Depression am I at risk???

Hi Terry I think if we are all honest most of us have had the feelings you described so well. Unfortunately I think it comes with the other challenges we are facing. My experience was I was put on a low dose of Effexor ( 75mg ) when I was still in hospital recovering from my bilateral masectomy and was told that taken with gabapentin it would make a huge difference to the amount of nerve pain I felt. My surgeon never told me it was an anti depressant so i had no clue and just began taking it as instructed.A nurse looking after me who had travelled a similar path a few years earlier told me most women are put on a low dose of an anti depressant / anxiety medication to help get them through such a difficult time and that was when I clicked what sort of medication Effexor was. I travelled through the journey well experiencing what you are experiencing now on and off. In all of my wisdom I decided after a year my nerve pain would have improved so I stopped my Effexor suddenly. Even though it was a low dose I immediately began to feel lost and had no focus in my day to day activities. When I returned to my job as a preschool teacher the job I loved suddenly became a bit overwhelming as I looked after 30 3 to 5 year olds each day.'i went to see my gp who asked why had I just ceased my meds without consulting him. I said I had never been someone who liked taking anything :) and I thought my body had exceeded its limit of drugs with 16 chemos. I went straight back on my Effexor and after a few weeks was back to my happy self and the stress in my job disappeared. The bonus with Effexor is it is one of the drugs prescribed to alleviate those fantastic hot flushes too. I have recently been given a script for 150mg Effexor and if my recent diagnosis and the treatment etc becomes stressful I won't hesitate to up my dose to enable my mind and body to deal with this new challenge a little easier. There is no harm in giving the meds a go. Don't pit yourself under any extra stress or worry and save your energy for the fight ahead Hope hearing from someone happy to take these meds help in your decision making Look after yourself as the roller coaster ride can be sometimes be overwhelming Mel xxx