Struggling to keep going

[alicemac83]

Hi, I'm suffering from severe depression and anxiety and am really struggling to keep going.
I have a 3 year old daughter who I can barely talk to, let alone look after. Luckily my dh and family have taken over.
I've been on citalopram for 4 days, started on 20 mg for 2 days but due to side-effects I've gone down to 10mg.
Every second is painful, especially around my dd as I can't give her what she wants. I feel like my life has been stolen as only last week I was fine.
Please give me some hope as I'm nearly all out
Xxx

Thete is definitely hope - lots of it.

Sorry posred onmy phone and lappy is frozen. Give the meds time. It can take a few weeks for them to work but try and hold on as they will make a difference. Ive been on them a while now and thet help me alot . You sound like your family is supportive ehich is great. Have you been referred for counselling?

Hang in there, the meds will kick in after a couple of days - up to a few weeks. Did something specific trigger this episode of depression and anxiety? Have you had previous episodes? Counselling is also very important in addition to the meds.

Hi, I had pnd 3 years ago but I was well over that, then end of last week my dd was really hard work, I got really cross and she told me she didn't love me. I started feeling negatively towards her which reminded me of the pnd, and over the next few days the old feelings returned with a vengeance. I honestly feel like I'm just one big knot of tension and misery. X

oh bless, that sounds hard - you know she didn't mean it don't you. It sounds like you have acted really quickly, and the meds will kick in soon - did you have citalopram before? I had PND but it wasn't recognised until dd was two. I have had a recent relapse of the anxiety and depression and am back on meds, have had counselling. I found that straight forward talking therapy worked for me, if you are having negative thoughts that you are struggling with you may benefit from CBT which helps you change the way you react to things. Kids can really push our buttons and it is perfectly natural to feel stressed and upset when they play up.

You can feel worse for a bit when you start on citalopram and similar meds - do let your GP know if you feel really bad because they can give you something the help with that temporary shit feeling.

Really? What can they give? Anything to get me through would be good! I've got an assessment for counselling on 1st feb, i know it's only 2 weeks but it seems like a lifetime away. That's the problem with depression, you just want to take a drug to make it go away but you can't! X

Sorry, ddnt see this last night - They sometimes give you diazepam (valium) at a low dose, usually 2mg, short term. I was given this when i started them this time, they are good for taking the edge off, make you a bit sleepy and zoned out, but not to a non functional state. Worth asking if your anxiety is +++

Hope you feel better soon