[never forever]

hi there,

to begin with, I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety 8 months ago, my GP prescribed me antidepressants and I was appointed some therapy sessions. However, I did not take any medication and left home (to the Netherlands) straight away. Told GP that I will be back shortly.

I was actually away for 7 months and recently came back. I received proper treatment in my country. Sorry folks but general practitioner treating mental illness is ridiculous, my grandma would do better.
I still haven't overcome my illness and gotta fly back to my home once in a while for check-ups and medication prescriptions.

During this 7 months period I received like 10 letters from my local medical practice stating that I should come and see my GP to see check my health is.

Don't know what to do now...
I think I shouldn't say that I am receiving treatment back in my country.
I am thinking of seeing a GP and stating that I am completely OK now, depression is gone (yes, lying).
or do nothing is also an option.

but I am concerned whether my medical records of depression will have an effect, for example, on drivings license, in the near future?
Cause in my country people with diagnoses such as depression, schizophrenia etc have kinda limited life (drivings license, some jobs)

I want to be clean with no official history of mental illness.
Experiences please?

[Exopaladin]

(Original post by never forever)
hi there,

to begin with, I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety 8 months ago, my GP prescribed me antidepressants and I was appointed some therapy sessions. However, I did not take any medication and left home (to the Netherlands) straight away. Told GP that I will be back shortly.

I was actually away for 7 months and recently came back. I received proper treatment in my country. Sorry folks but general practitioner treating mental illness is ridiculous, my grandma would do better.
I still haven't overcome my illness and gotta fly back to my home once in a while for check-ups and medication prescriptions.

During this 7 months period I received like 10 letters from my local medical practice stating that I should come and see my GP to see check my health is.

Don't know what to do now...
I think I shouldn't say that I am receiving treatment back in my country.
I am thinking of seeing a GP and stating that I am completely OK now, depression is gone (yes, lying).
or do nothing is also an option.

but I am concerned whether my medical records of depression will have an effect, for example, on drivings license, in the near future?
Cause in my country people with diagnoses such as depression, schizophrenia etc have kinda limited life (drivings license, some jobs)

I want to be clean with no official history of mental illness.
Experiences please?

From a UK point of view, having a diagnosis of depression won't stop you getting a driving license or getting jobs. You don't have to declare anything to your employer until after you've signed the contract, even then it's normally optional but advised since if you have health issues and haven't declared it they're not as obligated to be as supportive/etc.

Only jobs here that you absolutely can't do if you're depressed/on medication are military jobs, which I suspect wouldn't be an option unless you hold British citizenship anyway (and you'd have to declare the medication even if it's not prescribed by a UK doctor).

With regards to driving you don't even have to tell the DVLA about depression, unless you consider yourself unfit to drive or at risk because you were on heavily sedating medications that carried through into the morning for example.

You could also ask your GP about continuing the meds you've been prescribed in the Netherlands so you don't have to keep flying back there, I imagine they would be accommodating if you've found something that works that's approved here for depression.

It would probably be useful to be honest with your GP so that if anything did happen and you started getting worse/had to see someone urgently rather than flying home that they could help you or if you had problems relating to your medications.

[mmaize]

I am a bit confused, if you had treatment in The Netherlands for depression and anxiety, surely it is on your records there?

Your GP will have just been following up out of concern, you are welcome to go back to them and say thanks but no thanks, unless they feel you are a serious risk to yourself or others it is your choice whether to have treatment or not.

[OU Student]

The driving licence stuff depends on how severe you are and whether the medication causes problems. Some medication causes drowsiness.

[mindful man]

I'm not allowed to do most of the jobs that I'm interested in doing.

I have a schizophrenic disorder. They say ''people with mental illness can lead a normal life''. *******s.

It's hardly normal when on top of having to fight for your recovery, you're also having to resign yourself to a ****ty desk job because no one trusts you in the real world.

I've put everything into my degree - it's cost me so much at times - and that is how society rewards me ..assigned to the desk.

I know lots of people diagnosed with depression and the system doesn't seem to mind them. Unless you've had a recent hospital admission, and as long as your not on sedating drugs, I don't think there's a problem for most jobs. You should be OK.

[headunderwater]

(Original post by mindful man)
I'm not allowed to do most of the jobs that I'm interested in doing.

I have a schizophrenic disorder. They say ''people with mental illness can lead a normal life''. *******s.

It's hardly normal when on top of having to fight for your recovery, you're also having to resign yourself to a ****ty desk job because no one trusts you in the real world.

I've put everything into my degree - it's cost me so much at times - and that is how society rewards me ..assigned to the desk.

I know lots of people diagnosed with depression and the system doesn't seem to mind them. Unless you've had a recent hospital admission, and as long as your not on sedating drugs, I don't think there's a problem for most jobs. You should be OK.

This is so sad but true.

