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  #1  
Old Apr 19, 2012, 09:31 PM
irishgirl4 irishgirl4 is offline
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I am seriously considering going off my meds (Lamictal, Haldol) cold turkey. I feel like I could be fine without them (been medicated for years). I am a former anorexic, and feel fat (bmi is on low side, but I have convinced myself that the drugs are making me big).

I'm seeing my psychiatrist on Wednesday, so I would appreciate advice. Do docs discontinue seeing you if you do this? My Pdoc is great and we've worked together for 4 years ( he did ECT on me for a year). I just want him to work with me and not view me as doing poorly because of my request.

Finally, would I lose a lot of weight if I go off the two meds?

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  #2  
Old Apr 19, 2012, 09:35 PM
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dillpickle1983 dillpickle1983 is offline
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I wouldn't go cold turkey, I would ask your PDoc if he/she or in my case it may slowly taper you off your meds, especially the Haldol. Going cold turkey can cause many un wanted withdrawl symptoms that may be very uncomfortable and they may last a while. I know I went cold turkey off Paxil last year and boy was that a mistake, still have some effects of it also.
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  #3  
Old Apr 19, 2012, 09:35 PM
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Moose72 Moose72 is offline
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You might lose weight and you might not. You have a big chance of becoming unstable- even unsafely so. I would not go cold turkey. Its hard enough when my blood levels are low through no fault of my own. I wouldn't do it on purpose.
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  #4  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 01:11 AM
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BuggsBunny BuggsBunny is offline
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Skip the cold turkey idea. Never a good thing unless ordered by the pdoc or replaced by a matching drug. The general rule is to cut doses in half for a week, then half of that for a week, and so on until you get pretty low. Then the last week, you take the dose on alternate days, until you quit.
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  #5  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 02:16 AM
Confusedinomicon Confusedinomicon is offline
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If you are thinking about going natural make sure you do a LOT of research on alternative coping mechanisms. Regardless if you quit the medication, you will need something else to supplement it. (Be it herbs, meditation, working out, being active in a church/social group, doing therapy etcetc)
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  #6  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 02:19 AM
bipolarmedstudent bipolarmedstudent is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irishgirl4 View Post
I am seriously considering going off my meds (Lamictal, Haldol) cold turkey. I feel like I could be fine without them (been medicated for years). I am a former anorexic, and feel fat (bmi is on low side, but I have convinced myself that the drugs are making me big).

I'm seeing my psychiatrist on Wednesday, so I would appreciate advice. Do docs discontinue seeing you if you do this? My Pdoc is great and we've worked together for 4 years ( he did ECT on me for a year). I just want him to work with me and not view me as doing poorly because of my request.

Finally, would I lose a lot of weight if I go off the two meds?
lamictal is an anti-seizure med. if you go off of it cold turkey, there is a chance you could have seizures.
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age: 23

dx:
bipolar I, ADHD-C, tourette's syndrome, OCD, trichotillomania, GAD, Social Phobia, BPD, RLS

current meds:
depakote (divalproex sodium) 1000mg, abilify (aripiprazole) 4mg, cymbalta (duloxetine) 60mg, dexedrine (dexamphetamine) 35mg, ativan (lorazepam) 1mg prn, iron supplements

past meds:
ritalin, adderall, risperdal, geodon, paxil, celexa, zoloft

other:
individual talk therapy, CBT, group therapy, couple's therapy, hypnosis
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carrie_ann
  #7  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 03:20 AM
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venusss venusss is offline
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Bad idea to go off cold turkey as body as depedence to it and it will cause you major problems.

And what Confused said about doing alternatives to cope. There isn't one right way... but you do have to find something to help yourself.
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  #8  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 06:41 AM
irishgirl4 irishgirl4 is offline
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I appreciate the advice. I guess I am thinking that I tried to commit suicide 3 times while I was medicated, so what's the difference? I spent 1.5 years in mental hospitals with the meds. Do I even need them?

I am worried that if I ask my Pdoc about this on Wednesday, he 'll disagree. If he does, will he be supportive, or will he refuse to see me? Are patients like me "non-compliment", or are we considered to be active in our treatment?

Finally, a. Question for you all to answer honestly:

Do you think this idea is hypmanic? Does this idea make me sound really bipolar?

Thanks.
  #9  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 12:08 PM
bluematador bluematador is offline
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I just went off my meds cold turkey for nine days because of a refill mix up. There was a glitch in my pdocs computer system. My refill requests were sent out into cyberspace. It was a nightmare. I had seizures, panic attacks, hallicinations, and I couldn't sleep for five days. I fell into a deep depression with paranoia.I was getting ready to head to the ER when my refills finally came through. It took five days of being back on my meds for things to get back to normal. I''m on cymbalta, risperdal, topamax, depakote, and xanax.
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  #10  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 12:20 PM
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kj44 kj44 is offline
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Don't go cold turkey! I'm doing it right now, and it is awful, really bad! It's been more then 2 weeks, not even sure how long because I don't know which way I'm going?? Wish you the best!
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  #11  
Old Apr 20, 2012, 03:26 PM
bipolarmedstudent bipolarmedstudent is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irishgirl4 View Post
I appreciate the advice. I guess I am thinking that I tried to commit suicide 3 times while I was medicated, so what's the difference? I spent 1.5 years in mental hospitals with the meds. Do I even need them?

I am worried that if I ask my Pdoc about this on Wednesday, he 'll disagree. If he does, will he be supportive, or will he refuse to see me? Are patients like me "non-compliment", or are we considered to be active in our treatment?

