Page 5 | To think gps push meds too easily for mh

Catatedog · 2025-07-19T12:03:59+00:00

while I appreciate Ads are really helpful for some ppl i feel gps push these before lifestyle advice and they know psychological therapy access is poor

DoAWheelie · 19/07/2025 14:18

The point of meds is to help reduce symptoms enough that you can implement all that lifestyle stuff. It's to get you out the rut enough to start.

DustyTangerine · 19/07/2025 14:15

SummerEve · 19/07/2025 14:13

I absolutely agree OP. These medications are handed out with minimal investigation into the necessity and virtually no consideration for the long term impact.

I wonder if that could be because they’re safe and effective?

DustyTangerine · 19/07/2025 14:14

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:27

i just had a really unsatisfactory appointment with my gp. I wanted something like amitritiline to see if it supported with post surgi cal nurve pain and sleep affected by medical trauma. They did notdo any gad7 or pdq9 and just suggested ADs with side affects linked to the trauma.

Why not try yoga or a hot cocoa before bed to see if it will help with your sleep issues?

You don’t need meds when you could just make lifestyle changes.

BlackCatGreyWhiskers · 19/07/2025 14:14

I don’t think they really have any other options. You can lead a horse to water as they say. They can tell patients about life style choices but they can’t police them.

TorturedParentsDepartment · 19/07/2025 14:14

I've found the reverse to be fair - I've got a period of severe depression going on at the moment - normally I have really good coping strategies and support networks going on to deal with the depression-anxiety tag team that work shifts on my mental health and I can keep going through stuff that would fell a lot of people (you've got to have fucking amazing strategies to work successfully full time in a people-heavy job as an autistic and do well with it!) so when I go to the GP saying I'm struggling and need help - I need medication-type help to get me over a hump and to maintain myself in a head-space that I can deploy all my usual coping strategies and maintain stability.

They've really pushed the talking therapies - which I don't want to go via their provider anyway at present because I can access this via my own work systems and also because I've had talking therapy before and I was actually using all the strategies they worked with me on anyway!

I'll admit I'm unusual in that I do have incredibly good insight, and a great awareness of my "OK you need to do something" internal threshold being breached so I'm good at avoiding crisis in that regard - but at the point I went - it was meds I needed.

SummerEve · 19/07/2025 14:13

I absolutely agree OP. These medications are handed out with minimal investigation into the necessity and virtually no consideration for the long term impact.

DustyTangerine · 19/07/2025 14:12

steff13 · 19/07/2025 13:17

My first thought of "lifestyle advice" was to tell people just don't be depressed. 😉

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I don’t know why more people don’t try it, honestly. Just stop being depressed. Hang the washing out.

flowertoday · 19/07/2025 14:12

RobertaFirmino · 19/07/2025 13:09

Doctors advise medication for illnesses which are often caused by the brain not making the correct amount of neurotransmitters - shock horror!

All research suggests that mental health problems are not caused by any shortage or difference in levels of neuro transmitters .
A convenient idea for big pharmacy, but completely unfounded.

Original poster

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 14:10

ilovesooty · 19/07/2025 13:58

That sounds as though you think you have more clinical expertise than the GP.

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I obviously dont have more clinical experties than the GP. They had not read the letters from psychologists etc. A friend was seen by the crisis team who prescribed a week of zopiclone and made specific suggestions to the GP on what to try. Their report from their gp appointment is that the gp told them not to take as adictive and did not prescribe the AD the crisis team dr, presumably a psych suggested. They were put on sertriline as first line treatment but eventually after monthsmore time off work were put on ad psych reccomended and after 4 weeks felt strong enough to start phasing back

OP posts:

LillyPJ · 19/07/2025 14:08

Skissors · 19/07/2025 14:07

It probably depends on the gp. Years ago (90s) a friend went to the gp and was told to do more exercise and get outside more in the first instance.
Also in the 90s I went to the gp with stress and the gp was heading towards talking about anti depressants.

The worry now is that GPs seem to have very little inclination to speak to you. So its possible that writing out a prescription is the easiest way.

