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Ruok?


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  • 1 month later...

Thought I'd revive this, as I have had a couple of people ask how I am going and I have an important update to share.

 

I went to the doc, and he said I had all the signs of clinical depression. He told me to go talk to a psych, so I booked in for an appointment. To be honest, the psych didn't help much at all, but he did provide a second opinion that agreed with the doc's diagnosis. He told my doc to prescribe me a very basic anti-depressant, it's one of the most commonly used ones the world over and the active ingredient is Fluoxetine.

 

I cannot stress enough how life changing it has been for me. I have been taking it for a month and it has quite literally turned me into a different person. I used to get home from work and just be so exhausted and so over it, being happy and enthusiastic all day at work used to mean I had nothing left in the tank for my family when I got home. I used to drink 4-6 beers a night just to relax and help me sleep, but of course, alcohol only gives the illusion of good sleep, you don't get proper restful sleep, it just helped to put me to sleep.

 

I have totally cut out weeknight beer now, I even have beers in the fridge all week that remain untouched, which is amazing for me. I only drink on the weekend, and only after 7pm. I still probably enjoy a bit too much on Friday and Saturday night, but it's still a huge cut back for me.

 

I am happier, I feel better waking up every morning, I am better with my wife and kids and just in general, my life is so much more relaxed.

 

It makes me wonder how much of my life I have wasted being angry and unstable and how long it took me to fix this.

 

This is a shout out to anyone else who was like me. Don't fear the doc, don't feel ashamed of taking medication. I take one tiny pill each morning and it has totally turned my life around. I was stuck in the worst rut I have ever been in and now I am happier than I have been in years.

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Good for you for doing it mate, and good for you for talking to the little world here about it.

Must be hard to word it, but if it helps one person in some small way then you've done this small world and the bigger one a solid.

 

I always used to tell people In my work role as a delegate that a psychologist can give you some tools to help you manage things. Who can say they have too many tools?

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SNIP.....To be honest, the psych didn't help much at all, but he did provide a second opinion that agreed with the doc's diagnosis......SNIP.

 

Great result. Everyone deserves to be healthy in life and sometimes we need a push to get there.

 

On the comment I quoted above, I would advise others reading that if you do not hit it off with one psych be prepared to go and try another. Not every doc will hit the same chords and relate to you in particular. Like any medical professional you may need to try a few before you hit on the right one.

 

Glad it worked out for you.

 

Dave

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Great result. Everyone deserves to be healthy in life and sometimes we need a push to get there.

 

On the comment I quoted above, I would advise others reading that if you do not hit it off with one psych be prepared to go and try another. Not every doc will hit the same chords and relate to you in particular. Like any medical professional you may need to try a few before you hit on the right one.

 

Glad it worked out for you.

 

Dave

It's a bit like pinballs:)

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Thought I'd revive this, as I have had a couple of people ask how I am going and I have an important update to share.

 

I went to the doc, and he said I had all the signs of clinical depression. He told me to go talk to a psych, so I booked in for an appointment. To be honest, the psych didn't help much at all, but he did provide a second opinion that agreed with the doc's diagnosis. He told my doc to prescribe me a very basic anti-depressant, it's one of the most commonly used ones the world over and the active ingredient is Fluoxetine.

 

I cannot stress enough how life changing it has been for me. I have been taking it for a month and it has quite literally turned me into a different person. I used to get home from work and just be so exhausted and so over it, being happy and enthusiastic all day at work used to mean I had nothing left in the tank for my family when I got home. I used to drink 4-6 beers a night just to relax and help me sleep, but of course, alcohol only gives the illusion of good sleep, you don't get proper restful sleep, it just helped to put me to sleep.

 

I have totally cut out weeknight beer now, I even have beers in the fridge all week that remain untouched, which is amazing for me. I only drink on the weekend, and only after 7pm. I still probably enjoy a bit too much on Friday and Saturday night, but it's still a huge cut back for me.

 

I am happier, I feel better waking up every morning, I am better with my wife and kids and just in general, my life is so much more relaxed.

 

It makes me wonder how much of my life I have wasted being angry and unstable and how long it took me to fix this.

