depression (also on health thread)

[fernzmal]

how does one get prescribed drugs for depression (the suicidal kind)? and can anyone tell me what the side effects are? would it be better to take the drugs or just try to get through it 'naturally'? or is there another way?
have only seen one psychiatrist, and she told me to keep a diary and vent my anger there. needless to say i never went to see her again.

[Hermione1]

I don't know hun, Speak to your doctor, i am sure they will tell you the pros and cons. I had pnd but didn't take the tablets for long. I hope someone on here can help you more that i can.

[motherofboys]

I have been there. You need to go to your GP - write a note of your symptoms to give to the Doc in case you don't feel up to talking (this was great advice for me at the time). AD pills have different side effects for everyone - many people feel nauseous for two weeks, and they don't work for the first two weeks either. I was fine though and once they kick in they really help you feel "normal" again. It is an effort to stop them - i was determined not to be on them for long (18 months later!!) OK now and happy to talk to you but taking kids out in about 30 mins for the day

[fernzmal]

can u take them if you're on the pill?
does it really take that long-18 mths?
what symptoms do you mean?
hope you're ok now.

[motherofboys]

Yes you can take them on the pill. I was on them for that long because I was seperating from my husband and needed them for that long. Coming off them was not too bad.
Symptoms - well fro me it was sleepless nights, loss of appetite, very very tearful and occasional thoughts of suicide because the world would be better without me, believing that i couldn't cope, and the dawning realisation that my husband was not listening to me, would not give me space,a dn that I was going to have to move away with my children.

[fernzmal]

do ads affect your sex life?

[fernzmal]

your symptoms sound very very very familiar tho...have turned into an insomniac and am constantly in tears...

[MrsMiggins]

I too was very tearful, kept wanting to drive into a ditch, very irritable and exhausted...didnt lose my appetite - quite the opposite - started binging - apparantely PND can make you do this.
Go to your DR and talk to him/her about your feelings. They will help you and you will feel better. I believe you usually stay on ADs for a while as you can start to feel better but have a relapse if you stop too soon.
I have been on ads for 5 weeks now. Had nausea to begin with but am slowly beginning to feel a little better.

[fernzmal]

oh yes...i just wish i wasnt such a 'careful' driver. i always wish the ditch would just widen and unexpectedly swallow me whole.
cant wait to see my gp later today. altho am also somewhat apprehensive cos he is my family gp and has known me my whole life (since i was 7!!). but he is also very udnerstanding and wd probably sympathise, also because i've always been under the impression that my mum is also prone to depression. but i dont think she's ever been treated. or rather, i dont think she's ever sought help for it.

[MrsMiggins]

I used to drive along and think "If I drive slowly off the road down that ditch, I'll end up in hospital and have a rest, and maybe people will take me more seriously and HELP ME! I'm just so tired"

I dont feel it anymore but then that could be because DR has signed me off for a couple of weeks so I dont drive anywhere by myself....

as for the pill, I read somewhere that being on the pill can make you feel depressed so I'm not at the moment...but am going to ask dr next time I see her if its OK. Unplanned baby now would not help

hope you get on OK with dr - dont be afraid to cry or say exactly how youre feeling. let us know how you get on

((hugs))

[motherofboys]

Hi Fernzmal - how did you get on? I am feeling low today - very bad and real dream. Perhaps I should have them again??????????

[overload]

this is my first time, i had a break down last summer and still trying to recover. the only thing that kept me going was my young children. I ofter felt like driving my car to a empty field and going. I felf quilty that if i left my children i would go to hell and if i took them with me i would also go to hell. I visited my gp and i am on ad which took a lot of time to kick in about 6 months, i still feel very low but i am picking myself up very slowly. It is good to focus on little things at a time and take each day as it comes. It is hard but i keep trying.

[charleepeters]

do what i did today go to your g.p and tell her/him that your finding it to hard to cope and you need some sort of anti depressant i went to my g.p crying today and she gave me some, but they will ask you if your suicidal i dont know what they will say if you say yes though i hope your feeling better i know its hard, thinking of you, my e.mail is [email protected] if you need to talk im on messanger or you can e.amil me. x

[fernzmal]

sorry, been away for a while, didnt manage to get to the puter. didnt manage to get to the drs either, chickened out.
will really try again tomorrow morning...i just feel so silly when i think abt it sometimes?has anyone felt this? i feel i may not be taken seriously..and be told to get a grip?

mrsmiggins, when i was depressed while pg a few years ago, i was suicidal (much worse than now, if there's such a thing as different levels of feeling suicidal) and i felt if only i was in an accident then i would be hospitalised and i would finally be taken care of (and also taken more seriously esp by the husband.) i was so afraid that i'd do something to myself that i felt i'd be safer if i ran to the emergency and admitted myself or even got jailed overnight for some traffic misdemenour so at least police would be watching over me to make sure i didnt do something crazy. (sorry, bad choice of word)



motherofboys, what did you dream???


overload, i know exactly what you mean about the children. its such a dilemma.

thanks charleepeters...am feeling slightly better...took the day off work and the next two days(mainly cos i'd planned to go to docs and also run some errands)..and been visiting my mum (altho she doesnt know i'm depressed) so i feel somewhat better.

i cant believe it takes 6 mths to kick in???what'll i do in the meantime??

[motherofboys]

The dream - took it out of me all day yesterday. it was like some wierd epic movie with giant rats and mass panic!! I was struggling to cope with the kids, getting very stressed but being organised - DP was not helping and invited a girl to join us who he flirted with and ended up sleeping with so I kicked them both out to face the rats - strange thing was - this other girl looked just like me, was the relaxed easy going version of me - and of course had no kids to contend with! have thought of various 'interpretations' and bugged myself with it for 24 hours - gone now!
Anyway i have dragged myself through that shitty day and am perked up a bit more today.

Get the ADs - no one will think you are daft or tell you to pull yourself togehter (except perhaps mothers!!) - and mine only took 2-3 weeks to kick in