Is depression taken seriously enough?

[Peaches]

I've had depression for three years and to me it seems like the modern society still has not moved forward in this area.I feel that it is not being taken seriously.My G.P handed out prozac and for a while I believed I would get better taking this drug everyday.I haven't taken this drug for four months now and I don't miss it.In fact I can't work out what it actually did for me.What I needed was to be able to talk.I had therapy sessions (only temporary mind you then she left and never was replaced),they were the best thing for me. I could vent my anger out about how I felt and she would never judge me just ask me to think about why I was actually feeling the way I did. I not saying the drugs should not be used, but the doctors should not hand them out so easily.The older generation were always told to get on with their lives,feeling depressed and low was not a complaint you went to the doctors with twenty years ago.Does anyone else feel they haven't been treated the way they should have been. We need greater support barriers, we do not need to be waiting months on the NHS waiting list to see shrinks.

Hi Star and Peaches. The reason I didn't go to the docs for my depression was I was worried they'd just give me prozac and I also kept saying to myself 'get on with it' as everyone else around seems to. But having discovered this site I've realised there are many of us who get depressed and it has really helped knowing you are not alone.

I am lucky that my husband is such a good listener (he's my 'therapist') and recently he drew out things from my past that I've been bottling up and this has made me 'breathe' a lot better, if you know what I mean and also I feel a lot more confident about myself.

Peaches that is really bad that they never replaced your therapist. In my experience with NHS you have to keep on at them for appointments etc, I know it must be difficult but you really need to talk to someone as you said before that it helped. Don't wait for the appointment keep on at them regularly until you get one.

Good luck.

I dont suffer from depression but my oldest friend is in a bad way and has been for some time, we have reached a point now where after 18 months he has taken to his bed and believes he cant get up as he will become ill again - he suffers vertigo symptoms but we are no longer sure if this is a cause or a side effect of the depression. His last Gp basically shrugged his shoulders and said he would just have to learn to live with it. He is now under a different gp at a different practice as the first place refused to let him see someone else. Since moving he has had an mri (to rule out major nasties re vertigo) and now has appointments in the next few weeks to see a neurologist and a psychiatrist. He is also now on antidepressants which have helped a little. We know he has a long road to recovery but at least now he is getting help, the help he should have been getting a long time ago.

My advice to anyone would be to make a fuss, dont ever be fobbed off, it seems to me that the nhs will let you tick over with as little intervention as possible if it thinks it can get away with it. If you are not happy or confident with your treatment do make a fuss and ask for more help - not always the easiest thing to do I know, but dont ever suffer in silence and dont let a gp write you off.

Depression is terribly overlooked and dismissed far too easily. Its a cliche but if you dont limp, have a rash or a scar people think that nothing is wrong, often what cant be seen is the hardest do deal with.
Sorry to go on but I feel quite strongly about it.
Good luck to you.

I felt compelled to add my voice to the messages here. I am a thirty year old woman who has only known my father prescribed drug free in the past two years. His depression and nervous breakdowns ruled our lives and the valium and diazapan he took simply made him like a zombie. Life revolved around him and a couple of times he went cold turkey but never completely managed it. He now says that the drugs simply stopped him feeling anything, they became addictive and he lost his marraige and almost his children and grandchildren. He never got the help he needed in terms of therapy and no GP ever encouraged him or gave him the support he needed to get off the medication. Having lived with this in my life I have found that I suffer from depression and I refuse to see anyone on NHS with regard to it. My father has been labelled and more or less left to it. How he didn't succeed in killing himself is beyond me. Some how he has gotten himself off the drugs and despite periods of depression and an extremely eccentric approach to life he is generally happier than I have ever known him to be. I certainly would not take drugs. Alternatives seem to help but depression does tend to be a recurring phenomenon. Artistic sensibilities do seem to have a role to play. Maybe it does 'go with the territory'. Therapy has certainly been the most helpful response to my own depression, you have to get to the root of the problem before anything will change, but unfortunately one has to be in a pretty bad way before one gets to see a counsellor on the NHS. Drugs seem the cheapest and most immediate response from the NHS but only temporarily, not in the long term, as they often cause more problems to add to the original ones.

I think that the way depression is treated depends hugely on your GP. Some GPs are much more sympathetic than others. I have never suffered from depression but thought I was after my baby was born. Fortunately, I had a very sympathetic and experienced GP and she diagnosed post traumatic stress disorder, which was triggering depressive episodes and suggested I should go for counselling. The counselling was fantastic - I only had 3 sessions but not only have I learnt how to deal with the trauma, I have also come to terms with alot of hidden issues.
My point is if you are not happy with the treatment you are getting from your current GP, ask to see another. Depression is very complex and it would be well worth seeing a pyschiatrist as they can assess whether it is a chemical problem - physiological or if it is a mental problem - pyschological.
If necessary take a husband/partner/mum with you to help fight your corner with the GP.

