Had my apt and.....

Sounds like the outcome of your appt was quite good.

I'm an anxiety kid as well, and honestly, once I had that under control ,the depression seems not as bad as it was. I did a thing called cognitive bahavour therapy to help with anxierty/depressoin, and it was fantastic, I cannot speak highly enough about it, and since I did that, I have things under unmedicated control. I still have bad days, but I can get ont op of it better now.

Good luck, and it gets easier when you know what you are dealing with!

I'm glad you hav esome answers Deb.

loadsofkids- i used to have panic attacks too...they seemed to be triggered by certain things but not anymore..weird..i have OCD so had CBT for it..though was paying 130 a week for it...ick..so when i find a free option i will take that.. though it worked really well for me(before i got preg)

I havent had medication as i was ttcing atm..so cant comment on that option..had some issues while pregnant..hormonal i guess but got it sorted but having issues again now with the bfing thing..(tiredness and hormones i guess) anyway...the cognitive stuff is fab.. she said it would take months to be seen here but Maya suggested maternal mental health so may look into that instead.. ! glad you have some answers..

Glad your appt went so well Deb. I have general anxiety disorder as well, it's funny how much anxiety contributes to depression.
I had my appt today with the psychiatrist as well and apart from telling me I do too much, and I keep myself too busy to avoid dealing with 'stuff' it was a waste of time. Oh but they are going to arrange CBT for me with a psychologist to work on my OCD and anxiety etc.

CBT- Im becoming a fan!

Debs Therapy hasnt worked for me either. A good friend of mine who is also a psychologist said that CBT is what most of her patients response too but this is a general overview and not all use that particular therapy.

Great your meds are working for you. That is what has and is  worked for me too althou I wouldnt be without my MMH nurse, she was AWESOME!!

I wondered if it was Venalfazine(Efexor). Thats what Im on (well was till 10 days ago when I had an anaphylatic reaction to it ). Been on them since about August last year.
Tis weird cos Im 100% positive that in the info book that come with the meds it says u cant take them when pregnant or bf. I have been very relectant each time they have wanted to increase my dose, because the length of time to eventually come off them before ttc again would be longer, if the dose was higher. I would defiantly check the medicines information before u take them.
Obviously Im wrong tho, or your Phyciatrist wouldnt be prescibing it.

Take them at night as they made me extremely drowsy, and my Dad is also on them and when I told him to change to taking them at night, he didnt want to bother cos he thought it didnt effect him. But when he did start taking them at night instead, my Mum noticed a big improvement in his energy levels and motivation etc.

I think my sex drive is better than it was on the previous meds, but its still hardly existant(sorry TMI!).

I also had a persistant dry cough that woke me up at nights, from the meds. This worsened as my dose was increased, but we now know that this was beginning of allergy to them. Eeekkk!

And whatever u do, DO NOT miss even one dose. The nightmares are horrific if u do. And this is a well docummented fact with this drug, not just with me!

If your dose it ever increased to 150mg (Im presuming u will start on the usual 75mg dose), the meds are available in this dose, you do not need to take 2 pills, like one chemist shop told my Dad. The chemist also told my Dad the other day that the lower 37.5 mg capsules are now available on special authority. You previously had to pay heaps of $$$ for them, which would be a consideration when you need to come of them.

Sorry, hope I havent put u off!
They were much better for me than the other meds I tried first.

Edited by Kellz

Yeah I would definatley take them at night. I was soo exhausted all the time, I even went to the Dr about it twice thinking that my iron levels were really low or something, until we figured out it was cos I was taking them in the morning. And like I said, Mum noticed a big improvement in dad when he swapped to taking them at night, even tho he didnt feel like they were making him tired or anything.

Allergic reaction isnt common at all. I was fine on 150mg, but then the reaction kicked in after my dose was increased to 225mg. Only had the allergic reaction cos my body was oversenitised to them when I took an OD. Then when my dose was increased 3 weeks later, thats when the reaction happened.

Really hope they work well for you

Oh gee the sleep think is so awful, isnt it. Really hope its ettles down for u soon, and u are able to get some decent rest. Wonder if there is a sleeping tab they could safely give u for a few days just to get u some sleep?
Glad u feeling more positive tho!

I'm finding broken sleep a pain in the butt atm too, altho not related to my meds, more coz I am up and down to the bathroom and the gremlins 25 times a night, it really messes with me, and then having to get up earlier to get Maya to school, I'm not used to that yet!