#ITSOKAYTOTALK - Mental Illness

[Viper_SA]

So, anyone wanna sell me some Mary Jane? Lol

 

[Raindance]

Hi @herb1

I was on Cipramil, of which Cilift is one of the generic equivalents, many years ago and then I switched over to Cilift for a short while. PLEASE NOTE that I am NOT a medical / healthcare professional, so what I say below is purely anecdotal and your cousin will have to discuss this with his / her GP / Psychiatrist in any case in order to get a new prescription, taper off the old / taper on the new meds etc.

Cipramil worked quite well for me with very few side effects, but when I was 'forced' by the medical aid to switch over to Cilift when it became available, I started experiencing significantly more side-effects (in general I have absolutely no problem with taking generic medication and I actually choose that option whenever available, so I'm quite sure that in this case it was not just a placebo effect). When I discussed this with my GP, he noted that he had had similar reports from many patients and from some of his colleagues. I then also queried this with a GP friend of mine, who noted the same pattern. I was then prescribed Cipralex, which is Escitalopram. This is claimed to be a refined and slightly more effective (also taken in lower dosages with possibly fewer side effects) than Citalopram (Cipramil / Cilift), but there are also arguments that this is essentially the same drug and simply an example of "evergreening" - a strategy by players in the pharmaceutical industry "to extend their monopoly privileges on the drug" (see http://thirdworld.nl/impact-of-ever...is-of-citalopram-escitalopram-antidepressants)

For me at least, I found that the Cipralex worked much better, with fewer side effects, than the Cilift and at least as well (if not better) than the Cipramil. Since a generic was not available (and to the best of my knowledge will still not be for some time), the medical aid also had to pay for it - but I'm sure that this will differ between medical aids / plans.

Alternatives would also largely depend on which side-effects your cousin is experiencing and what specifically he / she is taking the medication for (depression 'in isolation', a combination of depression and anxiety etc.)

Also went the cipramil and then cipralex route way back when. My medical aid however forced the latter on me as the generic alternative. No side effects from either though.

Regards

 

[herb1]

Thanx guys...will convey the info to her

 

[AniDey]

I hear from him every now and then but he has retreated in to his shell a bit. He is at least working again...

I am glad to hear that @brotiform is working again.
Give my regards to him whenever you hear from him.
I hope he fully recovers.

 

[Viper_SA]

Just thought I'd report back.....
Still not 100%, hell, not even 60%, but 110% better than last time I posted here. Thanks so much for all the PM's etc. Special mention to @Lingogrey , @Slick and @Neuk for the inspirational PM's.

I'll just leave this song herefor whomever may need it tonight. Keep the faith....

 

[Normz]

Hey guys, posted on here once before, and thought I was getting better, till 2 weeks ago. Been hell on earth again lately with the anxiety, starting my zytomil tomorrow morning, so apparently its progressed to needing a stronger, daily dose of meds, lets just hope these work hey

@Viper_SA , glad your feeling better bud, even a little progress is still progress, and we're all here to back you up bro keep at it and just know you have an army of guys behind you supporting you

 

[Lingogrey]

Just thought I'd report back.....
Still not 100%, hell, not even 60%, but 110% better than last time I posted here. Thanks so much for all the PM's etc. Special mention to @Lingogrey , @Slick and @Neuk for the inspirational PM's.

I'll just leave this song herefor whomever may need it tonight. Keep the faith....

So glad to hear that it's going better @Viper_SA !

 

[Lingogrey]

Hey guys, posted on here once before, and thought I was getting better, till 2 weeks ago. Been hell on earth again lately with the anxiety, starting my zytomil tomorrow morning, so apparently its progressed to needing a stronger, daily dose of meds, lets just hope these work hey

@Viper_SA , glad your feeling better bud, even a little progress is still progress, and we're all here to back you up bro keep at it and just know you have an army of guys behind you supporting you

Hi @Normz

Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry that you're going through a tough time! I'm sure that your great message to @Viper_SA (especially on the army of people willing to support) applies to you as well, so please do let us know how it's going and reach out any time that you need to

 

[Slick]

Hey guys, posted on here once before, and thought I was getting better, till 2 weeks ago. Been hell on earth again lately with the anxiety, starting my zytomil tomorrow morning, so apparently its progressed to needing a stronger, daily dose of meds, lets just hope these work hey

@Viper_SA , glad your feeling better bud, even a little progress is still progress, and we're all here to back you up bro keep at it and just know you have an army of guys behind you supporting you

After every difficulty comes ease! Stay strong guys,we are all here to help each other

 

[Neuk]

Just thought I'd report back.....
Still not 100%, hell, not even 60%, but 110% better than last time I posted here. Thanks so much for all the PM's etc. Special mention to @Lingogrey , @Slick and @Neuk for the inspirational PM's.

I'll just leave this song herefor whomever may need it tonight. Keep the faith....

Keep at it bud, it will always be a roller coaster, but tomorrow is another day at the very least if not a better day. Chin up, eyes forward and one foot in front of the other...

