Cycling vs Anti Depressant drugs

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Bigtallfatbloke

New Member
Wish I had been prescribed cycling instead of pills for years...oh but then again the docs & med companies dont make any cash out of cycling :eek:
 

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
I try to use pills as little as possible, not so much the cash but the fact that the body may not let you stop using them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
I think cycling helps massively, but the pills can have their place too. The only difficulty I ever had was with tricyclics which took away my desire to cycle (the irony!). That didn't seem a good thing so eventually I discontinued them. I was lucky to have found a good GP who was happy to adopt a reasonably holistic approach.

The cycling is now part of my prevention routine. It's nice to hear other people having similar experiences.
 

Blue

Legendary Member
Location
N Ireland
barq]I think cycling helps massively said:
have their place too. .

An interesting point backed up by medical studies done in USA in the 80's & 90's.

It was found that regular exercise improved mild to moderate anxiety or depression by the production of endorphins, the development of positive coping strategies and improvement in self-esteem, self-concept and body image.[/i]
 

Monty Dog

New Member
Location
Fleet
Having suffered from a prolonged absence from work a few years ago due to stress-related illness, one of my coping-strategies was spending time on the bike. It gave me the time and space to rationalise some of my thought processes. My GP was pretty understanding and encouraged me to get out, knowing I was a keen sportsman - however, I don't think he realised that as a virtual full-time cyclist, I was regularly stacking up 300-500 miles per week. I'm still taking a mild dose of anti-depressants - I've tried weaning myself off, but suffer from mood-swings if I don't. FWIW Even when taking a moderate dose, I don't think they had any impact upon my performance.
 
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke

Bigtallfatbloke

New Member
thats where I'm at. Been on the pills for 5 years or more..lost my job....was hospitalized for a while...gave up...got fat....became an absolute pratt to all who love me....then on eday I woke up and decided to walk out to the garage and get on my old mtb....still pedalling.
 

chris42

New Member
Location
Deal, Kent
Bigtallfatbloke said:
thats where I'm at. Been on the pills for 5 years or more..lost my job....was hospitalized for a while...gave up...got fat....became an absolute pratt to all who love me....then on eday I woke up and decided to walk out to the garage and get on my old mtb....still pedalling.

Good on ya Big!
Similar situation here and I take no pills after 2 years of seroxat!
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
I've been pill free for a few years now and cycling has a lot to do with that. However I also recognise that for many people pills work very well, or that cycling on its own isn't enough.

I never reacted well to the pills. SSRIs tipped me over into being bi-polar on several occasions so I got given various tricyclics all of which had nasty side effects. What a relief to have discovered cycling. Might sound a bit OTT, but its the best thing I ever did! I've now had several years of pill-free good health.

Good to hear your story though Bigtallfatbloke - keep pedalling. :tongue:
 

jacob

New Member
Location
east midlands
:sad:had problems with depresion myself,2 months off work.It was all made worse because I self presribed alcohol:confused:Mate in pub inspired me by riding lejog and sold me his bike afterwards !To cut a long story short,cycling has helped turn mmy life around:biggrin:
 

jacob

New Member
Location
east midlands
had problems with depresion myself,2 months off work.It was all made worse because I self presribed alcohol:confused:Mate in pub sold me his bike never looked back:biggrin:
 

longers

Legendary Member
I can't comment on any prescribed medication for depression but cycling has definately helped steady this ship. I would definately have been popping pills.
 

Elmer Fudd

Miserable Old Bar Steward
Same here, had been off cycling for a while apart from work commute but then lost job, so moved 200 miles away from home. Back on the pills at the mo but amazing how good you feel about yourself when out on the bike.
Or is it because you are more thinking about what you are doing rather than "what's gone wrong with my life ?"
 
the problem i have is that when down, or on my way down, i don't want to cycle. i know that if i ride and have one small incident (not climbing a hill well, getting tired quickly, etc) then i'll just want to throw the bike away.

i signed up to do the brit cyclosportive mainly to get me riding... and it worked, even though my mood on the day darkened like the sky and i gave up half way after small niggles with the organising of the event got to me. it did make me want to ride though... and i've ridden better since as i enjoy it now.

i did a stress management course as part of my treatment and one thing that came up was breathing problems - this has been a big part of me not enjoying riding. i still have the problem - my mind gives up and causes panic, making me hyperventilate. it may be part asthma too, my last doctor wasn't interested in that.

must admit i want to get off the pills. if anyone saw the Stephen Fry programme recently there was a great quote by someone who said that medication made you "letterboxed". you didn't experience the lows, but you didn't get the highs either - and i think this is a problem with me. i've also given up writing since the meds as it seems my mind can't run free.

while things at home (and, less so now, work) are really strained i'll keep up the pills, but i am looking at riding more as a form of therapy.

another thing that has helped me is birdwatching! i have become a member of the WWT and visit the wetlands centre in Barnes as an escape. this may sound strange too, but i have often sat and chatted to swans in richmond park and on the Thames. there is something calm about them. i recently had one see off a goose that bothered me as i sat and chatted to him while he preened. the same swan recently let me feed its six cygnets, almost by hand, allowing me to sit on the bank as they swam inches away with the parents not bothered by my presence. other 'humans' were approached by the parents so they didn't get too close. did that swan recognise me? did i sense something in me? i have no idea, all i do know is that another park visitor remarked that they'd never seen anyone get that near to, very recently hatched, cygnets before.

good luck to all those with problems. my your wheels run true.

L
 
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