 

This is a shout out to anyone else who was like me. Don't fear the doc, don't feel ashamed of taking medication. I take one tiny pill each morning and it has totally turned my life around. I was stuck in the worst rut I have ever been in and now I am happier than I have been in years.

 

inspiring mate. it really is as simple as a chemical imbalance sometimes, and in 2019, no need to have to deal with that day to day. Thanks so much for your posts, legit cheering you are loving life again :)

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  • 10 months later...
  • 11 months later...

Really agree with you Pete that the lockdowns haven't helped. 

I had to take retirement earlier than I'd like to have done in March last year as work had dried up and take it from me no matter what the "experts" tell you that employers are looking for trained, qualified, reliable mature people is an absolute crock.

Anyhoo, the last 18 months haven't been exactly what I dreamed of retirement being like after 50 years of working BUT I have a great wife, great kids and lovely  grand daughters who love their Poppy.

It also helps that I have pinball as a hobby (IJ, TAF, Playboy all done) along with house reno's to keep the brain churning so I'm very grateful for that.

On the bright side, middle of next month hopefully we'll be able to get out and about again, visit the daughters and princesses and start touring again in the 'van.

Onwards and upwards - thanks for the vent.

 

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I got home last night to find a box the mail .

 

ruok.thumb.jpeg.3a8e697e4daf96aef72b2046e9764bd9.jpeg

 

What a lovely Gesture , all my favourites , trouble is , He's the one thats in a worse lockdown predicament than us (the other 5 guys he sent a package to )

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When the Black Dog bites it bites hard. Everyone's individual circumstances and character make our plight, just that.... our own. I felt compelled to keep it to myself and fight the dog on my own but as time progresses the Dog starts getting a few bites in, then a few more and before you know it your a chew rag in its gob. Speak up guys and girls. No shame, no stigma, just the road to recovery....... Looking back I think F%$K that, Im no going there again.

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Lost a casual work colleague late last year due to mental health

Didn't handle a seperation to well and work even checked him into the local ward for a few weeks. All seemed on the mend till boss who was also his landlord got a evening phone call to say been found deceased by his elderly mother.

 

Ive also got a 14 year old daughter with mental health issues that her mother does a top notch job treating her but have had a few phonecalls id rather forget so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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21 hours ago, narf_ said:

Lost a casual work colleague late last year due to mental health

Didn't handle a seperation to well and work even checked him into the local ward for a few weeks. All seemed on the mend till boss who was also his landlord got a evening phone call to say been found deceased by his elderly mother.

 

Ive also got a 14 year old daughter with mental health issues that her mother does a top notch job treating her but have had a few phonecalls id rather forget so far.

 

Spoke to a mate yesterday and He told me his 13 year old had started to self harm. She is a lovely little lass and its actually her Bday today and she is not coping with the lockdown measures. Society and its quantative pressures and the speedy and greedy progression of this little spinning ball we live on in my opinion is seeing more and more peeps struggling,. Im scared to think of what is around the corner

Hope your daughter has that light bulb moment and gets all the support she needs bud.........

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 11 months later...
45 minutes ago, illawarra_steelers said:

yearly bump.

if you are struggling, reach out for help, there is plenty out there.

please don't suffer alone

https://www.ruok.org.au/

Sadly, that has not been my experience
I have reached out, but when the depression is bought about by medical reasons, they have no advice, or suggestions on how to cope

 

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Sorry to hear that Pete. Depression is one of the hardest things to deal with and to offer advice on. There is just so many different variations of depression and everyone of us is unique in how we look at the world. I can somewhat relate to the medical reasons part of it due to a car accident that injured my back and that I have permanent ongoing issues with, but I also suffer fairly bad anxiety as well. Thankfully I was able to find medication which has so far been helping for many years now, though I still have some tough times here and there. I hope you have some good friends who are able to at least offer that moral support and also that distraction which we all sometimes need, just to get our minds off things for a few seconds.

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God, I am looking back on the post I made here in 2019 and thinking how fucking naïve I was 😀

I got off the meds at the beginning of this year. Side effects were too much for me and were making me worse in other ways. The meds levelled me out, took the edge off, but they fucked with me majorly.

