Hi all. Can anyone recommend some anxiety/depression med alternatives? I’ve been on sertraline for the past few years but it makes me feel so nauseous and sick. I want to try something else eventually. I looked on Amazon and saw these “rescue bear” and “ashwagandha” gummies. Has anyone tried those? Any other alternatives welcomed but ideally looking for a gummy format rather than tablet capsules as I find them hard to swallow.
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I've just popped in to say hello. Have looked for some place like this for a while.
Same as most of you i am sure, good days and very bad days, never in any order.
Will be supportive where i can and it's good to know you are all here.
Be safe all of you.
Same as most of you i am sure, good days and very bad days, never in any order.
Will be supportive where i can and it's good to know you are all here.
Be safe all of you.
Hi, I don't know about gummies, but it is possible to get some meds as liquids if you ask your GP.
Does anyone have any panic attack tips? I know this is a depression thread, but I've been having panic attacks nearly every day for months now and it's so hard to calm down. I got a referral for support, but it's not until February. My heart beats so fast I get scared it's a heart attack. I feel like I can't breathe, I get a weird hot/cold flush sensation, start shaking, go lightheaded, get muscle pains from the tensing. It takes nothing to set the adrenaline off and it's not a pleasant adrenaline rush. Usually I listen to music, go online for distraction, or if I'm at home I sometimes lie down in bed with a hot water bottle. Those things can help but not always and I wish it was easier. I get breathing problems a lot with anxiety but I'm no good at breathing exercises.
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I get the exact same! Usually what sort of works for me is doing something to shock my system so right now I go outside to breathe in some of the freezing cold air, the sensation snaps me out of the daze if that makes sense. You could also try splashing your face with really cold water, or putting the inside of your wrist under the cold tap for a while is effective. If I’m out and about I like to carry sour sweets or really minty gum to get the same effect. Hope this helps xHi, I don't know about gummies, but it is possible to get some meds as liquids if you ask your GP.
Does anyone have any panic attack tips? I know this is a depression thread, but I've been having panic attacks nearly every day for months now and it's so hard to calm down. I got a referral for support, but it's not until February. My heart beats so fast I get scared it's a heart attack. I feel like I can't breathe, I get a weird hot/cold flush sensation, start shaking, go lightheaded, get muscle pains from the tensing. It takes nothing to set the adrenaline off and it's not a pleasant adrenaline rush. Usually I listen to music, go online for distraction, or if I'm at home I sometimes lie down in bed with a hot water bottle. Those things can help but not always and I wish it was easier. I get breathing problems a lot with anxiety but I'm no good at breathing exercises.
I wouldn’t advise this but I started to vape to calm myself down. I usually nip outside for five minutes to do it and the fresh air helps. I’ll have a bath and get into bed with a hot water bottle too if it’s in the evening. I don’t really find walking helps as i can’t settle, just laying still works better for me.Hi, I don't know about gummies, but it is possible to get some meds as liquids if you ask your GP.
Does anyone have any panic attack tips? I know this is a depression thread, but I've been having panic attacks nearly every day for months now and it's so hard to calm down. I got a referral for support, but it's not until February. My heart beats so fast I get scared it's a heart attack. I feel like I can't breathe, I get a weird hot/cold flush sensation, start shaking, go lightheaded, get muscle pains from the tensing. It takes nothing to set the adrenaline off and it's not a pleasant adrenaline rush. Usually I listen to music, go online for distraction, or if I'm at home I sometimes lie down in bed with a hot water bottle. Those things can help but not always and I wish it was easier. I get breathing problems a lot with anxiety but I'm no good at breathing exercises.
Re panic attacks: you have to try and ride them out, not repress them. Tell yourself ‘I’m safe, I accept how I’m feeling’. Try to steady your breathing and breathe from your stomach not your chest. Notice or feel things around you to ground yourself.
Familiarise yourself with what a panic attack is and why people experience them. It derives from the fight, flight and freeze response. Your body thinks you’re in danger, pumps adrenaline around your body, but it has nowhere to go because you’re not actually in danger, so results in a panic attack.
When I had panic disorder I was on Sertraline and propranolol for panic attacks and I would recommend propranolol as it slows your heart rate and makes life a bit calmer. I had 40mg 3 times a day or sometimes I swapped to 80mg slow release.
I read up on the Claire Weekes (Australian Dr) approach to panic disorder and I found that useful.
Hope this helps in some way. x
Familiarise yourself with what a panic attack is and why people experience them. It derives from the fight, flight and freeze response. Your body thinks you’re in danger, pumps adrenaline around your body, but it has nowhere to go because you’re not actually in danger, so results in a panic attack.
