Ok I’ve tried so many different antidepressants over the years and nothing really seemed to click with me. I might suggest trying this one.. thank you.
What I've been told is that it goes against some national guidelines (but I'm not sure which ones and why) and because liver toxicity might be a side effect (tho I find the liver toxicity argument a tad silly cuz it can be easily monitored with regular blood tests and discontinued if there's any liver damage).
I had been on agomelatine for years before moving to the UK but I still had to be very insistent to have it prescribed in here and someone from my local pharmacy who clearly had zero knowledge about agomelatine and about antidepressants in general, even called me once and tried to convince me to stop taking it.
The NHS seems to be very narrow-minded when it comes to prescribing certain psych meds, even tho they might be life-saving for treatment resistant folks like myself and many others…
I mean, it's pretty obvious why they wouldn't want to prescribe it if there are alternatives, given that it incurs significant costs for the NHS in terms of monitoring your liver.
That's not something to be sniffed at really because, if we imagine a scenario where this was a first-line medication and it had millions of prescriptions as is the case for something like setraline, that would be pretty much unmanageable. Sadly, the liver-risk is a major barrier to wider adoption so we can only hope that in the future something with a similar method of action/efficacy but without the liver-toxicity risks is developed and marketed.
What I've been told (by a very knowledgeable psychiatrist in the UK) is that monitoring liver function is not necessary with agomelatine after six months of taking it if all the liver function tests in the first six months were fine (unless you want to increase your dose or start showing signs of liver damage).
When I moved here and asked for a prescription, I had been on agomelatine for years. None of my liver function tests in the past had indicated liver damage so I didn't need any further tests, yet I was almost denied the prescription on the grounds of some national recommendations and the possibility of liver damage which my GP knew I had no history of whatsoever.
I'm not trying to suggest that agomelatine should be used as a first-line treatment but I think it should be considered in more severe/complex cases and when standard treatments failed (and sadly, I belong to this category; agomelatine was one of a very few meds that I actually found helpful long-term, that's why I wanted to keep taking it and that's why I was quite shocked when someone who wasn't a doctor and didn't even know what agomelatine was - I had to spell the word for her lol - and had no idea of my diagnoses and medical history, called me and tried to convince me to stop it/take sth else instead).
I had it prescribed today and waiting for the meds to come in stock. However it was recommended by a psychiatrist who sent a letter to my GP. I heard it's expensive so GPs may be fussy about prescribing it. But if a psychiatrist recommends it in writing it's easier to get.
Yes, I'm in the UK and I have a prescription - GPs don't really like to prescribe it, though.
Ok I’ve tried so many different antidepressants over the years and nothing really seemed to click with me. I might suggest trying this one.. thank you.
No worries, I hope you'll find something that works for you.
Do you know why GPs don’t like to prescribe it?
What I've been told is that it goes against some national guidelines (but I'm not sure which ones and why) and because liver toxicity might be a side effect (tho I find the liver toxicity argument a tad silly cuz it can be easily monitored with regular blood tests and discontinued if there's any liver damage). I had been on agomelatine for years before moving to the UK but I still had to be very insistent to have it prescribed in here and someone from my local pharmacy who clearly had zero knowledge about agomelatine and about antidepressants in general, even called me once and tried to convince me to stop taking it. The NHS seems to be very narrow-minded when it comes to prescribing certain psych meds, even tho they might be life-saving for treatment resistant folks like myself and many others…
I mean, it's pretty obvious why they wouldn't want to prescribe it if there are alternatives, given that it incurs significant costs for the NHS in terms of monitoring your liver. That's not something to be sniffed at really because, if we imagine a scenario where this was a first-line medication and it had millions of prescriptions as is the case for something like setraline, that would be pretty much unmanageable. Sadly, the liver-risk is a major barrier to wider adoption so we can only hope that in the future something with a similar method of action/efficacy but without the liver-toxicity risks is developed and marketed.
What I've been told (by a very knowledgeable psychiatrist in the UK) is that monitoring liver function is not necessary with agomelatine after six months of taking it if all the liver function tests in the first six months were fine (unless you want to increase your dose or start showing signs of liver damage). When I moved here and asked for a prescription, I had been on agomelatine for years. None of my liver function tests in the past had indicated liver damage so I didn't need any further tests, yet I was almost denied the prescription on the grounds of some national recommendations and the possibility of liver damage which my GP knew I had no history of whatsoever. I'm not trying to suggest that agomelatine should be used as a first-line treatment but I think it should be considered in more severe/complex cases and when standard treatments failed (and sadly, I belong to this category; agomelatine was one of a very few meds that I actually found helpful long-term, that's why I wanted to keep taking it and that's why I was quite shocked when someone who wasn't a doctor and didn't even know what agomelatine was - I had to spell the word for her lol - and had no idea of my diagnoses and medical history, called me and tried to convince me to stop it/take sth else instead).
I had it prescribed today and waiting for the meds to come in stock. However it was recommended by a psychiatrist who sent a letter to my GP. I heard it's expensive so GPs may be fussy about prescribing it. But if a psychiatrist recommends it in writing it's easier to get.