Lets all be anxious/depressed together.

starviewadams

She said they only found out last friday,I hope she's mistaken or that she misunderstood something,I'm fcuked otherwise!

This is the scheme she was on about: Psychiatric Scheme: This scheme covers all psychiatric medication prescribed to patients at the Community Psychiatric Clinics. There is no charge for medication supplied on the scheme.

sam34

starviewadams wrote: »

She said they only found out last friday,I hope she's mistaken or that she misunderstood something,I'm fcuked otherwise!

This is the scheme she was on about: Psychiatric Scheme: This scheme covers all psychiatric medication prescribed to patients at the Community Psychiatric Clinics. There is no charge for medication supplied on the scheme.

that scheme only applies to people living in a certain part of the old eastern health board. i cant remember how it was set up exctly but essentially each health board area had an allocation of funds that could be spent in a number of different ways and the EHB chose to run that scheme.

once it ends, the options will be a)medical card or b) paying the max of €120 for meds in a calender month.

starviewadams

That's what the chemist said,I don't have a medical card and couldn't afford to pay more then €20/30 at the most for my meds,so the drug payment scheme isn't much use to me either.

flutterflye

Bleh.
I wish I could feel.
I wish I could enjoy something again - anything at all.
Everything's so beige.

Novella

starviewadams wrote: »

That's what the chemist said,I don't have a medical card and couldn't afford to pay more then €20/30 at the most for my meds,so the drug payment scheme isn't much use to me either.

Could you apply for a medical card?

starviewadams

Was rejected when I applied for one about two years ago,so doubt I'll get accepted for one now.

Might have to start weaning myself off them,even though the p doc only doubled my feckin cipramil dose yesterday,at least she didnt increase the lithium!

stupidusername

starviewadams wrote: »

Was rejected when I applied for one about two years ago,so doubt I'll get accepted for one now.

Might have to start weaning myself off them,even though the p doc only doubled my feckin cipramil dose yesterday,at least she didnt increase the lithium!

I feel so bad for you. you should apply again. my sister was rejected at least twice, in the last few years, but was granted one this year. it's worth the go.

Novella

starviewadams wrote: »

Was rejected when I applied for one about two years ago,so doubt I'll get accepted for one now.

Might have to start weaning myself off them,even though the p doc only doubled my feckin cipramil dose yesterday,at least she didnt increase the lithium!

Yeah, definitely apply again. Maybe even attach a wee letter just stating that you're on medication which you can't afford, but need? I dunno, it has to be worth trying.

I'm in the same situation as you myself actually - my medication is currently free of charge. Nobody told me that this was ending in November but if it's to do with this health board thing then I guess it is.

Seren_

Karsini wrote: »

I'm in work right now, in the last half hour or so I've just started feeling rotten, lump in my throat and that heavy feeling in my shoulders. It's that feeling that I've got nothing... sure I've got material things but I'm missing the important stuff in life.

I get like this a lot as well; it just creeps up on you and then all of a sudden it takes over.

I've just started a postgrad this week. and I'm kind of regretting it now... I actually enjoyed the classes, but I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the work. It's such a struggle to get up to go to college in the mornings; I'd love to be able to just wake up one morning and for everything to be better.

The effexor seems to have stopped working as well, which is assumedly what's making me feel so sh1t. Was doing well for about 8/9 months (like I was actually talking to the doctor about coming off the tablets before the summer because I felt okay), but now everything is just like it was when I was diagnosed first.

Funny you mentioned Effexor. I was on a 150mg dose for a while in 2005 (2x75), which was making me quite sick. I haven't tried any medication since then.

Seren_

That's my exact dose, random It was actually great for me until recently, I don't know what happened since >.< Have an appointment with the psychiatrist next week to sort it out. Not looking forward to it.

Would you ever think of going back on meds Karsini or has your previous experience turned you off them? Not saying that you would need them, just curious. A few people I know have had similar reactions to meds as you and now swear they'd never take them again, no matter what.

Your Text Here

Your Text Here wrote: »

Would you ever think of going back on meds Karsini or has your previous experience turned you off them? Not saying that you would need them, just curious. A few people I know have had similar reactions to meds as you and now swear they'd never take them again, no matter what.

The meds made me suffer motion sickness when I never did before, puking on a bus to Limerick had me mortified!

