anyone gone off meds? i'm scared.

Avatar for wrgrossman
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
anyone gone off meds? i'm scared.
7
Sun, 02-13-2005 - 9:01pm

i am in the mist of going off all my meds, and i am scared. if anyone here has had to go off of their meds and star over, i could really use some first hand knowledge. i finally went to the tdoc for my depression 2 years ago. i have had problems with it practically my whole life. i saw a tdoc when i was about 9 and they were ideots, so i have been leary ever since. but i had gotten nearly to the point of suicidal, and my husband told me i had to get help or he and the kids were leaveing because he couldn't take it anymore. so i gave in and went to the doctor. he put me on paxil. no more suicidal thoughts, but not much else improved, and i was asleep all the time. i literally couldn't function. he added welbutrin, a little better, but still barely functioning much of the time. he added lamictol and decided i was not just depressed, but also bipolar. much better, but still falling asleep. between 12 and 3.i still can't function. i fall asleep driveing {i wrecked the car} i fall asleep at work. i changed my schedule there, so i don't have to worry about that, but then i fall asleep at home alone with my 3 yr old. my 5 yr old has had to ride the bus all around town more than once because i fell asleep on the couch and didn't get to the door when the bus pulled up.{ our kindergardeners are not let off the bus unless an adult is at the bus to meet them for safety reasons} so i changed docs a couple of months ago. he added depicote, and phased out the welbutrin. that didn't help anything, and through the course of my appointments, we decided the best thing to do would be get me off all the meds and add them back slowly as needed. i still think this is the best course of action, but i am haveing a rough time adjusting to some of the changes, and i am scared of being without my meds. i don't want to go back to how i was when all this started. my dh is being very supportive, and he knows things will probably get much worse before they get better, but that dosen't stop me from being terrified. now i am only on paxil and lamictol. both of theese will be taken away next month while i am off work for my hystorectomy. any way i'm scared , and i thought if i talked to someone who had already been there it might help me to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to offer.

Becky

 


Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Avatar for wrgrossman
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Mon, 02-14-2005 - 6:35pm
hey, i'm just bumping this up since noone responded

 


Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-18-2003
Mon, 02-14-2005 - 8:32pm

((((becky)))) although i've not been in a position to go completely off meds and start building back up as needed, i think if you think it is best and your pdoc agrees, then that is the route you should take. i can well understand your fears, but i don't think your pdoc would do anything that could potentially undermine what you both are working towards. the closest i can liken that to is my pdoc has kept me on the wellbutrin, even when i was convinced it wasn't working. so i was getting irritated with his decision, but someone pointed out that even though i think it's not working it may be what's keeping me from hurting myself in some way. and i've been so out of balance lately, he doesn't want to mess with my a/d. maybe once my raging gets under control and my paranoia as well, he will work with me on the a/d.


like i said, you and your pdoc are the best judge and if you both agree that this is best, then i say

Avatar for wrgrossman
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Tue, 02-15-2005 - 8:31am

i just wanted to say thanks traci, for takeing the time to write back. i really need some support right now, and i can't seem to find much. so again thanks, and god bless.

Becky

 


Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2004
Tue, 02-15-2005 - 3:21pm

Becky,


Hi!

Love,

Avatar for kdvaleski
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2004
Tue, 02-15-2005 - 3:58pm

Hi Becky. I wasn't really on line this past weekend so this is the first time I've seen your post.

I am off all meds now because dh and I will be trying for baby #2 in about a month. I completed my med taper, oh, I guess about ten days ago or so, and it had taken just about a month to get off of them all. I was also terrified to come off of meds, though it was entirely my decision. I don't like being off of them, especially since they were working very well for me. It is a scary thing, but if you are doing it with your doc's help and it's something you two have agreed is the right thing to do, then it probably is. Try not to get really anxious about it. I know there are folks here who have gone off all meds for the same reason as you; to start from scratch and stabilize. I have never done it for that reason, but if my doc suggested it, and I was not doing well, and I trusted my doc, I would absolutely go for it.

As for suggestions, I would STRONGLY recommend that, if you are not seeing a tdoc now, you talk to your pdoc about getting a referral and starting as soon as you feel you need to. Therapy can be VERY helpful in coping with cycling and those type symptoms. Hopefully, considering why you are going off your meds, you won't be off them for long.

Post any time you need or want to! Weekends are often slow around here, but it picks up again once the week starts!

Love,
Kristen

Avatar for wrgrossman
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Thu, 02-17-2005 - 8:25pm
just wanted to thank all of you who replied. some good advice there. again thanks.and god bless

 


Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-14-2004
Fri, 02-18-2005 - 11:02am
I'm in the process of changing my medications as well. Because of the problems I have been having at school and work due to tiredness, my pdoc and I have begun the process of taking me off of Paxil completely and down to about 250mg of the Epivalve and see what it does for me. We are taking it in slow steps as the last time I came completely off one of my medications, I had a very strong cycle where I was thinking of SIing myself and I was acting out. It's been two nights with out the Paxil and so far so good - I even had a little bit more energy last night at work - but I'm still the same old tired in the morning. Hopefully though, that will change.