Medications?

Hello Everyone

I would like to know people's experiences of what medications they have tried which have helped for mixed anxiety and depression.

I feel I need something, as does my Mental Health Team but I am hyper-sensitive to all the drugs I've tried and their side effects. At the moment I am struggling through with Lorazepam on an ad hoc basis to get me through really bad days but this loses it's efficacy quite quickly. I had to persued the psychiatrist to prescribe it again and I can understand why they are only looking at this as a very short term help until we can come up with something more long term.

Risperidone has been suggested, but I tried Quetipine once and a tiny dose kept me in bed until midday and made me feel even more depressed. I don't want to take any of the anti-psychotics because of their really shocking side effects. I do not want to add more problems to have to cope with.

It's really sad that I need medication to be able to cope with 'conventional' life with all the socialising and communication that's needed, and that if I was wealthy enough to live the life I need to live to be at peace, I doubt I would need it.

Replies appreciated,

Thanks

Parents
  • What is a bad day? 

    And if you think it’s sad that you need medication, then none of them will work. You could be given the best medication in the world but it wouldn’t work. Your subconscious mind, that believes it’s sad to take medicine, won’t allow it to work because it doesn’t want you to be sad. Why do you think it’s sad? Is it because they’ve never worked or did you think it was sad before you even tried them? 

    I think you’re thinking with your autistic brain. Black and white thinking. For example, you think there is only two choices of how to live life. Either to conform or be rich. Why do you think you need to be wealthy to live at peace? 

  • Yeah, Blueray, I’m with you that you don’t need to be wealthy to be happy, but you do need to eat, have somewhere to live etc. I think my problem at the moment is I can’t quite work out what would be the best lifestyle for me. Definitely improving since diagnosis though. Like you I’m giving myself permission to be me much more, and I’ve taken up meditation which is really really good. I’d recommend that to anyone. I’ve also dropped my hours which really helps and only now do those ‘social’ things I want to. Mainly actually not very social, social things like playing board games!

    I do like my job and colleagues though most of the time, when I’m not getting overwhelmed by change, commutes, too many people. I just burn out very easily, though I am managing it better now I know what's going* on. (i can’t help but think floo powder or similar would help a lot though, then I wouldn’t have a nightmare commute and could live somewhere quiet in the country and still do my job! And back in the real world...)

    like you the medication is for now. Weirdly as soon as I got my diagnosis I immediately felt so much better about myself that I do wonder if I could reduce it, as the side effects arent great. Not messing for the moment as things are going relatively well at the moment

    In a fantasy life though wouldn’t it be nice to win the lottery, buy an island and build a cottage in the woods. Wouldn’t have to be a massive win to do that would it... hey perhaps we should start a syndicate ;o). 

Reply
  • Yeah, Blueray, I’m with you that you don’t need to be wealthy to be happy, but you do need to eat, have somewhere to live etc. I think my problem at the moment is I can’t quite work out what would be the best lifestyle for me. Definitely improving since diagnosis though. Like you I’m giving myself permission to be me much more, and I’ve taken up meditation which is really really good. I’d recommend that to anyone. I’ve also dropped my hours which really helps and only now do those ‘social’ things I want to. Mainly actually not very social, social things like playing board games!

    I do like my job and colleagues though most of the time, when I’m not getting overwhelmed by change, commutes, too many people. I just burn out very easily, though I am managing it better now I know what's going* on. (i can’t help but think floo powder or similar would help a lot though, then I wouldn’t have a nightmare commute and could live somewhere quiet in the country and still do my job! And back in the real world...)

    like you the medication is for now. Weirdly as soon as I got my diagnosis I immediately felt so much better about myself that I do wonder if I could reduce it, as the side effects arent great. Not messing for the moment as things are going relatively well at the moment

    In a fantasy life though wouldn’t it be nice to win the lottery, buy an island and build a cottage in the woods. Wouldn’t have to be a massive win to do that would it... hey perhaps we should start a syndicate ;o). 

Children
  • Yeah. I found the hardest part of living my dream life, was figuring out what that actually was! Lol! That took me 6 years to figure out. 

    No, I wouldn’t want to win the lottery. I wouldn’t know what I I do with it! It would freak me out. I did it a couple of times, because my dad’s like that, he says he’d like to win the lottery. So I played it a few times in the hope I would win, but for him, not me. 

    I don’t want to live full time on one island. I do like island life. I’ve lived in a few, but I prefer to travel. So I’ll live in my van and park it in different country side areas and seasides, because I like the ocean as well. 

    I like playing board games as well. Scrabble is my favourite. That’s what we do at my autism group; we sit and play scrabble. I really enjoy it. 

  • What a great idea about the syndicate.