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Discussion & help on depression & mental health related issues

I was on fluoxetine for about 9 months, really helped for a about 3/5 months. The rest was sheer hell.

I was in bed at every opportunity, found it like awaking from a coma every morning ( I took my medication before sleep, cos they made me so drowsy and literally unable to communicate of a day time if I took them in the morning) went cold turkey last two weeks ( just stopped) and I know you are not supposed to.

But I've had absolutely boundless happiness since, stil tired of a morning but no where near as bad as it was

If you were going to cold turkey an antidepressant, that was the one to do.
Fluoxetine has a very long half life so will taper itself and you avoid the withdrawal symptoms.
 
Fluoxetine is another name for Prozac Bry ( if you didn't know already ).

Should've gone to the Docs and changed meds mate. It's hit and miss. I changed twice before finding one that agreed with me. Anti Depressants shouldn't make you drowsy under any circumstances.

There are some antidepressants with sedation/drowsiness as a potential side effect. Worst of the more commonly used would be mirtazepine, but paroxetine is pretty sedating as well. Some people will develop tolerance to the sedation, others are able to manage it by taking it at night. For others with insomnia as a symptom of their anxiety/depression it can be a beneficial side effect.
As with all side effects, if it is intolerable, such as daytime drowsiness, then another medication should be tried.

Just as efficacy in individuals can be variable, so can side effects. Several antidepressants have both insomnia and sedation as possible side effects. Unfortunately drugs that work on chemical imbalances in the brain can still be a bit of a crap shoot despite all our advances in medicine.
 
There are some antidepressants with sedation/drowsiness as a potential side effect. Worst of the more commonly used would be mirtazepine, but paroxetine is pretty sedating as well. Some people will develop tolerance to the sedation, others are able to manage it by taking it at night. For others with insomnia as a symptom of their anxiety/depression it can be a beneficial side effect.
As with all side effects, if it is intolerable, such as daytime drowsiness, then another medication should be tried.

Just as efficacy in individuals can be variable, so can side effects. Several antidepressants have both insomnia and sedation as possible side effects. Unfortunately drugs that work on chemical imbalances in the brain can still be a bit of a crap shoot despite all our advances in medicine.


Thanks for clearing that up, just goes to show how poor my initial GP was, as that was what he told me.

Slightly off topic - I have a good mate who is a drug rep and she says general lack of knowledge of common medication amongst GPs is quite astounding.
 
Thanks for clearing that up, just goes to show how poor my initial GP was, as that was what he told me.

Slightly off topic - I have a good mate who is a drug rep and she says general lack of knowledge of common medication amongst GPs is quite astounding.


I would suggest that your GP might have meant daytime drowsiness would be unacceptable if it occurred...as in if it is causing daytime drowsiness we need to try something else instead of muddling through it.
 
There are some antidepressants with sedation/drowsiness as a potential side effect. Worst of the more commonly used would be mirtazepine, but paroxetine is pretty sedating as well. Some people will develop tolerance to the sedation, others are able to manage it by taking it at night. For others with insomnia as a symptom of their anxiety/depression it can be a beneficial side effect.
As with all side effects, if it is intolerable, such as daytime drowsiness, then another medication should be tried.

Just as efficacy in individuals can be variable, so can side effects. Several antidepressants have both insomnia and sedation as possible side effects. Unfortunately drugs that work on chemical imbalances in the brain can still be a bit of a crap shoot despite all our advances in medicine.
mirtazepine made me more depressed lol . Did not last long on them.
 

I would suggest that your GP might have meant daytime drowsiness would be unacceptable if it occurred...as in if it is causing daytime drowsiness we need to try something else instead of muddling through it.

You medical lot all stick together don't you !

He's a very poor GP, but it took me a while to find that out !
 
You medical lot all stick together don't you !

He's a very poor GP, but it took me a while to find that out !


Haha...I'm not going to have a go at some random physician. Save that for the ones I work with :D

Seriously though... over the years the most important thing I have learned that they didn't emphasize enough in school is how significant and prevalent miscommunication is between patient and healthcare providers.

Which...segue back on topic...is why you should ask lots of questions of your physicians and even repeat back or summarize what you heard whether it is a physician or counselor. Be sure you are both on the same page with your treatment plan.

And don't get me started on drug reps. That rant that would see me thread banned
 
Apologies if I inadvertently caused you pain mate and condolances on your loss. Hopefully schemes like the ones in the video and discussion threads like this can reduce the number of people who get to such a dark place and feel that is the only way out.
no apologies required, it didn't really upset me it's just weird seeing his name.
 

There are some antidepressants with sedation/drowsiness as a potential side effect. Worst of the more commonly used would be mirtazepine, but paroxetine is pretty sedating as well. Some people will develop tolerance to the sedation, others are able to manage it by taking it at night. For others with insomnia as a symptom of their anxiety/depression it can be a beneficial side effect.
As with all side effects, if it is intolerable, such as daytime drowsiness, then another medication should be tried.

