Seen gp this morning

[shade-of-pale]

Saw my gp this morning, i dont know what to think about how he dealt with it. i am kind of annoyed he dismissed any issue to do with depression at the start just because i apparently looked him in the eye and talked normally? Of course im going to try and be normal, i would say im at my worst in the evenings when im alone. i didnt even get to tell him how i feel. anyway he said i had anxiety and sleep deprivation, so been given zopiclone to take for 2 weeks to get into a pattern. Turns out i may also be psychotic, but they will see how that turns out

[Hidden]

Hi Laura

Well done for keeping the appointment.

Hopefully the tablets will help & you'll be able to get some sleep which might help you feel a little better.

Psychotic? Oh...well at least it's not serious huh girl?

James

[shade-of-pale in reply to Hidden]

Hi

Haha i don;t know if you're joking or not? Yes, i hope so too, hoping the side effects won't be too bad as well. Gp said i could wake up feeling like i have a hangover!

Laura

[Hidden in reply to shade-of-pale]

Yeah it was a joke. Hopefully the side effects won't be too bad, no idea about the drugs as I've never heard of them.

Good luck & do continue to keep posting in here if you like

[Photogeek]

Hi Laura

Glad you went to Doctor. Psychosis would account for the voices. But people

Can be temporarily psychotic and can recover. Have you to go back to him ?

Do you live at home as your 17 . Look after yourself and catch up on sleep.

Hannah x

[Stilltrying_]

Hi I have followed your post. Please be very careful with zopiclone and only take it for the two weeks recommended. I was put on it years ago and now am dependent and I believe it messes up all sorts of things in your body. I have muscle problems, bladder problems and so forth which I believe could come from long term use of this drug (more than 20 years use) I have been trying to cut down to half a tablet and in most cases on most nights I am managing it but i can't seem to go below that or take nothing at all.

There were some extremely helpful replies to your original post. I am not very familiar with the topic of hearing voices but I found it interesting to read how this can sometimes be misdiagnosed; this will mean as well that it can sometimes be mistreated , and one worry I have for you is that you could end up more heavily medicated than you need to be in the longterm which would be a shame as anti-psychotic drugs do slow you down.

So, perhaps as well as taking your doctors advice maybe you could research and read around the sorts of ideas which were raised in those posts so you remain knowledgeable and in control of your condition and the treatment options available to you.

Anyway I hope all the posts have given you some ideas and we are always here to support and also to get your support with stuff as and when you feel able to contribute.

Gemmalouise

[Luckyring56 in reply to Stilltrying_]

I agree Gemma,

They're not so unlike diazepam in that respect, they're just a synthetic version. I'm struggling with about the same length of time on those and yes...I have bladder problems too as well as tremors and balance problems.

I'm not so sure that any of the ADs will turn out to be any better after the same length of time of use - who knows?

I've become a 'quick fix' sceptic over the time and if I could turn back the clock wouldn't touch any if I could avoid them.

Hope you have a good weekend planned.

I'm hoping for a bit of sunshine to carry on rotivating the new flower borders. Today was definitely too wet here!

Take care Hun,

Lorraine

xxx

[Stilltrying_ in reply to Luckyring56]

Absolutely agree with you Lorraine: I think they will find the AD's have similar problems in the longterm. I am not totally "anti" medication; it can help and is necessary in some cases but I do think that being encouraged to rely on it like I was on the zopiclone whilst being told it was "safe" has not done me much good in the longterm; although it is arguable I would have been a lot more "trouble" to the mental health system if I hadn't kept taking it which is the main reason why I did take it I

guess to "calm down" anxiety and "excess" emotion. I have said this before but I have always found the mental health professionals I have dealt with fine when you are "talking about" for example being panicky but when you show any signs of "being panicky" when you are with them they tend to get very defensive and very punitive very quickly.

This really annoys me looking back. I have never been "demanding" as a patient but on the few occasions I did express panic and that I could not cope (I always said I "feel" suicidal but will not do anything;was merely expressing how I felt" and never made threats infact I always said the opposite and reassured; I was told that I would not get the therapy I had been referred for if I wasn't "in control enough"; lets face it I only burst into tears and showed some of the emotion I was feeling underneath ; it wasn't like I punched someone or something.

