To lie to a private GP to get a prescription?

[AintNoThing]

I’ve been on a lot of Anti-Ds and none of them have done the job for various reasons.

I have recurrent depression and ASD.

I am not in a great place rn, I’ve arranged counselling but really do need extra support in an urgent-ish way.

I’ve done a lot of research over the past year and feel that I would like to try Wellbutrin/Bupropion.

I know on the NHS it’s only available for smoking cessation.

If I booked and paid for a private GP appointment would they only prescribe if I said I wanted to stop smoking or would they consider prescribing for mental health?

I understand how your feeling I had years of different ads that didn’t work. In the end I was prescribed duloxetine which has worked brilliantly for me. Have you tried that one?
I’

Thanks Nautelus, I appreciate it you sharing that and the advice, hadn’t realised that was possible!

I’ll think about it. Feels wrong somehow?

Thanks

icannotremember Thanks for that, I think a private psych is a bit out of my reach rn. But it’s good to know just in case.

I actually got referred to the place where I have an assessment appointment via an Autism charity/ advice place so I’m hoping it may be a different outcome from all the other ones!

Thanks Sparkle, no I haven’t heard of duloxetine, so I’ll look that up rn.

Hopefully it will be able to help and sort through it all for you being somebody with Asd must be exhausting (probably an understatement)

OP - I got a prescription for Bupropion from an NHS psychiatrist just last week. She didn't even need much persuasion.

I'd tried a load of SSRIs and amitriptyline and they didin't really help. I told her I'd read good things about Bupropion and she said she'd prescribe it. Will take it for six weeks, then if it's OK, stay on it for six or twelve months.

Good luck

Thanks Greenleaf.
How did you get an NHS app with a psychiatrist?

Did your GP just refer you directly?

In our PCT Duloxetine has to be prescribed by a Psychiatrist if it’s for depression. 😳 I was lucky, my NHS Pain Clinic recommended it for neuropathic pain so my GP was able to prescribe it.

I was on Fluoxetine for years until it stopped working. Hated Venlafaxine as it made me feel like a zombie. Horrible.

Duloxetine has to be taken regularly and weaned off but it’s the best AD I’ve tried. If your GP can prescribe it then definitely consider it.

Thanks UncleJamie.

I had the same Venflaxine experience. Took floroxitine so long ago can’t remember why it did not suit.

Just read up on it, apparently some horrific withdrawal symptoms? I had that with Venflaxine but reviews say duloxetine is renown for being terrible?
Had no idea about prescription guidelines for duloxetine so maybe they won’t prescribe it for me anyway?

I did ring 111 about an hour ago, awaiting a call back.

I was worried about the withdrawals but I came of it when I was pregnant the only thing I had was brain zaps. Which are horrible but didn’t last long and I could cope with them it just felt weird.

I’d still recommend it even with that. I know 3 other people on it and they have al said they didn’t get on with other ads but this has been fantastic for them.

Hrs is Sparkles. I remember the brain zaps
From Vemfalaxine withdrawal.

The horrendous effects were the terrible nightmares that lingered throughout the day and anxiety. As well as nasty physical side effects too.

Very keen not to revisit that,

Your post has really helped.

Thanks again.

I haven’t tried coming off Duloxetine because it works so well for me but I did lower the dose which was surprisingly fine. I did forget to take it for 2 days in a row and had horrendous panic attacks, hyperventilating, the lot.

I have a friend who’s come off it and if you titrate down incredibly slowly it is doable.

Thanks UncleJamie, I appreciate that.

Best of luck ❤️

Have 111 called you back? I've been through a fair amount of ADs too, currently on high doses of venlafaxine and mirtazapine. I'm likely to be on them for life. Sadly it is a case of trial and error to find which ones suit you. I hope you get sorted soon. Good luck x

As a gp in canada and having worked in the uk, Wellbutrin is a good antidepressant. It works well for patients and is in guidelines in canada

Trintellix is first line here. Good luck

Bupropion is available off label on the NHS, I expect only via psychiatrists though. The difficulty is getting to see a psychiatrist, it's very hit and miss and the criteria will vary between areas. It did help me, but gave me terrible acne that eventually I couldn't cope with.

Have you looked at agomelatine and vortioxetine? Neither are similar to bupropion (nor is trazadone), but they're two of the newer medications so you may not have had access to them before now.

Hello, sorry missed a lot of help here, thanks for all of your help, I’m so grateful to you all.

111 called me back, need to go to out of hours GP at 19:20.

Will look up trintalix, agomelatine and vortioxine was too.

Trintellix is vortioxetine!

I would also recommend looking at Agomelatine. I take it (with 3 other meds) for bipolar depression. It really was a bit of a miracle worker. I hadn’t been able to work for months due to depression. I was back at work 3 weeks after starting it.

I doubt you’d get a GP to prescribe it—it’s an unusual AD (completely different from all other types of AD as it works via melatonin). If you’re desperate to get the ball rolling, you could put your money towards seeing a private pdoc. You do need occasional liver function tests.

Only warning is that it’s not funded by the NHS in Scotland (which is where I am). I had to get special funding to get it on the NHS. They agreed to it because I’d been on so many meds. NHS England are OK with it.

Please don't take medication unless it's been prescribed by someone trained in mental health. All major a&e's have mental health teams - it's a nurse practitioner usually but (after a wait no doubt) they will talk to you and if necessary they can fast track support, prescribe and offer self help. We've used them several times and they are really lovely, so calm and professional. Call 111 in the first instance because sometimes you can skip the gatekeeper at a&e that way

How was your GP appointment this evening OP? X