is it time for medication?

[delightfuldior]

Ive battle with severe anxiety which leads to depression; for 4 years.
Ive been on and off medication such as citalopram (which gave me migraines) and sertraline (which wasnt strong enough) but soon took myself off them.

I decided to take the plunge and start CBT back in November but owing to difficulties in the service Ive not actually started! :ohmy:

I have a mental health review on Thursday with my GP and apart from another referral for CBT I am going to discuss medication as my anxiety is affecting my every day life :weep:

Ive tried the above two meds, are there any others that people have tried that I could mention?

I saw a GP last year and he just gave me some strong pills for bipolar even though I dont have a diagnosis for this and only get depressed because I cant control the anxiety. Needless to say I never took them. I knew they werent right for me.

Thanks

[Anxiousgal]

I get depressed from my anxiety too. Sometimes I don't know which is worse! I'm on Celexa (Citalopram) but still have the depression. I'm so worried I will never get rid of it! It makes living extremely hard. There are lots of other meds to try. Just tell your doctor how you feel and he can suggest something else.

[harasgenster]

Hi delightfuldior,

I'm afraid no one can really give you any tips when it comes to meds because everybody has a different reaction to them. Your doctor is the best person to guide you when it comes to this.

By the way, what were the bipolar meds? I've been offered mood stabilisers twice in my life and took them the second time. They are not only used for people with bipolar. For instance, a psychiatrist tried to put me on them for bulimia. I was young so I couldn't make my own medical decisions but my mother heard "mood stabiliser" and said "no, she's definitely not bipolar" and refused the pills, but the doc wasn't trying to say I was bipolar at all!

There are a lot of different pills that can be used for a lot of different MH conditions. Some bipolar people are not on mood stabilisers and are on SSRIs instead, because they suit them better!

So don't worry about what the pills are usually used for. Mood stabilisers can be good for people with other MH conditions as well as bipolar. My meds are actually anti-epileptic meds, but they have been given to me because of the mood stabilising side effects :)

Some docs will want to try different groups of pills if SSRIs don't appear to be working - they just don't for some people. There are old-style anti depressants like Mirtazipine (not sure I've spelt that right!), tranquilisers, SNRIs (like Venflaxine) and mood stabiliers. There's probably more that I don't know about :)

The treatment is not the diagnosis. Sometimes the treatment for one thing can be the same as for another, so don't feel that mood stabilisers aren't designed for you. They're designed for anyone with a mood disorder. They're helpful for people with bipolar but they can also be good for people with other types of MH.

Take care x

[delightfuldior]

I had my MH review yesterday and discussed medication. She has referred me to a physciatrist to assess me and see what is actually wrong with me and to advise medication and make a referral for counselling, seeing as rightsteps let me down. She mentioned mind matters but Id never heard of this. Apparently it was on my notes!
In the meantime she has put me on 50mg sertraline which I have been on before but if I remember it didnt control my anxiety at all and I told her this. I think me being on this is just a temporary measure until I see the physciatrist.
I tried to mention Lexapro but couldnt remember it at the time. I havent tried this before.
The meds that were given to me before were tegretol retard; I believe these are anti epileptic drugs? I didnt take them though as I have not had a diagnosis for bipolar, I just mentioned it could be a possibility.

[harasgenster]

Ah, mine are a different type. You really don't have to be bipolar to take mood stabilisers, though :)

[munkeyinblack]

im on 200mg sertraline which helps me loads. Maybey an increase will be more effective for you as the 50mg did nothing for me either,

good luck whatever you decide

munkey
x

[NoPoet]

Hi, I'm sorry you're having such a tough time. If the anxiety and linked depression are affecting you this badly, then yes, I would definitely advise you to look into medication. While medication isn't a cure as such, it plays a very important part in helping to take the fear, pain and distress from our illness.

So your strategy should be this:

* Get another GP who can tell their arse from a manhole.

* Discuss another medication. Citalopram gives me headaches too but only during the first weeks as my body adapts - did you come off too soon? The newer SNRIs are steadily proving their worth and there is a type of medication called agomelatine which behaves in a different way from SSRIs/SNRIs. It's normal for medication to make you feel worse for the first 1-6 weeks although as the weeks pass this will start to fade.

* Try taking large doses of inositol powder mixed with water, preferably with food. Remember, larger doses are more effective and do not interfere with medication.

* If the medication and inositol start to bring you some relief, use the early days to rest your tired mind. Part (or probably most) of why you feel so crap is due to mental fatigue. When your mind is tired your thoughts race, your emotions run wild and your anxiety and depression can become unmanageable. As you get more rest and spend more time at peace, your mental defences get a chance to rebuild and you naturally start to resist your anxiety and depression.

* Speak to the Samaritans if you feel low or depressed; speak to friends and family as well if you feel that doing so will help you (eg if they can offer decent support and/or advice).

* Try self-help books such as Self-Help for your Nerves, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway and the upcoming If Life Gives You Lemons. You must actually do the things they teach you, rather than reading the book and skipping the practical work. Note that you may not be ready yet for some of their suggestions.

[delightfuldior]

hi and thank you for your support.

I was on sertraline for about 6 months and the headaches and nausea was pretty bad so I reduced to half the minimum dose. It didnt keep it at bay so I just stopped. I have a bad habit of doing that, starting it then stopping. Same as counselling.

Ive had insomnia for the last two days from taking the Sertraline. Hence me being up at 4am today and its not 615 and Im about to take the dogs out LOL, although they're looking at me oddly and nuzzling back in the beds :D

Ive been doing the mood gym online too. Ive not touched it for about three week but when I did it helped me understand some of my reactions. Im now onto the self esteem section which I have yet to start.

Rightsteps called me today, the therapist was literally begging me to stay with them and I just said, look you've really let me down and somewhat contributed to me still being in a bad state. She promised she would take me on herself and promised alot more consistency, but she cant see me until Ive had my mental health assessment.

So Im feeling a little more positive. The only other thing Im a little worried about is that in the future when I am a little bit more stable I would like to try for a baby. I know most AD's dont go hand in hand with pregnancy. So worried about child deformitys etc.

Does anyone know if all is OK once you get pregnant and instantly stop the meds? I know its not advised but I dont want to be in a position where I come off the meds first then fall back into a black hole whilst TTC. Id rather be pregnant then fall into the black hole. If you get my drift.

Ill look into them self help books. Thanks. :)

[Anxiousgal]

There are SSRI's that are deemed safe for pregnancy. I took Celexa during mine (doctor's orders) and had no problems. My son is 10 now.

[Leviathan]

Meds are good for the short term relief of anxiety. In my experience you need to be careful of what you are prescribed, prozac was a wonder drug for me, citalopram and seroxat turned my life into s**t.

I think long term, facing your fears are the way (via cbt etc) are the best methods for dealing with this demon (anxiety).

PsychoPoets ideas of samaritans and friends/family are an excellent approach too and one which I would thoroughly recommend.

Meds do work, but I found in my case citalopram made me lethargic, unable to empathise with other peoples emotions and gave me an incredibly bad memory and I also ended up depressed even on 40mg, LOL !!!

[delightfuldior]

yes I agree I need to address my demons through therapy. Of which I feel I am ready to do as this has ruled my life now for the last 4 years and also ruined it.

The medication is to just give me some respite. My mind was overloaded and my relationship and life was being ruined by it so I had to get some. Once I am able to think straighter and start therapy then I'll think about titration.