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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by just so sad on February 28, 2005, at 15:01:42
Talk about leaving a lasting legacy...I feel so guilty. The doc told him (he's 18) that people with a depressed parent have a 50% chance of suffering from it themselves - she also told him that if he treated it properly for a full year, he had a 90% chance of never having it again. I'm telling him to go for it, as I messed around for years denying myself meds and quitting too soon and I'm a mess. I would love to hear your opinions...
Sad
Posted by partlycloudy on February 28, 2005, at 15:16:43
In reply to Now My Son Has Depression Too!!, posted by just so sad on February 28, 2005, at 15:01:42
Last fall my nephew was finally taken for a psych assessment after having problems at school - one of the things the psychiatrist asked for was a mental illness history from the immediate family. It turns out that my nephew, his dad (my brother), my sister, me, and our father have all had Major Depression. Our dad was the only one who was hospitalized for it, but we don't have anyone to ask on his side of the family about earlier generations' histories. Now, not everyone in our family has suffered from depression; only half of us!
It seems like such a raw deal, doesn't it? At least now I feel like I have a better chance of living a happier life with the tools at hand than my dad did. And personally, I think that this knowledge is a good thing to have - perhaps with the possibility of inheritance playing a large role in the illness, we can reduce the stigma that depression still carries.
Posted by just so sad on February 28, 2005, at 18:46:05
In reply to Re: Now My Son Has Depression Too!! » just so sad, posted by partlycloudy on February 28, 2005, at 15:16:43
You're right about the stigma - my husband was just starting to understand how deeply depression was affecting me - now this! He doesn't really understand it - tells my son to go play hockey and get busy (ha! if it were only that easy to move when you're so far down!). My son and I have always been close, but now it's like I'm his life-line. He really is thankful that he has me to talk to. Even with the effects of Effexor - as I'm six weeks ahead of him I can really relate. I'm to him what this website was for me at the beginning - a safe place. Thanks for your input.
Sad (but not sooooo sad anymore)
Posted by AuntieMel on March 1, 2005, at 13:38:18
In reply to Now My Son Has Depression Too!!, posted by just so sad on February 28, 2005, at 15:01:42
I don't know your son well enough to give advice, but with my daughter (diagnosed not long after me) putting her on meds was the right thing to do.
She's gone from (at 17) not giving a whit about school or her future to now (at 20) doing well in college - away from home.
Maybe it would have happened without the meds, but I like what she is now. More important, she likes what she is now.
Posted by just so sad on March 1, 2005, at 15:19:24
In reply to Re: Now My Son Has Depression Too!! » just so sad, posted by AuntieMel on March 1, 2005, at 13:38:18
Thanks - that's so reassuring.
Posted by AuntieMel on March 1, 2005, at 16:41:33
In reply to Re: Now My Son Has Depression Too!! » AuntieMel, posted by just so sad on March 1, 2005, at 15:19:24
This is the end of the thread.
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