 

[Neuk]

Hey guys, posted on here once before, and thought I was getting better, till 2 weeks ago. Been hell on earth again lately with the anxiety, starting my zytomil tomorrow morning, so apparently its progressed to needing a stronger, daily dose of meds, lets just hope these work hey

Thanks for sharing @Normz, I certainly appreciate it and have always believed that sharing is good for yourself as well as others, firstly to let things out and secondly to learn that you are never alone in your struggle.

 

[Viper_SA]

Will probably only get my new prescription on Wednesday after a phonecall session with my psychiatrist today. Adding in some stuff for anxiety and ocd. More of an issue than bipolar or depression lately. I even want to move trees that I planted myself, and was happy with their position etc, 7 years ago! lol, my mind is playing evil tricks. I think of so many things to do at once, that I get nothing done at all. To top it all off, my mom is really ill and refuses to see a doctor. If she doesn't look better in an hours' time, I'm forcing her to ER. She's been off balance and really forgetful for the last couple of days. Had a stroke some years back, so fearing the worst.

 

[Feliks Karp]

Will probably only get my new prescription on Wednesday after a phonecall session with my psychiatrist today. Adding in some stuff for anxiety and ocd. More of an issue than bipolar or depression lately. I even want to move trees that I planted myself, and was happy with their position etc, 7 years ago! lol, my mind is playing evil tricks. I think of so many things to do at once, that I get nothing done at all. To top it all off, my mom is really ill and refuses to see a doctor. If she doesn't look better in an hours' time, I'm forcing her to ER. She's been off balance and really forgetful for the last couple of days. Had a stroke some years back, so fearing the worst.

Sorry to hear that bud, heavy stuff, here's hoping everything is alright.

 

[Viper_SA]

Thanks bud, finally convinced her. Waiting in line at ER now.

 

[Lingogrey]

Thanks bud, finally convinced her. Waiting in line at ER now.

Really hoping all goes well with your Mom @Viper_SA !

 

[Silver]

Strength to you and your mom @Viper_SA
Praying for you guys.

 

[Viper_SA]

Right, at least they are admitting her. So that should mea someone more competent than me can watch her. So far, severe dehydration and some word with the term 'sink' thrown around. Doing bloods and ecg now. Thanks for the messages guys.

 

[Neuk]

@Viper_SA - Good luck with your mom bud! And keep us updated with how your new medication goes...


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[Daniel]

@Viper_SA which hospital? Always good to get a second opinion just saying. If it was heavy failure and its a good hospital they would have wheeled her in so you are safe brother.

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[Waine]

@Viper_SA


Hi there...

Sorry to read this thread...

Give the meds time to work. You may get just get used to the Seroquel. Can be a very useful drug. There have been some success stories. Best for calming moods and good for sleep. Your body will build a tolerance.

Get therapy. Also, See a psychiatrist, try to be patient while he or she works out what medicine combos work best for you.

Thoughts of suicide can be medically induced. But also something much deeper. If you are thinking of suicide, Try to seek support from anyone especially when you have those thoughts, even if you must book yourself into casualty.

The Big black dog will get tamer, smaller, just pray. Forget religion, just pray. Even if you don't believe, pray anyway. Ask for faith, and you will come out of this.

I have have worn more than just the T-shirt, I have an overall!

All the best, and hold on. Life can and will be great again. I am believing for you.


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[Raindance]

Damn, I hate weekends.

Looking forward to the weekend all week at work. Looking forward to some freedom to do what I want. And then, when it comes around, not knowing what the hell it was I was looking forward to. Bored and dissapointed...

Its not my nature to share this kind of thing but I do so knowing that not sharing such thuoghts just makes them fester and turn into way more of a problem that they should be. And I do not want to go there again.

Anybody else feel like this?

Regards

 

[Viper_SA]

All the time @Raindance
Or I have so much to do that I get all anxious and twisted up inside and try to do 7 million things at once, and afterwards, feel like I need to redo what I did because I was so stressed out and did not do it good enough.

 

[Raindance]

All the time @Raindance
Or I have so much to do that I get all anxious and twisted up inside and try to do 7 million things at once, and afterwards, feel like I need to redo what I did because I was so stressed out and did not do it good enough.

With the "wasted time" doing a number on your conscience...

There must be a way of dealing with this.

Regards

 

[Raindance]

Feeling as if there is supposed to be some or other great purpose to my life but that somehow I have missed the boat and now I'm just waiting out my time. A spectator in life, not a participant.

There has to be more than this...

 

[Neuk]

@Raindance - My weekends are usually packed so I luckily don't share the same anxiety as you do but @brotiform once showed me this, regarding sharing your story, which I try remember as often as possible...

"One day, I decided to let the light in. No one would ever choose to live in darkness. I started telling people who were close to me about my diagnosis. I then talked with extended family members, classmates and coworkers. A funny thing happened once I started to share my story. I found out I wasn’t as alone as I thought I was. I heard the phrase, 'Me too,' come out of many people’s mouth. I found out that I wasn’t the only one who struggled."

And remember, you are important, you are loved, you matter