Pickle59 Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Hello everyone, I'm hoping that someone might be able to guide me as the best thing to do. I have been on sertraline for depression for just 3 and a half weeks. Still taking 50mg and not upped it to 150mg yet. One of the reasons for this, was that the clinical psychologist that saw me on 3rd May said that the therapy they were wanting to suggest to me would ideally be best done without medication. The first part of therapy (psychodynamic) started yesterday morning and will continue for 12 weeks, weekly, and then possibly trauma therapy (EMDF ) after this. I saw my doctor this morning about this and he suggested weaning off over the next week and see how I go. The sertraline was prescribed by a psychiatrist. Anyone got any views or experience of doing this type of therapy with or without medication? for you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasmineRose Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 I'm in analytic based therapy, and am on mirtazapine. The medication takes the edge off the dark enough so that I can face and work through my feelings. It also helps me sleep. It was actually originally my therapist who advised I seek medication, as my negativity had been so all consuming I couldn't work properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Data Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 I had private psychodynamic therapy, but I didn't need to stop my medication and we had over 50 sessions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natfredricks Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Sometimes it is better to carry on taking serotonine, especially when there is not enough produced by your own body. Have you heard about 5 HTP supplement? It helps my daughter a lot, her brain doesn't produce its own serotonine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurorablues Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 In some therapies, Pyschologists/Therapists don't like to have you on too much medication as it can numb/repress your feelings and interfere with your therapy. Have they told you they don't want you to be on any medication at all or have they just suggested it? If you didn't stop taking it, would they not offer you the therapy? When i started DBT i made the argument that i wasn't on a huge amount of medication (most clients, ex and present were on much more than me) so didn't think it would interfere with my therapy (which it didn't) and that it would be counter-productive to pull me off it as i had been on it for a year and a half. My Psychologist eventually agreed. Although i was on way more than you at the time (40mg of Citalopram and 300mg of Quetiapine). I would also advise you that if you look into 5HTP as natfredricks has suggested; That you do not take it whilst you are on prescribed Anti-Depessants as they can interact and that you research it properly and also discuss it with the pharmasist if you decide to use this supplement. Aurora :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted May 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 This is all very helpful and thank you all. Funnily enough, a health food shop assistant suggested something like 5HTP (Thank you Aurora and Natfredricks), maybe it was even that, but when I mentioned I had just been prescribed sertraline she said not to mix, just as has been advised here. Aurora.........I think this is what my lady was referring to in the numbing and repressing of feelings with medication. Having been a bumbling wreck before taking sertraline, I have certainly gone from bumbling to feeling numbling on it. I felt very disconnected with the therapist yesterday, but maybe that was also because I felt very disconnected with myself emotionally EXCEPT when it looked like he was dozing off! If my talking is that numb or numbing and comatosing maybe I should come off meds for a while. (lol) I think what I might do, as having not been on it that long, but it has done something, is come off it over the next week and see how I go. If I go back to real lows I can always start taking again can't I? thank you for all coming back.x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasmineRose Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Not all anti-depressants cause numbing. I've never felt numb on mine. The only disconnectedness comes from my own dissociative stuff. Different meds effect different people in different ways. How about reducing the dose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barebones Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Not sure how to advise, normaly if u see Pdoc they normaly work with therapist or any other help u have. For a pscychologist to say u not be on sertaline is as u said that what therapy they want to try, but ur pschyiatrist would of been told this and know. I am on sertreline,this was my first anti d i was on, but it stopped working after a while. I was then put on duloxine and that was hell. I came back on sertreline, and same, to me! i dont have any doping effect, i know that it helps bulimia and also dulls effect rather than prozac and others. As allways, every mediaction reacts diffrent with a person. Me again i cant take prozac or any of that generic drug, but then again i can take this, but duloxine caused me hell. You need to speak to your main adviser or mental health person? pschyciatrist would of sent u to pschycologitst and is not ur number 1 who is ur no 1 mental health clinical adviser or whatever. sry maybe again not explaining properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted May 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Totally clear (((BB))).x I'm not sure who is my number 1 adviser. At this point they are all writing to each other and my GP I think is the middle man. I haven't taken AntiDepressants of any kind before so have nothing to compare these with. When I say numb on sertraline, I think I mean un-emotional, or detached. Does that make any sense? Maybe this is not a great place to be if I cannot access my emotions or unconscious for therapy purposes. As much as I don't want to go back to how I was feeling just over a month ago, maybe I have to dig it out again for therapy purposes. It's like it has gone in the distance again, but maybe to it has nothing to do with the meds and is just me pushing it all down again. (((JR))). I don't know whether I have some sort of disassociation. Not quite sure what this is.x I am on quite a low dose at the moment anyway, which is another reason it might not be traumatic to come off just now. Doc suggested taking every other day just 50mg from now for a week and