Treatment advice please

[Chloe9]

Hi, I am new here.

i suffer from anxiety and haven't seen a doctor yet. I have started taking St. John's wort and hoping it will help. Has anyone had any success with that alone? 

I am concerned about antidepressants due to side effects but if this doesn't work I guess I will have to try them. 

All ill I know is I need help and I want an escape from constant worrying. It's exhausting. 

Also with St. John's wort, I know it can interfere with the pill so I am considering getting a mireena inserted instead. Does anyone have advice/experiences with this?

thanks

[HelenM]

Hi Chloe9,

I have never taken St john's wort. In Germany (I'm in Scotland) it's apparently used quite a lot. The 3 or 4 people I know who tried it didn't find it helpful.

I have been on anti depressants for many years. I am very lucky, I get nigt sweats occassionally but that's about it. A lot of people get side effects for the first coupleof months and then they are fine.

Whether you try them is up to you of course. You don't say how long you have been on the St J W. I imagine they say how long it takes for them to kick in. If after that they're not working you might be as well going to your GP.

Take care,  Heen x

[white knight]

Hi Chloe,

No I havent tried StJohns Wort nor got experience with the issues with the pill.

All I can inform you about is the success I've had with traditional treatment from a psychiatrist via a GP referral.

My whole life has turned around from a whirlwind of trauma spanning 53 years. I'm now 58yo.  In 2009 I finally got a correct diagnosis of bipolar type 2, dysthymia, anxiety (which I've recovered 99%) and depression.

What followed was correct medication and then it was a case of fine tuning that medication to a/ over come the symptoms and b/ being able to function.

Yes, it took a while but now I'm set for the rest of my life and those I love in this world are happier for it too.  We have to think of our family and friends not just ourselves.

Please read the following threads (use search)

What's life can be like at the end of the tunnel?

Being positive - what's the secret?

There are many more you can read in threads on this site. Have a browse. I hope you get other answers to this post.  Take care  Tony WK

[geoff]

dear Chloe, when I asked my psychologist mid through my 20 years of seeing her, which I had overcome somewhere in that time, I asked her that I should try St.Johns Wort, she said to me, well if you want to try it that's my decision, but I would have to stop the AD I was taking, and that this natural medication has never been proved to do any good, well I suppose if it was doing anything, then it would be marketed much more on the TV and the newspaper, plus the pharmacist would be promoting it much more, but they don't, so that says it all.

Of course I don't take the pill, but once you have found or your doctor has an AD that suits you then there should be no real worries, so please all I can do is to encourage you to find the right AD, it might take time and several AD's, but you can't take a head-ache to stop this anxiety so to speak.

I hope that you you can get back to us. Geoff.

[Chloe9]

UPDATE

i received a few nice replies last time I posted so thought I would update. 

I have seen my lovely lady GP and had a good cry, told her all my feelings. She was very nice and gentle and understanding. She asked how I would feel about AD and it was up to me if I tried them or not but she believes it would help. Also I got a health care plan and psychologist referral to talk about it all. 

I was prescribed Eleva at 50mg a day. She did suggest starting on a half tablet to ease myself in as I said I'm concerned about side effects. She suggested waiting until my FIFO husband is home to start but I don't think I can wait another 2 weeks. 

I think I'll just take a quarter of a tablet for a few days then increase to half like GP said. I am home on my own with 3 kids I have to drive to and from school plus I work part time. I don't want to be dizzy or sick and not be up to taking care of everyone. 

Does anyone see a problem with doing it this way or am I being over cautious?The quarter dose will only be 12.5mg. 

I just can't wait to get started and feeling positive that there is help available.