Hi I've never done this before so here it goes; I have suffered from depression most of my life I'm 42 I have been on anti depressants since

[emmaLC]

I was 29, I have tried every anti depressant going and was referred to a psychiatrist and he put me on 300mg of venlefaxine I moved house and I said to him that I'm out of the area and I need to be referred to the psychiatrist however my dr said he has specialised in psychiatry and he can fix my meds I also suffer anxiety and was given anti anxieties by the psych however my new dr has taken me off my regular meds and put me on duluxetine 30mgs and quetiapine 2 tablets at night and 1 tablet in the morning the quetiapine is a mild tranquilizer and I was always over sleeping for school for my boys and got into loads of trouble I have stopped taking quetiapine not the Drs orders but I couldn't function I'm slipping back into deep depression and feel only my psychiatrist knows what he is doing and perhaps my dr was wrong to undermine my psych???? I wondering wether to change Drs and get this depression sorted once and for all coz I can't cope I also suffer from brain shivers from withdrawals from venlefaxin and it's like a migraine your vision has like migraine spots and it feels like your brain is shivering as I get a massive pulsating feeling in my brain

Sometimes I wish I'd never started meds and put myself out of my misery in my 20s as all I've done since then is trial and error with meds I hate my life I hate being a shit mom for my 3 kids always being miserable for them but it's my kids that stops me from killing myself but I suffer every single day

what do I do????

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Hi

I am sorry you are struggling with such difficult feelings but I expect you know there are no easy answers. I guess the first thing is to speak with the GP about the effect of the meds. If you still find he is not helping you in ways you find beneficial then you might need to consider changing your GP. You might contact the psychiatrist you used to see before and ask his secretary whether he will agree either to see you or if he will write an advisory letter to your current GP suggesting he refer you to a colleague.

It sounds as though you had built up some trust in the psychiatrist? If so then it will be difficult for you to change to another person being responsible for your meds. You say you have suffered from depression for most of your life but do not say whether you have had any other forms of treatment? You also do not say whether you have any thoughts about what led you to become depressed in the first place. We all have different temperaments and some people are more likely to become depressed because they are more sensitive or reactive but usually the triggers for depression are in life events. I wonder whether you were happy or depressed as a child. If you are able to recall a time when you did feel happy, not elated but reasonably settled and content within yourself as well as being secure in the world, then it is likely that specific events triggered the initial bout of depression and that it was not dealt with at the time, however if you feel you have always been depressed including during childhood then it seems likely that your experiences as a child failed to meet your emotional needs for whatever reasons. In either case, since medication does not seem to be alleviating your symptoms it may be worth considering asking your GP to refer you for an alternative form of treatment.

You do not say whether you are working or at home, but if you are working and have sufficient income then I would suggest you seek help from a trained counsellor or psychotherapist in order to begin to explore the emotional events that led to and underpin your depression. If you do not have the income then your GP could refer you to a counsellor. With the cuts to NHS services you are likely to be offered very short term treatment, possibly only 6 sessions, so it is worth preparing first for them so you are able to think how you might use them. If the talking treatment is counselling then it would help if you were able to begin to think about your life story - you could begin to write about that it here and many of us who also experience depression would be able to offer you support in doing that. If the treatment you are offered is CBT you may find it helpful in containing your emotions so that you are more able to function and if the symptoms begin to return you may be offered a further course of treatment, however if your depression goes back to experiences in earlier life you may find a therapy that enables you to share those experiences offers more long term benefit.

I know from personal experience how difficult it is to shift an established depression but finding the right course of treatment for your particular kind of depression and its likely causes is the most important first step.

Suexx

[Suzie40]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I can't compete with Sue's reply, but it makes peect sense, so I wouldn't even try! I think when you trust someone, they could be prescribing you a placebo and you'd still start to feel better. If you're worried about a conflict of interests, ditch the GP. They are ten a penny x

[Photogeek]

Hi there and welcome here, yes I think you need to go back to your psychiatrist and

Get your Meds sorted out. Chopping and changing Drs. Or Meds is not a good idea

Well done for posting, if you stick around you will get lots of support here.

Hannah