I think time is the problem rather than inclination.

Skissors · 19/07/2025 14:07

It probably depends on the gp. Years ago (90s) a friend went to the gp and was told to do more exercise and get outside more in the first instance.
Also in the 90s I went to the gp with stress and the gp was heading towards talking about anti depressants.

The worry now is that GPs seem to have very little inclination to speak to you. So its possible that writing out a prescription is the easiest way.

LillyPJ · 19/07/2025 14:03

ilovesooty · 19/07/2025 13:58

That sounds as though you think you have more clinical expertise than the GP.

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Yes. I think Google might be the bane of some GP's lives.

LillyPJ · 19/07/2025 14:02

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:43

I appreciate there is only a certain amount within people’s control to change and illnesses and other resources really affect this. I was fortunate to be able to see a private therapist and leaflets arround attempting a walk or some outdoor activity with morning sun eg pegging washing outaside in the morning or making small diet changes or made a hge diference and seem achievable to put in a leaflet. My position may be diferent as more trauma and anxiety but when a GP took the time to look at my history said at a greater risik of side affects so would only prescribe at seveere end of symptoms. Yesterday was a 5 min phone call as private psychologist suggested a referral to secondrary care and it was can give ads. I asked if this was appropriate given past history and answer was i will send a link to meds and you dicide.

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It doesn't matter how simple the advice can be about lifestyle changes. When I was really depressed, it was a struggle to get out of the dark back room in my house, which for some reason was where I spent most of my time. The idea of pegging out washing, going for a walk or phoning someone for a chat would have been completely beyond me. It wasn't until the antidepressants kicked in that I started to realise how caged in I'd been by depression. It was like being in a prison and I could see no way out.

Original poster

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 14:00

weareallcats · 19/07/2025 13:26

Your post is really ignorant op. Antidepressants save lives. It is extremely difficult to motivate yourself to make ‘changes’ when you are depressed and antidepressants can start a snowball effect of improving lifestyle, seeking other help and so on. I speak from experience and wonder whether you do? Or perhaps you’ve just decided to be a dick on mumsnet today.

I am really glad ADs help you. I appreciate they both save lives and vastly improve the quality of others lives. Hpowever, as with all meds have sideaffects.

I do speak from experience including crisis team and a private psych involvement. The psych was much more inclined to give say melatonin for sleep, and a few tablets for stressful sittuations whereas GP did not feel to have the time to adress more wholistically.
It was not a critacism of individuals who take or gps who prescribe. More it feels a sticking plaster that can be too easily offered when talking therapies alone or in combination, treatmemt for physical conditions, some work flexibility or social support would be more helpful.

OP posts:

ilovesooty · 19/07/2025 13:58

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:27

i just had a really unsatisfactory appointment with my gp. I wanted something like amitritiline to see if it supported with post surgi cal nurve pain and sleep affected by medical trauma. They did notdo any gad7 or pdq9 and just suggested ADs with side affects linked to the trauma.

That sounds as though you think you have more clinical expertise than the GP.

ruethewhirl · 19/07/2025 13:57

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:27

i just had a really unsatisfactory appointment with my gp. I wanted something like amitritiline to see if it supported with post surgi cal nurve pain and sleep affected by medical trauma. They did notdo any gad7 or pdq9 and just suggested ADs with side affects linked to the trauma.

Amitriptyline is an antidepressant.

BeamMeUpCountMeIn · 19/07/2025 13:54

Yanbu. But there's nothing else they can offer. Talking therapy is shite these days and has huge waiting list, a few sessions of CBT is pointless. And a GP can't change a person's job, home or relationship.
I'm not miserable because my brain chemicals are playing up. I'm miserable because my child has SEN with very little support, I have an anal fissure that flares up if I get too busy and I live somewhere shit that even the council won't try and sort out.

ruethewhirl · 19/07/2025 13:53

What kind of ‘lifestyle advice’, OP? 🤔

Edited to add: just saw your reply re this. Great to know that all we need to do to fix depression is to peg some washing out on a sunny morning.

