Discussion & help on depression & mental health related issues


goodisonopheliac said:
Is anyone else on Venlafaxine? It's a horrible drug, it shouldn't be legal. You miss a dose and you know about it, alright.
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I was on it for years mate and after the first month I was fine with it, apart from it giving me " brain zaps " were I felt like jolts of leccy were going through my head.

The thing with anti depressants is that what may be right for me, may not be right for you.

It's not an exact science with them unfortunately and there's an element of hit and miss with them all.

As well as being an antidepressant it also has anti anxiety properties, so that's why it's widely prescribed.

You need to have a really good sit down with your GP and discuss all that you've mentioned on here.

There's loads of other anti depressants out there, so there's no need to suffer, by taking the one your on at the mo.
 
Not seen my guy since August

Going tomorrow for a catch up

Feel great, feel more balanced in my approach to the anxieties I have and only one relapse in approx 6 months.

Got appointment with doctor to discuss coming off meds. On ten mg of citalopram per day. Not sure if large dosage but often forget to take and haven't noticed many differences.
 
GwladysBlue said:
I've just had my appointment.

I've been prescribed Citalopram. It is the lowest dosage you can get of antidepressants, so hopefully my work's medical team will allow me to take it and carry on with my work duties.

She's also recommended I go back to counselling.

I'm actually quite annoyed with how she spoke to me, tbh. Not one bit of compassion, I was in the room for literally 5 minutes.

She said that is it not me following the techniques I was taught previously in counselling.

Mentioned not many people really know I'm gay. She said, should you not just come out then? Jesus Christ, what a miracle worker. I've never thought of doing that before...

She was a foreign doctor, from India, Pakistan, or somewhere in that region. I can't help but think that maybe sometimes, because they've lived in countries with severe poverty, they see people coming in with depression/anxiety and think it is First World problems.

I don't expect to be babied, but what just happened there is a joke.

I said, hopefully with the tablets not causing drowsiness, my work will allow me to take them. Her response: I just told you they don't.
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As @COYBL25 says mate, 1000000% don't give up. You will find a better GP. My first one told me I was just stressed. Took me until I had a nervous breakdown two years later, and my dad physically took me back. Luck of the draw and I found the most amazingly attentive GP possible.

In my experience, male GPs (the two I've seen) and Asian GPs sometimes are harder to connect with. That's not sexist or racist, possibly just cultural and gender demands/ experience etc. Although strides have certainly been made there.

Don't give up. Hopefully you've had the chance to come down a bit from your anger. Take the anger as a massive plus too, because that's telling you you want to resolve something. That's so important. Get on to Mind again too, even if you just send the same email every week- you will get through but they rely on volunteers most of the time to deal with admin etc, so that side of it is hit or miss sometimes, but you can be sure the quality of the counselling is unbeatable.

Lastly, watch this mate if you haven't already. Keep fighting, and give me a shout if you need any more advice about the coming out stuff too. xx

 
goodisonopheliac said:
Is anyone else on Venlafaxine? It's a horrible drug, it shouldn't be legal. You miss a dose and you know about it, alright.
Click to expand...

Yes mate, coming off it at the moment after 4 years on it. Have been on 375mg. Bang on about missing the dose- feels like I'm about to throw up with dizziness etc.

Have you been on it long? If not, I found it great for my mood etc, but otherwise a tight rope to walk. If you haven't been on it long (a low dose) and it's not doing wonders for you psychologically, maybe see if there's something else you can try?

I'm 75mg down from 375mg now (so taking 300 atm.) Have reduced it to that amount over the last month. By 5pm after work I'm ready to sleep and shattered. If you come off it, trust me, withdrawal's tough. Best of luck either way mate!

