[babyof5]

I am new to all this. I am currently on a "medication holiday". Has anyone tried to go off their meds to see how they felt? I want to see me on no meds. I wonder if my med combos are making me feel worse.

[Skully]

I went off my meds once because I lost my health insurance and couldn't afford to pay for them. I ended up in the hospital after a suicide attempt. It was not a very good idea.

[gravyyy]

I know peoplw who have used a med holiday but only after having been on them and stable for quite a long time. Some of these people can stay off of them forever then. Maybe what you would like to do is a med wash, where you come off of all meds, see what your symptoms are 5-10 days after having stopped the meds, and then restart the appropriate meds. I'm not sure what your exact situation is, but like I said, it's typically the people who have been on medication for a long period of time and have been stable (like ten years or more) that they try the holiday on.

[BlackPup]

According to my doctor BP patients go off their meds twice on average...
I'm above average and every time it was a bad idea
I agree with gravyyy, if you're going to try, do it after you're stable for a while.

If you are having trouble with a particular drug, see if you can swap it for a different one - different things work for different people.

Also - switching meds without talking to your doctor can also be a REALLY bad idea

[NuckingFutz]

I would not even think about this unless talking to your doctor about it.

[sugahorse1]

Yeah, I'd also be interested to know why? Was it your pdoc's suggestion, or did you decide? If it was your pdoc, what was his rationing?
I think I'd be too scared, and would only do it under supervision, probably in a hospital.

I've done it once. Ultimately, it led to a suicide attempt.
I would not recommend going off your meds unless you have talked to your doctor about it, and he/she agrees.

No way, no how! Not without my pdoc saying I could do it first (and I doubt that would ever happen).

[grizmom]

I went off meds on my own with bad results several years ago.

Last year, when my meds stopped working, I went off of them in the hospital under doc supervision and then started over with new meds.

[bananna215]

I had a hard time accepting my bipolar diagnosis 10 years ago & have refused to take & even flushed my meds on more than one occasion... NOT PRETTY!!! 2 of these little episodes of mine resulted in hospitalization.

also, be careful of the ones that work all too well & u become dependent on... well, maybe that's just me. I have 2 meds I take currently that I never fail 2 run out of before the month's end... I try 2 take them correctly because I know what's gonna happen, yet I still will suffer & go without those meds for days before my doc appointment & refills just because I can't control myself, although I've been on these meds for about 10 years & I kinda think my tolerance is built up far too high... hence the taking of more than prescribed on those loooong days.

so, yeah, wouldn't recommend stopping ur meds, & I threw in the running out part partially as a little warning but mainly because I needed 2 vent a little... thx & good luck!

[greylove]

Originally Posted by Skully

I went off my meds once because I lost my health insurance and couldn't afford to pay for them. I ended up in the hospital after a suicide attempt. It was not a very good idea.

"A suicide attempt".......then Skully, you must share a lot of the same feelings I do.......I don't know yet how to PM, but if you do, and want to, I'm here.

Take care,
greylove

[greylove]

Originally Posted by ohseedee

I've done it once. Ultimately, it led to a suicide attempt.
I would not recommend going off your meds unless you have talked to your doctor about it, and he/she agrees.

I tried the suicide attempt before I was correctly diagnosed and put on the meds that are working for me now. Well, actually just Lamictal. Thank you for your post ohseedee......it's is one of many reinforcing the fact that I do not want to go off it, no matter how much it tempts me.

Wishing you well,
greylove

[conigogo]

I began to doubt the continuing effectivess my medication combination, so I asked my psychriatrist if he could wipe the slate clean and start over. He agreed, but he also admitted me to the hospital before he would do it. He tinkered with my meds in a safe, controlled environment.

[greylove]

Originally Posted by conigogo

I began to doubt the continuing effectivess my medication combination, so I asked my psychriatrist if he could wipe the slate clean and start over. He agreed, but he also admitted me to the hospital before he would do it. He tinkered with my meds in a safe, controlled environment.

Kudos to your psychiatrist, conigogo......sounds like one we all would be happy with!

