hi jenny. i use st johns wort for depression during pregnancy. the strength/quality needed cant be got from health food store you need qualified medical hebalist to prescribe. also for bp there is strong evidence that omega fatty acids can help...again tho i would say see a nutritionalist for these! also accupuncture works well for some people.

Hi girls i was wondering if i could join ?

I will give you a bit of background about me
Well my name is jen 25 orig from paisley scotland but now live in essex i've suffered from depression since around 16/17 where i went through alot of bad times then i tried many medications which none i felt worked a community psychiatric nurse was then assigned to me as i was unable to leave the house without taking panic attacks eventually i did beat this which was great at the age of 19 i lost my first son i thought i was gonna relapse again but i didnt it wasnt till my 2nd son aarron was born i relapsed when he was 6 months old i went on proxotine for 2 years which helped me and i felt brilliant ive been off anti depressants for 2 1/2 years but at the moment ive been going through my 3rd relapse which i have been taking panic attacks bad since my grandpa died in november ive finally decided to do something about it again i thought i could get though it myself but i cant so im meeting with my new gp on wed and i think i might be bipolar but im not entirely sure what all the symptoms include . my Oh has been great but i think i need more support from people who know what its like to actually go through this kind of thing im abit at a loss at the moment and im not really coping well but i will stop rambling on now and leave it their xxx

Went to my appointment today, am really disappointed. All they've done is raised the level of antidepressants and given me sleeping pills. I don't need antidepressants, I need mood stabilisers! It's not the depressed side that troubles me, it's the anxiety, the stress, the mood swings. Antidepressents do nothing for me, that's why I wanted them switched at least he's given me something for my sleep, that's been making things worse. Now all I need is the money sorted, £70 a week to live on isn't enough got CB and Dan only gets £101 every two weeks from JSA, as for some reason our family claim hasn't gone through yet rent's due in a week and we're going to be left with NOTHING.

Antidepressants don't make you happy -they just level out your moods so should help with the mood swings. It can take a few weeks for them to really kick in and if they aren't having an effect they will raise your dose as they did today then wait a bit longer to see if there is any improvement. If nothing then it's normally good to change meds as those maybe don't work for you -every person is different. Most antidepressants also help with anxiety -if you read the leaflet with them it probably says what they are normally used to treat. What have you been prescribed?

most meds as in antidepressants are like an elastoplast.. they cover over whats really wrong. As for mood stabilizers, was it just your GP you saw? up here in Scotland your GP cannot legally prescribe you them. You have to be referred to the psychiatrist and assessed before any mood stabilizers will be prescribed.

Pixiekittie, what babystar says, normally stabilisers are only prescribed by a psychiatrist not a GP. No med will make you completely better especially not whilst you are in the mdidle of a negative cycle and are stressed about money. RE your finances, you may be eligable for other help, Council tax benefit, Child tax Credit (Working Families too when your partner is back at work) Housing benefit as your property is rented...maybe income support ( I am not sure about this as they have literally just changed the system and I havent got to grips with it properly yet!!)


Jenny, yes there are more natural remedies which may help. Personally I am not a fan of St Johns Wort but educate yourself on it and see. As I mentioned before go see a holistic therapist who can help you with homeopathy and/or Bach flower remedies.
Accupuncture may also be a way to go if it appeals to you.

welcome

I'm not sure if I should post in here as I no longer suffer with self-harm issues.

I started self-harming when I was 17, I met a guy that treated me very badly, I ended up in a very violent relationship, physical sexual and mental, I self harmed for 6 years, w...I bought brand new razor blades from the shop and sliced myself to bits. Hospitalized once.I went to see a psychiatrist, who I told all my relationship issues too, she referred me to a councillor who told me straight, stay in the relationship, you'll end up killing yourself or he'll do it for you. After 6 years I found the courage to get out of that relationship. I'm now in a relationship with my perfect guy, and although we have our rows, I would never put him or my kids through that. More importantly, I wouldn't put myself through it again.

Thanx for listening xx

Glad there is somewhere I can come if I ever get to that low part in my life again xox

Hi

I have had depression too when i was a teenager and then again after a nasty boyfriend..

When i was pregnant with my son in 2005 i became disabled (sounds a bit odd but true) i had SPD to the extreem its very rare and ended up in a wheel chair and all of a sudden i had a new baby and a disability. Which led to me being diagnosed with post natal depression

I did have a major operation to fix the pelvis together but after a slow recovery they discovered a Cyst on my spinal cord which is progressive as we understand and is too risky to be operated on...

So thats me .... hi all