Psychologist without meds???

[JAYQ]

Hey everyone well i seen my psychologist for the 2nd time today and we pretty much went over everything from the first meeting again and recapped a bunch of things and he got a little more in depth about it. Since i told him i want to try without meds he said that meds actually might be the answer for me but most certainly will try the CBT for about 6 weeks first, then if i dont get better then will have to look into supporting meds along with continued CBT.

I wanted to ask all of you, is there anyone here that got completely rid of their depression and all their anxiety symptoms without meds and just CBT?

Also for the ones that took meds how long did it take to get better and find the right dosage and kind?

I am just really hoping that i can get by without the meds, but if i have to end up taking them i will, because i cant stand feeling like this everyday.

[ditzygirl]

mmmm it's a tough call right enough!!!!!

I was trying to get better with no meds I would really rather not take them, however I got desperate and had to ask for help. If I'm honest I was in a much worse state than I wanted to admit.

Since I've started the meds though, i feel so much better - i have my old fighting spirit back!!! I have also taken my diet and exercise into consideration in a big way, I am strong enough to really make the effort required to get better.

Maybe with a really healthy diet, some exercise and CBT you can recover without meds.

Why don't you discuss with your CBT counsellor before you agree to meds, at least then you know you have tried everything..
Alternatively if meds are the final part of the jigsaw to help you back to health it is worth it after all these are illness's and they are horrible.

Not sure if this helps but Good luck in whatever you decidex

[JAYQ]

Thanks for the insight ditzy. Yes i exercise 5 days a week and try to eat as healthy as i can. I know that exercise is my only way out of the axiety feelings and depression, because when i exercise all those feelings go away and i feel fine.

I too find it hard to admit how bad i really am, and it took me a long time to admit that yes i am depressed.

What meds are you on and how long did it take to alieve you of all your symptoms?

[ditzygirl]

I am 7 weeks into taking 50mg of sertraline. I only had about 10 days of side effects, sleepy, no appetite and increase anxiety but after 2 weeks i felt a different person. After a month I discussed with the GP whether I was on the right dose but was advised to persevere for a bit longer before upping as it does take a good 6-8 weeks to really feel the benefit.

I have tried prozac and citralopram before and had a rough 6 weeks on both.

Meds won't alleviate anxiety completely but they make it manageable, the biggy for me was how depressed I was but its taken me to feel better to realise how low I was - hope this makes sense.
Don't forget Depression can be a caused by a chemical imbalance therefore meds will put this right.

Its a tough decision I agree - but I wish I had got help sooner.

I hope others can give there thoughts on this to help you but keep us postedx

[Geoff2301]

Personally, I too find hard exercise a great help along with being patient and gritting your teeth to get through a bad patch. I have been on many antidepressants over 20 odd years and the fact that one moment they work, next they don't, then you up the dose or switch and after a few weeks you pick up or you take something that worked before and this time it doesn't.... it all makes me wonder if they actually do anything at all!!
Have just read an excellent book "The Emperors new drugs" by Irving Kirch all about antidepressants, the hype that surrounds them, the way the drugs companies market them and manipulate the test results to make them appear far more effective than they actually are..... makes fascinating reading. and its all backed up with references.
After reading it, my suspicions seem pretty well founded and it would seem that if you believe the pill is going to make you better, it doesn't matter what's in it, it often does!!.... in other words, just a placebo effect. So there appears to be no magic chemical in there, just something to give out nasty sideeffects.
I've been on paroxetine for about 3 years.... started on 20mg, got better, after a year went down hill, dose upped to 40mg, got better, year later another bad spell and dose upped to 60mg. Bad spell a few months ago and was on max dose so thought I'd just abandon the pills and start my exercise regime and reduce any stress in my life... reduced them down to 10mg so a bit further to go and I still got better as usual!
So to answer your question..... yes, I reckon you can get better without pills and its probably better if you can with all the side effects they have. Lets face it, the body is pretty good at fixing most things given the chance.

[Captain Caveman]

Hi Geoff. I read Irving Kirsch's " The Emporer's New Drugs - Exploding The Antidepressant Myth" book last year. It made for interesting reading that's for sure. I would encourage people to try and get a copy of the book to learn about how the medication industry actually works. It's a great book to learn about ssris and depression before you make a decision whether to use them or not. Dr Kirsch and his colleague used the Freedom Of Information Act to get a hold of not only the results of trials that the public have seen , but the results of all the trials that the public have not seen - which show resulst of trials where the medications have failed the test. It was also interesting to read about the history of the serotonin theory and the lack of evidence for it. Anyway, I think it's a really helpful book for people to educate themselves about the ssri industry. It was a real eye opener for me, and hopefully you too will find it useful.

[cookie10]

mmmmm very tough call, but I have to agree with ditzygirl here. I tried to fight my anxiety for about 14 months, and I was just spiraling further down. I have a two year old to look after and decided enough was enough. I am now entering week 2 of 50mg sertraline and already I am feeling much better. Like you I really didn't want to go back down the med route after being on anti depressants before and finding them really tough to get off, but I'm glad I did and I know for next time the correct way to taper off.... VERY VERY slowly. I just think for me they have given me the crutch i needed for the time being, until I feel ready to go it alone again in a few months. Good luck with the CBT.

[harasgenster]

I have been told that meds are a quick fix. They are not really designed to cure you, just to make you feel a bit better in the short term to give you a chance to sort out any worries that you have in your life or to engage with therapy properly - both are more difficult if you're still in a high state of anxiety, meds calm you down so that you are given a bit of breathing space.

If you just took meds without making any changes your anxiety would come back after you stopped taking them because you won't have attacked the root problem. Therapy/life changes/changes in the way you perceive things is the "cure", if you like. Medication is to treat the symptoms.

I asked to go off my meds recently (but then have been too scared to do it!) and the doctor said it was fine because from being on them I had been able to sort my life out a bit and he said that's basically what they're for!

It's your call at the end of the day. If you don't want to take them, don't. See how you get on without them and then you can reassess. My psychotherapist actually advised me not to take any anymore (though he never actually explained why...I think it was so I could "feel" things more or something).

As for the suggestions above...I think the problem is (and this is my problem too) antidepressants, from what I understand, were never really designed for long term use. We shouldn't be on them for years because they just won't work like that. In an ideal world, we'd go on meds (if we needed to) for a short period of time while we get therapy and make changes in our lives and thinking but things just don't happen that way often. Often you need to wait a long time for therapy and there are too many barriers to removing the stress from your life.

Don't think they're a bad thing, though. They just should not be relied upon.

[JaneC]

Jay, there is absolutely no reason why you can't give the CBT a go on its own first. The med option remains there for you if you decide that's necessary xx

[European]

Over a period of more than a decade I tried everything, from antidepressants to beta-blockers to talk therapy to group therapy, with mixed results. I eventually had my breakthrough when I discovered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - it was the only thing that made a real difference to me and I'm virtually panic free these days and for the first time in my life relaxed and, well... dare I say it: happy.

I think the crux with CBT is that one is genuinely open to it, in order to be able to benefit from it, and I suppose after trying everything else to no avail, I embraced CBT whole-heartedly and it completely turned my life around for the better.

I think the suggestion of your psychologist to try CBT before turning to medication is a sound one. What's important in this, however, from my experience, is that you are open to it. There is not much point starting CBT if you have your shutters down.
For this reason I would suggest you'd talk to your psychologist beforehand should you have any doubts or misgivings regarding CBT, or should you probably not quite know what it does and how it works, in order to get those barriers lowered or ideally out of the way, and give yourself the chance to make some progress.

All the best :)