advice

[boatee]

had anxiety/depression for years,on AD meds,had bad time over past 3 months,have been tried on 2 stronger ADs,but due to history of reflux,both new ADs set reflux off massively,GP says might try another one,but have hypochondriasis as well,so not helping at present,and i know its trial & error,but anyone got some advice,all help appreciated,take meds for reflux

[MarkJT]

boatee. hey mate, welcome to the forums. A very safe place that is free of stigma and chocked full of people with lived experience of mental health conditions to give advice and support.

You have a bit going on that is for sure. Is the hypochondriasis being treated? It would seem to me that to keep trying an AD that agrees with your reflux, you need to get the hypochondriasis under control. Not easy at all i would think.

I may be wrong here (and happy to be corrected) but I think i can draw a correlation between hypochondriasis and catastrophising which i do heaps. Over time I have learnt to control it, I do not know if i will ever get over it completely but learning to control has certainly helped me get the anxiety of it under control.

This has allowed me to then work on other matters that need it.

Happy to discuss further and support you through your journey.

Mark

[boatee]

thanks for the welcome mark,& yes,hypochondriasis/catastrophising are same thing,but mine is because of not being told where to get the proper help i needed along with all the differing info on meds & support,even now if i present to hospital,i'm still getting very little help with my mental problems[not bad enough],but back to gp wednesday to talk about meds again,talked to local pharmacist as well & was told most of the stronger meds will cause stomach upset,just take more stuff to help settle stomach,& my counsellor helping to sort things out,plus visiting AA meetings & a group called GROW,doing some buddhist meditation,& call help lines to help get through tough times,thanks for advice,boatee

[MarkJT]

boatee, it sounds like you have not got any continuity to your treatment. Does that sound right?

When you go to the GP, talk about this and how you need to separate the conditions you have into treatment categories.

For my treatment, I started with my core issue and that was PTSD and the incident that caused it. Once I dealt with that sufficiently enough i went onto the anxiety and then onto the depression. I was very fortunate though in that one of my early psychs was awesome and she dictated this.

Brilliant that you are visiting AA meets and the GROW group (what is that about?). Also the Buddhist mediation is fantastic (I do mindfulness) and using the help lines is really good decision making. That is what they are there for.

Mark

[boatee]

mark,all my troubles started with first ex,drinking got heavier to the point that in april 2016 i presented to ed at local hospital twice in 5 days,& was told to quit drinking which i did[none for 18mths],but the problem is that no one at the hospital or gp gave me any advice on where to get help,then like a tightly wound spring,i uncoiled big time, have had 2 stays in mental wards,but even there wasn't given much info,had to find most info myself,have seen psychologist,had to stop because of eye trouble,now with councellor who found a point where things started,working on it,& GROW is anxiety/depression support group,they have web site,was also told the reflux was only partly caused by grog,mostly from anxiety/stress,started new ad today,see how this goes,boatee

[MarkJT]

boatee, brilliant that you have not had a drink in that amount of time - you should be very proud of that as that is a huge achievement.

Personally I actually like the fact that your tightly wound spring uncoiled as this means that you can now rebuild your base and once your base is built, then you can really concentrate on getting back to good health. (I am excessively positive and always strive to find the silver lining in every event).

So i reckon we need to work on you concentration on the now and not putting emotional energy into the past. What happened is history and we cannot change history.

The support group is brilliant and I am very interested to see how you go with the new AD's.

Mark

[boatee]

thanks mark,but everytime i take 1 step forward,then something sets me back 5 steps,for instance,have 26yr old daughter who i've done all i can for,had to disassociate from for my health,needs help herself won't get it,is part of my problem going forward,i'm feeling now she's doing all this to get back at me,even though i've been there for her through most things,like thursday,started not good,had meditation,felt great,called to see sister,eveyone in panic because daughter rang in panic[has 3 kids under 3],& then that put me down to the lowest point again,even trying everything i know,still doesn't help,she knows i'm struggling,but don't think she cares,had more than enough & then her stuff sticks in head for days creating more overwehlming anxiety,then usually end up at ed because of it,what else can i do,boatee

[MarkJT]

boatee, you certainly have a lot going on so i reckon the best thing to do is to work on one at a time.

Dr Kim dropped a really good post in another thread: Topic: Treatment Resistant Depresson TRD. Running out of options. Feel like giving up.

Can you search for this thread (just copy and paste the thread name in the search function in top right corner). Have a read of Dr Kim's post and then see what you think.

Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint so one step at a time.

Mark

[boatee]

hi mark,but after last post,went to counsellor,had complete breakdown,she helped by sending me back to hospital[with letter of explanation],this time the mental health people actually took it more seriously,spent 6 days in mental health unit away from everything[so helpful],new medication[full dose now],plus one to stop night thoughts,home thursday,back to some of same problems,not helping,& yes,trying to take small steps,but at times find it hard to understand,then put into action,seeing gp for follow up today,let counsellor know i'm home,see what happens from then on,not going back to GROW at moment,but will probably stick with AA & see how that goes,boatee

[MarkJT]

boatee, great to hear that the hospital staff took the matter more seriously.

Ok so from what i see you are going pretty well, I know that is hard to see at the moment but your thoughts are good. It is very difficult to take those small steps, its difficult to take any steps at all where you are but you are.

Not going back to GROW at the moment looks to be good self care. Even though support groups can be a good thing, you still need to be able to absorb the support and if you are not in a very good place, sometimes it can be more harmful than good. You will know within yourself when you are up for attending again. It is all about you at the moment - self care is priority #1.

I was in the same boat with my stay in hospital - very much needed, very much appreciated and so good for me.

So again, just have to reinforce, keep taking those small steps - move forward, even the tinniest of steps forward, it is still moving forward.

With the hypochondriasis, when that comes up, just pause and tell yourself to investigate the thought. Look at the reality surrounding the thought, would it actually happen etc. Once you do that, you will start to get on top of it.

Mark