has anyone found meds that work

[mooks]

hi
same old same old with me...MEDS!!
Been on seroxat long time and now told to swap as not working....it seems that there are so many meds but what works...really dread going through the trial and error again of meds.
maybe the answer is none...
i really fear being prescribed 'duff med'...
any one else??

[jo61]

That's one of the worst thing about this condition mooks. It can be trial and error. I've been on Mirtazapine for years which works for me. It needed to be supplmenented this summer and I was put on Effexor as well. That's done nothing for me so I'm now trying to come off it which isn't easy. I've now been put on Lithium as the depression keeps coming back and I'm hoping it will work.

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Maybe it would be better discussing with your doctor making the change after Christmas?

Love Jo x

[Nel]

I don't think meds can be used as a stand alone treatment. You need CBT in addition (this is just my opinion).
I don't use meds at all now - I've tried 3 different meds which all were useless, the last of which gave me the worst bout of depression I've ever had - the doctor of course told me to keep taking it. So 4 weeks in, I ended up at the hospital A&E because I had become delusional, and the psychiatrist told me to stop taking it immediately.
It's so much cheaper and easier for a doctor to scribble you a script than refer you for CBT, or indeed do anything which might actually be a solution.

Nel xxx

___________________________________________
"At the end of a storm, there's a golden sky..."

[jo61]

I agree Nel. Meds alone don't work but lots of people have to take them alongside therapy. worst thing as you say is that CBT is not readily available on the NHS and the waiting times are horrendous. I'm fortunate to be in the position of being able to go private and I see my psychiatrist privately. It's breaking the bank but I'm looking on it as an investment in my long term mental health. Even with a good psychiatrist which I have, there's a lot of trial and error. I could become very socialist in my views on the way mental health is funded in this country.

Take care.

Love Jo

[Nel]

I've PM'd you Jo.

Nel xxx

___________________________________________
"At the end of a storm, there's a golden sky..."

[honeybee3939]

Hi Mooks

I have been taking Citaloptram for around 8 years now, they do help with the anxiety, but only mask the problem, i found that CBT and other exposure therapy as been a great help, i couldnt have recovered with just medication alone. Are you having kind of therapy Mooks?

Love

Andrea
xxxx

"If you have a worry turn it into a problem, you cant solve worrys but you can solve problems"

[rb1978]

Hi I've been taking Mirtazapine for about 6 months now. Never taken anything else as have only recently recognised I have a problem with anxiety. I wasn't sure what to expect from the meds. At first I didn't really feel anything. Think I was expecting some magical, noticeable stop to the anxiety. Which didn't happen. It's only been this last month really when I've been trying to do relaxation/abdominal breathing exercises and have been reading up more on anxiety and understanding it better that I think I can feel a benefit from the meds. I think they've help me be less prone to low mood and spiralling panic but they don't prevent that initial anxiety and subsequent worrying when I feel a new symptom (my problem's health anxiety).

Don't get me started on the availability of mental health treatment. My session seemed to consist of ascertaining that I didn't pose a threat either to myself or others and then posting out two leaflets.
[:X]

[mooks]

guys
thanks
so right about nhs mental health grrrrr
im seeing a therapist...(if i waited for nhs appoinmtent id be drawing my pension lol)
im giving everything a go...i think its the meds switch thats making me anxious xx

[kate]

Med's alone work for me when I'm having a bad time with depression but the anti d's don't even begin to touch the anxiety for me.

Kate x


"Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same"

[creatrix]

I seem to be managing very well with 100mg/ day of zoloft (generic: sertraline), 1-4 doses daily of rescue remedy & aspen, yoga 6 times a week and ativan (lorazepam) for emergencies (about twice a month). I feel like I spend half my life managing my anxiety, but managing it is sooo much better than not - I tend to go into self-feeding loops when I don't manage it and it usually results in a big blow-out with a friend or family member. Plus I love yoga, so I'm really lucky it's helping me so much. I have tried lexapro, which made me giddy and unfamiliar and xanax (alprozalam) was no where near as helpful as the ativan. It's all helped me to know when I'm being irrational and when I'm not, which is very big for me!!