Justification

[Anonymous]

I've been getting very depressed lately. I've been on drugs for depression before, from november last year (when i decided I couldn't cope), until february, by when I had pretty much levelled off.

I'v been wondering whether I should go back on the drugs for the exam period. They help me concentrate, and I want to do well.


I was wondering, at what point would you decide to use mind altering drugs?
I'm afraid of dependancy, the change of personality (it does completely shift), and weight gain (happened also).

[princealbertofb]

I've been getting very depressed lately. I've been on drugs for depression before, from november last year (when i decided I couldn't cope), until february, by when I had pretty much levelled off.

I'v been wondering whether I should go back on the drugs for the exam period. They help me concentrate, and I want to do well.


I was wondering, at what point would you decide to use mind altering drugs?
I'm afraid of dependancy, the change of personality (it does completely shift), and weight gain (happened also).

It stands to reason that if you can concentrate better with the use of the medication and it would help you to do well in your exams, you should be taking the medication. If you did not make that a priority, then only would it make less sense, except that they probably make you feel better.
You could always stop taking them or diminishing the doses after you've sat your exams when you don't need to concentrate so much. Then might be a time to set your priority to losing that extra weight that you want to discard. You might get some medical help in that sphere too... What does your doctor say and what does s/he suggest anyway?

[fjp999]

In my opinion I would not take anti-depressants just for concentration for exams.

You might feel down but are you really depressed? The Hep C meds I was on turned me suicidal so I started on anti-depressants. They helped me a lot - probably saved my life.

There are a lot of meds out there that may suit you better than anti-depressants. ADs have a lot of bad side effects as you know. Also you dont just start dosing and then stop... you slowly build up to a dose and maybe even increase the dose if your body gets use to them. When you come off them it takes a couple weeks to slowly dose down. It is really dangerous to just stop ADs.

I would recommend that you speak to a Psychiatrist and not a general doctor. A psychiatrist will know what is best for you. I am currently on anti-anxiety meds and am pretty happy with NO side effects. You can take them when needed and dont need to build up or slowly reduce the amount.

There is a new med called Provigil. It is for sleep disorders (which I also have) but has found great success in concentration as well. There are probably others that do the same thing. The only problem with provigil is that it is very expensive and most insurances in the USA wont cover it.

Good luck and let us know how you do and what you decide.

frank

[Anonymous]

You might feel down but are you really depressed?

Yes.

I would recommend that you speak to a Psychiatrist and not a general doctor. A psychiatrist will know what is best for you.

Not got the money. Spoke to a counseller, she referred me to the drugs.

It stands to reason that if you can concentrate better with the use of the medication and it would help you to do well in your exams, you should be taking the medication. If you did not make that a priority, then only would it make less sense, except that they probably make you feel better.

The exams just sorta give me a solid reason for wanting to stop feeling like this...

What does your doctor say and what does s/he suggest anyway?

No suggestions really apart from the counseller saying she thinks I need em.

Cheers for the advice guys I'll think about what to do.

[fjp999]

Not got the money. Spoke to a counseller, she referred me to the drugs.

Must be a different kind of counselor than what I am understanding here in the USA.

Hell, even a Doctor of Psychology cant prescribe medications!!!

I would only trust my Psychiatrist to prescribe "mind altering drugs"... I had to change about three times. The first batch gave me dangerously high blood pressure - near stroke levels!

Maybe you can find a free clinic for a Psychiatric evaluation.

good luck