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health advisory Hospital Mental Health 2007-11-15 18:59:59

the 20mg ones were not doing any good, so I asked my doctor if I could be put on 30mg. He said "no, we're trying to lower your dosage rather than increase it!"

I used to see a councellor every week, but they took me off that because I missed to many appointments, so I don't get counselling anymore.

Help...

I really think I should be on a larger dose.

Was it right of my doctor to refuse me this doesage. I feel as if he wasn't listening to me when I explained my sympyoms.

I feel angry.

Sorry.

Answer:

You are entitled to see a different doctor if you want to - just ask at reception for an appointment with someone else.

There may be many reasons why your doctor doesn't want to increase the dose, you could ask him why. My doctor only increases my dose very, very slowly as I've reacted badly to increases before.

You need to ask for counselling again - if you explain why you missed the appointments and explain how you will stick to them this time they will refer you again.

Try writing down what you want to say at your appointment, as it is easy to get confused or upset and not say things clearly.

Hope this helps. If you are feeling angry, try distracting yourself - have a bath, watch a move or go for a walk.

EDIT - the tablets are likely to be Citalopram. Your doctor is right to be careful about increasing the dose as in a SMALL number of patients, citalopram can trigger increased anxiety and suicidal/self-harming thoughts. I was one of the people affected this way. Panic attacks are awful I know, but they will not hurt you - it can feel like a real heart attack, but keep telling yourself that it is 'imaginary' pain. I deal with my panic attacks by ignoring them - medication is an option, but you need to discuss this further with your doctor. Please see him again and talk things through. You can take a family member or close friend with you for support if you think it would help.

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Have you thought of getting a second opion from another doctor at your practice?

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visit him again and have patience

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You didn't explain in your post why you feel you need an increased dosage so it is hard to say if the doc is right or wrong. Also if you missed your appointments so often with your couselor it tends to show the doc that you were not really serious about wanting to get help. Post more details about WHY you think you need your dose increased and maybe someone can offer some advice.

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I use to be on anti-depressants and when I consulted with my doctor she increased my dosage. Maybe you should try seeing your counselor again. Maybe your doctor feels that if you don't see your counselor, then you are not really helping yourself benefit from getting over this depression. I wish you the best of luck.

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Antidepressants work better when coupled with counselling,upping your dosage will probably only result in blocking the feelings and will never solve the problem. You should ask to be put back on counselling and keep up with it.

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It's really hard to answer this question, especially without knowing what antidepressant you're taking. Sometimes, antidepressants alone really don't address the issue. Why did you miss your counseling appointments? I deal with depression too, so please understand that I'm not criticizing you when I say that just taking a pill isn't always the answer. We have to want to control this disease. If your doctor wanted you to go to counseling, and you didn't go, it doesn't surprise me that he wouldn't increase your dosage. It's perfectly natural that you feel he wasn't listening to you. Maybe he feels you don't listen to him when he tries to help since you didn't follow up on counseling. Is that possible? Please think about it?