[loopylucy08]

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!