Mental Health Meds

What is your take on mental health medications?
I know some people feel it is just one way for pharmaceuticals to make money.

I have been diagnosed with depression since 8 (now 20).
I have been on countless meds, none which seemed to work. At 19 i finally WANTED help and had my parents admit me to a ward which was HELL. Groups? yeah right. Nothing was done by the book and there seemed to be NO regulations, i could literally write a book on this #. (starting with my room-mate who liked to # in the shower.

While there i was put on a heavy dose of "EFFEXOR" look it up, its a hell of a drug to get off. I am still on it to this day and if i miss a dose i feel like im being torn into another reality.

Although my parents and friends see a noticeable difference, sometimes i question the pros verse cons of having some damaging chemical in my body. My health seems to just suck lately, and i know im just chalk full of toxins.

Whats your take on these unknown substances we call medication for the mind?

when i was 16 doctors put me on a cocktail of psych. meds...at the time i figured "hey, doctors are giving me i must 'need' them!"
since then i've gone off and back on, usually depending on whether i'm around my mom or not (she's a Rx pusher)

from my experience they only make things worse. at best they numb a person to the point of zombification. you then cannot deal with issues that likely need to be dealt with...you cannot learn coping mechanisms to deal with your emotions.
i believe that 'crazy' or whatever term you prefer to use is just a variation of NORMAL. so like, i'm technically bipolar...i just think i feel more intensely than some other people...and am learning to COPE with those intense feelings instead of hide from them.
there are a lot of natural ways to deal with depression...and the rest you should learn to deal with with health coping mechanisms. thats just my opinion and i know its not popular amongst those who believe these are chemical imbalances. i agree that sometimes they may be but that it seems a little silly to pump a person with a chemical imbalance full of chemicals...not really knowing exactly what it does...just knowing that with some amount and combination of pills the person can be made at least docile...and i guess that is psychiatry.

but hey, maybe i've had a bad experience...yeah...me and everyone else i've ever met that got duped into believing psych meds are the answer to any ailment.

I totally agree.
Sometimes i feel what if i never were put on these meds to begin with?
Mabye taking these chems are the reason things are the way they are now

reply to post by sgrrsh26


i definitely feel that psych meds cause permanent damage, if thats what you want to call it.

i mean, i didn't used to have anxiety...i would get manic but not shaky and i never got to where i couldn't be around other people. its a struggle every day to socialize and even then, i'm not comfortable. i blame the medication.

About three years ago I went to the doctor because I thought I was depressed. Needless to say, he had no problem throwing meds at me without even having my psychologically analysed. He asked me a series of questions, and determined me to either need drugs or go to a therapy group within five minutes. I declined both.

I know now that I can basically get anything I want out of my doctor if I'm a good enough actress, which leads me to believe that depression is just the "norm" now for doctors.

Name says it all -

I am in the position of thinking I need to go on meds-

I am a wreck, but more so in the way that I can't seem to access emotions...
Nothing interests me, I sometimes believe life is pointless, I don't want to see my friends anymore...

I was on Prozac twice in my life for very short periods and I found it helped me tremendously right away, although it really messed with my sex drive mucho... I am getting to point where I think I need something -

What do you guys experience as symptoms?

I think I must not deal with things in the right way or something, I have seen some death in these past few years with very long illness's preceding each death, I would really like a bloody miracle even if only for a night... Anyways what do you all say, should I just waste my life feeling like, ehh and arghhh! ? or should I dope it up?

reply to post by Malzypants


LOLZ
the doctor that put me on THREE heavy duty psychotropics had NEVER talked to me...and i was only 16 years old.
she had never talked to me because i was inpatient at a hospital and it was the weekend so she just put me on meds before she could talk to me. insanity.

reply to post by double_frick


Well, whatever they have to do to not actually "deal" with the situation, am I right? Because there is no cure, and they figure it can't hurt.

Besides all the nasty sexual side effects of course.

reply to post by sgrrsh26


I was on effexor for a while and had a terrible experience with it. It is very difficult drug to get off of and the same goes for missing a dose or two.

I would advise you to see a psychiatrist, not a basic MD. In my experience MDs are not qualified to prescribe these medications and in some cases, such as folks with bi-polar, the anti-depressants simply cause rapid cyclying, which can be a very serious problem. Too many MDs perscribe one and if it does not work try another, fool with the dosages, etc. You want a MD who has specialized in this area. You would not see a MD for a heart problem. You would go to a cardiologist. Treat your head like your heart.

I do believe the medications have benefits, but you have to be mindful of how they are affecting you (take notes each day) and work hard on the dosages, combinations, etc

Good luck

Originally posted by double_frick
reply to post by sgrrsh26

 

i definitely feel that psych meds cause permanent damage, if thats what you want to call it.

i mean, i didn't used to have anxiety...i would get manic but not shaky and i never got to where i couldn't be around other people. its a struggle every day to socialize and even then, i'm not comfortable. i blame the medication.