Just as efficacy in individuals can be variable, so can side effects. Several antidepressants have both insomnia and sedation as possible side effects. Unfortunately drugs that work on chemical imbalances in the brain can still be a bit of a crap shoot despite all our advances in medicine.
Just to chime in with some first hand experience when I was on zoloft it made me sleepy/drowsy so I always took to before bed, actually did help as I was having trouble sleeping. End up stopping cold turkey like Bryan did(after it stopped working despite raising the dosage, continued with therapy instead), also didn't have many withdrawal symptoms other than a bad headache the very first night after
 
So I seen my doctor, chatted for 5 or 10 minutes and she agreed that I had many of the symptoms of depression.
She referred me to a psychologist (wrote them a letter I think) and that was that.
It took over 2 weeks for the psychologist to reply, they rejected my referral and instead recommended I try an online self help program (I think it's called Beating the Blues or something).
I've looked it up and it reeks of "High School guidance teacher, draw a picture" crap.
I looked at the demo and I can't help but feel totally underwhelmed.
It feels to me that they haven't taken what I've said seriously and they think that their time is better spent on other patients (perhaps if they are more at risk).
Maybe they are right but the whole thing feels dismissive.
I'll give it a go & I'll do every online session but my hopes aren't particularly high that I'll feel anything other than patronised by the end of it.

In other news, I've made a fitness schedule that I've managed to stick to for well over a month now.
Up at 7am every Monday, Wednesday & Friday and pop down to the local gym.
At the start I could barely jog for 5 minutes without my chest burning, now I can jog for 15 minutes.
My hope is that I can add 5 minutes on every month.
It feels so good to realise you've just ran a mile and feel totally fine, other than some sweat.
Did my first bench press today as well, I had no idea the bar alone was so heavy!
I get a lot of satisfaction being able to tense and see muscles (even if they are tiny).
The only problem is that the high lasts only about as long as it takes me to get changed and drive home.

As well as fitness I've tried to work on my diet and overall health.
Cut out crisps and chocolate and replaced them with nuts, bananas and apples.
I don't need to lose weight (I probably need to gain weight really) but it feels good to know you're treating your body better.
Finally got rid of my seemingly permanent chapped lips too by using lip balm about a million times a day.

Still struggling with uni work though.
At times it feels totally overwhelming because I've left it all so late.
Still can't seem to force myself to care though.
It's such a weird situation, to know you are drowning but not really bothering to swim at the same time.

Apologies for the wall of text folks.
Main point here is that looking after your body is pretty rewarding, even if you still feel like crap the rest of the day.
I urge any of you to pick up walking/running or some really basic home fitness stuff, it could be the only bright spark in an otherwise dull day.
 
So I seen my doctor, chatted for 5 or 10 minutes and she agreed that I had many of the symptoms of depression.
She referred me to a psychologist (wrote them a letter I think) and that was that.
It took over 2 weeks for the psychologist to reply, they rejected my referral and instead recommended I try an online self help program (I think it's called Beating the Blues or something).
I've looked it up and it reeks of "High School guidance teacher, draw a picture" crap.
I looked at the demo and I can't help but feel totally underwhelmed.
It feels to me that they haven't taken what I've said seriously and they think that their time is better spent on other patients (perhaps if they are more at risk).
Maybe they are right but the whole thing feels dismissive.
I'll give it a go & I'll do every online session but my hopes aren't particularly high that I'll feel anything other than patronised by the end of it.

In other news, I've made a fitness schedule that I've managed to stick to for well over a month now.
Up at 7am every Monday, Wednesday & Friday and pop down to the local gym.
At the start I could barely jog for 5 minutes without my chest burning, now I can jog for 15 minutes.
My hope is that I can add 5 minutes on every month.
It feels so good to realise you've just ran a mile and feel totally fine, other than some sweat.
Did my first bench press today as well, I had no idea the bar alone was so heavy!
I get a lot of satisfaction being able to tense and see muscles (even if they are tiny).
The only problem is that the high lasts only about as long as it takes me to get changed and drive home.

As well as fitness I've tried to work on my diet and overall health.
Cut out crisps and chocolate and replaced them with nuts, bananas and apples.
I don't need to lose weight (I probably need to gain weight really) but it feels good to know you're treating your body better.
Finally got rid of my seemingly permanent chapped lips too by using lip balm about a million times a day.

Still struggling with uni work though.
At times it feels totally overwhelming because I've left it all so late.
Still can't seem to force myself to care though.
It's such a weird situation, to know you are drowning but not really bothering to swim at the same time.

Apologies for the wall of text folks.
Main point here is that looking after your body is pretty rewarding, even if you still feel like crap the rest of the day.
I urge any of you to pick up walking/running or some really basic home fitness stuff, it could be the only bright spark in an otherwise dull day.

Some incredible positives there, tremendous stuff. Small steps mate, don't fret too much about doing it all at once, it'll overwhelm you.

Re your Doctor. I would go and see another one at your surgery and ask that to be reffered to " inclusion matters ".

This is a government funded counselling service, you may have to wait 4- 6 wks for your first appt.

Hope this helps mate ?
 
Some incredible positives there, tremendous stuff. Small steps mate, don't fret too much about doing it all at once, it'll overwhelm you.

Re your Doctor. I would go and see another one at your surgery and ask that to be reffered to " inclusion matters ".

This is a government funded counselling service, you may have to wait 4- 6 wks for your first appt.

Hope this helps mate ?

I actually think my doctor did take me seriously and the conversation I had with her left me feeling pretty hopeful.
I think the problem is the psychologist she referred me to doesn't think my problems are bad enough to be worthy of an appointment, hence the online course thing.

If I had to go back (and I plan to after the online course is finished) I think I would still see the same one and explain the situation to her.

It's weird though, I have the faintest suspicion that had I asked to try medication it would have been pretty easy to get a prescription.

And thanks for the reply!
 
Thanks for clearing that up, just goes to show how poor my initial GP was, as that was what he told me.

Slightly off topic - I have a good mate who is a drug rep and she says general lack of knowledge of common medication amongst GPs is quite astounding.

I came off the prescribed meds a while ago and take 5-HTP instead. You can get it online or at Holland and Barrets. Have a read about it and consider it
 

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