Does anyone experience blips on their anti... - Anxiety Support
Does anyone experience blips on their antidepressant that then clear up?ie antidepressant doesn't work 100% of the time jst most of the time
Hi. Gilbert. Antidepressants can work 100% but it is known that anxiety, if felt strongly, can override drugs so you feel as if they are not working properly. This is true of antidepressants. That is why there are various doses of different strengths. A doctor will usually prescribe upwards if a lower dose does not work. It might be a good idea to go back to your GP and explain how you feel. Sorry not to be more helpful but it does seem to me, when we are in this state, that trial and error seems to be the rule. Kind regards. jonathan.
Thanks both. I don't fancy the thought of changing medication. I have been through quite a change recently with a new job. I am going back to see my GP but is it common to take a higher dose at times of stress and then to come back down when more stable. X
Hi. Gilbert. Yes, but you must get the OK from your GP. Self medication can be harmful and one should never exceed the stated dose without consultation. Most GP's accept that anxiety fluctuates like hell, and prescribe accordingly.
Hope you feel better and the new job is going well. Regards. jonathan.
Hi Gilbert, antidepressants do work but in my experience the depression can come back and in my case has done 4 times in the past 12 years whilst still taking my medication(225mg of venlafaxine XL) a doctor or psychiatrist will prescribe other medication to help supplement the effects of the antidepressants and for alot of people this helps but mental illness is not an exactly easy to predict the outcome of different medicines as everyone seems to react differently to the same medications.
Sometimes I can see a trigger to these blips but have also had times when I can work out no reason for the depressive episode and the last 3 times I have had no easing of symptoms from many different medicines and have ended up having ECT! Thankfully, for me, that has worked very well!……… wasn't to keen on the idea of that at first but having had a head injury I found myself in a deep depression again after struggling on at work for about 9 months it got to the stage where I just could not function properly anymore and had to go on the sick, after another 7 and a half months with no improvement I ended up in a psychiatric unit ( voluntarily) and was offered ECT. This time, although scared I accepted the offer, after 10 treatments over a six week period I was well enough to go back to work!
So, no matter how bad things get, there are alot of medications, treatments and counseling that can help, I am sorry to say but it seems it is a little like trial and error.
Good luck and hope your depression disappears quickly
Steve
Hi Gilbert, antidepressants do work but in my experience the depression can come back and in my case has done 4 times in the past 12 years whilst still taking my medication(225mg of venlafaxine XL) a doctor or psychiatrist will prescribe other medication to help supplement the effects of the antidepressants and for alot of people this helps but mental illness is not an exactly easy to predict the outcome of different medicines as everyone seems to react differently to the same medications.
Sometimes I can see a trigger to these blips but have also had times when I can work out no reason for the depressive episode and the last 3 times I have had no easing of symptoms from many different medicines and have ended up having ECT! Thankfully, for me, that has worked very well!……… wasn't to keen on the idea of that at first but having had a head injury I found myself in a deep depression again after struggling on at work for about 9 months it got to the stage where I just could not function properly anymore and had to go on the sick, after another 7 and a half months with no improvement I ended up in a psychiatric unit ( voluntarily) and was offered ECT. This time, although scared I accepted the offer, after 10 treatments over a six week period I was well enough to go back to work!
So, no matter how bad things get, there are alot of medications, treatments and counseling that can help, I am sorry to say but it seems it is a little like trial and error.
Good luck and hope your depression disappears quickly
Steve
Yes, if you are not already on the maximum dose but sometimes they will add another med too "COMPLIMENT" the other. Just be carefull it doesn't turn you into a zombie if this happens and I have also found my voice to tell doctors/ psychiatrists when I know they don't suit me! Some doctors have a tendancy to keep saying give it time but I have found if they don't help after a month and the side effects are making things worse or calm you to the extent of not being able to think at all then you have to make a stand. KNOWONE knows how you feel better than yourself and mental illness is not an exact illness or there would be a one treatment fits all, I have been on alot of diff meds over the years which have made me anything from a zombie, agressive or suicidal. Good luck with the journey ahead and feel free to ask anything!
Steve
Thank you both. I wish you both well in dealing with your anxiety and depression x
Hi Gilbert, I know EXACTLY what you mean. When I first got put on antidepressants I had a good week or so then I went lower than when I started. Once the obligatory 6 weeks (although for me it was 8) passed and the stuff was in my system I felt as though a glass floor had been put between me and my black hole of depression. So I started to manage better...but then I hit a blip...and I had a nightmare week, as though I was back to the start, but almost as quickly as it came it went. This happened a few more times before it stopped and my depression seemed to subside. I am now off anti deps but still on other med for anxiety. During the 2 years I was on them though, with the doctors support I went up and down on the doseage. So my advice is hang on in there, see the doctor and come here for lots of support from people that get-it! I've been on here for about 2 years in one way or another and these people have been a lifeline in some dark times!
Thanks so much Poppy 45. I think when you are in that blip u just want reassurance that it will pass. I get myself tied up in knots and thinlk the tablets arnt working anymore and then panic abt changing them. I think I wld like a one off session with a psychiatrist who will explain to me exactly the downfalls of my illness in conjunction with my medication. I know tho that the way I am questioning everything is just a sympton of the anxiety and once I feel better I won't give it another thought. Its really nice to come on this forum and hear success stories as this helps to keep me going during the hard times. So any more success stories send them my way!! X
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