Please help me

[jogalong]

I am struggling at the moment and feel so down and crap. I have a special needs child who is now 8 and I just feel like I've had enough. Unless you have a child with special needs you just cannot understand what this is like. I'm so sick of the "services" and their half hearted efforts of support. I'm only a shell of the person I used to be. Leaving the house with my child is such an ordeal that its easier to stay at home. The stress is huge and im so overwhelmed.
I went to my gp last year and told her I was depressed. She prescribed anti depressant tablets but after 3 days I stopped taking them as they made me so lightheaded and sleepy. Should I go back again and try them again. Is this normal.
Sorry for rubbish post but just want to climb into bed and never get up.

jogalong that sounds so hard, I can imagine it is a real struggle for you. So you have a partner? I found with anti depressants that it takes a few weeks for then to kick in and the side effects can be tricky to begin with. Maybe worth another try just to get you to a point where you feel more positive about things again?

Sorry do you have a partner

Hi jogalong, I am a single mum of 2 children with special needs and finding everything hard , it isn't easy at all, I have spent the past 12 years fighting for services, education as well as battling my own personal problems.

I have tried many antidepressants, quite often stopping after a couple days due to feeling to awful to look after my dc's, I have now reached the point where I have to stick with them because I'm scared of what I will do if I don't , the side effects to wear off and I was told the worse the side effects the more likely they are to be working. I am on week 4 of Matrazapine and side effects have got easier to deal with though I don't know how well they are actually working as I still feel pretty lol.

I don't have a special needs child so all I can do is offer advice about antidepressants.

Trying to find the right one can be difficult. But trust me, when you do find a good fit they can give you so much help to cope when you're feeling overwhelmed. They don't miraculously make you happy- I found that I was just on more of an even keel and able to think clearly about practical strategies to help me cope with life.

I tried 3 different ones, which gave me intolerable side effects like sleepiness, sleeplessness, anxiety and nightmares. Finally I found one that only gave mild dizziness for the first week, followed by gradual improvement of my depression over a few weeks. You have to give them a chance as they can take up to 6 weeks to work.

Efexor was what worked for me, but everyone is different. Make sure you have a good doctor who knows their stuff.

Think of it as taking medication for a physical health problem, like you would for high blood pressure or diabetes. You're unwell and not coping, and medication can help.

Good luck