[ffgal]

I am bipolar & have been hospitalized for it about 7 times. I am also disabled & have alot of other health problems. I have been vomiting daily for about 7 weeks now. So, its been hard to keep my meds down. Not only that but they are making me gain a ton of weight. The combo of psych meds im on now (Lamictal, Saphris, Lithium, Xanax), have been working better than anything has in awhile. I'm just sick of gaining so much weight & other meds have not worked. So, without telling my doc, I quit taking the Saphris. I emailed her today & told her n she wasnt happy about it. I am just sick of taking them & wanna quit all of them besides the Xanax. Is that stupid of me? I'm just wondering if its worth it for me to take them. Docs are just worried about how out of control I get when manic & how suicidal when depressed. Any thoughts are appreciated....thanks!!!

Do you think the vomiting is being caused by your medications, or because you're sick? If the combo of meds is making you throw up often, I'd either talk to your pdoc about changing meds, or lowering the dosage. (Or taking anti-nausea pills, perhaps, until these feelings of nausea go away?)

You say that this combo of pills is working well for you. I understand that weight gain is very annoying, and can be harmful to your health, but you have to ask yourself: Would I rather be mentally well with a few extra pounds, or skinnier and feel like crap all the time? Personally, I've accepted the fact that I have a few extra pounds on me in exchange for medication that works, and I'm fine with it. Plus, changes in diet and exercise can help with weight gain. That being said, if you're gaining extreme amounts of weight, then that's a problem, and you should talk to your pdoc about that.

If you really decide to stop your meds, please don't quit cold turkey...that's the worst thing you can do. Going off them by gradually lowering the dose is the best way to go. However, I hope that you'll stay on your meds. Mental stability is more important than a few extra pounds!

[Perna]

Don't forget what you said a couple months ago:

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showt...11#post1779311

The mania (what the Saphris helps with) will make you hurt ultimately! Have the doctors figure out the vomiting.

[mokie]

This is a tough one. I too gained too much weight from meds. The side effects don't help especially the antipsychotic that worked Ambilify did not help me cause of the increase of sugar. Melissa.recovery has a good point. Talk to your pdoc to try to see what steps to take on either lowering or adding something for the nausea. Give it a chance. Perna also has a good point. Although if your like me I do like the mania but realize that this is not where I want to be cause it causes so much hurt and damage to myself and family. I wish you well and let us know what you have decided. Take care.

[dragonfly2]

Aside from it being a bad idea to quit your meds cold turkey without your doctor's oversight, if you are in the US, you are also jeopardizing your disability. Assuming you are on SSDI/SSI for mental health disability, if you go off your meds (essentially refusing treatment) and they do a Continuing Disability Review, you could be denied your disability. Then what would you do? No more monthly payments, no more Medicare, no more local government assistance that might be based on disability status. Is keeping a few pounds off really worth it? Please give this a lot more thought before risking losing everything.

[Direction]

Originally Posted by ffgal

So, without telling my doc, I quit taking the Saphris. I emailed her today & told her n she wasnt happy about it. I am just sick of taking them & wanna quit all of them besides the Xanax. Is that stupid of me? I'm just wondering if its worth it for me to take them. Docs are just worried about how out of control I get when manic & how suicidal when depressed. Any thoughts are appreciated....thanks!!!

It is recommended as you probably know that tappering with doc oversight is best...having said that I ended my meds about 5-6 months ago cold turkey and did not disclose this to anyone for about 2-3 weeks...I felt no withdrawal symptoms...I was fortunate that I went up instead of down (I was already pretty down at the time of quiting I really didn't care which is really not a healthy way to do it)...I did manage to harnessed most of that manic energy and really started working my WRAP plan. I have since gone through a depression cycle and am enjoying a bit of my baseline. During that time, I started seeing a new pdoc that is able to support me without prescribing meds...my T, pdoc, and Intensive Psych Rehab praticitioner all have have a copy of my WRAP plan and seem to be supportive of the direction I'm heading...I have spent 100's of hours putting things in place to keep me safe

I also read the post of yours that was linked...So what plans do you have in place should you go up or down? If you haven't discussed this with any of the professionals helping you, now would be the time to do so...

Make sure you do it under the pdoc's directions...and if you need help putting in place a WRAP plan...just PM...I'll be glad to help out...

[Simply_Orange]

I agree with the other ppl who say you should keep your pdoc informed and tapper your meds gradually if you go off them. Idk about your meds in particular but alot of meds can have bad side effects if you stop them suddenly. Also if your meds are working for you now I would really consider if really want to stop them 'cause some meds will not work as well they did the first time if you stop them and then start them again. Yet I understand your frustration I feel like that sometimes too; all these meds oi oi!! (When I was on a med that made me gain weight dr suggested I watch what I eat more and exercise regularly which I didn't have enough energy to do ended up switching meds but maybe it'll work for you.) Hope you figure out a solution.

[Yoda]

Have you had a lithium level checked recently? When I was lithium toxic I was vomiting and had diarrhea.

[mokie]

Yoda, you brought up a good point. I went to support group and learned that while on lithium it is very important to make sure you get your lab work done to make sure you are not going to be in a toxic zone.