Ask Anything Monday!

Remember it's As Anything Monday! We'll be posting any questions on behalf of members. So if you've got any questions and you're feeling relunctant to ask, send it to us team@saneforums.org

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE! 🙂

This question is from a wife who is caring for her husband.

Hello,

My husband has recently been diagnosed with severe depression and possible borderline personality disorder. The psychiatrist has put him on an antidepressant but he has been on it for years and is not happy on it - regardless they put him back on it. He did try another antidepressant a few weeks ago and while he was on it he said he felt more like himself than ever before and was the spitting imagine of the man I married years ago- a man I haven't really seen since.

I'm wondering if he should get a second opinion on the meds? Only because no one knows you like you know yourself and yet the doctor didn't care. He has to go back to check progress in another week and is hoping the doctor will give him the antidepressant which made him feel more like himself. Trouble is that he was taking a high dosage to feel its effects and the doctor isn't comfortable with that. I feel like he should push for what he feels his body needs but on the other hand, the doctor should know. Any advice would be great!

*please note, I have changed some of the content of this message, which originally contained the specific name of the medications. For more information about why medication names were removed, please view the Community Guidelines

I think we've all been in a situation where we have a gut feeling about our health - how have you managed this with your Dr?

There's too many crickets and tumbleweeds in here.

Anyone keen to answer?

@Eagle @Alessandra1992 @PeppiPatty @kenny66 @Ellie @kristin @coffeegirl @Cazzie

Its a fine line between what your body tells you and what the Dr feels is best for you.

Without being too critical I have found some Drs very focused on their own interpretation of how you feel you should be treated.

To be frank a lot of them are gooses.

The medical system today works with the Dr being simply a referral service to a specialist (sometimes who they are in partnership with) with the art of a being a concerned practicing family Dr almost extinct.

Heaps of them are just money making machines.

I have had 4 different diagnosis from Psychiatrists, only one who got it right. I was treated for a long time with the wrong medication and even though I was still very much MI with no improvement 3 persisted in treating me with how THEY felt I should be treated with terrible consequences.

Having said that, because of my schizophrenia I have resisted correct treatment on occasion and have been non compliant but that situation is one your medical team should manage if they know their stuff.

So Drs aren't all knowing and all seeing. Get a second and third opinion and stick to your guns unless what you believe is the correct treatment is not counter productive.

Hello,

About 7 years ago, i had an severe episode i saw my gp and quite a few different clinical psychologists i trialled multiple combinations of meds, i tried telling them what worked what didn't, how i felt, and i ended up on a combination that had the least side effects, i in turn stopped taking them and got ill again.

This time around, new Gp who listens to me, asks for my opinion on how i am finding my meds and their levels or dosage, i have also found a good psychologist and psychiatrist, with each of them, i am lucky because we are open about how the meds are working and what i find is helping, i think if you feel a med is not right, like a gp or another specialist get a second opinion, tell them the reasons it might help

As a psych nurse (despite my having BPD) I do know a fair bit about various psych medications including anti-depresants, plus the different types and how they work in various age groups, but unfortunately I'm hamstrung to answer fully because the medication brands or types aren't allowed to be mentioned on this forum. Not nit-picking. I know rules are rules

One thing is certain. You do have rights. You do not have to take medication you feel isn't right for you just because a doctor said so. Definitely get a second or third opinion.

Hi everyone!

I'm posting this a tad early (it's Sunday), but that just means we have longer to respond to this question!

It's a simple and straight forward question, but I think we have all struggled with this topic at some point:

I keep hearing, reading and being told, the "fantastic" affects of exercise has on mental health. But what are you suppose to do when you can't even get yourself out of bed in the morning?

All I can think about is how hard it is, how sweaty I get and I don't find it fun at all!

Does anyone find exercise helpful?

Hi there.

I will be really honest here - I am not a huge proponent of this one. It's not that I think it's not a good idea. It's just that I am wary because I have bipolar type 1 and I know that when I have really got into the fitness in the past I have ended up manic. Not somewhere I want to go. I even asked my psych if she thought it would be ok if I started an exercise program at the gym which my local MH provider was offering, because I was a bit scared. Anyway I haven't quite managed to do that yet, too much keeps happening but I'll get there.

Back to your question. Getting out of bed can be hell, especially when you are dealing with depression. I struggle to go for a walk on my own, or sometimes even to go out - especially as when I'm really unwell I get quite agoraphobic.

Late last year I suggested to a friend who also has MI that we try to go for about a half hour walk once a week together. The time would often fly by as we talked about what was going on in our lives from the mundane to the deeper stuff. I was really surprised at how much of a difference it made to how I felt afterwards, and I noticed a big difference in how fit I was too. So I have to say that company, sunshine, fresh air and exercise do help you feel better.

A friend can help not only make the walk more enjoyable but also adds a level of accountability to the process - if you pike then you're letting someone else, rather than just yourself, down. Like so many other aspects of MI maybe this one is helped greatly by the magic ingredient of (preferably good) company. So I guess I'd say if you can: find a friend, or a walking group. I really hope this helps! Take care.

Kindest regards,

Kristin

Exercise doesn't have to be hard work and sweaty. Go for a walk - slow or brisk. Choose somewhre nice. A favourite location. Just breathe and take in natures sights. Thats better than hiding in bed. You can hide on a walk too. Just walk. No need to interact with anyone. Each day if you can go for a walk. Start to say good morning to a few people. xx