[irishgirl4]

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?

[dillpickle1983]

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.

[Moose72]

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.

[BuggsBunny]

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.

[Confusedinomicon]

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)

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by irishgirl4

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.

[venusss]

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.

[irishgirl4]

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.

[bluematador]

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.

[kj44]

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!

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by irishgirl4

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.

[irishgirl4]

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!

[Lucy1114]

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.

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by irishgirl4

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.

[moremi]

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.