Starting Psychotherapy

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

Starting Psychotherapy in the next weeks. Because i need it... any recommendations for antidepressants? Any harmful?

 

[wholepartthings]

Check your genes, if you can handle antidepressants! Else they contaminate you.
In my view: If your sickness is psychological then you don't have ME.
For me first it looked like that you are so severe that you can't talk what is needed for a Psychotherapy?!

https://www.naturheilmagazin.de/nat...urnout-stress/dr-mueller-burnout-patient.html

 

[Hufsamor]

Its impossible to know, I think, about the antidepressants.. Before, you've tried...
Just don't give up..
If one doesn't fit you, another might work.
If you are very lucky you might even gets a bit more energy from it.

But start low, if you are told to take eg 2 tablets a day,
start with a half or 1/4,
going up with1/4 every 3 day
or even 1/4 every week.

This way you might avoid some of the side effects that kicks in
by the startup of antidepressants

 

[Hufsamor]

And...it has nothing to do with wether the sickness is psychological or not That's a common misunderstanding....
But it might be a good idea to not start both psychotherapy and medicine at the same time, as both might be hard on you in the beginning.

 

[Tammy]

l-phenylalanine (amino acid) brought me out of a deep depression. I couldn't tolerate the prescribed anti-depressants. Sending hugs.

 

[Hip]

Because i need it... any recommendations for antidepressants?

I am currently taking low dose of moclobemide, an MAOI antidepressant which works on the dopamine system. For me it seems to work quite well: it has a sort "natural" balanced feel, ie, I feel myself when taking it, only a bit happier.

Whereas other antidepressants that I have tried such as amitriptyline (a TCA antidepressant) boost mood, but in a way that does not feel so natural, and feels more like a drug. But this is likely an individual thing, and each person will respond differently to antidepressants.

So if the first one you try does not seem to suit, then you may want to try another. There several different classes of antidepressant, including SSRIs (like Prozac), TCAs (like amitriptyline), SNRIs (like Wellbutrin), etc.


But moclobemide is one of the safer antidepressants: in one study, moclobemide was shown to have one of the lowest incidences of sexual dysfunction, a side effect common with antidepressants.

Table 1 of the study shows SSRIs and SNRIs come out as the drugs most frequently associated with sexual dysfunction, with rates of sexual dysfunction up to 70%. By comparison, TCAs are at 30% and MAOIs at 40%. But moclobemide had a low rate of just 3.9%.



If you want a good natural antidepressant, consider Spanish saffron. One systematic review found this to be as effective as standard pharmaceutical drugs.

I often use saffron as an antidepressant, taking a dose of around 100 mg (of the saffron stamens) twice daily. The mood boost it gives kicks in within an hour or two.

 

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

Need it because I’m that ill... turning 30 being very severe... not because my illness is psychological

 

[wigglethemouse]

Starting Psychotherapy in the next weeks. Because i need it...

When I did CBT, for the first visit I presented my goals of what I wanted help with. That turned out to be very helpful as she put a plan together for the following sessions to work on those goals.

Just remember if the therapist you find is not working for you, look for another one. Good luck!

any recommendations for antidepressants?

I always find it helpful to remember that we have hypometabolism, so that is bound to affect mood. Anecdotally it seems quite a few folks in the UK are using Amitriptyline to address sleep, pain, and depression......

l-phenalalanine (amino acid) brought me out of depression.

I lucked out when I stumbled across zinc/copper. We are each different. I did try some of the supplements suggested in this thread but they seemed to have the opposite affect.
Completely eliminated my severe anxiety symptoms with three supplements!

 

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

When I did CBT, for the first visit I presented my goals of what I wanted help with. That turned out to be very helpful as she put a plan together for the following sessions to work on those goals.!

My goal is not to kill myself... think that’s worth trying

 

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

If it then turns out I’m a psycho and don’t have CFS you’ll all get Freibier (Free Beers )

 

[wigglethemouse]

If it then turns out I’m a psycho and don’t have CFS you’ll all get Freibier (Free Beers )

Glad to see you still have a sense of humour!

My goal is not to kill myself... think that’s worth trying

I understand what you are saying. You might want to work on your opening line, maybe "I would like to work with you on developing coping strategies ........

 

[MEPatient345]

I had a prescription for lexapro and I didn’t take it after hearing from a Nobel laureate neuroscientist that SSRIs are bad for brain. I took his word for it, although I’m not a scientist and don’t judge anyone who takes them if they are helpful.

A friend just started Wellbutrin and said it helped her mood very quickly — I believe it is not an SSRI but don’t know much about it.

I hope you can tolerate therapy and that it helps. I tried when I was very ill but couldn’t continue bc of the energy required to do a session. Good luck with it.

 

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

ACTivan will be my friend during sessions

 

[wigglethemouse]

This is a nice article by a writer with severe ME about not giving up
https://themighty.com/2017/10/mecfs-dont-give-up/

 

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

This is a nice article by a writer with severe ME about not giving up
https://themighty.com/2017/10/mecfs-dont-give-up/

Too ill too read :-(

 

[pibee]

Need it because I’m that ill... turning 30 being very severe... not because my illness is psychological

My goal is not to kill myself... think that’s worth trying

 

[Starlight]

Try the psychotherapy if you are able. Use one or two sessions to find out if you get on with the therapist. Finding the right one is important. If you do find him/ her then it should be a real support for you. The right anti depressant can help if you need one. Your doctor is best to advise you on that. You can do the 2 together. Do everything you can to help yourself. They sound like really positive steps you are considering and can help you feel better emotionally. When you do this illness and all that comes with it will be easier to handle. I hope this goes well for you and that you will be well enough to go ahead with your plans. Break the therapy into small sessions by phone or Skype if necessary.

 

[SilverbladeTE]

Music and hugging my dog I have found to be far far better antidepressants than anything prescribed
the drugs always caused severe problems

cure my ME, you'll cure the depression

 

[erin]

@MartinDH sorry about asking somehow irrelevant question, what kind of a diet do you have?

I'm asking this because my diet effects me so much, recently if I eat foods that I shouldn't, I get so unwell and very depressed, almost suicidal. It is difficult to diagnose multiple food sensitivities, but I know I have them. And the depression comes very sudden and it feels very chemical. It goes away from bloodstream mostly leaves me very weak and tired. I have other symptoms as well together with the depression.

I'm not saying or suggesting this is the case with everyone, but it definitely the case with me. It took me at least 10 months to fix this, I eliminate a lot of foods and have a very sensible and basic diet now. This really changed my life.

If I struggle big time with it I only take CBD oil, anti depressants makes me worse. I find suicidal thoughts increase when I take them.

PS I'm sorry that you feel so bad, I hope you stay focused and look after yourself. Good luck

 

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

@erin nothing to do with it... I’m very severe for almost one year, no life, no joy no nothing... that’s the reason... not the peanut butter on my bread