could do with some help, suffering all of the side-effects of ADs without the benefit, decided to wean myself off them and self-manage my depression. Anyone else doing the same?

[MissChief]

That's it really. Been on various ADs for several months under the care of my GP. Even he now is at his wit's end with me, don't seem any longer to be helping my mood or sleep at all but he is reluctant to up the dose.
I want to give up (slowly, I know) and try combination of cbt/fish oil/diet/exercise/st jonh's wort to get me thro. I feel rather failed by the system, to be honest, and the fact the ADs are not the "magic pill" they're often claimed to be. My life hasn't turned round, I don't leap up in the am full of the joys of life. I'm managing agian on 2-3 hours sleep with the pills and my mood is agian low so I want to bite the bullet as it were and sort myself out having treid the conventional route, unsuccessfully./
Anyone else going thro/gone thro the same thing? Any tips?
Oh, I just want to say, that I guess of course ADs do help some, many whatever so I@m not advocating other people doing what I'm doing. This is a personal decision.

What are you on, and what is the dosage, MC?

Tbh, when I was on 1 prozac per day and didn't feel they were working, I just started to take two a day on a friends advice (she takes 4 a day). Then I went to see GP to tell her I felt better on that dose. So she upped it.

Don't give up yet. See what others suggest. AD's are good, but you have to have the right one and the right dose. And honestly, it might be anxiety you're suffering from, besides (or as well as) depression. May need some adjustments, if you can be bothered fighting your silly-arsed doctor

I can't honestly see why he can't give you a short spell of Diazepam to help with the sleeping, for example.

Excellent stuff, but strictly for short term use.

Just wanted to wish you well. There was fairly recent research published showing (certain?) ADs do not work in many cases. It was reported in the media. A psychiatrist friend confirmed what I'd read in the mainstream press and I guess he knew what he was talking about.

I'm sorry you feel your GP isn't being supportive. Talking therapies are a great alternative. I have had a sort of CBT in the past and it made a huge difference to me (but it is also controversial!). I am battling reactive depression at the moment (I am depressed because some of my life circumstances are rather crappy and they are not going to change soon - care responsibilities for elderly relatives for example). What I need to do is manage/change the way I respond to the stuff life throws at me. Apart from my scepticism about the effectiveness of ADs I am also bf so would rather not take meds.

Fortunately my GP has referred me to the practice counsellor but this is one overworked HCP and I know it will be up to a year before I get to see them.

It sounds like you have solid plans and your GP ought to be supporting you and continuing to help you rather than being irritated that you can't be fixed. Mental health issues can be immensely complex.

I hope others will have good suggesitons to
Good luck.

thanks for your replies. Save the planet (like the name!), I'm with you on the scepticism. For me, I think they have little effect (not even as a plaecbo as don't have the faith). Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. Hope you get to see someone soonewr than a year, that's terrible!
I am seeing a cbt therapist, only a couple of times so far tho. Quite good but find it v daunting.

I don't know how many Ads I've had over the years but none have been any good. I think this is quite common. Safeguard your sleep as much as possible. Eat well. Regular exercise, especially early in the morning to set you up for the day (I used a video at home).

I also recommend therapy with a therapist that you click with. Haven't done CBT but heard very good things about it.

I found that I was susceptible to some triggers /stressors that on the face of it might seem unlikely or trivial. I watch for those, and avoid them.

You are not going to get better on that amopunt of sleep. Indeed and tbh i'd question if someone so seriouy sleep deprived could trust a non- res;ponsive to medication dx of depression; sleep deprivation would have the same effect.

hi, yes am trying to look after myslef. Sleep is a huge problem for me though, hard to separate from the depression.
Anyway, I'm off the ADs, day 2, on huge amounts of fish oil/vit b etc, had a run yesterday, shame about the sleep.

MC, is there anyway you could speak to a different GP?

I started on AD's back in Nov 2006. At first they gave me 20mg of Citalopram and I started CBT.
Tbh the CBT did nothing for me at all but the therapist gave me some great advice on diet and I took it.
Basically it was a case of cut out the crap!
Chocolate, Cheese, Alcohol, Sugary drinks, Sweets all can have an effect on your mood.

After 4 weeks of me taking the AD's and the change in diet, I really noticed the difference.
But at xmas, like everyone else, we ended up surrounded by crap foods and I caved and ate alot I shouldnt.
From then on things went from bad to worse. Plus I had to be put on a lower dose of AD's as they were making me vomit.

I was a bit hit and miss with taking them and they were only 10mg anyway.

In May I started some exposure and some sort of Cbt therapy again with the CPN team.
My counsellor said to continue the AD's for at least 6 months after my therapy had finished.
By that point I had already stopped and I haven't had them since.

I still get anxious but I can control it now.

Also I have been in the same position before with my first child.
I was prescribed AD's then but after having long talks with my dh I decided not to take them.
I managed and eventually the depression/anxiety whatever it was, faded away and I felt I did ok on my own.

So I would definately say give the diet thing a good go. IME it really makes a difference. You dont get the dips and high and lows in your mood.
And if you dont feel like things are going right, you'll probably see the signs, go back and see a different GP who will listen.
It took me 5 years to get the help I really needed and it didnt come from my gp. It was a registrar that helped me out.

thanks, nbg. Good to hear it's worked for you. Feel rather alone in doing this. DH says "he doesn't know" what to do (can't be bothered/had enough/whatever) so just trying to fix it myslef. If I could crack the sleep, that owuld make such a difference. My diet is always fairly good - with the obvvious occaiosnal lapse for choc/alcohol etc but have always eaten tons of fruit/salad
but I['m tyhe only one who really likes fish so quite often forget to get it in. must try harder.

I can kind of see where your dh is coming from.
My dh was despairing. He really had had enough and actually it was him that spoke to the gp and got me the help.

But he's told me that its very hard to live with as you dont know what to do, how to help and also its hard to understand especially if you have never experienced this kind of thing before. Very hard.

I have a really good book called "Foods that harm, foods that heal" and it recommends foods rich in B vitamins like brown rice, fish and green veg but your already taking supplements arent you and eating them in your diet.

Lean meat is also good, poultry, offal and just generally whole grains and pulses.

With regards to your sleep, I was reading a really good article in a magazine about teas and their benefits and it listed some to help with sleep.
But I have chucked the thing out.

I'll see if I can find out what they were.

thanks, that's kind. I guess I'm not being so understanding re dh as I'm struggling so myslef on so little sleep.
Keepiong on with the diet - thanks for the extra info (might stay away from the offal though, however effective!).
Have you had sleep porblems then, too?

When my anxiety was at its peak, I had problems sleeping purely because I couldn't relax and I would spend the whole night awake.
Even more so if dh was working away.

what did you do then? It's so hard to function on less than 2 hours, so the whole night awake must have been crippling!

I think tbh it was when I started with the change in diet as that helped lessen the anxiety, therefore I was more relaxed to sleep.

The AD's may have had some effect but as soon as they started to kick in, I was taken off them anyway

One thing I did do, and I've just remembered this, is I bought a Nintendo DS.
Daft as it may sound, but one thing that stopped me from becoming anxious was using the internet, so I thought that if I got the DS I could use the internet when I went to bed and it gave me something to focus on.
It was a bit like reading when your tired, eventually your eyes start to close dont they, and thats what happened when I use the DS.
I was so tired anyway because I had a baby and then when he was 5 months, I fell pg again so I was constantly knackered.

What do you do when you go to bed?
I dont want to know your private life but do you have a wind down routine?
Do you read or watch tv?