Benefits Advice

kentguy07

I have been on income support & low rate disability now for nearly a year.
I have clinical depression ,Anxiety , panic attacks & . Iv been to my doctor who had refered me to mental health and I have only got two options

One of the options are to take medication or i can be refered for psychological therapy.
When you have anxiety and panic you also have anxiety about starting medication i worry incase i have a adverse reaction and no matter how much they have talked to me about this i still fear taking medication.

If i have to go for psychological therapy or if they cant cure me then where do i stand with benefits. I cant even go to the local cafe and sit down and have a coffee without having a panic attack this happened today i am home now and i feel safe but i just dont want to leave my house. I wish i could live and die in this house never have ot leave it again.

dmg24

Hi kentguy07,

So sorry you are having a bad time. If it helps, there is a great Depression Support Thread on here. They are a very friendly bunch and you'll be made to feel very welcome.

If you do not get any treatment then you will be able to continue on IS and DLA. Your claims will be reviewed every so often, and as long as you pass them, everything will go on as before.

Have you spoken to your GP about your concerns about medication? Many of the newer types of anti depressants have very few side effects (can't say much more on here because we can't give medical advice).

If you don't feel like posting but you need a chat, feel free to PM me ... x

kentguy07

I have spoken to my gp and mental health about my medication concerns but i still worry. My uncle he was on prozac for quite some time he was healthy and 2 years ago he thought he had heart burn he laid down after taking galviston and he went to sleep and never woke up he was in his mid 60's. From what i read from documentation prozac can cause heart failer and damage to the heart but thats going by 6 medical websites that i have looked on.

dmg24

Love, I'm so sorry about your uncle. I think taking any medication comes with risks, but I also know someone who died in his early fifties of heart failure, and he'd never taken any long term meds (he was one of the healthiest people I knew).

One problem with the internet is that it might not show a true picture of how likely a bad reaction is. For instance, it might only affect one in a thousand people (or even less), and that person may have had other contributory factors too.

Have you asked your GP if they can get you some statistics to show how rare (or not) the potential complications are? x

tigtag02

Hi kentguy

I just wanted to send you some big :grouphug:'s

tigtag
x