Depression Support Thread

whitevanwoman

Sssssss wrote: »

good morning everyone,

just a quick question,is it normal when trying to cut down on your AD that you feel crap and all the bad symptoms come back, can't sleep, tears, feeling anxoius etc. please help.......

Not sure - they usually take 2 -3 weeks to start to take effect when you first start on them, so I would think the same applies when cutting down but in my experience of cutting down over the past 9 months I don't think I have noticed a definite reaction to a reduction within a day or two. You really need to speak to your GP about this.

Could this reaction be circumstantial? Work problems or a reaction to increasing hours? Or other stuff going on in your life?

whitevanwoman

Sssssss wrote: »

^^ thanks guys, I did suspect it was a bit of both, first the chemical change of reduced AD in my body and as AB says a certain fear from reading about the side effects. Thing is life is never going to be 100% perfect so at what stage does one stop the drugs altogether if ever?

When you wake up in the morning and think that the time has come. You will know when the time is right for you.

In my case, I decided I wanted to know just how effective the meds were and the only way I could do that was to come off them and see how I coped med-free. But because I was on the highest possible dose of my particular AD and a highish dose of mood stabiliser, it has had to be very slow and so it has taken about 9 months. My GP and I worked out a plan to reduce them very gradually and I have had to stop the reduction for a couple of months at a time on a couple of occasions as circumstantial problems arose in my life and I felt that I needed to stabilise before continuing the withdrawal. But by being so in control of this withdrawal has been really helpful for me and has given me a real sense of purpose and a confidence that if I can cope with problems (even though it is tough) whilst on a lower dosage, I will one day be able to cope without meds. I have been off and on meds for about 15 years now, most recently for about the past 6 years continually, so it is a big thing for me to trust my own behaviour and to believe that I don't need the crutch of permanent meds to get through life.

I do think that, particularly recently, despite having had a really really tough time since Dec (death of beloved dog, christmas, horrendous family problems resulting in my "excommunicating" all of my family, and currently major work problems, and of course, the eternal "living on a low income" financial worries), I have felt more "alive" - yes, perhaps I am more volatile without meds, but my emotions feel less dulled and my emotional range seems much greater. Plus, and most importantly, the benefits of being in a good mood, enjoying doing things, and getting pleasure from things outweighs the worst times. It's a long time since I really felt pleasure in doing things and I try to remember that sense of pleasure during the bad times.

Remember though, that what has worked for me will not necessarily work for anyone else so do see your GP and discuss it all with them.

Well done for hanging on in there at work and increasing your hours, despite the problems you have had :T

whitevanwoman

LadyMorticia wrote: »

Hey guys.

Going out for a coffee (or tea in my case :rotfl:) with Sam's mum today.
Sam's sister is going to Devon with her friend for the weekend too, so I said that I would treat Sam and his mum to lunch out.

The weather here has been lovely over the past few days. So sunny and warm. It's been lovely.
Sam and I took a walk around the reservoir last night. It was so beautiful.

xx

All you need now is a dog! Then you could walk round the reservoir and enjoy it's beauty every day :rotfl:

whitevanwoman

rosepink1984 wrote: »

Hi Anni, lovely to see back posting again. Enjoy your time out with Sam and his mum. Make sure you have some rest later tho, it's really important to take it easy after glandular fever becos it can lead to other problems if you don't rest and recover properly.

Hope you enjoy your time meeting 'Cheggers' Katie!

I've been doing some tidying and washing up this morning. It's nice having the place looking good. Tim, my DH, did some tidying and hoovering yesterday which has made a huge difference!
My support worker is coming round at 12, so that will be good. She's really kind, and she gives me a lot of confidence.

Sssss, sorry to hear you are feeling rough. Like others have said it's vital to keep in touch with your GP and keep them updated with how you are doing when withdrawing from meds, especially if you are having probs doing so. Hope things improve for you soon Hugs

Jo, if you are out there, hope things are going ok with you and baby! Has he got a name yet? HOpe you are getting plenty of support with your LO's xx

Yeah, dying to know.

Have hogged the thread for the past hour so I'll sign off now...

whitevanwoman

absolutebounder wrote: »

You raise an interesting point. The ADs instantly change the chemical brain balance yet take two or three weeks to kick in. However people say side effects occur immediately on ceasing. I wonder why.

I should clarify - when I say that it might take 2 -3 weeks to notice a difference, I am referring to an emotional change, not physical withdrawal symptoms.

If I miss a daily dose, within about 12 hours of missing the dose I start to get a dizzy sensation in my head whenever I move - this gets progressively more unpleasant the longer I don't take the dose for and makes it dangerous to drive etc. The dizziness stops within an hour or so of taking the forgotten dose. This is a commonly reported side effect of withdrawal from ADs which is why coming off ADs has to be done very slowly and gradually so that the body has a chance to stabilise to a slightly lower dose without having withdrawal side effects.

In terms of mood changes as a reaction to a lower dose of ADs, it is very difficult to ascertain whether there is a difference and if so, how soon after missing a dose the effect starts - this is because there may be circumstances in your life which would cause a lower mood or an anxious reaction anyway, regardless of whether you are on ADs or not.

minimoneyme

SPAM
the above post (1032) seems to be spam, the same link is posted in various threads around the site today. hth

beachbeth

absolutebounder wrote: »

You raise an interesting point. The ADs instantly change the chemical brain balance yet take two or three weeks to kick in. However people say side effects occur immediately on ceasing. I wonder why.

My experience is that you get side effects when starting the tablets, when stopping the tablets and when changing the dose.

However, the anti-D effects can take a couple of weeks to kick in after starting the tablets, yet you notice these going after only a few days of stopping the tablets.

whitevanwoman

beachbeth wrote: »

My experience is that you get side effects when starting the tablets, when stopping the tablets and when changing the dose.

However, the anti-D effects can take a couple of weeks to kick in after starting the tablets, yet you notice these going after only a few days of stopping the tablets.

My point exactly - you said it much more concisely than I did! Thanks. How's the mood diary?

Tulip

:hello: Everyone,

Had a great time in Exeter seeing Keith Chegwin from GMTV,It was a lot of fun :rotfl: won a freeview bag of goodies for dancing,mousemat and pen with freeview on and I won a bottle of Molton Brown body wash too.Got cheggers autograph and a few photos as well.

love and light,

Katie xxx

beachbeth

whitevanwoman wrote: »

My point exactly - you said it much more concisely than I did! Thanks. How's the mood diary?

Ive been filling it in - thanks for that! How do you turn it into a graph though? Ive never done graphs on excel!