Alternative therapies

[Char]

I went back to the doctors yesterday and was prescribed Sertraline which I have used in the past. I know it makes me drowsy (although not as drowsy as Citalopram which I have also had before) and gives me IBS so am not keen on the thought of going back on it (for 12-24 months as suggested by the doctor). I am yet to actually take the prescription to the pharmacist. I told the doctor this and they told me to think of it like any physical illness - if you had low thyroid function you would treat with thyroxine and never consider not taking it - I get that but at the same time I'm thinking if depression was a physical problem (low seratonin levels) then why do they not do a test to test your levels of seratonin rather than the depression questionnaires or at least alongside it?! I can't help but think about this logically but nothing about depression seems logical! I am really not convinved that taking the medication helped me in the past - I think it was more down to the fact that a lot of the life stresses were removed for some time which enabled me to get a little bit of control back in my life.

Does anyone else think similarly? Has anyone tried any alternative therapies without the use of anti-depressants alongside? Or do they all suggest you use alternative treatment hand-in-hand with the medication?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated...

[Sweetpea]

I personally think medication and therapy work together.  Thats my view from my experience anyway, others may think differently.  I agree with what your dr said, if we had diabetes we would take insulin etc.  There is still such a taboo with mental illness, people are frightened or find it difficult to understand.

I have tried Hypnotism, reflexology, CBT.  Each helped in some way.  I am now back on medication and having counselling.  Which seems to be working for me, but each person is different and its a matter of finding what works best for you.

Take care

S x

[lbruk]

hey, there has yet to be a way to correctly measure serotonin for depression, because the chemical breaks down very quickly as it hits the blood, the rest of it is in your brain and is made by a lot of different reactions. Interestingly enough, they do blood tests for serotonin for digestive system cancers but not the actual amount as its impossible to gauge how much you have running around your system.

I have found that a combination of medication, and group and one-to-one therapy have helped me a lot. I haven't used the NHS apart from my GP as i have private health care, who have been absolutely brilliant for me (and i have spent thousands and thousands in the last year from it!)

For me CBT didn't work, I couldn't get my brain around thinking differently and analyzing my thoughts because I had already analysed them and this was the best course, so I just kept arguing my point with the therapist! I now have a very very intelligent therapist who keeps outsmarting me and my arguments %^& which is frustrating! He manages to get my thoughts all tied up and confused so they go away, plus using EMDR has helped get rid of some of the trauma of the events that have happened to me, now, to be honest I'm not sure what we are working on! Anger i guess. Guess I'll find out tomorrow evening when i go!

[Char]

Thanks for the information Ibruk - factual information like that I can process and what you said does seem to make sense. So I guess it 's time to bite the bullet and get to the pharmacist.... if only I were a tortoise or something and didn't have to leave my house to get there....!

[lbruk]

that's no problem, there is more information that serotonin isn't the cause/remedy for depression anyway. Well not as it stands. Neuro-genesis seems to be more likely, which is affected by serotonin.
The problem is that if serotonin is the cause, then using SSRI's should work almost immediately, as they increase serotonin levels with a few days. But it doesn't, it takes weeks/months to start to work which doesn't make sense.
What does make sense is that neuro-genesis (the generating of new brain cells) is the cause, and that when our brain stops generating new tissue it affects our thinking. Serotonin increases neuro-genesis, but neuro-genesis is a slow process (hence why the drugs take a long time to start to work) and can be helped with SSRI's and other drugs and therapy to increase our own chemicals by stimulating the thinking part of the brain positively.

This is of course all conjecture - but interesting! The biggest problem is that none of it can be proved/disproved at the moment. SSRI's work in 80% of the case, if serotonin was the sole cause - then SSRI's would always work! But they do not.

I'm not sure which one i believe but i think it is a whole cause of issues that effect people in depression, so a variety of treatments, pharmaceutical and therapies is the answer. My motto is never rule it out until you have tried it!

[Zaf]

I find counselling and medication in combination work best for me too

Z x

[Sweetpea]

I agree with Zaf.  Medication and counselling have helped me.  Also learning to give myself time and rest.  Took me a long time and several episodes to learn this.

S x

[Zaf]

I forgot about the rest bit, its taken me several episodes to realise how important that is too

[Char]

Well I've got the prescription now and have taken my first tablet today. Thanks for all the encouragement (and physiology lesson!) - it really did help me to make the right decision. Not having any counselling at the moment - something to consider maybe?

[Zaf]

Well done, thats a big step forward :)

Personally I find counselling invaluable in conjunction with medication and rest but we are all different, my present counsellor is worth her weight in gold and made a huge difference to my life

[Sweetpea]

Thats good, well done.

I am with Zaf My counsellor which I got through MIND is very good and she is really helping me.

S x

[lbruk]

well done! i would say counselling is as important as the meds, sometimes the relief of getting something off my chest can massively out weigh taking the meds!

[Sweetpea]

I am pleasantly surprised by how its helping me.

S x