Suew, I have to confess that part of my annoyance with malaise in the nhs is prompted by my own case. I spent two years trying to get help, I had lots of (what I now know were very obvious) symptoms and was fobbed off by my then gp time after time, the final straw was when she wrote a prescription for Diazepam and told my husband I needed a rest. I changed gp and within a week had had surgery to remove a brain tumour the size of an egg that had apparently been there for 5 - 6 years! Thank God it was benign.
I had really thought I was losing my marbles so diagnosis was a relief and I thought I coped well until I had a breakdowm 10 months later. My new Gp was wonderful, she and my family saw me through.
I will never again be rushed or leave feeling disatisfied with the answers I am given and neither should anyone else. If you feel their is a problem then always ask for more. If you are not being heard, ask someone else. I cant stress that strongly enough.

Midge...Thank god you made a fuss. I can identify so much with this whole discussion. 6 weeks after the birth of my sons I was rushed to casualty after collapsing. My blood pressure dangerously low, I was sick, had a blinding headache and couldn't stand up. All the tests the doctors did suggested that something was seriously wrong. I was sent for an emergency MRI scan etc etc etc. To cut a VERY long (and very very traumatic) story short...I was eventually diagnosed with severe post natal depression. The symptons I had were entirely physical. I was absolutely thrilled with my sons after IVF treatment. The day after I was taken to casualty my first period started.....so it was all a combination of the hormone changes from fertility drugs / twin pregnancy etc etc. I've written elsewhere about my battle to get myself back so I won't bore you again. But I will just say that not all anti depressants suit everyone. I was totally against them but was forced to take them in the end. I had to try 3 different types before we found one to suit me. My GP made me feel totally useless and left me unchecked and suicidal for 2 weeks. BUT my counsellor was wonderful AND a psychiatrist I saw (who was an old hippy and madder than me) made me feel like I was worth something by making the effort to call me from home on a saturday.
So anyway, after all that. If you're not well please please make a fuss. You may have an emotional problem, you may have a physical problem or you may just be feeling under the weather....either way - if you don't look after yourself no-one else will!!

Hi, i'm new to this web site but so glad i stumbled across it. I suffer fron postnatal depression and spent nine months trying to "get on with it" but eventually caved in. My GP and HV have been very supportive and i have been offered councilling, but i feel i want to get through this without. I'm taking anti-depressants and find myself wondering what they are actually doing for me. Is there anyone out there that can tell me that i will, one day, feel normal!!!

Weez, please keep an open mind about the councilling, I refused when it was offered to me, and although my gp and family did a great job I do feel that in hindsight I should have given it a go. It's not right for everyone but dont rule it out.
Good luck.

God,I'm so glad I decided to add this subject to the discussions list.When you are actually suffering you don't realise that you're not the only one,you feel like the whole world is against you,I felt like that anyway.Depression does weird things to you,it can either strip you of all your strenghth and belief in anything or with the right treatment and the support from the people who you love you most make you want to make your life and world alot fuller and to take each day as it comes.Jac,I got a letter today from the hospital but it is negative news.It could be months before I'm even assessed and I've had depression for three years.It's not good enough I know and there are days like I'm having today when I wanna get my medication out of the cupboard and start taking it again.I don't for the sake of my children and my husband.They are the reason I try to be strong.I don't have much family and they certainly aren't very supportive.
We all know what kind of support would help people in our situation but getting the message across is another matter.Until someone actually listens and treats depression in the way it should be (SERIOUSLY) people will continue to suffer and wait for months on NHS waiting lists. My letter stated today that services is this area are very stretched and limited.That's how I feel sometimes.

Love to you all,stay sane!
Peaches

Peaches, sorry about your letter. Do they mean they don't have the people or money in your area (or both?) as I'm wondering if it's possible for you to go private and the nhs pays for it! It may be worth asking (or demanding!) maybe a long shot but ...

Take care.

Hi to everyone and Jac,
I actually didn't know it was possible to do that.I have a community nurse who comes to see me well,it was supposed to be every week but it's now been cut back to about every three weeks because of staff shortages etc.I've heard all this poo too often now,I'm getting totally fed up with the system.Basically it stinks,what the hell do people pay national insurance for nowadays.If anyone knows please let me know.Thanks for replying to my message Jac,I appreicate it.I will keep you posted on my progress through the discussion boards.

Gotta go to bed now,soooo tired!
Peaches

Weez, You will get better...you really will! I'm about to take my two boys out shopping on my own, my husband is at work, and Ive just put some new plants in the garden. not very unusual I know but 18 months ago I couldn't be in a room on my own, I couldn't drive and my husband couldn't go to work. YOU WILL GET BETTER. At the time I couldn't believe that there could be anything but a tragic end the whole situation.....now I want a huge house!!! I never, ever thought I'd feel or want normal things again.
There was no magic cure to me feeling better. Here'e just a few things:
1/ I eventually took anti depressants (Seroxat in my case)

2/ I rested and rested and rested. Told myself that it was better for my sons in the long run. (This was despite my mother often looking at me as though I was a waste of space.)

