Finding the right drug

Hello all I'm new to the forum and this is my 1st post forgive me if the question has already been asked but I'm really struggling. I finally admitted I needed help and went to the GP. 10 months on and I seem to have tried lots of different tablets but they either help but give me horrible side effects eg sertraline or they do nothing for my mood eg mirtazapine (though they do help me sleep), do I go back to the GP again as I feel the mirt is not helping as I'm still a weeping wreck at times? They also suggested I try something called Silvercloud online modules which I have failed miserably with. I know I cant get well overnight but I just want something to help me a little to get out of this dark hole I seem to have found myself in. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi there and welcome to DWD. I'm sorry that things are tough for you. Have you given the meds enough time in each time? They take somewhere around 8 weeks to get into your system properly and then the same time each time you change a dose etc...

It's always a bit of trial and error and I know it can be really frustrating.

Hi and welcome to DWD. I wish I could give you an answer you wanna hear but medication is pretty much trial and error. What works for one person may not work for another. It actually took me several years to find a medication which helped and then a combination that keeps me relatively stable but I got there in the end. Of course medication doesn’t fix everything. It simply puts you in a position to be able to help yourself and that takes time too. I’ve not used Silver Cloud myself but I gave tried other CBT based self help and it didn’t work out for me either, it’s not a failure it’s just not right for you at this point in time. You can always go back and try it again at a later date. Maybe 1:1 or group therapy would be a better approach for you. The right meds coupled with the right therapist at the right time is the best chance for success and the right time being just as important the other two. You need to be in the right place to engage with therapy and help yourself out of the hole you’re in and you don’t have to No that alone. This forum has been a lifeline for me, having a safe place to informally talk about my worries with people who understand and listen without judgement, cos we all have our own struggles.

Thank you for your replies. I just feel I'm not making any progress and its so hard when the ones around you just don't/ can't understand what you are going through. I feel like I'm in a dark hole and its getting deeper. I just made yet another GP appt the earliest one is the 11 May to discuss my issues with mirtazapine. I know there isn't a quick fix but don't feel I'm getting anywhere.

I didn’t feel Mirtazapine did much for my mood when I took it but it did help me sleep and combined with another medication, in my case Duloxetine, it worked well together. Instead of dropping the Mirtz maybe a combination with another drug may be helpful? Something to discuss with your GP anyway.

Can I ask which ones you've tried and how long you've been on each one?
I'm really glad you've made another appointment, that can be so difficult to do.

Who do you have around you who doesn't understand?

Hi and welcome. Well done for making that appointment, we all get how tough just doing that can be….. hunni, I will tell you something my psychiatrist told me years ago - there is always a way through. In my case it’s taken a combination of a mood stabiliser and 3 different ADs, (which is unusual so don’t worry it’s going to take that for you). My point is, we found something that worked. It’s often a combination of meds and therapy that does the trick, as Stella says, and it can be difficult to work your way through to the right mix, but many of us here are proof that is can be done