Depression after Treatment

Thanks for sharing your experience Moira - really appreciate your honesty. I am exactly like you - I was super resistant to the idea of taking anti-depressants or any other pill for that matter until cancer came along!

Didn't really get much of choice! Now I'm on numerous pills a day including Tamoxifin and Effexor-SR. I simply hate Tamoxifin - makes my hot flushes so much worse and more frequent! As for the Effexor - I'm yet to see any real benefit from that.

But happily I am alot better, thanks to a bit of "time-out" time and having a damn good look at myself and reassessing my priorities...I've decided not to be so hard on myself for a start! I expected to go back to work full of energy and up to the same standard I was - only to discover there was no way I was going to return the same as I left!! I think I was either a bit naive or in denial - one or the other....so I was particularly upset with myself that I was constantly tired, not efficient at work and just not coping. I'm very lucky that I had a very supportive team at work who helped me through all this.

It was traumatic but I think I've come out the other end - a stronger person with more realistic expectations of myself.

So now I'm feeling much better and more in control, although I will reluctantly discuss this with my GP as I do worry it may occur again - perhaps he can give me some strategies on how to deal with it, if it ever does raise it's ugly head again.

Thanks again

cheers

Helen