No. There are some other commonly prescribed meds which can help with that

Aripiprazole, Risperidone, Quetiapine (which also helps with sleep), Olanzopine...which is right for you? Only a GP or (medically qualified) psychiatrist could tell you. You need to consider side-effects and make sure support infrastructure is in place (e.g. if you're female in particular, risperidone can send your prolactin levels haywire, which is a problem - regular bloods are needed to monitor). Many will prescribe Quetiapine in the first instance these days but that's not to say that drug is right for you.

Only ever source this kind of stuff through the medical professionals.

It's fine to ask for a second opinion if you're not sure about the outcome of an assessment - that's your right and the quacks genuinely don't really mind.

Fluoxetine used to be called Prozac and is one of many SSRI/SNRI-style antidepressants. If it works for you that's great (though it won't help with voices). If you feel it's not working for you, or the side-effects becaome unbearable, don't be shy about telling the quacks as there are many other alternatives and they will usually try you on them in sequence until they find the one which fits for you.

Options include citalopram, escitalopram (which is a different thing despite the similar name), sertraline, mirtazapine, trazodone, vortioxetine and many others - all have different side-effects and it's pot luck if one works well for you and is also tolerable for you or not - but the enormous majority of people do find one which does fit that bill, it's a question of trying them in sequence.

If fluoxetine is working for you mood-wise and the side-effects are ok, that's great, no need to change!

To get a proper formulative assessment (as opposed to simply diagnostic) for MH issues it's usually necessary to be a bit persistent going back, asking for referral to MH services and so on. This is a problem because it requires proactivity and motivation which are not commonly present in people with depression.

(Source: I'm full-time carer for two vulnerable adults, one of whom uses one of the medications to help with voices etc that I've listed above and it works for them; I've also suffered from major depression myself and been on most of the anti-depressant meds listed at one time or another).

NB Don't discount "talking therapies". The meds will help with mood and calm the really-highs and really-lows. They will help stabilise and make living with a condition more possible/tractable. Talking therapies are what I found, for my own major depression, actually worked to help get rid of the problem (or at least reduce it to manageable proportions). They will throw CBT at you first and if that works for you brilliant; it didn't for me, I had to keep going back and finally I did get a style of therapy which was the right fit for me.

The MIND website is really informative and helpful and if you're local the local MIND is really good.

If you're feeling at risk, or considering behaviours which others might describe as extreme or dangerous, Samaritans or 111 option 2 can be really helpful, or if the wait on the phone is too long rock up to A+E who can get you assessed and referred to relevant teams if that would help you.

Take it easy. It can be a scary and unsettling thing to hear voices other people can't hear. Do reach out to the professionals for help - there can be a number of causes, each of which needs a different treatment pathway, and only a medical professional would be able to guide you to which one is the right one for you. If it's hard to get a GP appointment where you are, call at 0800 or 0830 or whenever their lines open and ask for a same-day appointment, all the surgeries have these avaialble but you have to get in early doors. If you can't do that, as I say, don't rule out rocking up to A+E if that's what it takes to get seen. Sadly sometimes you have to show up more than once to get referred to the right team.

Posted By: Old Man, Jul 19, 11:39:28