I'm not sure whether I'll reconsider them; sometimes I just think I'm beyond help.

starviewadams

Yeah I may aswell apply for one again,might see if somebody at the clinic would give me a letter or something to attach with the application explaining my situation.Worth a try anyways.

Have been worrying about this non-stop since I found out about it earlier on.

Seren_

Karsini wrote: »

The meds made me suffer motion sickness when I never did before, puking on a bus to Limerick had me mortified!

I'm not sure whether I'll reconsider them; sometimes I just think I'm beyond help.

Don't be saying that about yourself - no one is ever beyond help (although I do feel hypocritical for saying that because god knows I've thought that about myself too).

starviewadams wrote: »

Yeah I may aswell apply for one again,might see if somebody at the clinic would give me a letter or something to attach with the application explaining my situation.Worth a try anyways.

Have been worrying about this non-stop since I found out about it earlier on.

Seriously, do apply for it again. I was given one last year after being rejected two years ago (although I have health problems other than depression, so that also helped in me getting it). It is absolutely mad that you could possibly have to go off your medication because you won't be able to afford it. Get as many letters as you can to send in. And there's always the local TD to get in contact with as well :pac:

IamtheWalrus

Hi all,

Some days I get very depressed. Things happened recently have put a different perspective on my life. I'm pretty scared of the future but I'm getting by. If any of you need a comforting ear to bend any time, just give me a shout.

Walrus

Your Text Here

Your Text Here wrote: »

Don't be saying that about yourself - no one is ever beyond help (although I do feel hypocritical for saying that because god knows I've thought that about myself too).

Thanks, though it's very hard for me to see a way out of it. For the moment, all I can see is spending my life alone due to not being able to trust people.

As I've spent so much of my life alone I've moulded my activities and free time around being alone. So I'm at the stage where I simply don't know what I can do to correct it, and even trying to get myself to get up and do something is a challenge in itself.

Printemps93

I think we all feel beyond help at times

bakecake

Wow the amount of responses to this thread just shows how many people suffer with depression/mental health problems.

I was the happiest person in the world until about 2 years ago. Cannot for the life of me figure out what happened to change me (I don't even know exactly when it started). It's awful though.

I can't say that I feel down all the time, I do have some happy moments. But then I have days/weeks when I just feel horrible the entire time.

I have no reason at all for not being happy. I have a lot of friends, great family, a job, no real worries. Yet I have major trouble sleeping and just struggle with staying happy and positive.

I sometimes just burst into tears for no reason at all. Even if somebody does something really nice for me. It's totally weird and unexplainable.

Also I've seen a lot of people recommending exercise. I exericse a lot. It helps a little but definitely hasn't got rid of it for me. I also eat healthily. I try and get adequate sleep (although that's hard to do).

Overall it's just the worst thing ever. I wouldn't wish feeling like I do on my worst enemy. What really makes it worse is that I know that I shouldn't feel the way I do. I'm just being stupid. I get extremely stressed...over the most simple, basic things may I add and that definitely prevents me from sleeping.

starviewadams

The double dose of Citalopram is making me feel very nauseous,will have to ring the clinic on Monday.

IHeartChemistry

Docs have told me I have bipolar tendancies. They put me on 15mg of Lexapro there a week ago. Gonna try me on it for 6 months and see if my moods settle. If not I'll be on mood stablisers They cant make their minds up if I have GAD/depression or bipolar. Really wrecking my head!

starviewadams

My doc/s weren't/still aren't sure if I'm bi-polar,the consultant was fairly sure when I was hospitalised last year after an episode where I ended up cutting my wrists,but the docs in my clinic still won't give me a straight answer,one said that I was cos of my family history,but the new one said I just have tendencies.They still have me on lithium though anyways.

