Venlafaxine, anyone on it, im worried & confused??

[melsy]

Doc thinks I should be on something right now.

Ive been coming back to the screen for the last 2 hours as I hummed and haaaaaaaaard about telling everyone this. Ive been posting in here under a sudonym for a while and dont really want to own up on those threads. I spose I feel vulnrable as quite a few know me in RL and dont want to be seen as weak and a mental case.

Just need to be heard I suppose , at the end of the day its a decision I have to make myself, but wanted to know a bit more about it.

Ive been on seroxat anhd citalopram before over the last 5 years and they havent really helped. Think thats why hes susuggested these. I have 2 weeks to think about it b4 follow up appt, to discuss trying to get some for of cbt somewere , but hes not hopeful and thinkx the pills are the best thing for me right here right now. Im not so happy about the pill side of things.

[melsy]

thats it really need hekp to stop being so critical of myself and what I want and need out of life. rather than letting somoene else tell me what I need. All I need now is to get around doctor banging on about damn pills. Its the only tool he has but its not the one I want !!

[mummytosteven]

which is where the psych can come in useful, to give you a second opinion on whether ADs would be helpful tho in addition to CBT/therapy for PTSD

sometimes if you are really depressed, you do need your mood lifting by ADs to really benefit from "talking therapy". I know that when I was PG, it wasn't until the meds kicked in that I got anywhere with the OCD/depression. But obviously everyone's different, so that might not apply for you.

[Nemo1977]

as someone who is going through therapy without medication it is hard and the meds would have been a good buffer. The only reason i am not taking them is that i am ttc and believe they had an effect on my losing my pip at xmas...but they are good to sort of lay a foundation to then be strong enough to look at the issues u have.

[melsy]

Im sorry Nemo about your loss.

I understand about it being a kind of back up for emotions and facing thngs that may be have been buried. I suppose it feels abit like giving in, as sometimes its suggested that we can talk ourselves into being down purely buy havng propensity to be negative with ourselves.

[melsy]

Its like a merry go round in the head , what comes 1st, being down then feel down of feeling down then become down.


what am I going on about.

[mummytosteven]

errr not sure. do you mean going from negative thoughts to feeling down to feeling depressed to being clinically depressed?

[melsy]

not sure really, is clinical depression just long term depression ?? and can we actually not be depressed but tell ourselves we are because of how we think about things ?

sorry tiredness is making my articulation go to pot.

[mummytosteven]

i think of clinical depression as when you a doctor would diagnose you as being depressed. i think of clinical depression as being more of a long term thing; anyone can be depressed for a day or two over something, without it being a mental health issue. I don't think you "talk yourself" into being depressed. Anyone can misdiagnose themselves with anything. I don't think you would tell yourself you were depressed, unless you were feeling a bit depressed to start with anyway.

[melsy]

Thats good to know , think some think Ive talked myself into it. Think the main problem with getting support is the huge amount of misunderstanding over the condition as something you can snap out of as easily as it comes to you.

[Kayleigh]

melsy honey, just wanted to say that I for one, as someone who knows you in RL absolutely do not think you are weak or a mental case. You are a lovely person who has some problems and you are trying to find the right solution. Hope you find the answer soon.
Big hug. X

[melsy]

Thankyou kayleigh.I think one thing thats fed by depression is the overwhelming paranoia when you tell poeple you have this condition and that people would rather avoid you than be friends with you after they know as they may misunderstand the condition and link you to mental patient. It makes you think "why would anyone want to spend time with me like this".

[Kayleigh]

Melsy, don't forget I've been there and I'm still taking the tablets . Nothing as bad as you but I know all about those paranoia feelings.

[melsy]

yes I was going to say that I know you know.

[melsy]

but didnt want to put words in yuor mouth so to speak.

didnt finish sentance , dd was calling!!

[melsy]

Have another check with gp tomoz and have to give him my decision on the venlafaxine front. Im worried and dont quite know what to do, how to approach it??.Could it have been the pharyngitis that had pulled me so down for the weeks running up to contracting it?? Hes adamant
I need it , but IM very concerned about its effect on me, Im very suscebtable to drug effects. Im not actually feeling that down this weekend , having recovered from nasty illness now,and had a nice day out yesterday,(I know one or 2 nice days dont take it away), but I still feel I would benefit from CBT very much. If I dont appear that depressed right now, hell think I dont need CBT, but if I do come accross a problem then hell want me on venlafaxine.

[mummytosteven]

i think being ill and run down never helps depression/anxiety disorders - anxiety disorders in particular thrive on stress.

would you be willing to consider trying ADs other than Venlafaxine? has your GP explained why he feels Venlafaxine is better for you than SSRIs/tricyclics?

[melsy]

well come back from docs and it was ok. Didnt get all ui wanted as still no furter on him finding out about CBT, but he made a joke aboiut there being to camps of doc: the pill filler uppers and the pschyco therapy believers, he said he was with the pill kind!!!! Joke aside I think he agreed that the pills may not be the best thing for me ,as he saw my raction to the antibiotics last week and agreed that it may just be last resort stuff. He is still going to look into how I get CBT but it may take a while , but I will be on his case , may get an appt every 2weeks with him so it doesnt leave his mind !! He seems to think Im coping quite well, but would benefit from some kind of therapy.

Im not sure if its the sun and being out of the house or that the my illness was just waiting to happen for a long time as now I feel better as its leaving me. May be its been S.A.D all along who knows , but I feel dramatically less down since the weather has changed.