Opening up about depression, *wish i never bothered*

[Dee1985]

Thank you all so much

the medication im on is Sertraline. she said some thing about because im on the pill it wont work 100%? i dont no what she means? the anti-D wont be 100% or my pill wont

im still in shock about it all and im upset that i will never ever go there again not even to the baby clinic that i loved, not when she said that every one there knows what i said aint true

Em78, i no what you mean, if i didnt have kris to come home to ild hate to feel how some one else might have felt.

eg she was going through a tick list she said "you dont have suicidle thoughts do you" while shaking her head answering my questions. then "and you have never thought about harming your children have you?" if some one was that low and in that position there is no way i could say yes. she made out it was a bad thing.

if it wasnt for you girls ild be thinking there is no hope.
i hope i havnt put any off speaking to a doctor mine was a one off im sure.

the way iv been feeling today is some thing i wouldnt wish on any one.

i hate crying too i love chinese for the whole day and get huge head ache.

poor kirs he feels so helpless

 

[Dee1985]

iv just searched Sertraline in the search bit on here and nothing came up? how come any one else that has been given anti-Ds has never had these? any one no anything about them?

 

[gingerpig]

Sertraline is one of a group of anti-depressants known as SSRI. They work by increasing the activity of seretonin on your brain, which is often depleted when you are depressed. It's the same sort of effect as St John's Wort which is why people shouldn't take SSRI's and St John's Wort at the same time. St John's Wort can make the body process things quicker, and there has been some research to show that as a result this means the contraceptive pill can be processed quicker and therefore be less effective. It could be this mechanism your dr meant, or it could be that starting sertraline could give you a little bit of vomitting or diarhhea as a side effect which would obviously effect the contraceptive pill.

Sorry you had such an awful time at the drs, sometimes we all really need to be listened to without predjudice, which it doesn't sound like happened for you. If you do register with a new dr, I'm sure they can supervise you on the sertraline - maybe you will get a better hearing when you try and explain your problems again. I hope you find the sertraline useful.

 

[Dee1985]

another question, what are panic attacks??

i wake some times crying and paincing about any thing, from Dior drowning or a spider in my bed. i feel like i cant breath and really believe its all real. i sit there and have thoughts like. what if im pushing the double buggy we get ran over Dior and Harley go up in the air which one do i go to first. or the same if they were both drowning who do i save more? i get so upset about these things.

is that a panic attack

 

[chezzabell]

sorry hun i know nothing about that medication.

But i cant belive what i have just read who the hell does that doctor think she is talking to u like that, i would be so pissed off if i was u, and i would totally let kris go down there and let rip about how much they have pissed u off

i know this is easyer said than done but try and relax hun and only take ur meds if u want too, dont feel pushed into taking them hun

hope ur feeling abit better hun take care xx

 

[Jo]

Hi hun
give Kris a from me too

Just been chatting to my OH and he told me he felt helpless too but had to hide it to be strong for me as well if that made sense

I can't remember what tablets i was on, I woul dhave to find my file and see if it says owt in there

Just remember we are always here for you and get with your new doc ASAP

 

[*saulino*]

Hi

Hun im so sorry you went through this. That B**** should be fired i would write a long letter to whom would be in charge of her and tell her how she made you feel and what she has said it was totally out of line i would definetly raise hell.
Hope your okay hun and remember you did the right thing dont let anyone convince you otherwise.
Take care.
Katrina

 

[Dee1985]

It could be this mechanism your dr meant, or it could be that starting sertraline could give you a little bit of vomitting or diarhhea as a side effect which would obviously effect the contraceptive pill.

.

god yes i was so sick last night i just woke in the night vomiting every where (reminded me of being preg) i do hope it passes

 

[beanie]

Dionne when I first started taking anti d's I had about 2 weeks of nasuea but it eventually passed. Give your tablets a few weeks to kick in

I have had sertraline in the past, and I found it ok but they don't work the same for everyone.

I have panic attacks, hopefully your anti d's will lower your anxiety and you won't get them anymore. I have found I don't get them unless I forget to take my tablets then they come back worse.

 

[Dee1985]

I have found I don't get them unless I forget to take my tablets then they come back worse.

will i ever be able to come of these tablets? or will i be worse if i ever stop?

i hate the fact im taking them iv not realy done any reading up so dont no the bad things with them?

 

[Dee1985]

do you think i should make a complaint?
http://www.gmc-uk.org/concerns/complain/index.asp

 

[beanie]

I have found I don't get them unless I forget to take my tablets then they come back worse.

will i ever be able to come of these tablets? or will i be worse if i ever stop?

i hate the fact im taking them iv not realy done any reading up so dont no the bad things with them?

yes you will, your Dr will help you to come off them by gradually weaning you off them. When I forget to take them for 2 days I am stopping suddenly which is not good for you as your body all of a sudden goes into withdrawal. However if you follow your Dr's advice when coming off them then you will not experience this. I have come off them twice in the past with my Dr's advice and have had no problems.

You should have an information leaflet inside the packet, this lists common side effects and talls you more about your tablets.