3/ Kept a diary. Wrote down how awful I felt every day. Also every tiny achievement. (Had a bath on my own etc. / smiled at something on tv)

4/ Made a list of kind of mindless things to do if I couldn't face anything / had a panic attack etc. (Things like...file my nails/straighten the rug/ pluck eyebrows.)

5/ Saw a PND counsellor through health visitor.
I (luckily) had a few sessions on NHS...then paid to see her a few more times (about 20 pounds for an hour.)

6/ Saw a psychiatrist (kicking and screaming.) Emotionally didn't really help...but did help me to understand PND a bit and really knew her stuff re. anti depressants. Believed me when I said one anti depressant made me feel 10 times worse (my GP said it was all in my mind..and I was making things worse for myself!)

7/ Accepted that I was ill. Would need time to recover. Wasn't like other mums who could dash around doing everything. Would need to give myself time to get better.

(I'm still on a small dose of seroxat which I'm planning to stop taking at end of April. I'll do this very slowly as I don't want to go backwards.
(Even if it takes months.))

Hi everyone,
Just to let you know that I have a shitty weekend.Infact I feel like I've taken four huge steps back.I got my prozac out today and took two,something I haven't done in a long time.(about four months infact)I just feel like nobody wants to listen to me.I really need to talk about things.Why the hell should I have to wait several months for therapy when I need to talk now.I'm getting the same feelings about my kids,I feel they are out to get me.Of course they're doing nothing but acting like normal young kids.I thought that I was getting past this sort of thing happening.I hate depression,why doesn't it leave you alone?I want to know why my body is fighting this illness.

Take care,
Peaches

Peaches, I am sorry that you've had such a bad weekend but please, please,please see somebody today! Camp on your GP's doorstep if necessary. Taking your medication as sporadically as you are isn't going to help. In fact it may be dangerous. Please believe me but people really do care. I do suggest you phone Saneline, or the Samaritans, your local number will be in the phone book. Saneline may be able to help by both listening and pointing you in the right direction re: services in your area. Good luck and best wishes Winnie

Peaches, This is absolutely terrible. There is no way you should have to wait this long. I agree with Winnie...I think you should make a real nuisance of yourself at the surgery....if nothing else they'll soon get bored of you and try and palm you off on someone else (hopefully a counsellor). If it was your child who needed the help you wouldn't accept it so you must fight for yourself. Winnie's also right about the medication. Taking Prozac on and off isn't going to do you any favours. until you get some proper help 'talk' by writing down all your feelings. Even if you end up burning it. Pretend that you're writing to one of the mums here. Say absolutely everything that you feel. It's very important to face your ghosts....don't bottle up feelings that you think are un-natural or bad.
Make an emergency appointment at your doctors. They'll probably moan at you for taking up an appointment...ignore them - it is an emergency. Follow it up with a letter to the practice manager saying that you desperately need to see a counsellor....keep a copy.
Let us know how you get on.

Hi all,
I had a not so bad day today,I took the kids swimming.Thanks for your words of encouragement.I am thinking of changing GP's but so many surgeries around my way aren't taking new patients at the moment so it's a matter of trying to find one that is.I don't know if anyone feels like this but the days just tend to drag on.My body feels tired but yet emotionally I'm wide awake.Maybe I should cut my tea intake down abit.
How is everyone else feeling today?

Speak to you soon,
Peaches

Hello everyone, Peaches, sorry you had a bad weekend, but glad it was better today. Days do tend to drag on when feeling like this don't they? For me I definately feel better when the whether is good, I'm so looking forward to the summer, hope it's reasonable whether, the lighter brighter evenings too. I drink a lot of tea too, it's my only 'vice' though. I don't drink much, no fags or chocolate even! By the way you can get decaffeinated tea bags, I didn't notice the difference (in taste).

I'm with twinsmum, camp out at the docs.

Take care.

PS, me too went swimming today with 1 of mine, it's my favourate day, something to look forward to.

bye for now

Peaches, glad you had a better day yesterday. I too was worried. The idea of changing your GP may be a good one but meantime I agree with Twinsmum, think of how you would react if it was your children you were fighting for... make yourself heard... your GP is there to help and yes, get an emergency appointment if you have to, this is an emergency... you deserve to be listened to and taken seriously... best wishes and good luck

Hi Peaches...glad your day was better. Forgot to mention, you can also ring the Association of PND 0207 386 0868 10am-2pm monday - friday. They offer advice and support.

Hi everyone,
I'd just like to say cheers for all your kind thoughts and suggestions.When you've suffered for three years like I have you begin to think that you've bored everyone and no one wants to listen to you.It is refreshing to see other people chatting about it,some people don't like to discuss depression,they just sweep it under the carpet.Anyway how is everyone's week going?

Hope you are all ok,let me know won't you.
Take care
Peaches