doctors and AD's
 

:notsure: i've got a doctors appt tomorrow morning. went bout 6wks ago but didnt really get very far, didnt mention about sh but other than that was very honest with my depression and did i get any help, no i get told we'l review it in 3months....
...... but have decided i need help now, so am going to TRY and be brave and just ask straight out for ADs cos i really dont think i'll be around much longer if i dont get help.... are DR's usually quite willing to prescribe AD's???? cos i cant take "rejection" for asking for help AGAIN!!!

went round my friends last nite and admitted to her that i dont remember EVER being truely happy, sure ive had some good times but does it last???? nope i feel 100x worse when had a "good" day. she was so shocked and said it was the saddest thing she had ever heard :crying:

idk im worried! any support much appreciated!!! x

i'm 24,

idk, i want to be better :s im not so concerned about the sh cos i do that even when having good periods but want to feel able to cope with things and not cry over the tiny-est thing and to just be happy!! ive tried counselling and ive tried to get through it by myself but have been trying to get happy for 12 yrs and have had deep dark depression for the last 6/7months solid and quite frankly cant deal with it anymore.

its really not something ive taken lightly to do, i have been resisting taking anything for so long, but dont know what else to do............ x

I dont want to put you off at all, but Im just saying dont expect a "miracle" cure from the meds. If there was a "miracle cure" for any of this, none of us would need to use a forum like this one! It can take a while to find a medication that works for you- most ADs take a minimum of 2 weeks to have any effect at all and you're not necessarily going to strike gold with the first combination you try. It also depends a lot on the extent to which your illness is biological and the extent to which it is psychological. Most people with depression and stuff, it is a combination of both factors, but obviously people who have a depression triggered more my biological factors tend to benefit more from anti depressants. They also have a lot of side effects which some people find quite difficult
What they can do is aid your concentration/sleeping/eating patterns which may have been negatively impacted by your illness and bring you "up" enough to be able to engage with therapy and in an ideal world with unlimited resources, most doctors would probably recommend that anti depressants are used in conjunction with some kind of therepeutic approach. Im not trying to be deliberately pessimistic and please dont let this put you off because they can and do help some people, Im just saying dont expect it to be the answer to every thing or that you'll start taking them and suddenly feel like dancing round your kitchen singing about how great the world is. :D

In answer to your questions about the actually prescribing process itself, basically the others above have covered it. It depends on the doctor and your age. My GP was happy for me to be on them, but only after a psychiatrist had oked it because she said she didnt feel she had enough specialist knowledge to be happy with doing it herself.

Good luck and remember you can always seek a second opinion if you need!

First check out which drug company sponsors your dr. Like look at the pens, noteblocs, even the clock on the wall, that might give you some indication which anti depressant you should ask for.

Marte

well i have been and she put me on CITALOPRAM, gotta go back in 3wks to check how im getting on. the gp was really nice, thankfully i didnt have to talk about much but she did stare at me for a long time like she was waiting for me to splurg something out or something. think she put me on a low dose 10mg to start off with. not expecting miracles which is why i havent tried them before, but need to try something so... fingers crossed!!

thanks for hte advise and stuff x

the reason they ask you to come back in 3 months is so that they can see if there has been any change. perhaps being honest about the SH would help? as soon as i opened up bout my SH i got plenty of help almost striaght away.
some doctors wont prescribe AD's, as said before. they leave that up to a psychiatrist.
plese be more open and honest. you have taken the first step and done so well. look after yourself x