can you take any anti depressants without dvla being informed
the doctor who prescribed me Fluoxetine said there was no need to inform them and was aware of my job.
Possibly stronger ones may need to be notified.
Check with your doctor if you’re not sure if your depression affects your driving.
You must tell DVLA if it does. Fill in form M1V and send it to DVLA. The address is on the form.
But then with depression comes with lack of sleep and Anxiety… so its all down to your GP to confirm or not if it effects your driving and for you complete the relevant forms…
Thus then it its down to the DVLA if they consider you safe or not to hold a licence
You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.
tippertom:
can you take any anti depressants without dvla being informed
Fluoxatine take 2 week to get in your system and work,all they do is make you walk round with a smile on your face like the village idiot,i was on them for 5 month after my accident,i allways had a smile and laughed a lot but deep down i was totally and utterly down in tha dumps end of the world,i found the best thing to do is talk to a few people and you find out other people arnt as happy as they seem to be,im not saying dont give them a go if thats what you think ,all im saying is even when you take them whatever it is whats at the source of your depression its still there,thats what i found anyway,when i came off them i felt better,i was on the sick at the time but if you start going to work with a big smile on your face and really happy all of a sudden ,people will start talking 
What ever you do wean yourself of then when your ready to pack them in. You’ll come crashing down with a bump if you come of them cold turkey. The best medicine for this is as Seth said talk to someone understand your demons and find another way through it. If the pills are your last resort than that’s a shame but if you can find a way forward with out then that’s def the way to go.
Doctors advise taking long walks on a windy day to blow the cobwebs away.A remote beach is ideal.
Enviromental factors to be considered are being tired of being in the same place.
Relocating and changing jobs may help.
With the Winter looming and shorter days,taking up a course at a college gets you meeting other people.
Join a rambling or walking club.Pills make you drowsy for driving.
If the financial situation is ok,book a holiday in the sun in mid Winter to boost the brains natural chemical balance of Serotonin which make you happy.
The Canaries are quite warm in the Winter.
With the stress of driving,bad planning,road rage,long hours,poor diet and other factors,depression for drivers is very common.
depression is not just caused by being ‘depressed’.
It is sometimes caused by a lack of Seratonin (I think !) and talking to someone has no effect on this, medication is needed to correct it.
Possibly got it all wrong but I seem to remember something along the lines of your body needs sunshine to create Seratonin and working nights deprives some people of the amount of sunshine needed to do this.
If you think you are depressed see a doctor, they are paid to give you proper advice.
Coming off Fluoxetine shouldn’t mean going ‘cold turkey’ as it is non addictive, or supposed to be.
Whislt I was suffering with depression the doctor gave me 6 months sick leave, fluoxetine and told me to spend my time doing things that I enjoy.
the Boss wasn’t too chuffed when he got reports from other drivers that had seen me all over the country towing my caravan.
In fact on one visit he claimed the I was the healthiest looking sick person he had ever seen!
I was fortunate in that the company I worked for paid full wages for up to a year.
5htp (griffonia simplifica) is a wonderful natural anti-anxietant that is incredibly effective and massively sucessful over in the USA in particular.I’ve had recourse to use them in supplement form over the years with very good results.It works well with high potency fish oil as a metaboliser but if you do decide to give them a stab,try a good quality manufacturer as there are lot’s of nasty synthetic versions around on Amazon etc.AVOID.And I personally would side-step the most prominent high street provider of herbs and vits as they are now controlled by a giant corporation with dubious people on it’s payroll,and predictably since they began; prices are up and vitamin and mineral levels are way down.
Natures Best would be my first choice as their stuff really is quality and the 5htp especially so,plus they’re uk based.
For further reading on the current war by big pharma on people taking natural products,type in-CODEX ALIMENTARIOUS and all will become clear as to why evil products such as fluoxatine are handied out by gp’s like popcorn.
Best of luck.Depression is just a form of the soul rebelling against a disgusting and deeply corrupted political control system that dehumanises us for corporate gain.You will emerge stronger if you ride the tiger and discard conventional ‘medications’.
All the best.
tippertom:
can you take any anti depressants without dvla being informed
Agreed 100% - take it from someone that has suffered with this illness for over 10 yrs - Telling someone to man up, get over yourself or whatever some say will not help and will make you feel even worse…Depression and anxiety does not discriminate - it is a bloody [zb] of an illness.
I have taken anti depressants etc and there is no shame in telling family and friends how you feel - get to the doctors, as I found once you tell someone you will feel a lot better and time will heal. I don’t take anti depressants anymore as now know how to deal with the warning signs -
The other thing I found is don’t surround yourself with negative whinging people as this will make you feel worse - Joining a gym or taking some form of exercise is also extremely good as it releases toxins into the brain…for anyone that has the illness there is light at the end of the tunnel and yes I drove on anti depressants without any side effects, it all depends on what the doctor prescribes.
I never told my boss I had the illness as some do not understand anything about the illness and I believe if they did some research they may also be suffering in some way…
Good luck to anyone who is suffering the first thing to do is tell your wife or partner how you feel. !!! 