Is it time for medication? Will I be a zombie?

[MargaretHale]

So I've been battling this anxiety and mild depression for a few years. GP has been thoroughly unhelpful, the first one didn't even look at me, she just wrote a prescription for Citalopram and I threw it in the bin. In 2013 my new GP referred me for CBT because I was adamant that I wanted to try mind rather than medication. So over a year later I finally had contact from my local MH trust and they offered CBT online. It was rubbish, like a chat room from the 90s. I rang them and told them it wasn't fit for purpose. They put me to the back of the queue and I fought that and got my place back in the list for CBT. Thankfully, Mind were amazing and I saw a great counsellor for a year, only once or twice a month and I completed 'Beating the blues' which I found pretty unhelpful but I felt that I'd made progress.
I've had physical health issues recently, and my anxiety has returned big time I'm also peri-menopausal which frequently causes anxiety too.

Should I just give in and try medication? I'm terrified because I have a toddler at home with me and my husband works full time, I'm frightened that it might knock me out or make me lose my faculties (I know, I'm an idiot) but I like being in control, I don't even like to drink so it scares me silly.

I just don't think that I can cope with this constant crushing anxiety for much longer. I have no life, my agoraphobia is horrendous.

Anyone?

[courierdude]

im not a fan of using medication but if you feel like you really need a break then i would say to go on a course or propranalol for 6 months or so.

if you do a low dosage of 20mg a day you are not going to turn into a zombie and you wont feel any side effects.

it is an old drug that is well proven and there are no real health risks. much safer than most other products on the market.

i took them for 6 months and started reducing my dose and weening myself off them after about 4 months. i didnt have a panic or anxiety issue for over 10 years after.

i would not go down the ssri route as they can be and usually are seriously mood altering.

as i said, i wouldnt recommend anyone take meds for anxiety if they can actually acknowledge what it is, but if its justs draining you and driving you into the ground try a small dose propanalol and you wont even notice it until you need it to work.

[Pipkin]

im not a fan of using medication but if you feel like you really need a break then i would say to go on a course or propranalol for 6 months or so.

if you do a low dosage of 20mg a day you are not going to turn into a zombie and you wont feel any side effects.

it is an old drug that is well proven and there are no real health risks. much safer than most other products on the market.

i took them for 6 months and started reducing my dose and weening myself off them after about 4 months. i didnt have a panic or anxiety issue for over 10 years after.

i would not go down the ssri route as they can be and usually are seriously mood altering.

as i said, i wouldnt recommend anyone take meds for anxiety if they can actually acknowledge what it is, but if its justs draining you and driving you into the ground try a small dose propanalol and you wont even notice it until you need it to work.

Decisions about appropriate treatment should be made with medical professionals. SSRIs can be enormously helpful for some people and at the correct dosage don't turn you into a zombie. Besides, medication certainly isn't limited to beta blockers and SSRIs.

Margaret - my advice, discuss the different options with your GP, some of which may include medication.

Pip

[debs71]

Decisions about appropriate treatment should be made with medical professionals. SSRIs can be enormously helpful for some people and at the correct dosage don't turn you into a zombie. Besides, medication certainly isn't limited to beta blockers and SSRIs.

Margaret - my advice, discuss the different options with your GP, some of which may include medication.

Pip

I couldn't agree more.

Meds are a subjective subject. Not all are suitable for everyone, and a broad-sweeping statement about SSRI's is unhelpful IMO. Incidentally Margaret, I have been on an SSRI - Escitalopram - for over 10 years on and off, and it has helped me immensely with my depression, anxiety and panic attacks, and I am no zombie on it. Yes, on first starting it I felt sleepy as a side effect, but not since.

As for 'Mood altering'?? Umm, that's the idea, isn't it?

There are a lot of scare stories and demonisation of meds and SSRI's in particular, most of whch is utter tripe, because response to meds is about the individual experience.

I agree that discussing your options with a professional is required. You can even seek advice from MIND if you need to. They are extremely helpful with this kind of info.

[courierdude]

sure pipkin, but your doctor isnt going to tell you about all the health risks and further mental health issues that can occur with the use of ssri's that are not associated with the use of beta blockers.

my partner works as a pharmacist and i have had it explained many many times about the intrusive interactions caused by ssri's, ssri's that do not occur with beta blockers.

beta blockers belong to a group of very old drugs that have a proven track record-whereas prozac users are still frequently committing suicide.

my advice is sound and it would only be for a doctor to assess someones health to decide that they are suitable to take beta blockers.

ssri's have somehow jumped through various loopholes to meet market regulations and requirements and have been very much been legitimised through the back door and in no way by evidence of safety or success of use.

doctors prescribe statins for people who just do not need them, so why entrust a 'professional' to do what is best for your health.

i was advising based on my own experiences and of that from a professional biologist who is working as a pharmacist. my opinion is not fact-but the facts surrounding the controversy around the mainstream use of ssri's are very much available for anyone who cares to avoid becoming a pharmaceutical companys guinea pig.

the scientific rationale for the use of prozac for example is akin to electro shock therapy but i cant imagine anyone on prozac queuing up to be slowly toasted!

the manufacturers of ssri's have absolutely no idea of the effects that their products have on your brain because there isnt even any measurable way that they can assess even how much product has how much effect on any individual brain.

ssri's are complete pot luck! -that is a fact!

if your doctor knows how to measure your brain chemistry then he might fully be able to competently prescribe an ssri for you-but he would never know how much to prescribe.

a massage has more positive effects on the brain than an ssri ever could.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I took Citalopram the first time and they for not make me a zombie. I suffered insomnia in the side effect period, which is a known potential side effect, and I did suet terrible morning fatigue but that was due to the Zopiclone to get me through the insomnia and the fact my GP didn't follow the guidelines for how to use it (according the crisis team who told him to prescribe it).

