How to get antidepressants

[cheyxnn]

Sorry, this may sound like such a stupid question but I want to know how to get antidepressants. I've never been formally diagnosed with anything but I feel like I want to at least try antidepressants or any kind of medication before fully committing to killing myself. Tbh I doubt they will work enough to change my mind anyways but I suppose it's more the fact that at least I've tried Yknow. And who knows, maybe they will just miraculously fix everything and I can write this all off as chemical imbalances lol.

So does anyone know the process? Do I go to a normal doctors office/GP appointment? And what am I meant to say? I think that's the biggest question that's bugging me, I just have no idea what I even say to the doctor as they're probably used to just dealing with sick people lol. Let alone starting the conversation to begin with, it just sounds like the most awkward thing ever.

So yeah, if anyone could let me know what they said to try and get some help I would really appreciate it^^

 

[missedmybus]

Talk to a doctor. Tell them you are feeling depressed.

Be honest how you feel. Like brutally. When I was younger I wouldn't trust doctors, but you need to give them the information they need.

They will asses how you feel, and either refer you to a therapist (psychologist, not a doctor/psychiatrist who can write scripts), or a psychiatrist (doctor with specialization in psychology).

I don't know what country you are in, but in some countries GPs might prescribe AD.

Usually the psychiatrist is the one that prescribes AD.

Don't go into any of these asking for antidepressants, just tell them how you feel, what symptoms you have.

 

[demise]

If you're considering antidepressants, book an appointment with your GP. Be completely honest about how you're feeling, including any suicidal thoughts. The more open you are, the better they can assess your situation and provide a proper diagnosis, they should then refer you to a psychiatrist who can prescribe you the anti-depressants.

 

[Halfhourdays]

Yeah, just talk to a doc, tell him you're depressed and that you'd like an Rx for antidepressants.

 

[ventingfrustrations]

Tip do NOT use sites like Hims/hers for antidepressants do a physical visit especially if it's for suicide severe depression

 

[sayuri]

What I personally did was schedule a psychiatrist appointment and had to tell her everything including about my attempt. Try to be as honest as possible so you get the proper medication. In my case I got antidepressants, a mood stabilizer and and a sleeping medication that also works like an anti psychotic. It helps a lot if I'm being honest, I was very skeptical if it would work but I'm glad it did. Good luck! :>

 

[iji]

You basically go to the MD and they will prescribe it to you. Just have in mind drugs can't make anyone actually happy.

 

[vitbar]

In the UK you speak with your GP, or better yet you ask if your GP surgery has a doctor with any kind of interest or special training in mental health. If you tell them you are depressed, suicide ideation, and at wits end they should guide the conversation by asking you questions. Not all doctors are great sadly. As others have said: be honest.

They might not be that helpful at first. It can take multiple appointments spread out for them to take you seriously. It's common to get asked to have a second appointment after a week or two so they can get a sense of the persistence of your symptoms. It's maddening, but funding is so tight they try and make sure you are genuine.

Beyond this it might take a few sorts of medications before you find the drugs/dosages that work for you. Some might only work a little too. Some side-effects will fade with time. I suggest you try not to get too disheartened during all this.

The first couple I tried helped, but hardly at all. I was scared this was the best I could expect. I was wrong. Since being on some that work for me I've felt so much better. They aren't perfect, but they've changed my life. Definitely worth the side effects that have stuck around.

 

[Odd socks]

I found in Britain the doctor immediately took you serious if you said you were suicidal.

 

[yowai]

Make an appointment with a psychologist/psychiatrist, even online if you have trouble with getting out of the house, explain your symptoms and tell the doc you think you'd benefit from some pharmacological aid because you can't deal with this on your own or that just talking in therapy isn't enough, there shouldn't be any problems with getting them. My friend got a prescription after one visit

 

[grapevoid]

I'd highly recommend a psychiatrist but if that's not available to you, go to your normal doctor. And honestly just tell them what's up. Say I want antidepressants and this is why. It's my last ditch effort to get better or at least maybe feel enough relief to explore other treatment options. They'll give them to you. Will probably make you fill out some stupid forms that ask how sad you feel on a scale from 1 to 10 in 50 different way. LOL

 

[missedmybus]

I found in Britain the doctor immediately took you serious if you said you were suicidal.

In a lot of countries you have to watch out telling medical professionals you are suicidal.

Here they have legal duty to prevent you causing yourself or others harm, so if they have the feeling you are gonna follow through, they can put you under observation/in psych ward.

If you are very clear that you have suicidal thoughts but no concrete plans/intention to act on these thoughts, you'd probably be fine, but still I wouldn't open with suicide.

Just describe what you are feeling. And if you have trouble with this, just describe the stereotypical symptoms of depression.

Ie: Every day is a struggle to get out of bed, sometimes things that in retrospect seem insignificant make me burst out crying/angry, I am not eating/eating way more than I normally do, I am avoiding social contact/I am withdrawing in my room, have trouble concentrating, keep ruminating over events from my past, sleeping too much/trouble getting any sleep, stuff like this.

 

[hhtroc]

something i can tell you that ive learned very recently, dont sugarcoat, dont think about being a burden, theres like 75 year olds with a cold that get an appointment cause they yell at the secretary and if u have raging headaches and you say "oh you guys have no appointments thats ok" then youll never get one, i just tell em "im in pain, i need urgent care" nowadays and so far everything is going much more smoothly

 

[Poltergeist]

In the UK Antidepressants are the one things your GP can prescribe a lot of different types of. It's not a huge deal to them. You can pretty much rock up and say I've been depressed for a long time, briefly and honestly describe major symptoms or whatever, and say you want to try antidepressants.

I'm sure MIND or something have a guide of writing down what you want to say.

Some will run you through a kind of questionnaire on their system about different depression symptoms, they will ask if you're suicidal, if you say yes they escalate questions to do you have plans and means to do it. They will get a score and it will inform their response.

You will get some probably real compassion from the GP, but it's not going to be an indepth therapy session really. Sometimes theyll touch on reasons you're not killing yourself to identify there's something stopping you.

Not to be a dick but it will be terrifying for you and probably one of the most emotional points in your life, but they will have seen it 100 times. You don't need to worry about them feeling awkward or stuff.

antidepressants are meant in the NHS usage as a thing to manage intense emotions and motivational issues short term. The aim is to enable getting your life back together after a large stressor or engage in recovery and learn new skills like with therapy etc. so any objection is normally people treating antidepressants as a thing that was cure them and not considering the therapy/recovery stuff, if you ask to try antidepressants without that vibe you're pretty fine and they won't balk at you being clear and direct.
( I am not agreeing with nhs usage policy of beliefs here )

This is all personal experience