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[Minusminnie]

I have tried charities/other orgs in the past but they have huge waiting lists too. I was in a bit of a bad way with housing again about a year ago and they took 3 months to get back to me to even have an assessment. There may be others, though.

Clutching at straws ….

There’s a programme on bbc called ‘Change your mind change your life’ with Emma Willis.
I’ve only just started watching it but therapists on there are giving techniques to help.

[CrispyChick]

Pregabalin.

Have a look I to that. I've been on very low dose ssri for years. I'm having a torrid time just now so I agreed to increase it to therapeutic dose. It was the worst 12 weeks ever!  It made me so much worse. Ssri just do not suit me.

So, at my request, I'm trying pregabalin. The difference is I can tags it very very slowly as I'm so sensitive to meds. It also does not induce greater aggitation whilst settling in, like an ssri.

I'm not at a therapeutic dose yet. But even my small dose helps me sleep and seems to be calming me. I'm just going to continue moving up very very slowly.

Nice guidelines recommend pregabalin for anxiety if ssri haven't worked. But you shouldn't have to try them first.

Have a look into it. X

[Eastside]

Thanks all of you.

I have seen the Change your Mind programme advertised. I might take a look. I might also look into any online support groups etc that may be more accessible.

Ooh, thanks for the tip re Pregabalin. I think I read something about it but will look more into it. I'm very sorry to hear that SSRIs made you worse and that you're having an awful time. But it's good that the new meds seem to be helping.

My friend is on SSRIs and seems to be having a lot of trouble coming off them. But I've also heard other positive stories so I guess it's just different for everyone.

[CherrySG]

I find CBD gummies to be very helpful for anxiety, as someone with GAD and OCD. Green Road are a reliable company, I like the Orange County gummies.

I've been on lots of different ADs over the last 14 years including Sertraline, citalopram escitalopram, prozac, effexor, duloxetine etc. but cannot take anymore because of low sodium. They are an absolute b*gger to get off, if I may be so coarse, so I understand wanting an alternative.

I felt the fear and did it anyway for decades. My feelings towards that attitude are unrepeatable in polite company.

[CLKD]

Oh go on, do share 

I've not had to change ADs often since 1988, however my brain does get used to the combination so I've had to alter: most I've stopped for 48 hours then started the new prescription - once I had to gradually wean off which took 9 weeks.

[Eastside]

Yes, please, don't hold back 😃.

That's very interesting re CBD gummies. Would you mind sharing what strength you take and how long they took to work? No worries if not, though.

I did try CBD oil once before. I took a higher than recommended starting dose for a week or two. It didn't seem to do anything much. Maybe it's worth looking at again. Yes, apparently I have mild OCD as well as GAD. Well, it was mild at the time. Possibly worse now.

I'm glad you don't seem to have had much trouble on the ADs, CLKD.

[CherrySG]

Hey Eastside!

I took the 1600mg gummies, you can get tubs full of gummy teddy bears or gummy strawberries. I have the strawberries these days, lol.

They work in an hour or sooner. I used to take 4 if I was really anxious, just a single dose. Sometimes it's good to take 2 on 2 consecutive days. They do give me a bit of a histamine reaction (as does HRT) so you may want to keep some antihistamines by.

Since they stay in the system for approximately a month, I believe, there's no need to keep taking them except as needed.

Hope you find something that works. It's interesting that GPs are now prescribing Sertraline first, it used to be citalopram, and IIRC they had an Effexor phase. Wonder what drives the policy 🤔

[Eastside]

Thanks so much. Hmm. I think they may be worth a try, especially if they work that quickly. Maybe my dose needed to be much higher, which wouldn't surprise me. I think I'd go for strawberry too 🍓!

Sertraline is just the one a GP mentioned to me. Not sure if that's across the board, but others have suggested that.