Is it ok to ask a GP to prescribe me anti-depressants?

[Yuko]

Hi, I’m new to the forums but unfortunately not new to mental health issues.

As a bit of background, I was prescribed anti-depressants 15 years ago which helped me but I stopped taking them due to lack of money (I was working and renting in the city on traineeship wages).

I have managed to keep my head above water but over the years my depression has started to get a lot worse and just before Covid hit I was really struggling. With each Covid lockdown I got worse and worse and with my husband working from home and my daughter remote learning I was no longer able to keep myself together around my immediate family.

I enrolled in an online therapist-lead CBT course which really helped with my social anxiety but it’s also allowed me to see that there is a very real line between symptoms I can manage myself and when I get to a point when I no longer feel rational, I get very agitated and panicky and have strong urges to self-harm. I spiral really badly and for the past year I have started to have suicidal thoughts. These really dark spiral moments are much more regular now and they last for longer and I’m getting really exhausted fighting it.

I am really scared and I need help. I DO NOT want to hurt myself, I want to be here for my family but I am incapable of thinking clearly when I am spiralling and I am really worried about losing control. I want to go back on anti-depressants because my earlier experience was that my moods started as a roller-coaster of ups and downs but after a couple of months on medication it was like small waves. It was a huge improvement to my life.

I have booked an appointment with a new GP who has experience with mental health issues, I am nervous about it as I have felt very dismissed over the past 15 years but I really need help at this point. After explaining my situation to the GP is it ok for me to directly ask them to prescribe anti-depressants? I feel like my life depends on it, or maybe I’m just still spiraling?

Thanks in advance for and advice you can offer

[Sophie_M]

Hi Yuko, 

We are so sorry to hear that you are feeling this way right now. It soudns like you have been managing this for quite a long time. We now that our mental heath is a journey and that how we feel can change from time to time.
Thank you for your post and for being brave in how you have shared today. We also want to thank you for being really proactive in seeking support, we hope you can feel proud of what you are doing to try and best look after yourself. 

The best place to discuss medication is with your GP. We think that having this conversation with your GP is the best way to make a plan that will support you best. Sometimes it can be helpful to take this post with you if it makes it easier to talk. 

If you like, you are also always welcome to call us on 1300 22 4636 to speak with one of our understanding and helpful team. You can also call our friends at Lifeline on 13 11 14 if you prefer. 

If at any time you feel unsafe, it is important to call 000 straight away. We can hear that you have thoughts of self-harm which can be very challenging. There is always someone to talk to you if they get too strong. 

It sounds like you are doing as much as you can to help yourself feel as well as possible, both for you and for your family. We hope that you can feel proud about what you are doing to get the best support possible. You never know who will read your post and feel less alone in their own experience. Please feel free to come back and let us know how you are going, if you are comfortable doing so. 

Kind regards, 
Sophie M

[Yuko]

Thanks so much for responding Sophie, I really appreciate the information and the kind words.

I will make use of those phone numbers if I need more help as I still have a week to wait for my GP appointment and it’s a bit of a tough wait if I’m honest. I think I should have tried to reached out to a new GP sooner 🤦‍♀️ instead of trying to struggle on my own for so long.

[Sophia16]

Hi Yuko,

Welcome to the Beyond Blue forums. I am truly sorry about what you are going through. I can see that you are feeling distressed and fragile.

Yes, a GP will be able to prescribe you medication. If you need a stronger type of medication, it is best to see a psychiatrist.

It is not your fault for seeing a gp sooner, i am just happy that you are alive and trying your best to cope.

Please stay safe and i am here to chat if you need me.

[Petal22]

Hi Yuko,

Wellcome to our forums!

Thats great that you have made an appointment with your gp and yes it’s ok to ask your gp to prescribe antidepressants.

Just tell your gp about your depression and how it’s affecting your life.

You could also do a mental health plan together this will enable you to see a psychologist who could also help with strategies.

Your not alone

[geoff]

Hello Yuko, and a warm welcome to the site.

We are pleased you have contacted the forums and what you have asked is perfectly reasonable and we must remember that our lifestyle can change quite easily due to the many different situations we have to face every day, and if you can print this off as Sophie has suggested that would be good, otherwise, write down in point form what you've said.

If it's done in point form it's much easier for your doctor to read, but there is no harm in whether you ask them for antidepressants.

If you can google 'K-10' it's a test to see whether or not you are suffering from some type of depression, it will give you a score, try and do this a few times at different stages, then you can tell your doctor you've done this test and here are the results.

There is never any harm in being open and telling people you are feeling this way.

You are supported here.

Geoff.

[Yuko]

Sophia16, Petal22 and Geoff - thank you all so much for your replies, it means a lot to me. Thanks to your wonderful advice I have a bunch of stuff including this post printed for my GP appointment and I am feeling much better prepared.

Sophia16 and Petal22 - thanks, that’s good to know - as much as I don’t want to put more strain on our health system I will be asking for a mental health plan so hopefully I can get in to speak with a psychologist.

Geoff - thanks for the tip about the K-10 test, I was able to print off the tests I did through the online CBT course and after completing a new K-10 test this morning I now have a history over the past 14 months to show my GP.

[mocha delight]

Hi Yuko first I want to say welcome to the forums and yes you can ask your gp to be prescribed antidepressants so that’s not a problem. I never actually brought up a health care plan with my gp back before during that appointment that I made to talk to her about my “issues” pre antidepressants but I’ve known her for so long that I felt comfortable with leaving that up to her to come up with one for me and the sad fact that she even seems to know me better then at least 90% minimum of my family members so that’s how much I trust her and also how good I think she is. Also before I had that appointment I made to talk about my “issues” her I was so anxious/nervous that I typed up & printed out a list of signs, symptoms & feelings of depression I was having that I just handed to her straight away and the appointment just went from there.

[Yuko]

Mocha delight - I am so sorry I didn’t see your reply until now, thanks so much. That sounds exactly like how my appointment went yesterday except I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the decision about medication up to a new gp only because I have been trying to get help from my old gp clinic for years but kept being dismissed (they have sooo much doctor turnover that you end up having the same fight with a new gp every single time), turns out I had nothing to worry about, new gp was lovely!

I just wanted to thank you all again, thanks to your advice about making notes and printing everything out I had a really productive gp visit yesterday. My new gp is lovely and very thorough, to be honest I have never had a gp appointment like it before. As of yesterday afternoon I am back on medication, I have follow up testing and appointments booked already.

I am so relieved, honestly I have had a pretty rough week so I was a bit of a wreck yesterday but just having someone really listen when I asked for help has been really comforting (this includes you all).

Only side effects so far are tiredness and headache so I’m doing ok 🙂

[mocha delight]

Hi yuko that’s ok as we have all been in a rough patch/s and miss things wether starting to take medication/s or restarting them after being of them so no need to apologise so I won’t except it 😉😂. I also love how my gp takes into consideration my opinions with things.