Depression
"Just over a month a go I went to see my GP after several weeks of battling my old foe the old black dog was not only back he was barking loudly.  



I was I admit surprised that my GP who I have only known for three years and who hasn&rsquo;t previously seen me depressed spotted my change in mood before I had had chance to tell him how I was feeling.  I walked out holding a script for a new drug Pristiq and began the medication the following day.  My next appointment to see how I was coping was for last Monday.  One of the side effects of Pristiq is according to the warning sheet my pharmacist gave me was hyper-wakefulness.  Needless to say I had a paradoxical effect I have spent a month falling a sleep during the day.  Later sleeping eight to ten hours at night.  Due to the most awful pharmaceutical hangovers I needed to get up at 6 am in order to be in a fit state to drive by 7.30. My doctor found this interesting but urged me to continue taking the drug as he felt sure it would help my illness saying I needed to be on it for twelve months.



However, in the past seven nights things have gone from bad to worse. Every night has been disturbed by the most frightful nightmares. Night sweats and terror on waking from the most vivid of horrors.  On Friday night I lay awake forcing myself to stay awake, I was far too frightened of returning into this new nightmare world to sleep.  My fearful dreams kept me from my bed the following night for several hours I finally went to bed in the early hours I slept fitfully my dreams were again frightening to say the very least luckily I can&rsquo;t recall them in detail by midmorning.  



It was on Saturday that I decided that enough is enough depression is more than sufficient without entering a nocturnal world of fear and torment.   While I was only on Pristiq for five weeks it was five weeks I&rsquo;m not about to forget any day soon.   



When the treatment is worse than the illness it is time to stop; take stock and in my case back away.   I know that I most probably should have spoken to my doctor but it was Easter and I couldn&rsquo;t see him so I made my own decision. Now only time will tell if my decision was the right one.     



But one thing I do know is as a drug Pristiq is not for me.  Even at its loudest a barking  black dog is less scary than a night on Pristiq."