@youareunbelievable
You are dead right no wonder pill will stop the overwhelming grief we feel, I was put on them because I was in a very dark place and I don’t know where I would be if I wasn’t taking them, they don’t stop the pain from losing your loved one but they help you to get the much needed sleep you need to get through each day, albeit day’s that will never be the same again 
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Yes, you’re right. If you can’t sleep, that really is a bad place. I am lucky that I am a good sleeper. And yes, no pill will take away the hurt and the pain of losing a loved one. If you suffer with anxiety and panic over it, it could lessen the symptoms. But they all comes with side effects and sometimes one of the side-effects is ‘depression’, which just makes the whole thing 100x worse. The only thing that really worked for me for severe anxiety (this was long before grief) was valium. But that will not be prescribed for any length of time. xx
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Steffens
I was on Mirtazipine. For about a year. I went up to 45mg but it made me constantly hungry and I gradually reduced it to 15 mg… that is apparently sedation level and it worked very well. I eventually stopped taking it after a year and I now sleep well again…
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@Carol9 that’s. My plan I hope I can stop taking them in a f ew months
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I have tried kalms in the past and they are good especially the night ones. Used to help me sleep … idea for you pudding ? Never thought of those for you - they re herbal and you can get from chemist …
Dont take them with antidepressants though ! Dont think youre supposed to ? … xx
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That ok. I have dumped the anti depressant idea. If I can’t take the side effects for 1 day it just isn’t going to work. Thanks all. Xx
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Well try night kalms … herbal, no side effects , help you sleep !! Xxx
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A while back the doctor gave me a prescription for 50mg of sertraline once a day. He said I could start with half a tablet if I preferred. I felt really awful after taking the half tablet, dizzy and terrible in the head. Can’t really describe it. At one stage I even had like an electric bolt in the left side of my head which was a bit scary to say the least.
I mostly stayed in bed and drank lots of water hoping it would flush it out of my system more quickly. It took 12 hours for it to wear off and for me to feel ‘normal’ again. I haven’t dared take another one. I’m almost 70 and wonder whether it reacts worse for seniors?
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That sounds like the experience I had. The leaflet said it was a very common side effect.
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It’s been almost like I’ve been hallucinating!! Dizzy, terrified of sleeping, think I’ll give up with these having been taking them for only about 5 days. I’ve now discussed this with a couple of my friends and they are both adamant that I should stop taking them if they are having such a bad effect on me.
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Hi, thanks for asking about the ankle. It seems to be getting gradually better and the swelling has reduced, so that’s good. Sorry for the late reply I popped out last night briefly and then felt so exhausted when I got back I just flopped in front of the telly. Still I did manage to speak to a nurse when I was out and she said it was good that the swelling had reduced but what I need to do is alternate between ice on my ankle and heat, so I was doing that last night.
Well you lasted longer than I did. 1 day was enough. Still feel strange this morning. I am going to wait to see how I feel later before I decide on going out with my walker. Although it has started raining again.
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I was thinking of going down the anti depressant route as I just feel like I’m running on adrenaline the whole time! After reading the posts on this tread I think I’ll give it a miss! J x
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If you can I would after my experience. Others do seem to have adapted to them.
Yeh i think some people are very sensitive to medication … many years ago dr gave me some at an awful time ( cant remember what they were?) And i felt like i was on a high all the time … stopped taking them as i felt so weird … x
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Managed to negotiate the bus to take food to my autistic son but still feel a bit “out of it”. I’m back at home now resting my foot and being pestered by the cats. Hopefully I’m gradually getting it out of my system. It was almost like feeling I was drunk even though I was only drinking water!! A quiet afternoon will help. xx
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Actually I know exactly how you felt. Could take a couple of days to get out of your system. Good luck.
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@Jax2 I am good on the mitazipine I only felt a little spaced out for two days and then fine . I sleep so well now and I don’t feel the knot in my stomach and that fear feeling has eased so they have helped me a lot
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I think you’re right, Deb. Not sure if age has anything to do wrh it, but I was on Aventyl (Nortriptyline) for a while over 30 years ago. They didnt have any awful side effects for me, and they lifted me out of the black hole in a relarively short time. I mentioned them to the doc and he said we dont prescribe them any more because the newer a/d’s are much better 
Seems strange that a medication prescribed to treat people with depression would make them feel so dreadful before it starts working properly. And with Sertraline apparently the reaction can be quite severe when you’re eventually ready to taper off them.
Good, though, that they are helpful for those who can tolerate them.
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Yeh i just dont want to use them … after that bad experience in the past 
i think talking therapy is just as good qnd after 10 sessions my bereavment counsellor helped me a lot … but i still get sad and nothing is gonna stop that is it ? Life is tough and now its even harder for us … X
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