[enigma1122]

(Original post by Exopaladin)
From a UK point of view, having a diagnosis of depression won't stop you getting a driving license or getting jobs. You don't have to declare anything to your employer until after you've signed the contract, even then it's normally optional but advised since if you have health issues and haven't declared it they're not as obligated to be as supportive/etc.

Only jobs here that you absolutely can't do if you're depressed/on medication are military jobs, which I suspect wouldn't be an option unless you hold British citizenship anyway (and you'd have to declare the medication even if it's not prescribed by a UK doctor).

With regards to driving you don't even have to tell the DVLA about depression, unless you consider yourself unfit to drive or at risk because you were on heavily sedating medications that carried through into the morning for example.

You could also ask your GP about continuing the meds you've been prescribed in the Netherlands so you don't have to keep flying back there, I imagine they would be accommodating if you've found something that works that's approved here for depression.

It would probably be useful to be honest with your GP so that if anything did happen and you started getting worse/had to see someone urgently rather than flying home that they could help you or if you had problems relating to your medications.

this. ( ive never done a this comment so i felt i had to )

[Sabertooth]

(Original post by mindful man)
I'm not allowed to do most of the jobs that I'm interested in doing.

I have a schizophrenic disorder. They say ''people with mental illness can lead a normal life''. *******s.

It's hardly normal when on top of having to fight for your recovery, you're also having to resign yourself to a ****ty desk job because no one trusts you in the real world.

I've put everything into my degree - it's cost me so much at times - and that is how society rewards me ..assigned to the desk.

I know lots of people diagnosed with depression and the system doesn't seem to mind them. Unless you've had a recent hospital admission, and as long as your not on sedating drugs, I don't think there's a problem for most jobs. You should be OK.

I know what you mean, man.

[MrHappy_J]

if you had taken the antidepressants you might be feeling better by now

[never forever]

Thanks for the replies, feeling a bit relieved.

My GP could prescribe me the exact medication I am having now, that would be a reasonable option. But since I am on AD, antipsychotics and occasionally on sleeping pills and benzodiazepines I wonder if GP would agree to prescribe me medication so easily?
I think I will ask my psychiatrist at home if she could write some kind of official letter or something

[mindful man]

GP's readily prescribe anti-depressants in the UK - it's what they spend a lot of their time doing.

Your GP is very unlikely to prescribe anti-psychotics, they'll want you to see a psychiatrist first. (Unless you've got a letter). They're horrible drugs.

Sleeping pills (Zolpidem, Zopiclone etc.) usually aren't a problem if it's bad insomnia.

GP's in the UK don't like prescribing Benzo's unless they feel you need them, and that they trust you. I take a benzodiazepine, and have done on and off for a few years now, because I prefer it to the modern sleeping pills - It took a fair bit of persuasion before they prescribed them to me.

You may be best off with a letter.

[never forever]

well, I could bring a great deal of anti-psychotics and Benzo's to the UK from home which would last me at least 3 months....

oh, and also. I take two different antidepressants daily. Does it count as one prescription or do you have to pay the price for two different medications?

p.s. I am grateful to you for answering my silly questions.

[Exopaladin]

(Original post by never forever)
well, I could bring a great deal of anti-psychotics and Benzo's to the UK from home which would last me at least 3 months....

oh, and also. I take two different antidepressants daily. Does it count as one prescription or do you have to pay the price for two different medications?

p.s. I am grateful to you for answering my silly questions.

It counts as two prescriptions. You can get a prescription prepayment certificate where you pay £29.10 for unlimited prescriptions, works out cheaper if you get more than one prescription a month.

If you can get a letter from your psychiatrist you can probably get the GP to prescribe all the meds including the antipsychotics, I imagine.

[never forever]

Thank you for reply, that certificate would be a good option

[Madprof]

The £29.10 certificate is for unlimited prescriptions in a three month period. It'll cost £104 for a year's worth of unlimited prescriptions. See: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthc...tioncosts.aspx

Definitely tell your GP in the UK about the treatment you're getting and that you're not OK yet. They need to know so they can look after you should things get worse.

As to getting them to prescribe your current medication, it's not certain and depends on your history. A letter from your psychiatrist at home would be a sensible plan. With that collection of drugs, they might want you to see a psychiatrist in the UK first before they're happy to prescribe. Antipsychotics can be used for depression but they're certainly not the first choice as they come with quite a few nasty side-effects. Benzodiazipines (and the newer sleeping pills called 'Z drugs' - zopiclone and zolpidem) can be pretty addictive so they might be nervous about prescribing these long-term too, although I appreciate they're only occasional.

[never forever]

Thank you, it would help me to save some money as at the moment all my medication costs me approx. £40 per month. And this is almost £500 a year...

