Does medication help?

[acacia100]

Hi, I have been not coping well lately. After a phone call to beyond blue i finally managed to get the courage to go to the doctor for help. The doctor is saying i have anxiety and depression and i have been booked in for counselling. My appointment is not for another 3 weeks but i feel like i need help sooner, i feel like Im crumbling on the inside, i look at others and see them go about their day to day life with ease and i wonder why i struggle so much internally... I have near constant panicky feeling, heavy chest, feel worthless and hopeless and cry easily....i just feel so....broken.

I don't have many people in real life that i can talk to, i don't have many friends and i worry so much that if i burden the friends i do have with my issues then it will push them away and then that fear of losing people i care about causes even more anxiety. I hate the way i feel and i wish i could turn it all off, i have tried and tried so hard to help myself feel better and be more positive.

I am unsure about taking medication, i don't like the idea of it but i just want to feel content, happy and normal and not feel like impending doom is upon me every day. I would like to know other peoples experience with medication or counselling ? Did it help? and how long until it starts to work?

Is it the depression that makes me feel so miserable and worthless or is it just my life? Will the shitty feelings ever go away because if they don't then i don't see the point in anything....whats the point in it all??

Thanks in advance

[white knight]

Hi acacia, welcome

Imagine you are in a group, hikets up a mountain. You pull a hamstring in your leg. You refuse pain killers or a walking stick but that results in not keeping up with the others. The others, your friends and family get upset because they want to help you but you refuse help. They also suffer through such a decision.

With mental illness its no different. Please google these.

Topic: medication is a whirlpool- beyondblue

Topic: 53 years of hell now 5 years of contentment- beyondblue

Topic: the balance of your life- beyondblue

Tony WK

[Croix]

Dear Acacia100~

Welcome back and the short answer is yes they do good, and life gets better. Please have a look at Tony's references, they are pretty good, as is his point that everyone, not just you, can benefit if illnesses are treated correctly.

I started out with PTSD, depression and anxiety. Things got worse over time as I did not have appropriate treatment. Then on the correct medications, together with therapy, hospitalization and family support I gradually improved until now I'm out of sight better. My live has love, accomplishment, feeling I'm worth something and interests.

If appropriate treatment had been a lot earlier I believe things would not have gotten nearly as bad as they did.

My life was all shitty feelings - all the things you list, now it is not, I'm glad I'm here and enjoy heaps of things from family to books. I'm not pretending it is all perfect, there are ups and downs and I have to avoid or deal with anxiety, triggers and attacks, but I've learned how to (mostly) do this.

For me meds -and therapy - are not a one size fits all deal. It took a long time to find the right dosage of the right medications, and the right approach to therapy, for things to work. They did however only have to be right once. With the correct medication I found positive effects started within a couple of weeks. Note: that is me, some people here in the Forum have said it took a fair while longer.

I also found I could not get better by myself, it took outside help -definitely.

So have faith, you have suffered for a long time (I read your posts from last year) and are doing the right thing in seeking help, I'm sure it will be the start of better things.

Please feel free to talk more

Croix

[Mr_Walker]

Hi acacia100,

Yes medication can help! My life was getting literally unbearable before I started my medication. And I totally know the feeling of needing to talk to people before the time of your appointment - the few weeks can seem like forever!

I've found talking to people here and some of the phone services have got me through.

Regarding the time it takes to feel better - I think my medication took probably 6 weeks to really start working (I was started on what my second doctor thought was too small a dose) - but I did need to up the dosage twice since the beginning (I felt better, then it wore off, better then it wore off again - then it stayed good at the third dosage - so that's something to bear in mind - it might not be an instant fix)

Also it took quite a LOT of therapy before I really got to the root of MY problems (like 3-4 years!) but of course everyone's situation is different in terms of how quick they learn, how severe their problems are, how many habits they need to undo etc. etc.

I was worried about taking medication at first (I think most people are) because I was concerned that they would remove ALL my feelings (they didn't) or that I'd get resistant to them and have to take more and more powerful drugs (didn't happen either) or that I'd have to take them forever - it's been around 8 years so far and I really don't mind if I DO have to take them forever - my life is so incredibly better since before and I'm never going to go back! (if I feel like I can go without at some point in the future I would discuss it with my doctor etc. but I do feel like I still need it at the moment.. I just see it like insulin or any other thing you need to survive...)

That's just been my experience if it helps at all? Good luck, J.

