[bswc]

I am on medication for Bipolar 1. I am unsure if I'm allowed to mention the name here? Anyway i cannot afford to see my therapists anymore so my question really is...will i need to be on them forever? I don't think my anti depressant and Bipolar meds are working. Ive been very down due to circumstance but a few days ago had a crazy high

[BlackPup]

Sorry that you are not feeling well. Normally BP meds are for life but if yours are not working properly then maybe you should see your doc about trying a new combination. Use this site and other info sites to learn as much about BP as you can.

[Moose72]

If you are on lithium you need to have your blood levels checked regularly.

[BNLsMOM]

I have a little hope in the back of my head that I won't be on meds forever, but I am also prepared to be on them for the rest of my life. They need to be tweaked alot, but I also hold faith that when we find the right combo, I will be stable for a long time with few side effects.

[Merlin]

I imagine I will be on meds until a cure is found (she says optimistically,) but I hope to get down to only the mood stabilizer.

[venusss]

I don't believe, contrary to popular belief, that it you need to depend on meds for rest of your life. Many achieve recovery naturaly.

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

I don't believe, contrary to popular belief, that it you need to depend on meds for rest of your life. Many achieve recovery naturaly.

I respect those that are able to achieve recovery without meds, but not everyone is able to and I respect that too.

[SunAngel]

Unfortunately, BP1 or BP2 means meds. for life.

Merlin, I love the way you think!!!

[thinker22]

I'll probably have to be on meds for life even though I don't want to be. It isn't any fun to feel bound to medication times. It interferes with your life, but being suicidal and in the hospital interferes even more. The tradeoff stands there for me, so on with the pills.

[foreverbp]

I believe that I will be on meds for life. I've been diagnosed BP since I was fourteen, and everytime I have tried to go off of them I take a turn for the worst.

[kaliope]

bswc
yes you can say what kind of meds you are on here. there is great debate as to whether one will be on meds for life. since i have been diagnosed, i took meds for a few years and then went off for five but inevitably needed to get back on them. i had a major nervous breakdown and the bipolar progressed to include psychotic symptoms. it reached the point to where i needed the meds or i would be dead. i hate meds, but take them very seriously now because i have learned i do not have the tools to cope with the cycles of bipolar disorder at the levels my disorder has reached. you say you are bipolar 1 which is the more serious form of bipolar. if you are able to cope and function with the symptoms of your illness and they do not interfere with normal daily functioning, then you can make it without meds, if the symptoms interfere with daily functioning, relationships, employment, etc. then you need meds. yes it is for life, if you dont want the bipolar interferring with your life for the rest of your life.

[unaluna]

You may need to wean yourself off your meds, not quit cold turkey, depending on what they are, else risk seizure. Really sorry to hear about this, if you explain financial sit to pdoc or gp, maybe they will write longer refills? hope this all works out.

[manicminer]

On Depakote and had stretched a 1 month supply for 2 months. thought i had weaning myself. went of meds for 12 days straight with disasterous results. please take your meds, bswc, and everyone here

[popeye]

I am a psych nurse and yes just like a diabetic you will need to be on meds the rest of your life. If your meds are not working you need to discuss this with your Pdoc. Some people get them from regular family doc's. This is not advisable because they do not have the skills needed to treat us.

[minnie1971]

I'm new here and I probably should know what I'm doing before I post a reply.
I have Bipolar II and I know I'll be on meds. for the rest of my life. I only wish they could find a combination that works better...not just somewhat better!
Medication #33 coming up. And as foreverbp has stated "everytime I have tried to go off of them I take a turn for the worst"...I'm the same way.

[kj44]

It's a question I am pondering once again, I'd have to say yes I am almost 45, I should know better, but, I'm one of those stop when you feel better people. I'm stating over again, and it def sucks! Hang in there, I'm done being hard headed

[hanners]

I'm sure I'll be on meds for life, too, and I was just diagnosed a few months ago. But then, I'm on meds for life for other things too. As a transgender woman, I'm on hormones for the rest of my life. As well, I am on ASA for the rest of my life, due to a heart condition. So for me, I guess it's not that much of a big deal. Better than being unstable, I suppose.

[venusss]

Just to offer a different perspective:

http://altmentalities.wordpress.com/

http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/

[ohlala]

If your bipolar diagnosis is correct yes, IMO it is med or meds for life. The combination of meds may change along the way as you discover what works (and that is fluid depending on your response and the circumstances). I concluded I was "over it" and went off psych meds. I have just recently gone back on a mood stabilizer because I became so depressed I was desparate. I am tired of being on the roller coaster and if I have to take daily medications, I give in...

I will also be on meds for life, I have tried many many times with no meds, disaster every time. If I want to have anything that resembles a normal or good life it includes meds.

[kindachaotic]

Will be on meds forever, the alternative is much worse for me. The depression makes me non-functional & my hypomania isn't the happy productive kind, it's paranoia & losing touch with reality.
This probably didn't make you feel any better, but that's me in a nutshell...
Take care& Best wishes.

[Confusedinomicon]

I question whether or not I need to stay on everything I'm on.

My boyfriend said I have a lot more anxiety off medication.
I want to get off everything but maybe a mood stabilizer one day.

:\ I don't really want to take an anti-depressant or anti-psychotic.

[mel80]

I'm probabnly not best for commenting at mo but here goes....I have been on and off my bp meds at various times of my life.The longest I went med free was 3 years and then my world came crashing down around me and I spent several weeks confined to the mental hospital.However I'm one of those eggs that thinks oh I feel really well and decides to take myself off the meds with mostly bad consequences.So if taking meds helps you then my advice is stick with it.Good luck

[Merlin]

I think most of us have experimented with going off meds, often to our detriment.

[kykid]

I too have struggled with the idea of going off my medications in the past. Each time, with my doc's permission, I have tried to wean myself from my meds but the result is always the same. I rapidly descend into a severe depression and have to begin the process of healing over again.

I have now made peace with the fact that I will be on medications for the rest of my life. When one quits working, I will try another. I now treat my medications as I would a vitamin. I take it and don't think twice.

If your medications aren't working, try a different combination with your docs input. If you are having trouble affording your doctor appointments, contact the local Catholic Relief services through your local church. They are helping me with the cost of my co-pays, enabling me to see my therapist every two weeks. If you are not catholic, ask your doctor or therapist if there are any local charities that help folks in your area with their co-pays. My therapist is the one who helped me find the financial help I needed.