On another occasion I phoned up to say I was desperate and someone did come out but then patonised me by saying I would like someone like him to come and see me all the time, to which I responded something like "Do you really think I would want to see someone like you every day" ".

End of rant.

Anyway moral of the story, medication and the mental health system are not perfect. There are good and helpful people within it of course and it is good it is available but do exercise caution and explore other avenues and ways of looking at things. Me being in the system(nearly 40 years) over such a long period of time can create problems of its own I feel.

Gemmalouise

PS I have experienced feelings of "unreality" as well which have reduced since I reduced this tablet down to a half; so sometimes not all the symptoms you are feeling are because of your mental illness I find; they can be side effects from long term use of medication.

[Luckyring56 in reply to Stilltrying_]

Hi Gemma

Will PM you one day, we seem to have a bit in common idea wise. Meanwhile hope you have a good weekend.

Luv

Lorraine

xxx

[Hidden in reply to Stilltrying_]

I agree absolutely with your comments. Someone who is psychotic does not go to their GP and say I am having problems with hearing voices because by definition being psychotic means being out of touch with reality. If someone is aware they hear voices then they are not psychotic but have some experiences that may lead to psychosis if the person does what the voices say. I despair of GPs meddling in things they are not trained to fully understand - but also the medical view of psychosis is anyway only ONE of several views. Research from Richard Bentall at Liverpool University showed some years ago that people labelled as psychotic are in fact MORE in touch with reality than a 'normal' group of people. If I were hearing voices I really would consider getting in touch with the Hearing Voices network and talking with other people who have similar experiences to see what they have found helpful.

Suex

[ThemysciraDrive]

Hiya. Glad you have some progress. You sound more optimistic today

Have you come across this - nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/depressi... - ?

It's a quick assessment test to see whether you might have depression. Maybe you could do that and take the results next time you go to the docs? Bit ridiculous to dismiss it because you're talking normally!

Hope the zopiclone works out ok.

Will

[debsg]

Hi - that's great you went to the doctors - however the outcome doesn't seem to be what you were expecting and his diagnosis does not seem consistent in how you feel. There is no-one in this world who knows you any better than yourself and I am always wary of taking medications that are not targeting the correct problem - I do know that it can be trial and error though so hope you will feel a benefit from the zopiclone. I have never experienced hearing voices so I can't really fully understand that part of how you are feeling - I do know that sleep deprivation can cause all sorts of strange bodily sensations and it could be part of that - have you always heard voices or is this new to you? - has something triggered a change in your sleeping pattern recently or have you had difficulty sleeping for a long period of time. Try to keep a journal of how you are feeling - if you can make notes at night when you have said you feel at your worst and also throughout the day it may help to identify patterns to try and make sense of everything to pinpoint a recovery and wellness plan. You could also show it to your GP as I know from experience that it can be really difficult to communicate things when you are face to face with someone and in a situation you would rather not be in - things can come out wrong or can be misinterpreted. The important thing to remember just now is that no-one understands yourself better than yourself and that no matter what you are going through or diagnosed with there is always hope of recovery - sometimes recovery can just be about learning techniques that help you to live with and grow through mental illness.

Take care

X

[gardengnome]

Looks like you will be seeing the g.p. again after two weeks. It might help to write down what you want to say in the next visit. I take a summary of my mood diary to refer to in case i forget to mention stuff. The last time i saw the g.p. to change meds I was in crisis so it was obvious to her,.... but a diary to show the g.p. will help him understand if you are not obviously distressed when you visit. I think the g.p. may have been spot-on in saying that sleep deprivation may have been part of your problem, the brief voices you hear remind me of the snatches of conversation I get when i am over-tired and about to drop-off to sleep.

[Hidden]

Hi before I was diagnosed with depression I had bad sleep problems. I told the doctor this - he just gave me a lecture on sleep pattens and a leaflet and told me I was an 'uptight person'. I would go back and see a different doctor at your surgery. I find the female ones are generally better than male ones - especially middle aged male ones! x