When I had panic disorder I was on Sertraline and propranolol for panic attacks and I would recommend propranolol as it slows your heart rate and makes life a bit calmer. I had 40mg 3 times a day or sometimes I swapped to 80mg slow release.
I read up on the Claire Weekes (Australian Dr) approach to panic disorder and I found that useful.
Hope this helps in some way. x
I agree with what has been said about closing your eyes and deep breathing, I also try to hum something in my head.Hi, I don't know about gummies, but it is possible to get some meds as liquids if you ask your GP.
Does anyone have any panic attack tips? I know this is a depression thread, but I've been having panic attacks nearly every day for months now and it's so hard to calm down. I got a referral for support, but it's not until February. My heart beats so fast I get scared it's a heart attack. I feel like I can't breathe, I get a weird hot/cold flush sensation, start shaking, go lightheaded, get muscle pains from the tensing. It takes nothing to set the adrenaline off and it's not a pleasant adrenaline rush. Usually I listen to music, go online for distraction, or if I'm at home I sometimes lie down in bed with a hot water bottle. Those things can help but not always and I wish it was easier. I get breathing problems a lot with anxiety but I'm no good at breathing exercises.
People think it's a joke but it is really debilitating isn't it?
Last month I had an attack inside an MRI scanner - chaos.
Hi all 
I haven’t posted for a bit, but I hope everyone is as okay as can be and has a calm, relaxing weekend!
You can adapt it to your liking, e.g. look for 5 white things or 5 things that start with an A and so on. Deep breathing and a drink of water are a must, going out for a walk if you can manage it also helps (it never worked for me though as I’d usually have my attacks at night). Hope you find this helpful x
I haven’t posted for a bit, but I hope everyone is as okay as can be and has a calm, relaxing weekend! I used to suffer horribly from panic attacks when I was younger and I eventually started using the counting method.Hi, I don't know about gummies, but it is possible to get some meds as liquids if you ask your GP.
Does anyone have any panic attack tips? I know this is a depression thread, but I've been having panic attacks nearly every day for months now and it's so hard to calm down. I got a referral for support, but it's not until February. My heart beats so fast I get scared it's a heart attack. I feel like I can't breathe, I get a weird hot/cold flush sensation, start shaking, go lightheaded, get muscle pains from the tensing. It takes nothing to set the adrenaline off and it's not a pleasant adrenaline rush. Usually I listen to music, go online for distraction, or if I'm at home I sometimes lie down in bed with a hot water bottle. Those things can help but not always and I wish it was easier. I get breathing problems a lot with anxiety but I'm no good at breathing exercises.
You can adapt it to your liking, e.g. look for 5 white things or 5 things that start with an A and so on. Deep breathing and a drink of water are a must, going out for a walk if you can manage it also helps (it never worked for me though as I’d usually have my attacks at night). Hope you find this helpful x
Hi all
I used to suffer horribly from panic attacks when I was younger and I eventually started using the counting method.
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You can adapt it to your liking, e.g. look for 5 white things or 5 things that start with an A and so on. Deep breathing and a drink of water are a must, going out for a walk if you can manage it also helps (it never worked for me though as I’d usually have my attacks at night). Hope you find this helpful x
Love that there’s two Twin Peaks profiles on this thread
. Thanks for the tips. xI know you haven’t changed your hair and I’ve seen that beautiful dress before, but I must say Diane, you look sensational today!Love that there’s two Twin Peaks profiles on this thread
Jokes aside, those of you who struggle with panic attacks, don’t despair! I used to struggle with PA a lot, especially as a teenager, but now I only get them 1-2 times a year at worst. I’m not sure if it’s hormonal and I’m not saying I don’t have other issues, but that’s my experience.
Ive tried ashwaghanda and it was helpful, I wouldn’t say life changing but it helped a bit. I don’t know if it was just placebo or not. It didn’t touch my first effective run on sertraline but no side effects as far as I remember. It has some interactions with other drugs I think. All this being said, I was a lot better on it than I am now on nothing at all!
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who replied to the panic attack question. x
Oh definitely. Those MRI scanners can be really claustrophobic. Apparently it's not uncommon for them to trigger anxiety attacks.
I'd like to try Propranolol but don't think I can mix it with my current meds.
Just dropping by with a rather heavy introduction.
Does anyone else struggle with having any zest for life? I'm getting treated for depression but honestly the antidepressants don't work. I feel no difference. I've been on 3 of them but they just make me feel empty. The more I explain to my GP the more I get started on new tablets or increased dosage, and the more I feel empty and grey.
Therapy doesn't work either. I just don't click with basic NHS CBT.