I am taking anti-psychotics not because of depression but due to my paranoid/delusional thinking and anxiety. I am not diagnosed with schizophrenia though. Gotta take medication to prevent any negative thoughts and manic episodes...
If I have to see a psychiatrist here in the UK, then... I am afraid they could misdiagnose me and schizoaffective disorder (or even schizophrenia) wouldn't do any good on my medical records.

the only visible side effect - I gained some weight.

Also, good news, I will completely stop taking sleeping pills because well... actually they do not work for me. I sleep maximum for 5 hours and then wake up with terrible headaches.

However, I always carry benzodiazepines with myself because I am having anxiety attacks, I faint.
I know they are addictive but it helps me to exist...

[mindful man]

(Original post by never forever)
I am taking anti-psychotics not because of depression but due to my paranoid/delusional thinking and anxiety. I am not diagnosed with schizophrenia though. Gotta take medication to prevent any negative thoughts and manic episodes...
If I have to see a psychiatrist here in the UK, then... I am afraid they could misdiagnose me and schizoaffective disorder (or even schizophrenia) wouldn't do any good on my medical records.

the only visible side effect - I gained some weight.

Are you coming to the UK to study? It sounds like if you are, it may be a bad idea.

Why not get your health under control first?

I wouldn't worry about a diagnosis - they're not likely to diagnose you schizoaffective or schizophrenia. Psychiatrists in the UK prefer to diagnose people with bipolar disorder - especially as you describe mixed episodes.

You say the only 'visible' side effect is that you've gained weight?

If you come to the UK and are under the care of a GP, make sure they are checking lipids and cholestorol, because some of the modern drugs make those go through the roof - especially Olanzapine.

If you're taking an older drug like Sulpride - you really need a psychiatrist to monitor you in my view. I constantly ended up with very high Prolactin levels on the older drugs ..something a GP would often forget to investigate. GP's (and psychiatrists) can miss small things, like movement disorders.

To be honest, I think you should get yourself well first before coming to the UK.

Why the rush? You're young right? Seriously mate, it's not worth coming over here in a state.

You don't want to come here and end up in the psychiatric system.

[Sabertooth]

(Original post by mindful man)
Are you coming to the UK to study? It sounds like if you are, it may be a bad idea.

Why not get your health under control first?

I wouldn't worry about a diagnosis - they're not likely to diagnose you schizoaffective or schizophrenia. Psychiatrists in the UK prefer to diagnose people with bipolar disorder - especially as you describe mixed episodes.

You say the only 'visible' side effect is that you've gained weight?

If you come to the UK and are under the care of a GP, make sure they are checking lipids and cholestorol, because some of the modern drugs make those go through the roof - especially Olanzapine.

If you're taking an older drug like Sulpride - you really need a psychiatrist to monitor you in my view. I constantly ended up with very high Prolactin levels on the older drugs ..something a GP would often forget to investigate. GP's (and psychiatrists) can miss small things, like movement disorders.

To be honest, I think you should get yourself well first before coming to the UK.

Why the rush? You're young right? Seriously mate, it's not worth coming over here in a state.

You don't want to come here and end up in the psychiatric system.

Good post, I agree with you.

Just one query, how often are you meant to get lipids and cholesterol checked on new antipsychotics? I've been on them a fair while and no one ever checks anything, even when I had clear symptoms of way too much prolactin.

[mindful man]

Hey Saber,

It's a difficult one, and it depends on the drug.

On Olanzapine or Quetiapine, I'd want them checked fairly regularly. Perhaps a few times a year. But that is just me personally, I'm not a doctor!

If I'm on something like Risperadone, or Amisulpride, then I wouldn't be as worried (again this is me personally). Particularly with Amisulpride - as it is more like a typical anti-psychotic.

In fact not once was anything raised whilst I was on Amisulpride. (I was on the stuff for over a year). The only thing that was massively raised was prolactin. It got so high that I had to come off.

It's really something you need a GOOD psychiatrist to help you with. (GOOD shrinks can be difficult to find though! lol)

[Sabertooth]

(Original post by mindful man)
Hey Saber,

It's a difficult one, and it depends on the drug.

On Olanzapine or Quetiapine, I'd want them checked fairly regularly. Perhaps a few times a year. But that is just me personally, I'm not a doctor!

If I'm on something like Risperadone, or Amisulpride, then I wouldn't be as worried (again this is me personally). Particularly with Amisulpride - as it is more like a typical anti-psychotic.

In fact not once was anything raised whilst I was on Amisulpride. (I was on the stuff for over a year). The only thing that was massively raised was prolactin. It got so high that I had to come off.

It's really something you need a GOOD psychiatrist to help you with. (GOOD shrinks can be difficult to find though! lol)

Ah right thanks for the answer.

I'm currently on quetiapine and nothing has been checked yet.

I was on amisulpride for 8 months with clear symptoms of high prolactin but no one checked anything then either. I had my prolactin checked eventually and it was in the 4000s (normal is more like 10). I just worry about the potential damage from all those months.