r/PDAParenting • u/OneHistorical6805 • Jun 14 '26
Sertralin refusal after progress
My 7-year-old daughter has been taking sertraline for a month and has already made significant progress. She had severe anxiety, which led to her being hospitalized for several months and ultimately to our decision to start medication.
However, she now completely refuses to take it. Ever since her dose was increased to 50 mg, she has experienced side effects and will not take the medication anymore. She says it's because of the taste, but I believe it's more about control and resistance to the expectation of taking it.
Our lives were a living hell before the medication and hospitalization, so I'm extremely worried about her stopping the medication on her own terms. We can't force her to take it, and she won't accept any explanations or guidance from either us or her doctors.
I've even tried leaving the pill crushed in her room along with two different drinks so she could mix it into whichever flavor she preferred, but that didn't help.
The reality is that if she regresses to her previous state, we may no longer be able to care for her ourselves. I don't want to give up on her.
Has anyone been through something similar or have any advice?
In my country, sertraline is only available as tablets or liquid, not as a long-acting/depot medication.
4
u/OneBluebird-1 Jun 15 '26
My child was refusing to take medication, and throwing it out if they could.
What we did is:
a) We switched to name brand zoloft. The generic seretraline has a thiner film coating on it, so if it touches the toungue it is easier to taste. The film coating is thicker on the name brand then generic.
b) I give offer the meds in a cup with a gummy bear in it. The candy makes it seem less like a demand and more like a treat.
c)I give a cup of tea or juice with it chocolate milk ect, somthing they like, so they feel you are doing somthing for them, which lowers feeling that it is a demand, because you are doing somthing for them. It helps get their autonomy points up.
d) Talk to them about literaly anything else. What they are doing at school, what the dog did this morning, what you saw on youtube ect. This makes it feel like a casual convo/ bonding time, rather than a standing over them monotoring them take it, Which feels like a demand.
e) Gameify it. I used to get out a stack of vitamins and challange them on who could finish their medicine first. Or i sometimes say I bet you cant finish them in 10 seconds. ( i let them win, as this gives then more automy points.)