Funny for me I used to be very anxious, nervous and uncomfortable in situations, I still am, however the depression has gotten so thick I sort of with I could feel the exhilaration of some panic

Its like I am flat only thing that still works right is humor -

What was it like before the meds?

Knowing several people who have died from suicide after stopping psychiatric meds I just add a note of caution. Weening off meds slowly is much safer than going cold turkey. If your family/friends think something is wrong, listen and believe them. Strange, but true they can detect erratic behavior when you can't.

Read up on your meds. I've found forums discussing withdrawal advice from people who have been there done that.

Wish you the best. Life is hard to deal with in this crazy world.

reply to post by mental modulator


well, i'm really all over the place...lol
some days i'm really depressed and irritable due to being really depressed...sad, hopeless, hate my life, etc.
some days i'm really happy...and of course, i don't feel bad those days but of doctors would insist this is a 'problem' also.

a constant issue that is now resolving as i'm working really hard on it...my temper. i have a pretty bad temper for various reasons. (have to say it wasn't nearly this bad before medication) really just a short temper. i found other, more herbal ways to deal with it that would take the edge off a bit just so i could deal with it and now i'm getting pretty good.

i wrote in another thread i do kundalini yoga for stress management.
when i do this in the morning my temper is under control completely the whole day...it really makes me feel a deep sense of well being.
i also take better care of myself now. and i think part of it is i'm getting older...
i've been dx'd with borderline personality disorder too...heard this tends to resolve itself over the years and much of the time by the 40's people are quite a bit better...though i do like to take credit for my one on one psych therapy....with myself. LOL

One doctor basically told me that a part of the brain is working overtime and needs to take a break. Something to the effect of shrinking it down to normal size. Not exactly sure which part he meant, but I just didn't get it back then.

It took until I was so manic to the point of being schizo and hopitalized twice within a year that I finally ended up on disability and had help I didn't even know I had. I've basically also had DID or dissociative identity disorder.....or at least that's what I recall being told. My own family doesn't even back that diagnosis up or discuss it.

Basically, I was never geared for the type of stress many others deal with and my health was failing as if I was dying. I guess it's like aspergers or maybe was. I have a son who was diagnosed with aspergers and his older brother and sister are on anti seizure medications also.

My salvation was for the most part being able to unwind years or a lifetime of stress. Much of which was from people trying to manipulate me. 5 years of my life as if being in a coma or dreamstate.

I've had recalled missing time. Many of which would be considered delusions. Odd how someone would repress delusions also.

I think some people should be in some type of assisted living arrangement that teaches them healthier habits. Medications are not a fix all, they're a quick fix to sedate us.

Changing the diet and healthier habits to destress and detox. I've been reduced to lamotrigine for bipolar, but my doctor still wants me on an anti-psychotic for anxiety and psychosis. If I continue to refuse, I might even lose my SSDI for noncompliance.

Having disability at this point with the economy as it is, is also stressful at the thought of losing it. But that's been an ongoing paranoia since I started on it over 5 years ago.

But medications that will do more harm than good isn't really in my best future interest. Pharmaceutical companies DO NOT OWN ME.

A person needs to be able to know themselves better and some meds just won't allow that. I had a doctor who only met me once and said I wasn't schizo just by my appearance. They think just because I was able to quit smoking while schizo, that I was also stable. Not everyone is the same.

When I was on a particular anti psychotic, I reduced the amount of the prescription, just so I could tolerate the side effects.

Nights were and still are the most dificult. I actually found sleeping days more preferable.

When I was a kid, it was the nights back then too, as if I was expecting visitors that wouldn't let me sleep.







[edit on 20-9-2009 by aleon1018]

Originally posted by double_frick
reply to post by mental modulator

 

well, i'm really all over the place...lol
some days i'm really depressed and irritable due to being really depressed...sad, hopeless, hate my life, etc.
some days i'm really happy...and of course, i don't feel bad those days but of doctors would insist this is a 'problem' also.

a constant issue that is now resolving as i'm working really hard on it...my temper. i have a pretty bad temper for various reasons. (have to say it wasn't nearly this bad before medication) really just a short temper. i found other, more herbal ways to deal with it that would take the edge off a bit just so i could deal with it and now i'm getting pretty good.

i wrote in another thread i do kundalini yoga for stress management.
when i do this in the morning my temper is under control completely the whole day...it really makes me feel a deep sense of well being.
i also take better care of myself now. and i think part of it is i'm getting older...
i've been dx'd with borderline personality disorder too...heard this tends to resolve itself over the years and much of the time by the 40's people are quite a bit better...though i do like to take credit for my one on one psych therapy....with myself. LOL

well I do like your avatar!