I tried 3, ended up giving them all up. They all started off so well, feeling really buoyant and happy, but then the long term side effects kick in, and they were fucked. Made me feel dead inside. Things didn't feel so bad all the time, but things also didn't feel good. Everything was neutral, it was interesting to say the least.

Been dealing with my shit, but it's still rough. Last 3 years have 100% sucked balls and not much is getting better. We are all heading out of a pandemic shitstorm and into a cost of living shitstorm.

On a positive note, I have a booking with a medicinal cannabis doc tomorrow. My normal doc recommended it to me after the other prescription meds didn't work well for me. Gonna be interesting to see how it goes.

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I typically dont post about  everything in my life  but this is AA and and even though public it's good to see people post in this thread and  I'm lucky to have the brothers on AA and share my  story. . The last  18-months 2 years  (to November 21) have been rough, never thought depression would hit me at 53 years old - but it did .

In a nut shell  - daughter going out with a punk  - narcastic ,spoilt druggie - bloody hard to stand back and watch . (she's finally moved on now). Wife had 2 strokes within 4 months and then heart surgery - she's 100% now. Lost a family friend to workplace accident, then another to suicide.  And lets not forget the 3 AA brothers who have gone to another place - 2 of which I loved and miss dearly.  3 months later, I had to put my dog down - (ive previously put 4 dogs to sleep) he was the hardest cos I sometimes question if I did the right thing (maybe all the other stuff going on had somethng to do with it?) 

Then the clincher was my dad passing. The sad thing NZ was in lockdown and no entry (well you had to get a lucky draw out of 30 thousand people.) I lierally fell in deep depression and turned into  a recluse and quiet person. 

Well I'm glad the situation is now better! Finally got to see my dad in June - it was like an instant relief. I kind of akin to like someone who has an inner conflict and finally met it head on - well that was me, if it all makes sense,, from that point on I got better and better. I also made a plaque and screwed it onto the park bench where he sat in the mornings with the dog talking to people  -  this was awesome cos I didnt realise the effect it would have on me - in a positive way.

I  saw a doc who suggested some treatment but I said wait to until I get back from NZ - I didnt need to now cos I knew I was getting better. He also mentioned to "get out there" I did - I went to my first pinball meet! I was scared as. You AA'ers and pinballers rocked - you all know who you are. Anyway Ive benn slowly getting back out there and I know I'm winning the battle against depression.

I also got a rescue puppy (Yay!) which has made me get out of bed  early EVERYDAY for the last 8 months(which had been sporadic with my older dogs). He's an absolute menace  but walking 3km every morning  and thinking of the positive things in life is a game changer.

I have  life long friends on this forum who I might see on a weekly basis or might not see for 5 years - it doesnt matter - nothing changes - bros for ever.

If anyone asks if "R You  OK?" Don't be scared, don't be embarrassed, let it out - wether its on the phone, txt, in person, it doesnt matter (I did and you feel  so much better.)

Solidarity & Cheers  

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IMG_20220605_151821065.jpg

Muchie Table.jpg

Munchoe Schuster.jpg

Edited by acejas
I didnt finish my sentence
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1 hour ago, namastepat said:

 

On a positive note, I have a booking with a medicinal cannabis doc tomorrow. My normal doc recommended it to me after the other prescription meds didn't work well for me. Gonna be interesting to see how it goes.

It is strange, 20 years ago I was against using cannabis
But then stuff happens and I find that cannabis is effective with phantom pain, and since that is a pain I am familiar with, if it works, use it

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1 hour ago, Pop Bumper Pete said:

It is strange, 20 years ago I was against using cannabis
But then stuff happens and I find that cannabis is effective with phantom pain, and since that is a pain I am familiar with, if it works, use it

Medicinal cannabinoids ( medical Cannabis)

is far better than prescription drugs (opioids ect ) panadol is not genial to the stomach

if you find the wright strain that works for you .

in the USA it is 300 million dollar industry a month.

we are behind in this ..

and it will be excepted in the future   

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