Genetic testing for meds suitability??

Sounds like you do have quite a team @Doglover. We hope that you'll be able to find the right people that work with you, no matter what system you choose to go through.

A community builder is someone whose focus is to chat in the community but isn't a moderator.

Hi again @Doglover (also cool name!)

I hear you with the challenges in not responding well to medications and how difficult it can be to not have that respected or be supported through it. My GP mentioned genetic testing during a time when I had CATT intervention (and was fighting that badly). I felt like CATT were pushing meds that I know I don't respond well to and I was worried about meds making things worse for me as I was so down and out I knew it wouldn't take much to tip me over. GP wanted to find out whether anything might work as far as meds go but also wanted hard evidence to demonstrate that certain medications weren't the way to go as our anecdotal evidence (frustratingly) seemed to not be enough. I think there are a number of us who have had experiences with medical professionals not listening to the or completely disregarding the impact of side effects and what they can do to us.

I'm sorry to hear your GP and pdoc don't seem very understanding or supportive 🙁 It's taken a while for me to find a GP that is really understanding of mental health but having her as part of my team has made a huge difference. We have a community health organisation here and they have GPs as part of the services they offer. I found out about them from my mental health worker who worked for the same organisation. Is there anything like that near you that you might be able to look into for a new GP (seeing as yours is leaving)? I also hear you with how tricky it can be to have a support team that's not very supportive. I feel most shaky when I am not doing so well and my supports are not working well either.

It's really hard when you're going through times like it sounds you are. Are there any non-medical things that you find helpful? People/pets (dogs im guessing)/hobbies/distractions/talk therapies etc?

I'm happy to share anything (probably) but the short version story is that I've struggled for a long while now and have had that struggle turn quite serious at times. I have had experiences with the system and mental health professionals of all kinds that have been really helpful and experiences that have been far from helpful. I've had many times thinking that nothing will get better and nothing will work too, and feeling incredibly hopeless about it. I'm getting there though and over the last 6ish months especially, I have noticed big shifts in the way things are working within me. It's made me see and genuinely believe that things can and do change and can get better. That's my tiny bit of encourgement for you.

It's great you're here @Doglover. There's a lot of encourgement and understanding here, and stories of people making it through challenges that can feel impossible at the time.

Just in reference to the quesrion above @Doglover, you can tag as a way of notifying people of a post or reply. If you're responding to someone or asking someone a question, a tag will help them see it usually as either as a notification on the bell icon above and/or as an email depending on what settings each person has chosen. It can be easy for replies and posts to get missed on such a busy forum and especially in threads that are long or fast moving, and tags help with that 🙂

I can hear how hard you're trying and how much you want things to change and be different @Doglover 🙁 That place you're in is seriously hard and I'm sorry you're stuck in it at the moment.

Listening to and hearing you.