[Gromit]

I have been worse before but I decided to inform the doc that I am struggling. I received a telephone call, with a follow up in a months time. The GP made some suggestions, DBT with a website to look at, she doesn’t think it is actually available on the NHS where I am, some referral to a nurse, I have no idea what that is, and for me to consider Mirtazapine.  I have been on SSRi’s before, always the base level, they take the edge off, one made the nightmares come nightly, they make it hard to concentrate, but stop me being able to cry. They change nothing though. This seems a bit more heavy duty.

When I cam off Citalopram before it was because I had discovered Adult Children of Alcoholic and Dysfunctional families, now the only meetings are online and it is a struggle to find a regular one I can always attend, the last I attended had 153 participants at one point.

So I guess I came here to see what people thought about the medication and DBT, I have got a copy of a workbook for that, I looked at it some years ago and it seemed ok, better than CBT anyhow.

Opinions, and experiences welcome.

G

[Blueberry]

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling atm Gromit.

Medication is a difficult topic because I think works differently for different people. I've been on Citalopram for years now, except for when I forget to take it and then don't go back to it for a few weeks   Then I do notice a difference so get back on it. I was once prescribed Mirtazapine in addition and it messed up my sleeping. I hadn't had sleeping problems before. During and after I did.

[Gromit]

Thanks @Blueberry, Citalopram was the last one I was on, that was fine, I just had more of a foggy brain than normal, didn’t feel it was doing anything. Is Mirtazapine a big difference, aside from the sleep issues?

G

[Blueberry]

It really seems that different meds have different affects on different people. I was given mirtazapine in addition to citalopram and I didn't notice any improvement at all, just the negative issues. It took me a few years to get approval from a doctor to go off it again. I can't remember that it made any difference. Except that I still have sleeping problems.

Citalopram on the other hand - instead of calling it 'anti-dep' I started calling it pro-clarity and a whole lot of other pro's because when I was off it I'd notice that after about 4-6 weeks I was lacking clarity, motivation and other good things like that. That happened several times. My present psychiatrist said in a different context that it works really fast, within a day or two. I didn't bother telling him about my somewhat different impression.

I hope you can get some more information that's more helpful to you and your situation.

[Gromit]

Thanks @Blueberry, I know that whenever I have started taking an SSRi I have felt an almost instant improvement in mood, I have the dry mouth etc, feeling a little like I am hungover for a couple of weeks then that goes and unless there are other side effects from prolonged use, like the nightmares I had with Fluoxetine, I have not noticed anything.

But, we are all different, I have asked people in other places and everyone reacts in different ways. Just like I have a list of medications which do not agree with me, and yet, are perfectly OK for other people. At least when drugs do not agree with me to that extent the adverse effect is felt within hours so no need to worry about withdrawal.

I am coming round to the idea that perhaps life would be easier if I had something, much as I dislike the idea because it is no cure.

G

[Gromit]

I thought I would update this.

As I was not keen on the sound of Mirtazapine the GP suggested Venlafaxine. I tried it for one day, it made me a whole degree hotter, which meant I woke up at night because I was so hot. It did have an almost immediate effect on my thoughts, and also gave me abdominal discomfort. One day, 2 doses, was enough, it took days to get over it, although, because of the warmth that did mean days of no Raynauds symptoms.

I sent a message back to the doctors, no face to face appointments for this still, and instead of just having a prescription for Citalopram as I asked for, had to wait for another telephone appointment. I started on 10 mg of Citalopram last week, and increased to 20mg this week. It just takes the edge off, but does not do anything else noticeable. So, whilst I may still sometimes feel like crying, I cannot actually cry. The GP did suggest trying the Venlafaxine for longer, to get over the initial side effects but it was just too much, and I was concerned I would not be able to do my job, one place I go, they have a temperature gadget now, if your temperature is not normal, you cannot go in, that’s how I know I am normally 36.3 degrees C.

G