On stopping meds......
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On stopping meds......
| Fri, 07-09-2004 - 10:47am |
well, no one can stop any one of us from stopping our meds. But I have to say that when I did it, it was the stupidest thing I ever did. I was SOOOOOO sure that I didn't need my anti-psychotic anymore. I felt good, was doing good, life was good.....it was ALLLLL good.....then I stopped the respirdal. It took me two weeks to flip the hell out. I was hearing cymbals crash in my head, I couldnt' handle anything....when I say anything I mean everything from my kids talking in hushed voices to the sheets touching my skin in bed at night.

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Have a good day, ok?
Kristen
Kristen
I have never heard from ANYONE that went off their meds and had it work out well for them. Never. You might be ok for a few days, or even a week. I think I went a month once without having any type of episode....but you ALWAYS end up having another episode....and usually it is ugly. Not to mention, a lot of meds don't have an immediate effect on your system, so it takes longer to break the cycle again.
There is also the issue brought up of meds no longer working for you - I have heard of several people that have had this problem, and not just with anti-psychotics.
Considering how little meds inconvience you, compared to what BP can do to your life (not to mention the stress and effects it has on your children, spouse/S.O., extended family, and friends), it just is NOT worth it.
One last point I feel should be made - some meds (as has been brought up lately with effexor) don't leave your system very nicely. You should have a very long and serious conversation with your pdoc if you are entertaining thoughts of stopping meds. Even just not taking the ones that you are skipping right now - you should make sure they are aware. You could throw yourself into an episode that is really horrific. That is why we have pdocs and can't just self-medicate...they are trained more fully then most of us are.
Don't just stay on your meds for yourself - do it for your family also.
Good luck
Tracey
How are you doing? I hope you are better than ok...I know you are hanging in there because you're a strong woman but I hope things are better for you.
I too, like many others, quit my meds before. I used to think I was weak for not being able to handle life without meds. I wanted to be "normal". Well wanting to be normal, I stopped my meds and ended up in the hospital. It usually took about a month or so for the meds to totally get out of my system and then all those bad things with bipolar took over and in the hospital I went. I didn't totally except I had an illness that needed treatment for life like my high blood pressure. I have a bad kidney that is half the size it should be and the adrenal gland that sits on top of the kidneys sends off this hormone that makes my blood pressure rise, so I need to take meds for it. If I don't, I won't die right away, but I will eternally be affected and one day it will make me very sick. I finally excepted(I knew logically) emotionally that I had an illness called bipolar and it needed to be treated everyday with meds. So now I do what I have to do to stay as healthy emotionally and mentally as I can. Somedays are great and some are real bad, but stopping meds is never an option, not if I want to keep on the road of stability. If I start to feel unstable on my meds it is my responsibilty to my treatment to tell the pdoc and have him help me. If I don't tell him what is going on (good or bad) how can he help me, right?
Right now I have been going through alot of uncertainty with my life. I am trying to except the bad things that are happening and I have done ALL "I" can do to make it different but nothing has worked so I guess I will have to depend on my higher power to get me through and crawl through the mud until something changes for the good. I also know things could be worse. I believe I am able to think that way(that things could be worse) because I am on my meds. Off them I would be in the hospital. I would not be able to handle anything no matter how small. Whenever I can't find a way to make my problems better and I can't find someone to help me I get so depressed, I start to think irrational, and I start to obsessively think about the problem at hand and my mind NEVER stops or slows down. That is when I need a med tweaking. My pdoc said I will probably always be obsessive with my thoughts, it is what I have done for a long time but he said the meds can help it not be unbearable and can slow them down. Meds are great, they help so much more than we might think sometimes. The pdoc wanted to put me in the hospital about a month ago because I was so deep in depression but he changed my meds and I talked to him about giving me a chance to get through this and see if the med increase would help. The med increase did help and I did, very slowly, get out of that deep of a depression. I would not have been able to pull through that IF I had not had any meds in my system to see some hope, though at the time I don't think I really seen that it was hope. I was just trying to fight, fight this illness and not let it beat me, but DANG that BP can fight pretty good so it took some real energy on my part to keep in the ring and keep fighting. I know that I may have another time in my life that I slip into that deep dark depression again but as long as I take my meds and let my pdoc know everything I will be able to get through.
Ok, now I am asking all of you...when I hit that depression again and feel hopeless remind me of all I wrote because when I, and I am sure when all of us get depressed like that we tend to forget our strenths and we tend not to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I love you all!
Tina~
Any insight/guesses? Marci (who just took her AM meds after reading Teri's post)
Hi Teri,
I am glad to see you. I know you have been going through such a difficult time,and I hope,and pray that you find some peace soon. Now to add my 2 cents to this topic.
It starts with a short story. 4 years ago I was on 0 meds. I started to have pain,aches,and swelling of my joints. Then I started to have one infection after another. After many tests,and many different anti-biotics I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Then the great pill count was on. I started by taking 4 pills a week. And went to 2 pills a day. Then on to shots,and yet more pills. I had to have meds that counteracted the side effects of meds. Then I had to start meds for cholesterol,then for FMS,GERD,hypothyroid,then just for plain old depression,and now for BP.
CL for The
But just a quick question:
My pdoc says i am hitting a peak. That i am having a breakthough manic episode or going to. What does that mean really? From my understanding that once you are on meds fer awhile that doesn't happen. I am really starting to believe that everyone is putting a label on me and can't accept me for me. I personally thing it has to do with the weather. Its so nice out. Of course i wanna 'do' things. Of Course i reallizing my thoughts are kinna going all over the place. But that's how i am. I can't let this illness get the better of me. I do take my meds. I do go to all the appt's I am supposed to.
Well thanks fer letting me rant.
shanna
Hi Shanna-
You said: these meds are taking away whom I thought I was.
I think that this is part of what makes stability such a hard road to take. Suddenly our thoughts are no longer so unorganized, and we can rationalize things that once before we thought were simple acts of moral ethics. Suddenly we find ourselves second guessing everything we do .....dissecting it to find out if it's a manic thing to be doing or not.
~The Worlds A Roller Coaster And I Am Not
Strapped In.
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