[geoff]

hello Acacia, well the replies by those above me have pretty well said it all.
Within the next 3 weeks doesn't mean that you can't get any other type of counselling so you could contact Headspace, Reachout, BB or go down to your local Community Health Centre who have counsellors willing to speak with you.
Unfortunately friends don't know how to talk with someone who has depression unless they too have been through it themselves, simply because they don't know how to address the situation.
Counselling and medication normally happen at the same time, until you are at the stage where all you need is the medication and possibly having a counselling session every now and then.
The medication normally takes about 4 to 6 weeks before you begin to feel the effects from them, but your doctor will put you on a low dose to start off with.
If you aren't enjoying yourself then depression can set in and then will take over, but like many of us we have learnt on how to cope with our depression, realise the trigger points that could spark of the illness once again, but once anyone has had depression is remains dormant and if something awful does happen and you're not prepared for it then you may have a relapse.
Let's not worry about that, we have to get you over this hurdle first of all. Geoff.

[acacia100]

Thankyou all for reading and for your feedback, i really appreciate it.

Thanks WhiteKnight for the links, i will google these.

@ Croix, thanks for sharing your experience with medication and therapy it gives me some hope that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. i had forgotten i posted on here early in 2016 and seeing that again kind of slapped me in the face, its been a long time of shittyness, i wish i had got help back then.

@ Mr Walker, thanks for sharing. I am sorry things were so tough for you, i am glad to hear that medication helped you. One of my concerns with medication was that it would change me as a person, that it will change my personality or that it would turn me into a walking zombie and that people would notice. Did your family/friends notice a difference in you after taking medication ?

@ Geoff, Thanks for your advice. I will keep in mind those places you mentioned that i can phone. I understand that friends/family cannot help me which is why i am not telling anyone about anything.To be honest even asking for help on here makes me feel like a big baby.

If i was to try medication, would i have to see the counsellor first or can i ask my doctor ?

[Croix]

Dear Acacia100~

I agree, starting back then would probably mean you were in a better place right now.

Most people get medication from their GP, normal councilors don't have the ability to issue prescriptions.

Hopefully meds change your demeanor in a positive way so you are less prone to all the negative influences of mental illness without being 'zombified'. With types that were inappropriate for me or whose dosage needed adjusting my wife could tell things were not quite right, when on the correct regime all is pretty good (and my wife echoes my pleasure that I was better).

I did not ask for help and ended up very much worse as a result. When help did arrive (unasked) things started to improve. Asking for help can seem a big thing to do, however It is no more a reflection on you than going to the dentist for a toothache. People use experts and specialists to make life better.

Of course there is light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to move towards it step by step.

Please let us know how you get on

Croix

[Mr_Walker]

Hi acacia100, honestly I don't know if my friends noticed anything because I was quite good at hiding my anxiety from them anyway - but I found the medication DID change every aspect of my life and my wife and kids certainly noticed - but only in positive ways! I was able to go out with them, eat out, answer the phone, be happy, was able to relax and enjoy life instead of worrying too much about the future or the past - literally everything was better and NOTHING was worse! For the first two months or so I was quite tired and yawned a lot..that was the only side effect I had. I was maybe lucky that the first medication I was prescribed worked perfectly for me - I know sometimes people have to try a few different ones to find one that works well without side effects...

And yes I got my prescription from my GP and I found it really helped me to focus and concentrate on the therapy (I had therapy once before the medication and my mind was too scattered and stressed to really take it in). So yes they really work well together... J.

[Mr_Walker]

I meant to say - I didn't feel like medication changed me or my personality in an active way - just that it removed the extra anxiety that wasn't naturally part of my personality - just like a weight coming off, so I could be myself and not my anxiety.

I do know exactly what you mean though - I was worried about it turning me into someone else or into a zombie...

[blondguy]

Hi Acacia100

You are amazing for having the proactive self awareness to have posted and good on you!

There are so many great posts above I will only cover my experience if thats okay

I have had anxiety/depression for many years. The meds are never a fix all but they do take the 'edge' off big time and provide us with a solid platform on which we can recover more effectively with the counseling and all the various coping techniques that are available to us.

Anxiety/Depression is also partially a physical illness like diabetes or severe infection. People cant see that we are wearing a plaster cast as its not visible to them (or us)

you are not alone here Acaia

Great to have you as part of the Beyond Blue family

Be 'Gentle' to yourself

Paul