I have nothing in life that piques my interest. Nothing is enjoyable. I've stopped socialising and going out apart from work, watching TV, listening to music I once loved, eating snacks I previously liked, and just generally doing things I previously enjoyed.
I constantly feel like I'm on the outside looking in. Anytime I push myself out I'm just left thinking, why am I here? I feel like I can't get fully involved when I'm out. It's like I'm just watching from the sidelines.
It's so difficult to find a career I will love because I am passionate about nothing. I enjoy nothing. Nothing gives me pleasure. Life to me is very grey.
Everything in my life is going wrong. I've failed out of uni twice despite being an A/B grade student at school. I've spent years in dead end jobs with no progression. I'm actually embarrassed at how little I've achieved since I left school. All I've achieved is my driving licence but that's hardly an achievement because it's so common. Everyone around me seems to be living their best lives, graduating, travelling, getting well paid jobs, their own flats, in happy relationships with partners.
I'm working a tit, dead end job where the owner speaks to me like tit and I'm super overworked. I seem to get rostered for 6 days weeks every second or third week.
All my achievements, if you can call it one, is holding down a job that fucks me around and having enough money to afford to run a car.
I'm 22 but I feel like I'm in arrested development and I can't get out. I feel trapped.
Does anyone else struggle with having any zest for life? I'm getting treated for depression but honestly the antidepressants don't work. I feel no difference. I've been on 3 of them but they just make me feel empty. The more I explain to my GP the more I get started on new tablets or increased dosage, and the more I feel empty and grey.
Therapy doesn't work either. I just don't click with basic NHS CBT.
I have nothing in life that piques my interest. Nothing is enjoyable. I've stopped socialising and going out apart from work, watching TV, listening to music I once loved, eating snacks I previously liked, and just generally doing things I previously enjoyed.
I constantly feel like I'm on the outside looking in. Anytime I push myself out I'm just left thinking, why am I here? I feel like I can't get fully involved when I'm out. It's like I'm just watching from the sidelines.
It's so difficult to find a career I will love because I am passionate about nothing. I enjoy nothing. Nothing gives me pleasure. Life to me is very grey.
Everything in my life is going wrong. I've failed out of uni twice despite being an A/B grade student at school. I've spent years in dead end jobs with no progression. I'm actually embarrassed at how little I've achieved since I left school. All I've achieved is my driving licence but that's hardly an achievement because it's so common. Everyone around me seems to be living their best lives, graduating, travelling, getting well paid jobs, their own flats, in happy relationships with partners.
I'm working a tit, dead end job where the owner speaks to me like tit and I'm super overworked. I seem to get rostered for 6 days weeks every second or third week.
All my achievements, if you can call it one, is holding down a job that fucks me around and having enough money to afford to run a car.
I'm 22 but I feel like I'm in arrested development and I can't get out. I feel trapped.
So I am a musician, as is my mum. She is widowed and doesn't drive.
This year she has arranged several charity gigs at supermarkets etc. A number of people who said they would play dropped out and she got me to do them, and I reluctantly agreed as some of them were during work time. I told her that this was a one-off and I wouldn't do this next year. This afternoon I received a text saying that I wasn't being supportive of her and I had a phone call with her in tears, saying she was lonely. I reminded her how many days off I had taken for her this month, rescheduled work meetings for her, not being able to go out with my partner, and that I had my own band engagements to do which were numerous too.
I should add that for many years, I had to do my own band as well as hers. Plus she would shout and occasionally hit me, often humiliating me. After my dad died, I gave her notice that I had met someone and wasn't going to do all these concerts etc. She stopped shouting and has done tears instead.
I called on her, straight after and found her eating her lunch, so she wasn't that upset. I'm now feeling rubbish for something that really has nothing to do with me.
This year she has arranged several charity gigs at supermarkets etc. A number of people who said they would play dropped out and she got me to do them, and I reluctantly agreed as some of them were during work time. I told her that this was a one-off and I wouldn't do this next year. This afternoon I received a text saying that I wasn't being supportive of her and I had a phone call with her in tears, saying she was lonely. I reminded her how many days off I had taken for her this month, rescheduled work meetings for her, not being able to go out with my partner, and that I had my own band engagements to do which were numerous too.
I should add that for many years, I had to do my own band as well as hers. Plus she would shout and occasionally hit me, often humiliating me. After my dad died, I gave her notice that I had met someone and wasn't going to do all these concerts etc. She stopped shouting and has done tears instead.
I called on her, straight after and found her eating her lunch, so she wasn't that upset. I'm now feeling rubbish for something that really has nothing to do with me.
