Has anyone found anything from the doctor helpful I really don’t think I can cope at the moment
1 Like
Diazepam (valium) made me able to cope when I was shaking all the time, having frequent panic attacks, horrific flashbacks of the moments of death over and over. It chilled me out within a couple of pills and enabled me to sleep. It was only a short term thing (a week or two was the max I was allowed to have at once) but it helped me just eat sleep and rest a bit to get a bit more strength to do what I needed to do to then continue a bit longer.
Then Citalopram anti depressants I’ve been on about 5 weeks. I constantly wanted to kill myself before i went on it as I couldn’t stand any more of life without my husband and the enormous shock of his sudden death. I’d cry for 12 hrs a day. the first weeks taking it were tough and I wasn’t any better but in hindsight it was truly worth it as I feel pleasantly numb many hours a day now and can concentrate more at work and stuff that needs doing (still not great but improving). I still cry but nowhere near as long and my heartbeat that was always racing slowed a lot to normal, I feel calmer and i eat/sleep. this is a long term medication for at least six months dr said. I do useful things without breaking down completely.
Before my husband died I would never have killed myself. I was scared of dying. I also would never have taken drugs like this but I am really surprised how they make my life feel precious again and make me want to find a way to live despite the sadness.
I hope you get some help, it feels hopeless I know.
Good luck, take care x
1 Like
i am the same but i have not been offered anything by my gp accept helplines but i struggle to do anything im just not coping
1 Like
I’m sorry it’s so hard as a lot of GPs are not sympathetic or are preoccupied or just not up to the job I’m sorry to say.
Unless you have suffered a life changing very close bereavement or serious depression I think it’s hard to imagine how awful it really is and they can underestimate it. I did before it happened to me and I thought I knew what close bereavement and depression were.
Now is the time it’s hardest to even call them I know but if you can somehow when you have a better hour sometime, try to get an appointment with a different doctor if you feel this one is not helpful. You need to make them understand you feel like you can’t go on like this and that it’s serious.
I struck lucky with one GP who actually convinced me to take drugs I didn’t want to take but in hindsight it was the right thing for me then. It doesn’t mean it is right for you of course but rather than ask for the drugs just tell them instead how seriously bad you feel and how it is affecting your daily responsibilities. Tell the truth which is not easy I know because it makes you feel vulnerable. I didnt tell people (even on here) for fear they’d stop my plans or lock me up but actually no one was that bothered once I did start telling them and the dr that did help was quite matter of fact about it.
Could you possibly fill the form in on sue ryder for free counselling too? you don’t have to accept the offer when it comes and may take weeks for you to get a date but it’s a short form, no cost or risk to you, online so you don’t have to commit to going somewhere and if you change your mind then when sue ryder staff email you with a date just politely say you’ve changed your mind but if you do go through with it maybe that will help and it can be good to get in the queue already.
I hope you got some sleep and that today you can try to eat. its just about surviving the days for now. take care.
1 Like
Hello cchappell0767,
I’m sorry to hear you are struggling at present. I suggest you contact your GP again, they have a duty of care, albeit a slow process at the moment, I’m confident once they are aware you are still not coping, they will offer help and guidance.
Please also consider the NHS IAPT scheme to search for psychological therapies in your local area: https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Psychological%20therapies%20(IAPT)/LocationSearch/10008.
If you are at any time feeling so desperate, you need help at that time, then please call the Samaritans, they have a 24/7 free helpline: 116 123, and also you can contact them via jo@samaritans.org
Sue Ryder offers an online bereavement counselling service. This is a free service and sessions are held via video chat so you can attend from home. There’s more information about this service here: www.sueryder.org/counselling.
Keep posting cchappell0767, as I am sure our members will be able to offer some comfort and understanding, as FleurDeLis already has done.
Take care,
Audrey,
Online Community Team
1 Like
My partner left me on 03/02/21 on a ventilator I was shaking and vomiting without sleep for three weeks when I too wanted to join him it scared me that I could feel that way as he wouldn’t have wanted me to leave our children and grandchildren. My GP prescribed
Citalopram and Mirtazpine changing doses until I could cope and now I have periods of feeling numb and empty. I actually don’t know how long I will need them as I have never taken them before but my GP rings me regularly.
I think we have to do Whatever we need to do to get through this it’s broken me into a million pieces.
1 Like
Hi,
My partner passed Jan 27 th and for a month I couldn’t come with life .
My GP was very sympathetic and prescribed me Sertraline, she said it was a prop, not a cure.
It definitely helped take the edge of the anxiety.
However, she’s now suggesting I reduce the dose and come off them .
Life can be a bitch! X
1 Like
Meant to say cope with life
1 Like