I have a very short fuse, but the patience of a saint - do you feel your depression is linked with your circumstance or separate?

I feel I have been on just about every medication for "mental health issues" there ever was.....Prozac, Celexa, Cymbalta, Trazodone, Serzone, Zoloft, Amitryptaline, Wellbutrin, and many others I cannot remember, (and I CERTAINLY cannot spell them or the ones I mentioned....YOINKS!).....Seroquel being the most recent. (this one now will trigger seizures!) I SWEAR having taken all these medications, (along with other drugs both legal and non-legal) I am now MUCH WORSE off had I never taken them and just learned to live with myself. After having to go through alcohol rehab, (what a waste of money.....just fancy AA meetings and readings from the "Blue Book" for a week...oh, and crappy food....), I began to have grand mal seizures....not the kind you hear about from alcohol withdrawal.....I was off alcohol for over a month when they began....I still get them one every month at the full moon, (and NOPE, I no longer have a uterus, so it is NOT catamenial.....)....the anti-seizure meds made things even worse....when I took Dilantin after a month my throat swelled up and I began to have the small seizures on a daily basis with the Topamax...the Keppra made me a mean b#tch from hell.....so....I REALLY believe, (as I mentioned on another post that is similar) that these "brain drugs" make things MUCH worse...and I DO think they contributed to my seizure disorder nobody seems to know how I got.....(the pain meds and "recreational drugs"....mostly pot and on occasion XTC I either slowed down on or stopped WAY before I got the seizures...). I mean, think about it, all of those chemicals being put into the brain over the years...would seem pretty logical to conclude that things could get a little "mixed up" with all of them doing this thing or that to the brain chemistry.....
Again, a touchy topic for me......
Sad, thanks to ALL those years of abuse, I have had to stop alcohol, pain medications, more recently pot, (ok...so my dealer disappeared and I would still be smoking otherwise because I believe it helps!) and now, because of my years long insomnia, I've got to find a way to get off the various pills I take to "relax" me....Ambien, Phenergan (for nausea AND it helps with sleep) and I still will sneak a Seroquel (when a full moon is long away) when I REALLY cannot fall asleep....it will be hard because I can go DAYS...(NO KIDDING!) the longest was 4 days without a WINK of sleep.....
So...I hope this isn't just rambling....cause speaking of Ambien, I had to take one and sometimes I get a little loopy.....
and the sad part? I am 43 years old next month and see NO light at the end of the tunnel....I will be on SOME KIND of substance for the rest of my life....just to feel "relaxed" and "normal".....sigh*

Peace, Ya'll d(-_-)b

Well I cant say since I havent been on any. But a few years ago I was really depressed so I went to see a councelor and after only one session they wanted me to get on meds. So I didnt come back. I only needed someone to talk to, not mediction. They didnt even give counceling a try.

I really think this is just money in the works.

The fact you are here looking for help is a testament to the uselessness of all the solutions you have tried so far. I have come to believe the answer to all problems including yours is within the self. These things do not start on their own. Investigate the cause before you look for the fix.

What I love is when a particular problem (Loneliness, which causes depression, which of course, does it's thing) isn't solved with a 'real word' solution- it's just 'throw pills at it, and you'll be fine!' Pile on top of that, people who a) wouldn't know a real world problem if it bit them in the rear, b) people who just 'don't get it' but mean well, and of course, your friendly neighborhood pill pusher- I mean, doctor. I am depressed, and probably skate around the edge of insanity more often than not, but I refuse pills, because I'd rather be lucid and nuts, than a zombiefied piece of wood.

I am on Paxil and Depakote. I absolutely refused to take Risperadil. I took Zoloft once and all it did was make me fall asleep at four in the afternoon, no matter where I was.

After having had access to quite a bit of money, I found that I was being cheated on a real estate deal, and was quite broke. I lost my home and was in trouble with the law. I couldn't deal with the fears of the current situation and spent a couple of weeks in a mental hospital. The second visit it seemed like all the people there asked the same questions on their interviews, over and over again. I spoke with the psychologist on my second day and was prescribed the Paxil and Depakote. He dictated my information and kept skipping down to another part of the report apparently from the first visit.

The next day, there was a sign that the doctor had lost his hearing aide and if found return to his office. Well...wha....he probably didn't hear a thing I said. I don't take the Depakote like I am supposed to, but I do take the Paxil. I don't think it does any good, until I quit taking it and then I feel like I need it to wake up and be half functioning.

[edit on 21-9-2009 by catamaran]

Ive just completed my first week on citalopram and im going to stop taking them today. The side effects are unbearable!