Edit: Just seen your later response. If it's working for you it may be worth sticking it out. I find setting an alarm to make sure you take your dose. I take mine regularly at 8am/ 12pm/ 4pm and just in the routine now. Withdrawal is the cold turkey symptoms you talk about but pretty much all day! :(
 

COYBL25 said:
I was on it for years mate and after the first month I was fine with it, apart from it giving me " brain zaps " were I felt like jolts of leccy were going through my head.

The thing with anti depressants is that what may be right for me, may not be right for you.

It's not an exact science with them unfortunately and there's an element of hit and miss with them all.

As well as being an antidepressant it also has anti anxiety properties, so that's why it's widely prescribed.

You need to have a really good sit down with your GP and discuss all that you've mentioned on here.

There's loads of other anti depressants out there, so there's no need to suffer, by taking the one your on at the mo.
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Brain zaps! That's the word, bang on. I've tried explaining that to the doctor but found it impossible haha. Makes me want to smash my head against the wall atm. Good job I'm in a good place and determined to come off them. Hopefully help lose some weight too!
 
EvertonRhys said:
Brain zaps! That's the word, bang on. I've tried explaining that to the doctor but found it impossible haha. Makes me want to smash my head against the wall atm. Good job I'm in a good place and determined to come off them. Hopefully help lose some weight too![/QUOT
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Those zaps are a bit frightening when you first experience them !

Quite a common side effect I believe.
 
EvertonRhys said:
As @COYBL25 says mate, 1000000% don't give up. You will find a better GP. My first one told me I was just stressed. Took me until I had a nervous breakdown two years later, and my dad physically took me back. Luck of the draw and I found the most amazingly attentive GP possible.

In my experience, male GPs (the two I've seen) and Asian GPs sometimes are harder to connect with. That's not sexist or racist, possibly just cultural and gender demands/ experience etc. Although strides have certainly been made there.

Don't give up. Hopefully you've had the chance to come down a bit from your anger. Take the anger as a massive plus too, because that's telling you you want to resolve something. That's so important. Get on to Mind again too, even if you just send the same email every week- you will get through but they rely on volunteers most of the time to deal with admin etc, so that side of it is hit or miss sometimes, but you can be sure the quality of the counselling is unbeatable.

Lastly, watch this mate if you haven't already. Keep fighting, and give me a shout if you need any more advice about the coming out stuff too. xx

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Cheers mate.

I'll try to get onto Mind. I don't know why some people become doctors, tbh.

I haven't been too bad this week. Just slowly getting back into my normal routine.

Aiming to cut the drinking down to a minimum. Think that'll be one of the best things I can do right now.
 
GwladysBlue said:
Cheers mate.

I'll try to get onto Mind. I don't know why some people become doctors, tbh.

I haven't been too bad this week. Just slowly getting back into my normal routine.

Aiming to cut the drinking down to a minimum. Think that'll be one of the best things I can do right now.
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Drinking in moderation is the key mate.

Alcohol is a depressant, so it just makes the feeling of being down even worse.

There's a recent thread running in the ale house, about the crippling anxiety the morning after a session.

If you have a read through it, you'll see it affects many people, not necessarily those who suffer from depression / anxiety.

It took me years to realise this and I now know that my absolute limit to enable me to function normally the day after is five pints. Anymore more than that and thr day after I almost feel like I have something alive inside me, as my anxiety is that bad.
 
COYBL25 said:
Drinking in moderation is the key mate.

Alcohol is a depressant, so it just makes the feeling of being down even worse.

There's a recent thread running in the ale house, about the crippling anxiety the morning after a session.

If you have a read through it, you'll see it affects many people, not necessarily those who suffer from depression / anxiety.

It took me years to realise this and I now know that my absolute limit to enable me to function normally the day after is five pints. Anymore more than that and thr day after I almost feel like I have something alive inside me, as my anxiety is that bad.
Click to expand...

The Hangxiety isn't just how you feel (paranoid, tired, restless) but it can also affect you physically. You can get chest pains, numbness, dizziness and all sorts the next day from ale.

Terrible stuff.
 

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