To ask how I can get the drs to give me depression tablets?

[FluentDog]

I have had depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember. I am also convinced I have ADHD but never been diagnosed. My depression has never been super severe no self harming or anything like that but I can spend all day in bed some days just sad and worrying about life. Anyway long story short I have been to the drs about it a few times now and I always get fobbed off. Last time I went I got given some leaflets about managing emotions. I just want to get on some medication. I can’t afford therapy and the waiting list for NHS is too long and I can’t imagine they’d even put me on it if they won’t give me tablets. So I’m wondering how do people get drs to actually give them something more than just a bloody leaflet.

When you say "fobbed off" what actually happened and what rationale was given? Have you tried using the information on the leaflet?
If you used it and it didn't help, then you go and say that you made the best attempt to manage your emotions with the information they provided and it was ineffective. When I went to my GP, I told them what strategies I used to help myself and what was the outcome. I was prescribed meds no problem.

Yes, good post.

Tell them specifically that you want to try medication.

I find this interesting as usually they are very quick to push people onto medication even if its not what they went for.

What have you actually said to the doctors when you've been a few times?

In my experience they're not slow to hand out medication.

I called my surgery and barely got through my name and address before sobbing. Dr called me within the hour and offered to sign me off work for 6 months and give me medication within 5 minutes. I actually declined because my mh was directly impacted by a short term situation at work and I asked for sleeping tablets just to get me through a horrific 3 weeks. (Being signed off would have been career suicide and giving the bully what she wanted).

My advice would be to be open and honest with your gp about what you’ve tried and what you’d like the next step to be.

I'd say immediately something like, "My plan for this appointment is to discuss which antidepressant would be right for me."

It sounds like you're absolutely certain you want to try them so you might need to be a little assertive. Have you explained how you feel on your worst days to the GP?

It might also be worth asking the receptionist which GP they recommend seeing for mental health issues. Some GPs have a specialism as well. My surgery has a GP who specialises in mental health so I spoke to him when I wanted to talk about antidepressants. Or they might just know one who has a particularly soothing manner.

Take care of yourself there x

Also to add, you don't need the GP to put you on a list for therapy. You self-refer through your local IAPT.

The first time i went they gave me leaflets/websites to look at.

I went back 2 weeks later and asked for medication. In my experience if you go with a clear idea of what is wrong and what can help the GP is usually quite amenable.

Thank you everyone I’m going to make another appointment but this time ask for a female doctor. I think the issue is I find it really hard to be open with the male doctor I’ve seen and have probably down played how I actually feel as I just don’t feel comfortable to properly open up

If you struggle to articulate it in the appointment, write it all down and hand that to the doctor. Put everything in there that you want to say. Not everyone can say what they're feeling. Many people downplay it - but if you've written it down before you are in that position, it will stop you from doing that.

Good luck!

My doctor when I was originally diagnosed with depression didn’t want to give me anything either. It took 2 short stays in psychiatric wards where they now prescribe me medication (I’m out of the psych wards).

I must admit, these drugs make me feel much better even though sometimes I feel like I don’t necessarily need them. They seem to “take the edge off” my anxiety and depression though and I feel more evened out.

I think you need to ask your doc why they have thought that ADs might not be right for you.
Usually GPs prescribe them extremely readily. Might there be something quite specific that has given them cause to think differently in your case? Or perhaps you have only seen one GP and they happen to have more than the ordinary level of doubt about the value of ADs - in which case you could ask to see a different doc.

I do get a feeling that there is more acknowledgement these days that ADs aren't always the right solution and should perhaps be prescribed on the basis of slightly more robust criteria.

I think it would be good to try and get an assessment for ADHD if you feel you may have it. People with ADHD are really prone to cycles of burnout which can feel/look like depression but it's to do with struggling to cope or situations where they aren't supported or just struggling to navigate the world unsupported. That's not to say that you can't have depression with ADHD, of course you can, but I would recommend you do some research into ADHD but out.

Do you have access to online consultations? When I got prescribed anti depressants, I had filled in an online consultation form and the GP rang me back to discuss it. I found it easier as it gave me time to write down how I was feeling rather than try to explain it all to the doctor. Either that or write it down and take it to the appointment with you. Good luck

Have you tried counselling?

You need to discuss things properly with your GP, a female if you feel this helps. They may talk to you about making lifestyle changes initially, as this can often be the root cause of anxiety and depression. It could be all sorts of different factors, so you need to be upfront and honest about all aspects of our your life. They might then recommend counselling to help you talk things through, develop coping strategies, taking small change steps and gradually seeing your way past some of the issues that you are challenged by. Be very careful about jumping in and relying upon medication, as some will be very hard to withdraw from and might not even suit you if you have any underlying medical issues. A degree of self help, trying to get motivated, recognising and understanding what might be contributing to anxiety etc….. will help initially. Other things follow from there. Good luck with it. We all get anxious, fearful, feel trapped, helpless at times.

Sometimes it helps to explain the effects your depression is having on you, rather than how you feel. I don’t know if that might be a bit easier to say in an appt too.

Good luck at your next appt. This is also unusual in my experience as GPs as all I had to say was 'I'm feeling anxiety/depression' and the first suggestion was ADs.

Thank you for all your replies. I’ve made an appointment for this week and asked to see a female doctor I’ve also done a list of bullet points to talk about and given real life example of how it all affects my life and stops me functioning properly. I feel like I’m just surviving each day currently rather than enjoying. I don’t want this for my self or more importantly for my daughter who is still only a young toddler so I want to get my self sorted for both of us

In my area the waiting list for therapy for low level anxiety and depression is 6 weeks.

Google "talking therapies" in your area. They are self referral.

I think doctors are advised not to recommend antidepressants unless you specifically ask for them. As they were giving them out like sweets.

Oh wow thank you so much for this I’d never heard of it. I’ve self referred and they’ve said I will have an appointment within 5 weeks!

Talking Therapies used to be called IAPT - but quite rightly, it was decided that no one knew what IAPT meant!

You will have an assessment, and there may be a short wait before your therapy starts. They will decide what section of their team will work best for you. When they ask you to complete the questionnaires, be as honest as you can, though they can be quite triggery to complete.

I didn’t even know I’d added a vote thing on this (I’m new) but just wondering what people think I am being unreasonable about?