anxiety ?

[mishamilo53]

hi everyone does anyone know if anti depressants interfere with any of the treatment plans . ? I have anxiety for which I took meds for awhile but then withdrew from them 4 years ago however with the news of my diagnosis my anxiety is spiking badly and GP suggesting it might be good idea to go back into them given I’m still at the testing establishing stage which is horrendous anyway …. Anyone on anti d’s ? Did it affect / interfere with anything later on during treatment ? Thanks for listening

[Lyubov]

I have taken anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds for some years. They truly keep me together. My PCP & oncologist & other physicians never question my using them or indicate they would interfere in treatment. Best wishes!

[mishamilo53 in reply to Lyubov]

thanks for your reply , x

[Cockailschemocancer]

I take sertraline and that was fine also: I also take diazepam if I have a really bad anxiety attack. No problem xx

[mishamilo53 in reply to Cockailschemocancer]

thank you for your reply x

[JanetteR57]

sorry to read of your anxiety at this time - it is natural to feel anxious when things are uncertain and the investigations before determining what things are and when treatments might start is possibly one of the most anxious of the experience. There are many people in online patient forums who take such medication but others who prefer to talk to others or nurse led helpline (which both Roy Castle lung cancer foundation or Macmillan offer) and many who feel they have a support network to help them through it. Others find these platforms talking to those who've been through it before helps them immensely and many offer hints and tips on how they managed to improve sleep, plan things, keep busy or do those things you've always meant to do which in themselves can squeeze out time/space for worrying all the time and anxiety. There's no right or wrong approach - we're all different but if you do take medication, do let your clinical team for your treatment know as they need to know all prescribed medication and any over the counter supplements or herbal remedies that you might take as side effects may differ with such things. As a short term intervention they can help. hope you find a way to reduce your anxiety as patience and ability to think clearly when being told what was going on mattered immensely to me as I had an extremely limited support network at the time - my diagnosis was Jan 2011.

[mishamilo53]

thanks for your reply , I think because I had a pre existing anxiety condition ( which was well controlled without meds for the last few years ) I just knew yesterday that it had all got out of hand and that verbal support was no longer working , I am having counselling starting tomorrow and I will be constantly monitoring how I feel about it throughout that too …. I’m gutted to return to them I will be honest but having had a breakdown in the past I just couldn’t risk going back to that dark place for the sake of not going back on them ….. I’m am surrounding myself with as much support as possible too x

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hello mishamilo53,

Anxiety can be difficult to deal with even at the best of times, with the added stress of a cancer diagnosis understandably this will increase. Being on antidepressants or medication for anxiety will not affect your treatment plan in any way but as JanetteR57 has said let your team know what medication you are taking even if it is herbal remedies as some medications can interact with each other.

We are running some online support groups which might be of interest to you below is a link for further information

roycastle.org/help-and-supp...

Sometimes it might be helpful to talk things over both MacMillan and Maggies centers offer a free counselling service, for some this can be helpful in dealing with anxiety

macmillan.org.uk/cancer-inf...

maggies.org/

If there is anything else you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to contact us at email ask the nurse at [e-mail] or call our free phone nurse led helpline number on 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600

Kind regards

The Roy Castle Support Team

[mishamilo53 in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

thank you for your detailed reply , and support . I will be interested in support groups I’m sure in the near future so welcome the information too x

[mishamilo53]

thank you everyone for your amazing responses this morning I truly appreciate you replying when you are all going through your own tough journeys . Also thank you to the helpline who gave much reassurance to me this morning I’m so grateful you are all there . Xxx

[sassassas]

Thinking of you mishamilo53 . I hope you get the results of all your tests very soon so you have a plan in place. This seems to help a lot of people x

[mishamilo53 in reply to sassassas]

thank you love I hope so x