Medication

Your GP will almost always offer some form of medication. Don’t panic. Modern antidepressants are much better than their predecessors. Talk to your GP about your concerns. He/she will hopefully put your mind at rest. If you do decide to go ahead with any medication, you should know a couple of things.

You should start to feel a bit better after 2 weeks. During this 2 week period however, you are likely to feel a little worse. Read the leaflet which comes with the tablets and look at the COMMON side effects. Again don’t panic. For the 1st couple of weeks your anxiety might be a little worse or you could be more agitated.

Talk to your GP about likely effects and don’t stop taking the tablets. If the initial side effects do not dissipate within the 1st couple of weeks and they are intolerable to you, again go back to your GP and look for an alternative. You should not just stop taking these tablets as this could make matters worse. Persevere as this forms a major part of your recovery. Don’t sit worrying about any reaction to your medication. Keep asking your medical advisors and eventually you should find the right tablets for you.

Medication has been a life line for me and has helped me manage my condition over the last 8 years. I have not been on tablets for all of this time. I have had periods of time with no medication at all and have always managed to withdraw from my medication when I felt comfortable to do so.

A GP will usually recommend a course of antidepressants for a minimum of 6 months and although you may feel fantastic after 3 months, you should stick out the 6 months as research suggests that this will reduce the risk of relapse or future reoccurrence.

When you do decide the time is right to stop your medication, you will know in yourself the time is right. Even so you should not just stop taking the tablets, you need to slowly reduce the dose under the advisement of a doctor. If you do stop taking your tablets and don’t take this advice you will have some sort of withdrawal reaction, so it’s not worth it.

Whilst your GP will undoubtedly offer medication, it is likely they will also offer other forms of therapy as well. Take what they offer. If you don’t find it helpful then go back and ask for alternatives.

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