I have suffered with insomnia and been on amitriptylene for 30 months. Had to be signed off work in December for a month, whilst undergoing a sleep restriction programme. Went back 80% Jan-Feb, 60% March - April, and have now been signed off again (5 weeks so far). Sleep clinic say work related stress, and I have now come to realise just how bad it has been. Spent too long focussing on the lack of sleep rather than the cause of it. Doctor fully supportive of time off and asked me to consider medication, but we agreed to wait to see how I responded to time off in terms of mood and sleep. It's been up and down, aggrevated in last ten days by an Occupational Health Assessment. They were very clear 100% work related stress, and changes required at work before return considered. They also advised me to consider carefully whether I return at all. The OH doctor was quite adamant I should be on anti depressants, yet I know that if I sleep a bit better, and am well out of the work environment and not troubled by thoughts about it, I feel brighter.
Should I consider antidepressants (on top of the amitriptylene), and if so what can people recommend. Whilst I want help I don't want to be dependent on medication. Advice from those who've been through this would be great.
I can identify with what you said about insomnia, focusing on the symptom not the cause. Also, I was afraid to go on medication but things got so bad I knew I needed help. After I saw my doctor, he recommended going on medication. I had been worried about becoming dependent but I knew being on something was better than going it alone. I have been on citalopram 20mg per day now for 3 months. I am definitely in a better place than when I started. Had some minor side effects for about 2 weeks (depersonalisation was the main one for me) but when it started kicking in, I felt great. When you go off the meds, you just decrease the dose gradually to avoid withdrawal effects.
I would recommend you dry anti-ds. Keep in contact with your doc about worries. They will help you sleep anyways and it would be great if you could manage your insomnia/depression without having to avoid work. Things will get better, don't worry! The main thing is you're starting to realise that you have to deal with your problems and that's a really positive step :D
Thank you anonymousgirl for sharing your experience. I think I will give them a try. I was worried about dependency on drugs - definitely favour self help when I can. But with low mood for over a year now if I'm honest with myself, and counselling, online CBT course and an online meditation programme (which I'm finding very helpful), plus plenty of exercise and good sleep hygiene as it's called, I think I probably need to accept medication.
You are welcome Frances! I hope it works out for you! Could you please private mail me a link for the online meditation programme, I might give it a try? (They don't allow you to send links in public discussions)