Sounds like your mum is abusive and manipulative and plays the helpless woman. Good for you for drawing a line and setting boundaries. She should consider herself lucky you even give her the time of day. Keep looking out for yourself.
Anyone else having a crap Christmas and it hasn't even started yet? I am having a rough time with my health. My TSH level is high, was supposed to have a phone appointment with the nurse practitioner. Receptionist tells me 12:30ish, fine. No call all day and I was busy working because some of us don't have the luxury of a salary. I see the receptionist left a message that it might be earlier because people cancelled and one missed call. I had my phone in front of me all day!
Who knows if she has sent a new levo script to my pharmacy and with my thyroid out of whack, so goes my mood and I am tired and feel like tit. An added bonus, the extended family nonsense it is just one thing after another.Yes, me. I don’t really enjoy Christmas anymore and I still find that hard to accept. Also have thyroid issues currently (higher dose needed) and having to wait until after Xmas period to get this is stressful - it affects my mood SO much - whilst dealing with difficult family relations. It’s a lot! You are very much not aloneSounds like your mum is abusive and manipulative and plays the helpless woman. Good for you for drawing a line and setting boundaries. She should consider herself lucky you even give her the time of day. Keep looking out for yourself.
Anyone else having a crap Christmas and it hasn't even started yet? I am having a rough time with my health. My TSH level is high, was supposed to have a phone appointment with the nurse practitioner. Receptionist tells me 12:30ish, fine. No call all day and I was busy working because some of us don't have the luxury of a salary. I see the receptionist left a message that it might be earlier because people cancelled and one missed call. I had my phone in front of me all day!
Sending hugs and love to everyone struggling.It's a double whammy, because you aren't quite sure if it's the depression or the thyroid. It has been playing havoc with my ability to function. My TSH keeps bouncing every so often lately and I have been taken it correctly. It has been 22 years so I should know by now. I have had hypersomnia for a few days now. I rue the day I ever started taking Effexor. I am convinced that stuff screwed with my thyroid, as no one in my family suffers from hypothyroid and it can be a rare side effect. I am between crying and screaming my head off today I am so frustrated. I know I will manage some how, I always do.
My mum has now apologised. My brother and his wife separated and the wife has ghosted my mum. My brother is not around much, and she was very close to his wife. The only person with that she has any real relationship is me.
I think I am having a negative reaction to Zoloft/sertraline. I had an anxiety attack today and I’ve been on the brink of tears on and off for a few weeks without any triggers. Has anyone ever experienced this?
Has anyone heard of Zyban/Wellbutrin (bupropion)? It’s got rave reviews and I’m really keen to try it especially as I have an addictive personality and quit smoking not long ago, which it’s supposed to be good for (nicotine addiction has translated to vaping which I also want to quit). It’s prescribed off label for depression here but primarily is issued as a smoking cessation aid so I’m thinking to try to get it
re sertraline
I’ve started taking sertraline again, starting at 50mg - it hasn’t made me have an anxiety attack but I have felt more anxious I guess. That usually lasts about a week. It makes me feel physically tense and I grind my teeth on it for as long as I am on it, to the point my teeth have chipped a bit. I get bad bruising on it (apparently uncommon) after about a month so I only take it for about that amount of time. It has been really helpful in the past but now it’s only kind of helpful
I had a poke around and found other people complaining about having panic attacks which I know are different but it’s a similar anxiety response i guess https://www.reddit.com/r/beyondtheb...oloft_and_increased_anxiety_anyone_on_zoloft/
www.reddit.com
It’s really commonly prescribed so hopefully someone can share some more personal exps with you.
If it doesn’t settle, maybe (with agreement from your gp) you can lower your dose or try a different med? Sorry you’re going through this at Christmas
re sertraline
I’ve started taking sertraline again, starting at 50mg - it hasn’t made me have an anxiety attack but I have felt more anxious I guess. That usually lasts about a week. It makes me feel physically tense and I grind my teeth on it for as long as I am on it, to the point my teeth have chipped a bit. I get bad bruising on it (apparently uncommon) after about a month so I only take it for about that amount of time. It has been really helpful in the past but now it’s only kind of helpful
I had a poke around and found other people complaining about having panic attacks which I know are different but it’s a similar anxiety response i guess https://www.reddit.com/r/beyondtheb...oloft_and_increased_anxiety_anyone_on_zoloft/
Reddit - Dive into anything
www.reddit.com
It’s really commonly prescribed so hopefully someone can share some more personal exps with you.
If it doesn’t settle, maybe (with agreement from your gp) you can lower your dose or try a different med? Sorry you’re going through this at Christmas
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