ruthisonline
11-08-09, 17:05
Hello fellow sufferers and survivors!
In a nutshell, I have suffered from depression/anxiety for about 13 years. It has ruled my life. I was stable for quite some time on a low dose (50mg) of Sertraline. I foolishly decided to wean myself off them, and did this ever so slowly over several months. For about 6 weeks, I felt 'normal'. Then i noticed the old habits creeping in ... always making sure someone knew where i was, freaking out about dying when the cooker was on and burning down my block of flats, leaving my front door unlocked ''in case the emergency services'' needed to get in. The worst thing was standing in a queue in Sainsburys and rocking back and forth, knowing for sure I would die there and then. Because I was deluding myself, I let this go on until 3 weeks ago when I could stand it no longer and took myself to A&E and begged to see the duty psychiatrist. Oh how life changed from that moment on. I was admitted on to the psych triage (observation) ward, where I had some terrible panic attacks because of the unfamiliar environment. They started me on 5mg Diazepam 3 times a day, which took immediate effect. I was seen by the consultant psych and his main concern was the intrusive thoughts which were feeding my anxiety, eg phobia of dying, accidents, etc. He prescribed me a drug I'd never heard of beofre, Duloxetine (Cymbalta). I am on 60mg once a day and now don't need the Diazepam. I was in there for 4 days and monitored at home for 2 weeks. Life is changing day by day, I am getting some of my old 'self' back. I know it is a long road but all I can say is please please please don't resist drug therapy when its offered by professionals. Give it a try. Going out and being sociable is still a trial but I WILL GET THERE!!!!!!! xxx
In a nutshell, I have suffered from depression/anxiety for about 13 years. It has ruled my life. I was stable for quite some time on a low dose (50mg) of Sertraline. I foolishly decided to wean myself off them, and did this ever so slowly over several months. For about 6 weeks, I felt 'normal'. Then i noticed the old habits creeping in ... always making sure someone knew where i was, freaking out about dying when the cooker was on and burning down my block of flats, leaving my front door unlocked ''in case the emergency services'' needed to get in. The worst thing was standing in a queue in Sainsburys and rocking back and forth, knowing for sure I would die there and then. Because I was deluding myself, I let this go on until 3 weeks ago when I could stand it no longer and took myself to A&E and begged to see the duty psychiatrist. Oh how life changed from that moment on. I was admitted on to the psych triage (observation) ward, where I had some terrible panic attacks because of the unfamiliar environment. They started me on 5mg Diazepam 3 times a day, which took immediate effect. I was seen by the consultant psych and his main concern was the intrusive thoughts which were feeding my anxiety, eg phobia of dying, accidents, etc. He prescribed me a drug I'd never heard of beofre, Duloxetine (Cymbalta). I am on 60mg once a day and now don't need the Diazepam. I was in there for 4 days and monitored at home for 2 weeks. Life is changing day by day, I am getting some of my old 'self' back. I know it is a long road but all I can say is please please please don't resist drug therapy when its offered by professionals. Give it a try. Going out and being sociable is still a trial but I WILL GET THERE!!!!!!! xxx