[sugahorse1]

Banana - I can be like that with Benzo's *Unfortunately* - I really rely on them.
I stopped Lexamil cold turkey, as i was on other AD's too at the time, and I felt SOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo sick - NEVER again!

[sugahorse1]

Greylove & Skully - been there too, but my pdoc at the time did not connect the dots. Guess he was searchingn for the major highs that didn't seem to come along, and didn't understand that I could experience down, and then seriously DOWN!! (Like "I NEED HELP NOW!") I think at the time I thought i was mellow-dramatic, but in my messed up head i had it all rationed out!

[musikcrazy]

I recently went off of my meds and it ended very badly. The only reason I went off is that I want to have another baby. My doc is now tapering very slowly. I understand you wanting to see what you are like off of the meds. I wanted that to, but ended up severely depressed and I took a handful of Xanax. I urge you to talk to your pdoc about this. If you do go off of your meds, you want to do it with your pdoc's help.

Originally Posted by babyof5

I am new to all this. I am currently on a "medication holiday". Has anyone tried to go off their meds to see how they felt? I want to see me on no meds. I wonder if my med combos are making me feel worse.

[greylove]

Originally Posted by sugahorse

Greylove & Skully - been there too, but my pdoc at the time did not connect the dots. Guess he was searchingn for the major highs that didn't seem to come along, and didn't understand that I could experience down, and then seriously DOWN!! (Like "I NEED HELP NOW!") I think at the time I thought i was mellow-dramatic, but in my messed up head i had it all rationed out!

Exactly, sugahorse, but pretty much the opposite. No one recognized my mixed episodes until I was flying like a kite. They had seen my depression, but not until I went into major mania and hospitalization, did my T and my pdoc realize I had bipolar disorder. And no one recognized the seriousness of my illness until it was too late. And thankfully, I'm here to write about it.....greylove

[owllover99]

The only way to have to go off your meds is because you don't have the money to buy them. Then before you run out, you get your butt out there and find some help getting your scripts. If your'e having side effects that really affect you, then go to your p doc and get your meds changed. I think you said you have a pdoc. There is no holiday from meds. It's like being epiliptic or having heart trouble. If you go off your meds, eventually something bad will happen. It only takes about 5 minutes a day to take your meds. It's a good investment in trying to control the beast. I'm just shaking my head.

[bananna215]

owllover has a good point there... I went without insurance for over 2 years & luckily I found a pharmacy that would let me buy my meds 1 week at a time... I don't think that's what should've been going on truthfully, but who am I to be a snitch when all they were doing really is preventing a chemically imbalanced breakdown? I coulda hurt someone! no, seriously... I am all too dependent on my meds 4 everything...

[Medicated]

I want to see me on no meds too... but right now is a really bad time in my life to try anything like that. Honestly, I don't think anything would happen. Well, I might get depressed. I'm BP II, so the risk of me going really nuts is fairly low, since I've never been there before.

However, if you have a history of severe mania, I urge you to resume your meds ASAP. I think enough people on this board have warned you about how dangerous it can be to discontinue your meds on your own.

If you're not happy with what you're taking, talk to your psychiatrist. If you're not happy with your psychiatrist, find someone else... but don't put yourself at risk of disaster.

Originally Posted by bananna215

owllover has a good point there... I went without insurance for over 2 years & luckily I found a pharmacy that would let me buy my meds 1 week at a time... I don't think that's what should've been going on truthfully, but who am I to be a snitch when all they were doing really is preventing a chemically imbalanced breakdown? I coulda hurt someone! no, seriously... I am all too dependent on my meds 4 everything...

No worries, bananna215 -- that's totally legit.
The only thing to be aware of is that sometimes a higher per pill cost is charged. This happened to me when I tried to get just the 8 or so pills I had left from the original amount. They gave me the total and ... how can this be??? That was when the pharmacy told me about the higher price thing. Might have just been this particular pharmacy, or ... more likely... something to do with the insurance I had at the time.

[bananna215]

Originally Posted by sugahorse

Banana - I can be like that with Benzo's *Unfortunately* - I really rely on them.
I stopped Lexamil cold turkey, as i was on other AD's too at the time, and I felt SOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo sick - NEVER again!

what's lexamil? never heard of that one...