herosa

Iheartchemistry I was in the same boat as you a few months ago ie bp v GAD. My psych said that it was a case of trying lexapro for the GAD and if that didnt work trying Lamictal for possible bp/mood disorder.At the last minute he tried Lamictal first and it worked really well and took out a pile of mental crap in one swoop. It actually worked too well because in my infinite wisdom I decided I was cured and as the drug was very expensive and I was on reduced working hours I stopped it with horrible consequences but thats a different story.
I did a lot of reading but 90% of whats out there is written for the bp 1 people. It was tempting for me to think that if I wasnt seeing god or spending thousands in a shopping spree or sleeping my way around Ireland I didnt have it. I found a good website on soft bipolar written by an American Doc called Dr Phelps.He also has a book called why am I still depressed available from amazon new/second hand.He talks a lot about the soft bipolar spectrum(a misnomer if ever there was one which he says himself).
It was very interesting to learn some of the less well known presentations eg patients may be able to predict in advance how they will feel in certain months of the year ie the seasonal aspect to it.This takes a few years of living with it though to be able to do this.
He talks about the the way the menstrual cycle can influence it(for women only obviously).
He talked about social anxiety as a symptom which I thought was very interesting as I thought that was a totally separate diagnosis but he mentions how people can swing from being a wallflower to the life and soul of the group and back to being a wallflower again which is very confusing for those who meet them.(why was the person who was such great craic last month refuse to make eye contact with you this month? A possible answer may have been they were in the early stages of hypomania which has now passed.
He talks about dysphoric hypomania which is what hypomania can progress to in its later stages eg your classic road rage guy.
There is also the variable response to alcohol one day sane and calm and the next week out of control. He also mentions how thought disturbances might not always present as racing thoughts but as periods of fantasy followed by periods of emotional exhaustion.
When I read all this I thought "oh so thats what it is called" It goes without saying that this is in no way a diagnostic checklist but someone might talk to their doc after reading it. I wish I had read it years ago. I wish you luck in your quest to resolve the bp v GAD issue. It wrecked my head too. My guess for myself was SA/GAD with some sort of mild mood cycle thing.(prob needed an anti anxiety med) Wrong! It was bp and no anxiety med was needed,"just" Lamictal. So I am a classic example of why you shouldnt self diagnose. Now I just have to accept that I have to stay on the damn thing which I have.Good luck.

Mars Bar

I have been doing a slow weaning process and took my last one last Monday so I'm off them a week now.

My energy is depleted, I feel all...weird, like my brain is moving in my head sometimes. I can also hear my Tinnitus going in beat with my heart sometimes which is very odd. But most annoyingly, it takes me ages to go to sleep so it's almost the afternoon when I get up. It's pissing me off. :mad:

starviewadams

Went back to the clinic cos the increased dose of Cipramil was making me feel sick,saw the consultant and he put me back on my old dose,but upped my dose of Lithium to 600mg.

Kitybee

I still find it really hard to get up in the morning. I don't think it's the tablets. I'm going to have hypnotherapy tomorrow, see if that helps. I'll let you guys know.

stupidusername

have another psych appointment tomorrow, hoping they'll up my dosage. have a feeling they won't though.

sick of being so tired all the time. hate that people don't believe that i need as much sleep as i do. so annoying.

Princess Peach

Kitybee wrote: »

I'm still not able to get up in the morning. I don't think it's the tablets. I'm going to have hypnotherapy tomorrow, see if that helps. I'll let you guys know.

Good luck! My mood has been overall fine this year once I got my dosage right, but my motivation is still very low! Find it hard to get out of bed and to exercise, but not sure why. I used to exercise more when my mood was low tbh, try and keep my mind off things.

Been thinking of hypnotherapy myself for my eating disorder, just don't know much about it at all. Hope it goes well for you

WalterMitty

Princess Peach wrote: »

Good luck! My mood has been overall fine this year once I got my dosage right, but my motivation is still very low! Find it hard to get out of bed and to exercise, but not sure why. I used to exercise more when my mood was low tbh, try and keep my mind off things.

Been thinking of hypnotherapy myself for my eating disorder, just don't know much about it at all. Hope it goes well for you

Your medication prob doesnt impact on dopamine and noradrenaline which are important for drive and motivation.

luckyfrank

stupidusername wrote: »

have another psych appointment tomorrow, hoping they'll up my dosage. have a feeling they won't though.

sick of being so tired all the time. hate that people don't believe that i need as much sleep as i do. so annoying.

Tiredness, eternal tiredness it never lets you go even if you sleep a decent amount of time your always tired every fibre in your body just wants to stop, anyone who doesnt have depression cannont understand what it's like, it's a million times worse than not sleeping, it's soul destroying

IHeartChemistry

Havent taken my meds in a few days. Small trigger to make me anxious = me heading to a tattoo parlour and emerging with a tattoo! Really weird manic episode yesterday. Dunno whats going on =/