[FuzzyCashew]

Hey everyone; I've been a silent sufferer since 2008. I only spoke to my other half about it for the first time about it on 17th of this month and I had my first doctors appointment on Friday (21st June) so its been a pretty emotional week!

I wrote out everything i wanted to say and handed her my letter; I'm not sure if i'd have got my point across if it wasn't for doing that. She came to the decision that i do need some sort of help almost instantly after reading it which offered a huge amount of relief to me; She sent me away with 6 print outs about anxiety in general and possible treatments

The diagnosis was either Generalised anxiety disorder or Mixed social anxiety and depressive disorder she said it was too soon to know for sure? I have a second appointment with her to tell her my decision on a treatment July 5th.

My choice at the moment is only Cognitive behavioral therapy because i'm trying to get pregnant; My GP said she wasn't happy to prescribe me meds whilst TTC but i don't feel like i can go just like that; the thought of going is pretty scary :/

Or to stop TTC for a few months and
Possible trying Diazepam for 3 weeks and booking in with the CBT group on the 2nd week but that was subject to a second GP agreeing also

Or to stop TTC for aleast a year
Be prescribed Fluoxetine(sp?) or similar and see if that helps but this would be for at least a year

Bleh so much to consider

[mazing]

Those kinds of decisions can be very difficult Take your time - you still have a few weeks to decide. Do a bit of research on the different treatments and think about what it means for you with each one. Talk it through with your other half as well if you are comfortable as the decision could affect the two of you and it sometimes helps to have someone else assisting to weigh up the pros- and cons- of each option.

Also, well done for talking to your doc about it. These are definitely not easy things to discuss. Great idea to write it all down too. Sometimes it is the easiest and best way to talk about concerns.

Good luck

[healingme4me]

I agree, it's hard to discuss these things with doctors and good for you, for being able to communicate.

CBT can take about 16 weeks, to get somewhere, and of course, repeat as necessary.

Deciding about meds while TTC is a difficult decision. But it's good to know, that you have meds to fall back on, after the baby, if you so choose!

If you were to conceive, being in therapy while going through a major life change, could be rewarding.

Look at all your options, and whatever you decide, will be what's best for you

[wotchermuggle]

Often, women will do much better while pregnant, but after, they really struggle. If you decide to get pregnant, make sure you have a good plan in place for after the birth.

[FuzzyCashew]

Thank you very much to you all; Me and my OH are going to talk it through and be careful until my next appointment.

I'm not in the right state of mind to just go and do therapy just yet :/ So i'm going to see if i can get some short term meds that allow me to feel more able to go. If i can go without long term meds and cope then i'd really like to but i was told after having spent such a long time this way that it might be the only way if therapy doesn't help.

Such a huge decision to make. I just don't know if i'd be perfectly fine or completely wrecked after baby was born. My mum suffered horribly with post natal depression and it was horrible to see i'd had to feel anything like that myself.

Urg... :/