see how I go. (My own GP is not a fan of any meds at all). He looked positively relieved that CP had suggested coming off! Was wondering (((BB))) what dosage of sertraline you be on? Do you have any side effects like palpitations or trembling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barebones Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Hi pickle, do u see a psyciatist? they would be more ur middle person if ur getting help in councling or any pscytherpy stuff. I am on 200mg the full dose, and this was my first medication which i never actulualy got any side effects first time around. when i took duluxotine i did then have probs. it took me a year to come off and then i went back to serterlin. I am still on sertraline at 200mg, only side effects i get now is zapping. that from old anti depressent. i have been on anti p and anti ds while going through therapy, i guess yes it depends on people u see, but ur pschycatrist does have a say not a GP or even therapist. sertreline doesnt to me give a down feeling, even though i found out, that its more a sedictive than say prosac and it helps alot in eating disdorders. sry spelling is shit and prob not explaing good. xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow girl Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Hi Pickle. Sertraline made me more able to cope with the intensity of counselling rather than numbing me so I coulodn't engage. I've never heard of a counsellor telling someone to stop meds before. That seems inappropriate since they are not qualified to prescribe. If I were you I'd phone the psychiatrist and leave a message askinwhat you should do because the counsellor has said this. Also, find ut who your keyworker is - you don't want to be stuck in the middle of a "too many cooks" situation. Hugs. xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Thank you again for all your replies.x I have just realized/remembered, and therefore my original post is a bit misleading, that it was actually me who brought up with CP about medication. I know where this comes from. A couple of years ago I participated in some Primal Integration therapy and it was one of their criterion for taking part to not be on any dulling medication. At the time I was pretty much dependent on zopiclone for sleeping, and I did stop taking it for a couple of nights, therefore didn't sleep, and all my emotions came flooding back on this therapy. So, in short, I brought it up about the sertraline. I brought it up because when I met her for the first time I felt so damn foggy, delayed in my reactions and sort of numb and flat. Not like myself at all. so when I brought it up, she responded that ideally the least medication that we were on would be preferable. Maybe because of how I'm feeling deep down about being on medication, though I have to admit it has calmed me down lots, but to such an extent I don't feel like me at all, is why I brought it up. Oh I don't know. Feel like a total screwball at mo. Maybe I'm some sort of control freak, always got to interfere with things. I think I will call the MHT tomorrow as has been suggested here and try to get some guidance from the psychiatrist who I have never spoken to or met, only had the medication prescribed third hand. in the meantime I am putting into practice the GP's suggestion. I didn't take sertraline on Friday night, woke up a bit anxious on Saturday but was quite alert and I suppose energized and a bit hyper. I took the sertraline last night, slept till 12.30 today and feel foggy and want to go back to sleep. sorry this is so damn long, but i hope some of you will read, and thanks for being here.zzzzzzzzzzz (((JasmineRose))) (((Data))) (((Natfredricks))) (((Aurora))) (((Barbones))) (((Shadowgirl))) :grouphug[1]: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barebones Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Understood pickle on it was u saying x I have to say, u can't take ur med one day and not the next, as u will experience some sort of withdrawel. That again depends on your body i guess. As u know im on sertrline, but dont have any numbing effects or side effects. I am though sensitive to other anti depressants which i cant take. The thing is, i know that sertreline is more of a numbing anti d as i was told, but it never gave me that effect. Hard for me to explain, i dont have any effect from caffeine or that kind of stimlulant, but when i took prozac first time number years back, it was to much of a stimulant and i was to sensitive to it. Its the same with anti psychotics i never feel the numbing. Gee im not explaining myself properly, it is all down to your own body and chemistry, but its not good idea to mess around with these meds. Best bet is get advise from pdoc or people who know how these drugs work. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 (((Barbones))).x That is very good advice. I'm going to try and speak with someone tomorrow. The idea of taking one day and not the next was to try and ease withdrawals with a view to coming off completely after a week. I suppose I am so conscious of the fact that the therapy lasts only twelve sessions and I don't want to waste any of the time being flat. Like you say, maybe I need to talk with the psch who prescribed sertraline to see if this drug really works for me or not, cos I am still getting side effects, mainly palpitations and trembling. don't like this at all, and this is only a 50mg dose. Yes, definitely, must talk to someone who knows about these drugs. as I know nothing. One good thing though, is taking it has got me off the zopiclone. I was going down a very slippery slope with this, and I know it, so this is one good thing that has happened. I was starting to use it like I used alcohol, to blot out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barebones Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Glad u responded back x U say ur on zopilcone? maybe that and sertreline is conflicting as meds. a sleeper and anti d, i guess doc should of looked up to see if they both can work together. On the day and not the next, sry never knew u was trying to withdraw from it? so yeah i guess weening it off is best. I would seriously see someone, as it could be both meds working against each other. xx huggles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle59 Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Hi (((BB))), I'm off the zopiclone now. Haven't wanted to take it since been on sertraline, but maybe there are some withdrawals from Z that I hadn't thought about, having taken zopiclone for some years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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