I'm on Duloxetine now and I suspect this is having this effect on me bit not everyone using it is experiencing what I am and I suspect my sleep pattern issues are also impacting on how it works.

Your mental health services sound like mine a few years ago before a local charity stepped in. They could have given you computer based CBT within a matter of days... To wait all that time and be offered it sounds like a fob off, a disgraceful one.

Sadly, some GPs are like this. I've heard charities advise to use them to access Othery services that will help you if they are disinterested in helping, which means researching what you are entitled to or can gain access to.

Have you tried Mindfulness meditation?

[courierdude]

a sweeping statement aboout ssri's is that they re unreliable, untested, untestable and dangerous, but that they are cheaply produced and the profits for the pharma companies is massive.

[MyNameIsTerry]

sure pipkin, but your doctor isnt going to tell you about all the health risks and further mental health issues that can occur with the use of ssri's that are not associated with the use of beta blockers.

my partner works as a pharmacist and i have had it explained many many times about the intrusive interactions caused by ssri's, ssri's that do not occur with beta blockers.

beta blockers belong to a group of very old drugs that have a proven track record-whereas prozac users are still frequently committing suicide.

my advice is sound and it would only be for a doctor to assess someones health to decide that they are suitable to take beta blockers.

ssri's have somehow jumped through various loopholes to meet market regulations and requirements and have been very much been legitimised through the back door and in no way by evidence of safety or success of use.

doctors prescribe statins for people who just do not need them, so why entrust a 'professional' to do what is best for your health.

i was advising based on my own experiences and of that from a professional biologist who is working as a pharmacist. my opinion is not fact-but the facts surrounding the controversy around the mainstream use of ssri's are very much available for anyone who cares to avoid becoming a pharmaceutical companys guinea pig.

the scientific rationale for the use of prozac for example is akin to electro shock therapy but i cant imagine anyone on prozac queuing up to be slowly toasted!

the manufacturers of ssri's have absolutely no idea of the effects that their products have on your brain because there isnt even any measurable way that they can assess even how much product has how much effect on any individual brain.

ssri's are complete pot luck! -that is a fact!

if your doctor knows how to measure your brain chemistry then he might fully be able to competently prescribe an ssri for you-but he would never know how much to prescribe.

a massage has more positive effects on the brain than an ssri ever could.

You can give your opinion, but you can't claim to be basing it on professional experience by you or another party without NMP consent.

It's true that there are lots of concerns over GPs and mental health, which is a debate for separate thread really, but we could expand this into non dispensable options as there are plenty of people out there who would argue they are more appropriate than beta blockers... which also come from drug companies so we get into how much cheaper it would all be, back handers, blah blah, etc.

Its perhaps not helpful referencing electric shock treatment since there are forms of this which are actually successfully used for depression as well as brain wave stimulators.

[Pipkin]

An objective view is important when giving advice, together with personal experience and any professional knowledge we may have. That way, members are in the best position to make considered and informed choices of their own. That is my aim when I try to steer a thread as I have here.

Remember, beta blockers work on physical symptoms, SSRIs etc. work on psychological symptoms and it's important to treat both as appropriate. That's why a medical professional is best placed to assess individuals' circumstances and recommend suitable treatment.

Pip

[courierdude]

there is a greater risk of relapse with antidepressant medication has been discontinued.
Antidepressants have been found to cause neuronal damage and death in rodents, and they can cause involuntary, repetitive movements in humans.
Antidepressants may increase the risks of breast cancer, but may protect against brain cancers
Antidepressants may cause cognitive decline.
Antidepressants are associated with impaired gastrointestinal functioning.
Antidepressants cause sexual dysfunction and have adverse effects on sperm quality.
Antidepressant use is associated with developmental problems.
Antidepressant use is associated with an increased risk of abnormal bleeding and stroke.
Antidepressants are associated with an increased risk of death in older people.


if your doctor tells you all this then i'll go score some drugs off of him/her : )

..but doctors are not like that in the real world-they are much happier to scribble something down on a pad until the next time..

sorry but i cant voice my opinion without who's consent?

hahah i know we live under a dictatorship but really??

is this site owned by pfizer of something? why would anyone stop me from talking about medication on here? you guys suggest to people to tak ethese dangerous drugs all the time-i read it over and over without anyone being told off about it.

worse even is when i read people jumping from one drug to the next getting more and messed up each time with little thought as to what it is really doing to them as long as they can get a quick fix-and that is all ssri's are at best. i know people on prozac for 20 years. do you think anyone should be on mood enhancing drugs for 20 years from the same doctor surgery? really?