loud, etc. just that he insisted that he wouldn’t go to the therapist, etc. and asked why can’t we just let him handle it. We told him that he isn’t thriving, that what happened last week was a wake up call and that we have been letting him handle it and this is what has happened.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what will happen. I do know that he will met the therapist at the school during the school day and they will be in charge, so he may cooperate better at school. And he may have been just posturing for us. But he’s very stubborn and even his teachers, coaches, etc. recognize this.</p>