anti-depressants v. anti-anxiety... any thoughts?

[MathsMadMummy]

oh dear I have a feeling I may become a regular on this board

have been gradually feeling worse in the last few months. starting to think about asking for anti-depressants yet again.

just wondering what anti-anxiety meds are like (beta-blockers or something?) basically because I feel different to all the times I've been depressed before, ATM I feel worried and nervous about every little thing, knots in my tummy, fluttery chest etc... I'm wondering if an anxiety med would be better? or would it make me more tired, do they have a sedative-type effect, I have virtually no energy either. which adds to the anxiety as the to-do list piles up.

ugh I swear I'm not normally such a hypochondriac

bump...

Beta blockers shouldn't make you tired. As for whether to go for anti-ds or anxiolytics might be a decision best left to your GP after assessment? Have you ever had any success with conscious relaxation and other stress busters? Either way, hope you are feeling better soon.

thanks

yes, will be going back to GP soon. had agreed to stay off them for now, I'm fairly limited because of BFing, but enough's enough I think, can't risk getting worse with 2 DCs to look after.

don't really know about relaxation techniques per se, had very good CBT in my teens which helped me deal with self harm/abuse... neither of these are an issue for me now, thankfully. it may just be a combination of dodgy brain chemicals and the drudgery of everyday life!

It's really hard sometimes to unravel the relationship between depression and anxiety isn't it? Bit chicken and egg. There are self help-y things that might help to limit the escalation of panicky feelings, but not always feasible when you have sole charge of children - who can just sink into a warm bath at a moment's notice (seems to be the favourite suggestion). Am lucky to get 5 minutes in the shower!

But look into conscious relaxation as this is something you can try anywhere, there might well be online resources to get you started. Can you identify any sort of pattern or triggers to the worst moments? Reduce caffeine if appropriate?

I meant applicable not appropriate - oops

I don't honestly think it is possible to separate anxiety and depression as they seem to be inextricably linked. I have suffered in the past and the first time I took medication and the next time I just saw a therapist who has an expertise in mental health. Her view was that anxiety is about fear and that depression is a defence against the anxiety. In other words when the anxiety gets heightened, the depression kicks in to "damp down" the anxiety, and in this way they are inter related. Also I think anti depressants are meant to cope with the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Of course you will need to get advice from a good GP but in my experience most of them are not very well informed on mental health issues although I think the training is better now in this respect. For a lot of older GPs I think there was very minimal training on mental health, and hence I don't think they are as knowledgeable as we might like to think.

Hope that you get the help that you need and that things will improve for you. I think one of the problems is that recovery is a slow and painful process and sometimes we can take 2 steps forward and 2 step back, but you need to keep in mind that you will get better and that coping with this horrible thing whilst looking after 2 little ones is very very hard, but they will grow, you will feel better and there will be brighter times ahead.

Many of the ADs are also anti-anxiety.

Anxiety and depression are affected by the same chemicals and receptors in the brain..

Usually by treating the one, you also treat the other.

I was put on anti depressants alst year when I wwent to my GP with crippling anxiety- I broke down really, really badly in the office of a locum, who put me on citalopram. I had to come off it after a week as it made my anxiety much worse, to the point where I couldn't leave my house. I went back, saw my own GP, who did an extensive questionnaire with me, which showed I got the maximum possible score for anxiety, with quite a high one for depression as well. I was switched to trazodone, which is an anti anxiety and saw the resluts immediately. I was really really pleased with them. All my anxiety symptoms disappeared, and they literally knocked me out at the end of the day so I could sleep, which I couldn't do before. I have just weaned myself off them after about 6 months because I felt exhausted in the mornings after takign them and was findign that quite difficult to cope with. I've had no adverse side effects though, and now feel ack to normal

thanks for your replies

was hoping to see GP today but I have a tummy bug so they won't let me in. hoping to go in a few days though

hopefully I'll be able to find something, don't want anything with sedative effect as still cosleeping/BFing at night

after DD was born I had lofepramine but apparently the guidelines changed and now they don't prescribe it to BFing mums anymore!

I've had depression & anxiety on and off for years. Stopped ads about 3 years ago and was well until just after DS was born 21 months ago.

I was a bit depressed I think but the anxiety was crippling. I had a really grisly imagination and was convinced DS was going to die all the time. I couldn't cope with anything- just seeing a pile of laundry that needed doing would reduce me to tears. I had that awful stomach churning too.

Anyway, I was also bfing and felt like ads would be a step backwards so I tried hypnotherapy. I know it doesn't work for everyone but it did it for me. It appealed because I couldn't face CBT/ counselling (I didn't have the energy to do the thinking and the work for myself) and I liked the idea of sitting there all relaxed whilst someone else 'fixed' it for me. It's not quite like that in reality but the results have been life-changing, I'm no longer an anxious person and I have a whole raft of coping techniques in place when for when life gets hard, as it frequently does.

I don't want to bore on if you're not interested but if you want details just ask.

It may be that ads are the best thing in your situation but just thought I'd mention a possible alternative. Good luck anyway, hope you're feeling better soon

I'm another one in favour of hypnotherapy - Paul McKenna has literally saved my life over the last few weeks as I've had really bad sleep issues and PND (and anxiety). I'm lucky as my mum is a hypnotherapist and she has given me some treatments too: I felt the anxiety literally melt away. It is marvelous and so effective. I also recommend homeopathy as an alternative if you can afford to make an appointment with one. There are various treatments for anxiety.

I agree with hairymelons that ADs might be the best solution for you but they aren't necessarily the only solution. To be honest I don't know enough about them.