 

[Amanda]

OMG Dionne, I've only just managed to read this, and I'm bloody fuming! I'm gobsmacked that a professional such as a gp would say this to you! she should be seriously disiplined for it, so I would definitely make the complaint. I hope you are feeling a little better today about the whole experience, and that the nausea passes soon.

Sending you all loads of hugs. And if you ever need anything, I'm only about 45 mins away from you as well as Sami. Remember, you aren't alone hunnie.

 

[Dee1985]

help me im confused, i just sent a email to complaints@healthcarecommisions asking them if they ca point me in the right direction on how to make a complaint about my GP and the surgery as a whole ildfeel uncomfortable speaking to the GP manager about it as my GP made me feel like she was anoyed with me too this is the email i got back. i dont understand it

Within the National Health Service Complaints Procedure, anyone may make a complaint as a person affected by NHS decision-making. In the first instance you should make your complaint direct to the NHS organisation or primary care practitioner providing the service, where a member of staff will be designated to look into any complaints made about their service. This is known as local resolution and it aims to resolve complaints quickly and as close to the source of the complaint as possible using the most appropriate means; for example, use of conciliation

 

[beanie]

I would think that they are referring to your primary care trust, here is a link that will help you find out where yours is.

 

[rusks]

so sorry you feeling like this and the way you were treated at your GP's im disgusted with them. thinking of you you have a lot of friends on here that are here for you.

 

[Keely]

Dionne thats disgusting treatment and you should def report them!.. PND and depression are very serious things and should be taken serious.

As for the pill.... if they are the same as st johns wort can you not just take st john wort as they are natural and will not induce sickness?

I have been around people on anti depressents (prozac) and they came off them well ... she was on them for a while till she felt strong enough to cope on her own again.... it just gives you head some time to sort itself out. The pills will numb you so you can sort out the problems that are making you down.

loads of hugs for you, and like the others have said if i lived near you i would be round in a shot!!

xxxxxx

 

[Amanda]

They may be trying to point you in the direction of complaining to the Practice Manager at the gp's surgery. As far as I know, all of them have one. I've just had to change doctors due to moving and was given a leaflet explaining about the surgery, and it gives the details of what to do in case of complaint, and that is to contact the practice manager.

 

[gingerpig]

One of the side effects of St Johns Wort are also nausea and diarrhea - it's sadly a myth than anything natural will not cause problems. You also cant take St John's Wort at the same as an SSRI as this could cause seretonitis, which bascially means too much seretonin, which can cause just as many problems as too little.

As for panic attacks there are several UK organisations, http://www.panicattacks.co.uk/ http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/ etc. I've no idea how good any of them, I just found them on a google. On the PAX website it says that SSRI's can help with panic attacks, so hopefully you will notice a reduction in them soon. There are other techniques like breath control, yoga etc, which are all detailed there. I have no idea how useful they are for that as I've only ever had one panic attack, but I do notice that with my pregnancy jitters, deep breathing really helps. There was a thing on the telly about how to be angry or anxious your body stops breathing so by forcing yourself to breathe, you can help shift the emotion. It wasn't put quite like that, but I'm finding it helpful lol.

It's completely understandable to be worried about taking the sertraline, after all it's something new. But you will be able to come off it when you need to with careful guidance from your gp as a previous poster said. Sometimes it's a matter of doing what you need to do to get through now.

 

[Cat&Noah]

I have been so angered by reading this post, I have only just come accross it and the way you have been treated is awfull, and Im glad your taking steps to complain. I would suggect that if you feel uncomfortable going in and complaining yourself (I think its better where possible to make a complain in person, then you know your letter hasnt just been trown away or ignored) perhaps get Kris to go in and speak to someone for you. Definatly raise hell about the whole thing!

Also your doctors reaction is bloody typical of a lot of doctors treating depression and just prescribe pills like they are sweeties. I have very strong views on the subject, as Im a depression sufferer myself and have been for years, but have had it under control for the last four years and not as a result of pills, but diet and lifestyle changes and good physcotherapy. The fact is that pills do not cure a problem, they can just take away the symptoms. And in my opionion are only of any use to people who have chemical depression which is basically depression purely as a result of a chemical imbalance of the brain i.e. has not been brought on as a result of events, but even still this can be treated a lot of the time with medication. Most depression is caused by evens or situations in someones life and the way they react in response to certain things. Identifying these circles of behavior is key to actually solving these problems, also general problems of general depression and lethargy can lnormally be linked to deficinences in diet. I studied nutrition and diet and have found a huge number of things about not just diet but eating behavior that can hugely affect temperment and mood swings.

From my owm experiences I sffered depression as a result of a number of bad experiances in my life, that resulted in more than one suicide attempt, I tried anti depressives, but found alternative forms of treatment as mentioned above and now have no problems at all. If your suffering from PND or depression to the point of losing touch with reality or actually having phsycotic breaks then yes medication would be needed in the short term to get past this stage but otherwise personnaly I would recomend looking into alternative forms of treatment.
If you want any other imformation or advice, please feel free to PM me.
xx