Original poster

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:48

Earlybirdtweetiepie · 19/07/2025 13:41

Yes but not for the reason you insinuated. More so many other conditions, like immune system disorders, neurological illness can present with mental illness symptoms. I feel all illnesses are often assumed to be stress, depression and medicated so underlying illnesses causing it are hidden until they hit breaking point. In some conditions the medications used for depression, if it is a different cause can make it worse.

I was not meaning to insinuate anything. It takes longer to have an actual conversation to see how someonwe is functioning what actual difficulties they have etc. mh and physical symptoms can often overlap and its important to treat both but feels very easy to say here are some ADs and if they dont work try another.

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Original poster

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:43

Britneyfan · 19/07/2025 13:20

I’m a GP. I hear this criticism all the time from people. I’d love to know why offering antidepressants seems to affront people so much, and what they would do to treat people’s depression instead. We are in the business of practicing evidence-based medicine. There is a lot of evidence for the efficacy of antidepressants and unfortunately a whole lot of unhelpful untruthful myths about antidepressants and about depression itself.

I wouldn’t say that I “push” antidepressants, but I do suggest them as part of treatment to the majority of depressed people I see. Because they work well for most people. I’ve had so many patients tell me once they’ve recovered from depression that they wished they hadn’t waited so long to try them in the first place because of those myths and misunderstandings. Depression is a horrible miserable illness and my main aim is to help people recover from depression. I don’t have an issue with that being achieved through antidepressants.

In terms of lifestyle advice, other than for mild depression, lifestyle changes don’t make a significant difference in helping someone recover from depression. If someone is ant the point of not being able to get out of bed and get washed and dressed in the morning they’re not going to be able to manage couch to 5K are they? And only so many things are within an individual’s control when it comes to addressing lifestyle. All very well for me to tell a disabled isolated single mother living on benefits looking after disabled children that her depression would be better if she got out to the gym more, cooked from scratch with fresh veg, slept for longer, socialised more, got a break now and again, had a loving supportive partner and more money. But she doesn’t actually have the resources to do so because that is how our society is set up.

We have to work within the limits of what is feasible and realistic as well as being effective.

Edited

I appreciate there is only a certain amount within people’s control to change and illnesses and other resources really affect this. I was fortunate to be able to see a private therapist and leaflets arround attempting a walk or some outdoor activity with morning sun eg pegging washing outaside in the morning or making small diet changes or made a hge diference and seem achievable to put in a leaflet. My position may be diferent as more trauma and anxiety but when a GP took the time to look at my history said at a greater risik of side affects so would only prescribe at seveere end of symptoms. Yesterday was a 5 min phone call as private psychologist suggested a referral to secondrary care and it was can give ads. I asked if this was appropriate given past history and answer was i will send a link to meds and you dicide.

OP posts:

Earlybirdtweetiepie · 19/07/2025 13:41

Yes but not for the reason you insinuated. More so many other conditions, like immune system disorders, neurological illness can present with mental illness symptoms. I feel all illnesses are often assumed to be stress, depression and medicated so underlying illnesses causing it are hidden until they hit breaking point. In some conditions the medications used for depression, if it is a different cause can make it worse.

steff13 · 19/07/2025 13:30

Do you mean Amitriptyline?

Original poster

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:29

Social prescribing is alspo an option for people who either do not have the social or other support to identify options.

OP posts:

Original poster

Catatedog · 19/07/2025 13:27

i just had a really unsatisfactory appointment with my gp. I wanted something like amitritiline to see if it supported with post surgi cal nurve pain and sleep affected by medical trauma. They did notdo any gad7 or pdq9 and just suggested ADs with side affects linked to the trauma.

OP posts:

weareallcats · 19/07/2025 13:26

Your post is really ignorant op. Antidepressants save lives. It is extremely difficult to motivate yourself to make ‘changes’ when you are depressed and antidepressants can start a snowball effect of improving lifestyle, seeking other help and so on. I speak from experience and wonder whether you do? Or perhaps you’ve just decided to be a dick on mumsnet today.