Finally, a. Question for you all to answer honestly:

Do you think this idea is hypmanic? Does this idea make me sound really bipolar?

Thanks.
Again, going abruptly off of lamictal is simply unsafe. There is a significant risk that you could have seizures. I don't think anyone would be supportive of you abruptly stopping an anti-seizure medication.
__________________
age: 23

dx:
bipolar I, ADHD-C, tourette's syndrome, OCD, trichotillomania, GAD, Social Phobia, BPD, RLS

current meds:
depakote (divalproex sodium) 1000mg, abilify (aripiprazole) 4mg, cymbalta (duloxetine) 60mg, dexedrine (dexamphetamine) 35mg, ativan (lorazepam) 1mg prn, iron supplements

past meds:
ritalin, adderall, risperdal, geodon, paxil, celexa, zoloft

other:
individual talk therapy, CBT, group therapy, couple's therapy, hypnosis
  #12  
Old Apr 21, 2012, 07:33 AM
irishgirl4 irishgirl4 is offline
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Posts: 46
Ok-stopping cold turkey is bad, but I am OBSESSED with discounting meds. It's all I think about. I have always had a depressed qpersonality, but don't remember huge highs and lows. My issues started with depression. MY GP gave me a small dose of an SSR. I had another baby, and worked to lose the weight. I became obsessed. I lost 30 pounds in 6 months. I decided that I wanted to jump off of a balcony and kill myself. I didn't. Instead my friend forced me into a therapists office, who then walked me into a psych ward. I spentw the next two years in and out of psych wards for months. I had a feeding tube. My stomach ruptured from the tube. I swallowed staples in the psych ward, so I could hurt myself. I had over 50 ECT treatments. Then, it got better. I haven't been inpatient for 2.5 years. I don't want to die. I have lost my unique skills. I am a robot, who feels no zest for life. I have many kids and need to enjoy them. If I go off of my meds, I could feel that again. Maybe this all would never happen if my GP never prescribed tHe original SSRI. I need to feel like a person again!
  #13  
Old Apr 21, 2012, 08:13 AM
Lucy1114 Lucy1114 is offline
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Member Since: Apr 2012
Location: Tennessee
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You definitely have the right to control your own treatment; but take it from me, going off your meds abruptly and alone is not a good idea. I've done it several times and each time I had terrible problems. Talk to your therapist about it first. If he/she is any kind of professional, he/she will not take offense at your questioning. Therapy is give and take. They don't know how to treat you if you can't be open with them about your fears and feelings. Your therapist may be able to find a medication for you that will be less apt to cause weight gain. Hope it works out for you.
  #14  
Old Apr 21, 2012, 01:25 PM
bipolarmedstudent bipolarmedstudent is offline
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Location: Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irishgirl4 View Post
Ok-stopping cold turkey is bad, but I am OBSESSED with discounting meds. It's all I think about. I have always had a depressed qpersonality, but don't remember huge highs and lows. My issues started with depression. MY GP gave me a small dose of an SSR. I had another baby, and worked to lose the weight. I became obsessed. I lost 30 pounds in 6 months. I decided that I wanted to jump off of a balcony and kill myself. I didn't. Instead my friend forced me into a therapists office, who then walked me into a psych ward. I spentw the next two years in and out of psych wards for months. I had a feeding tube. My stomach ruptured from the tube. I swallowed staples in the psych ward, so I could hurt myself. I had over 50 ECT treatments. Then, it got better. I haven't been inpatient for 2.5 years. I don't want to die. I have lost my unique skills. I am a robot, who feels no zest for life. I have many kids and need to enjoy them. If I go off of my meds, I could feel that again. Maybe this all would never happen if my GP never prescribed tHe original SSRI. I need to feel like a person again!
If you want to try (slowly, with your pdoc's guidance) going off you meds, I don't see anything wrong with that. From everything I know about lamictal and haldol, I doubt that lamictal is causing you any problems. People (especially people who struggle with depression) tend to LOVE lamictal, and have virtually no side effects. I would be extremely surprised if lamictal was causing you either weight gain or zombification. Honestly, if I were you, I'd stay on it. It's probably helping you more than you realize.

The haldol could definitely be causing you zombification. Weight gain is less likely, but it's possible it could be causing minimal weight gain. If you really want to try going off your meds, I'd start with the haldol. Have you tried other antipsychotics? Like abilify? I'm on abilify and I love it. No weight gain, no zombification at all.

But it could be that the lamictal is enough to control your symptoms.

Anyway, that's just my two cents on this.
__________________
age: 23

dx:
bipolar I, ADHD-C, tourette's syndrome, OCD, trichotillomania, GAD, Social Phobia, BPD, RLS

current meds:
depakote (divalproex sodium) 1000mg, abilify (aripiprazole) 4mg, cymbalta (duloxetine) 60mg, dexedrine (dexamphetamine) 35mg, ativan (lorazepam) 1mg prn, iron supplements

past meds:
ritalin, adderall, risperdal, geodon, paxil, celexa, zoloft

other:
individual talk therapy, CBT, group therapy, couple's therapy, hypnosis
  #15  
Old Apr 22, 2012, 06:06 AM
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moremi moremi is offline
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Cold turk ey is a bad idea that I always come up with. I have done it too many times. Its awful. Wean yourself off w doctor supervision.

Abilify has saved my life. Its a antipsychotic and it also boosts your antidepressant. Awesome med for me. Pulled me out of a 6 month long suicidal depression.
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