Mental Health and running!!

[Mudskipper]

Hi GA, Keep doing what you know works for you. I have worked as a mental health nurse for the last 13-14 years and I have suffered from low-level depression at times due to life events. I agree with you on the short-sightedness of some professionals and the blinkered belief that medication is the only way. I tried to introduce running as a 'treatment' a few years back to the patient group I was working with at the time. It was embraced whole-heartedly by the patients who did very well in the short time the group was allowed to continue. Unfortunately, management didn't like the idea and stopped me running (sorry!) the group as it was not seen as a valid use of my time.....to far out of the box I think!! When I went to my GP the first time my mood slipped and my running stopped (lost motivation) he started me on antidepressants but only until my running started again as he said "It's the running that will make you better not the tablets these are just to give you the boost to get you back there". BTW the signature is EXCELLENT.....
Hold on to what you believe in.

[Careful Now]

I'm going through some trouble too ....
I've been put on anti-depressants to help me out of some work stress/anxiety problems, but they've really pulled my health down a lot , very counterproductive . Has anyone else become depressed because they can't do very much as a result of being on anti-depressants

MJ

[emmilou]

I'm going through some trouble too ....
I've been put on anti-depressants to help me out of some work stress/anxiety problems, but they've really pulled my health down a lot , very counterproductive . Has anyone else become depressed because they can't do very much as a result of being on anti-depressants

MJ

How long have you been on them? What dose are you on/type? Have you been back to the doctors for a reeassessment? I know they take a while to get into your system properly and there are a lot of initial side effects but if they are making you feel worse in your self and inducing lethargy then I would suggest you mention this to your doctor - it could be possible that an alternative is more suitable if you ae not ready to reduce/stop taking them.

[Mudskipper]

MJ - I agree with Emmilou. Get yourself back to the prescribing doctor and discuss with him/her. Most antidepressants take 9-14 days to build up to a therapeutic dose in your system and you should start feeling the effect soon after. I would give the medication approx 3 weeks before going back to the doc. The last medication I was on (Cymbalta) was started for a similar reason to yourself (work stress etc.) I was informed by the doc that they had a low side-effect risk however, after 3 weeks of feeling absolutely bloody awful on them and being told by everybody that I looked unwell I stopped taking them, again risky but I did the reading and knew what to expect i.e withdrawals. I very quickly started feeling better and from that it seemed to lift me back to a normal level and I haven't looked back since and now rely on my running to keep my stress levels down and mood up.

[T'owd lad]

I've found that the level of medication does affect my running. Early this year I was running well, then upped the level of my medication and felt very lethargic and less able to run and run well. As this progressed I got more depressed as I was less able to run. After a while I reduced the level of medication again and am starting to perform better, and feeling better as a result!
I have to say that this is not the first type of medication I have tried, but it is the only one that has had a positive effect on my depression, but also the only one to have a negative effect on my running. I suppose it's finding a balance. The truth is I'd rather not be on medication at all but at the moment it's the best thing.

[Careful Now]

Had Prozac first and hated it - stood it for 9 days then stopped .
Now I'm on Mirtazapine - my problem involves insomnia , so that seemed a better choice , but I was on 15mg first and not feeling all that good ( 4 weeks ) - doc said 'you're not taking enough to get a proper effect - go up to 30mg' . I was v.skeptical and thought this was much worse initially, but today I'm not so sure . Only been on a higher dose 3 or 4 days . Its hard to seperate the effect of poor sleeping days from drug side-effects , so I'll perservere a bit . Actually I'm compromising and have gone to 22.5mg currently , I was intending to come back down to 15 against doctor's orders, but I'll see how it goes for a few more days . If the sleeping improves consistently then it'll be worth it .

Have also been off the booze over a month now - which could be a good thing It was getting to be a habit . Plus I'm taking more B-vits and Magnesium hoping that will help, so maybe I'll come back stronger in a few months after all this .

End of confessions for now ...

Can't believe I was basically healthy in May .

MJ

[Mudskipper]

MJ - one of the best natural treatments for depression/low-mood is Brazil nuts as they increase selenium in the body, 2 Brazil nuts per day is a recommended 'dose'.
Also increasing your Serotonin (which is what the medication is attempting to do) may help with the insomnia and low-mood check this link out a see if there is anything useful for you.... http://www.eskimo.com/~tla/Serotonin.htm

[T'owd lad]

Was on Mirtazapine myself, yes they did help me sleep (were described to me as elephant tranquilisers), but even at max dose did nothing for the depression. I'm on venalfafime now, not sleeping, but they do help with the depression, don't mix with alcohol though!

[Careful Now]

Cheers guys , hope I can get a bit more sleep in the coming days . Bloody riduculous at the moment . I have had problems from time to time with this over the years though . In fact i'd say insomnia was the main long-running problem , before I got into this stress-related stuff .
MJ

[daz h]

carefull now , good luck
i know what insomnia is like
its a well known fact on here i get very little sleep , ive been doing well this last few months because i changed my position in the comany which for years had stressed me out and was getting to a point where i was getting about 3 hrs average a night. I often wonder long term what damage stress wise it could have done to me .
I did a few years ago visit the doctor who wouldnt give me any medication at all and told me to lose weight ( which i did ) .
But i know of people that are on medication and its really helped them so i cannot really advise.
im sure running de stresses me , gives me something to focus on and generally makes me a better person all round .
i wish you well and keep posting