[~Christina]

For those of you that take meds...

When if anytime do you skip your meds or have to force yourself to take them?

I have to force myself regardless of what mood I'm in and I'll admit it.... I tend to "forget" my meds often

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by morethingswrong

For those of you that take meds...

When if anytime do you skip your meds or have to force yourself to take them?

I have to force myself regardless of what mood I'm in and I'll admit it.... I tend to "forget" my meds often

I take meds together with supplements, mostly. I view them all as my overall wellness tools. This way I do not have trouble taking them.

[faerie_moon_x]

I take mine until I start forgetting. I don't forget on purpose. I dont' know why I have this problem but it's not just bipolar meds but all meds and vitamins. Birth control, too, which is why IUD is good. Even anti biotics and pain meds when I need them, I start to forget pretty quickly.

So far 7 for 7 with my lithium this time.

But tomorrow I won't take it, maybe not for the weekend, due to my surgery.

[Confusedinomicon]

I take my night meds out if habit. I feel guilty if I dont take it.

Morning meds are easy to forget.

[Miss Laura]

I take meds in the morning ataking and at night and I am a non-complier at times. I stop taking them when I feel well (ironically this is the time I SHOULD keep taking them) and if I want some mania (not the greatest way to reach the mania mind you) I am trying so hard to keep on them but it is so difficult. It's like a rebelling thing for me. Also it can take me 2-3 hours at night to take the meds as I am questioning do I need/want them.... when I should be saying I MUST take them.

I am learning slowly that in order for me to feel well I must take the meds. So I am trying to stick to my meds

[Moose72]

When I was manic last month I quit my meds. Withdrawal sucked and I don't think my symptoms got worse but it was hard to tell.

[BlueInanna]

Today... I'm a non-compliant... I actually quit adderall and welbutrin couple weeks ago and only on lithium klonz and ambien now.

I think I may be a generally non-compliant type person, unless I agree fully with a situation.

[hamster-bamster]

Why did you stop WB, BlueInanna? What bad things was it doing?

[hamster-bamster]

Now that I am sexually normal again, I like everything the meds are doing to me. I am so used to taking Levoxyl early in the morning to counteract the effect Lithium has on the thyroid gland, it has become second nature and I do not resent it. And I do not have other bad side effects, so I have nothing to resent and sure I am compliant, why would not I be if everything is good? So I think that noncompliance might mean that you are resenting the drugs, which probably should mean that they have unpleasant side effects, which in turn should probably mean that you need a different combo.

[BlueInanna]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

Why did you stop WB, BlueInanna? What bad things was it doing?

Because it does not have much effect at 75mg ... I used to have 300mg and liked it and lost weight, was bubbly and more sexual, but pdoc lowered it after my bp dx. I was so upset when she lowered it. So I am just mad about weight gain and extra meds in my body. Feeling rebellious maybe, idk.

Watching my son forced on meds has messed with my head too... I feel so controlled by forces around me, doing things to feel in control I suppose.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by BlueInanna

Because it does not have much effect at 75mg ... I used to have 300mg and liked it and lost weight, was bubbly and more sexual, but pdoc lowered it after my bp dx. I was so upset when she lowered it. So I am just mad about weight gain and extra meds in my body. Feeling rebellious maybe, idk.

Watching my son forced on meds has messed with my head too... I feel so controlled by forces around me, doing things to feel in control I suppose.

I see, so it was good, but only at a higher dose.

[BlueInanna]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

I see, so it was good, but only at a higher dose.

Yes, exactly.

[tnlibrarian]

I forget and now my husband sends me a text at 11:00 every morning to remind me. The only time I intentionally don't take them is if I have a really upset stomach. That's because if I take any of them on an empty stomach I'm guranteed to vomit.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by tnlibrarian

I forget and now my husband sends me a text at 11:00 every morning to remind me. The only time I intentionally don't take them is if I have a really upset stomach. That's because if I take any of them on an empty stomach I'm guranteed to vomit.

When the dust settles, you can ask your new p-doc to try a couple of antipsychotic injectables. Those are shots once or twice a month and they will not interfere with digestion - will not cause vomitting etc. Unfortunately, the options in the US are very limited, but you should at least inquire.

[BipolaRNurse]

It finally sank in a few months ago that it didn't matter if I resented having to take meds to be 'normal', I still had to take them because I'm a hot mess if I don't. One day I was sort of bragging to my pdoc about how "good" I was being about taking my meds, when he pointed to his foot and said "You know where this will go if you don't take them, right?" (Yes, he likes to tease, but I give as good as I get, haha!)

All joking aside, I'm actually very proud of myself for being 100% med compliant. There are times when I'm tempted to see if I'm "cured" and can get on with my life without meds, but it's bitten me in the @$$ too many times before, and I'm now sufficiently scared of going back to where I was the past couple of years that I don't want to start all over again when everything goes down the dumper.

[hamster-bamster]

I noticed taking a capsule of Prozac just a few minutes ago that not only did I not resent it but also I was thankful for the good things the little dose would do for me, all the while causing no side effects at all.

[~Christina]

So a mixed bag .. kind of what I expected .

I glared at my meds this morning and last nite for an hour or more before I finally took them. My current meds really cause me no side effects nor weight gain. I guess I resent them.

[hamster-bamster]

Are you down to your ideal weight? I remember you went on a drastic diet - it helped, right?

[~Christina]

I have lost 45 lbs in a little under 3 months.

[hamster-bamster]

That is utterly spectacular! I hope you never ever gain them back.

[OutlawedSpirit]

I always take them, and I don't really have an issue with it. I have one of the little pill boxes that I can separate my meds for the week, and I take my morning ones within an hour or two of getting up and me night one's about half an hour before I go to bed. I'm bad about remembering to take my afternoon ones at the same time, and sometimes if the morning is hectic, I forget for a couple hours, but I always end up taking them in the end.

I guess I don't really think about what they're for. They are just there, I take them, I move on with whatever I'm doing. I mean, really, I put no more thought into taking them than I do in stopping what I'm doing to take a drink of water real quick.

[~Christina]

I have discovered a pattern ! When my Fibro pain is so off the charts (like today) I don't take my meds..

[Moose72]

Originally Posted by BlueInanna

Because it does not have much effect at 75mg ... I used to have 300mg and liked it and lost weight, was bubbly and more sexual, but pdoc lowered it after my bp dx. I was so upset when she lowered it. So I am just mad about weight gain and extra meds in my body. Feeling rebellious maybe, idk.

Watching my son forced on meds has messed with my head too... I feel so controlled by forces around me, doing things to feel in control I suppose.

I feel that way too lately. I feel like people are hunting me.

[Moose72]

Originally Posted by morethingswrong

I have discovered a pattern ! When my Fibro pain is so off the charts (like today) I don't take my meds..

I've noticed that too. Haldol ups your fibro symptoms.

[bluemountains]

I am compliant with meds, especially when the doses are adjusted out of need and I realize that without them or when the current combo stops working, everything is awful in my world, at either end. Sometimes, though, when the meds are working really well I toy with the idea of stopping because for some dillusional reason I convince myself that the drs. got it all wrong.

The thing that makes me really sad about the drugs is that, like BlueI., I have a son who takes meds. I absolutely hate knowing that he will most likely suffer through parts of his life, like me. He has already toyed with the drugs, "forgetting" to take the abilify for a few days because he thought the prozac was enough. I saw the personality change right away, and thought that it might be time for an evaluation until he told me about his forgetfulness.

Bluemountains