Going on and off meds

I wondered if I could get feedbacks on this common problem we all seem to encounter. When I've felt good for a while I have found excuses to go off my meds. I've done research that suggests that this makes our disease pattern change/accelerate/alter.

What are your experiences with this? I've recently told all my close friends to strongly encourage and or confront me if I tell them that I've stopped taking my medication.

Does not end well. Ever. I always ask my BF now if I can PLEEEAASE stop taking my meds. I respect his opinion so when he says no (every time lol) I don't.

Well when I'm depressed I'm insightful and I see that meds help and I should be taking them. But what about those of you who are on meds and still feeling so out of balance? I'm just interested in others' experiences with this.

I've never attempted to go off my meds. I've heard it's the worst thing to do. I've read that it can make symptoms worse.and when you put yr self back on them it can be sui hard to pull back to feeling good again. I.hope yr doing ok. As for being medicated and still feeling symptoms? Yes all the time . It's my depression that always is looming in the back ground. Not fun at all but I manage.

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I've tried to taper off my meds not aware I was bipolar. That was bad. Lots of depression and hypomania followed. My Pdoc tried to change up my meds but I wasn't taking enough to make a difference. Hence my last hospital trip.

Be honest with your Pdoc. If something isn't working or you feel you can do without tell them. They may work with you or give you a reality check.

I've really been struggling with this lately. It's for spiritual reasons (ones that everyone else thinks are irrational). I've just been discussing this with several people from my support group and tomorrow I will discuss it with my doctor. I just want someone to see my side and no one does. Ultimately it is our decision whether or not to take meds but it is very wise to talk it out and not make rash decisions if we can. That said, I still have not made my decision. Trying to be "rational" when you feel so passionately otherwise is difficult.

I can totally relate. I feel passionately sometimes that meds are really a crapshoot anyway and who can know when nothing works the same for anyone. But being unstable and unable to function is something I've only reached at times when I'm not on meds or have stopped taking them and destabilized myself. There will be ups and downs in life but they are different than being imbalanced, I think.

I'm convinced (as always when I get depressed) that I need to be medicated for life, but I still don't really like it.

I have not gone off my meds, but I think about it a lot. I tried to wean myself off Saphris, but it triggered a depression which lasted 2 months. I'm just coming out of it now. My pdoc says stopping AP would be a "disaster." But I still want to. I like my other meds, but I'd love to be off AP. Ideally, I'd love to be off everything. I have a hard time accepting that I will be reliant on medications for ever, and I'm sure at some point I will try to get off them. I was unmedicated for years, and I did OK, so I wonder if the symptoms returning are relapse of illness or withdrawal from meds. I know logically that stopping meds is not recommended and can be dangerous, but living a flat existence is also dangerous in a different way. I'm struggling with this right now.

And I totally understand. I just started a new.med so I wanted to come off my ap. It proved to be disastrous...it put me straight into a brief hypo state then full blown depression. Do basically that told me that I do need my ap so I went back up to regular dose of ap which is geodon..yr.not alone in this situation. I hate the thought of always needing meds but the idea of having none is ridiculous for me.

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YES!
I never taper, either; I just stop swallowing them when I've decided they aren't helpful. I'm lucky in that I've never had withdrawal symptoms. I was on prozac for months (didn't go manic), and I simply stopped taking it. I felt no side effects, and my "depression" they claim I had let up a few months later.

Same with risperidone. Bad drug. I felt many many times better off the gyno giver. Nothing positive about it, that's for sure. I wonder what flavor of sherbet I like best. On meds I'd never think to know.

I tend to want to go off meds for several reasons. I get paranoid that its making me gain weight, I want to crash into a deep depression because "light" depression seems to be more dangerous.

I once took Lamictal and I remember being relatively stable on it. I take Lithium now but I'm lookng at Tegretol, as many bipolar people I know and a lot of others here seem to be having a lot of success with it. I also took Wellbutrin for several months last year when I got a little down with the Lithium and it brought me up and I stopped taking it after a few months because I didn't like the way it smelled??

I've always had a poor relationship with medication. I started meds when I was 14 during my first hospitalization but immediately went off of them when I got home. For most of my adolescence I would only take meds when I was hospitalized or in other residential care. I took them during my junior/senior year in high school because if I didn't I got serious withdrawal but managed to wean myself off halfway through. Then I had a terrible year when I was first dx'ed BP where I took meds bc I was so desperate but nothing worked so I would go off them in despair. Finally had ECT treatment and then felt so much better that a) I didn't feel I needed meds and b) didn't believe I even had bipolar anyway. I did not trust doctors at that point since I'd seen so many of them and they never treated me nicely. So I quit treatment completely and struck out on my own and did quite well for six years.

Since the severe symptoms returned a year ago I conceded to try medication again, trepidatiously. I started meds about a year ago and it has been a rocky road. I quit them in july because I was stuck in depression so I thought what does it matter, they're not helping. Promptly went manic/mixed. Found new meds in hospital, took them faithfully until December, then quit because I felt great. I feel like I stayed normal for six weeks until depression kicked in. Tapered up on meds again, but stopped before I reached the prescribed dose because I felt better. I took them for awhile the. Would miss a couple of doses, then start again, then miss again. Finally quit again March first and haven't taken them since.

I can't describe why I feel the need to do this. I mean one is I have a deep seated mistrust of doctors, all doctors, from childhood experiences. Then when I had to start seeing psychiatrists that just furthered my distrust because I never felt like any of them listened to me. So I definitely don't think doctors have anything but money and insurance payments in mind when prescribing meds. This distrust extends to physical problems as well. I haven't had a physical wellness check in ten years. The last time I went to the doctor was 2009 and only because of back pain so severe I could barely stand.

Besides that...I almost feel like I have to see if I'm still symptomatic. I mean I was able to handle it myself for six years. That's not to say I wasn't symptomatic but I definitely kept it relatively controlled. I don't know what the hell happened last year to trigger such severe episodes. Prior to last year I had never been euphorically hypomanic for any extended period of time, and I surely never got manic. So why all of a sudden? And the fact that I have stopped meds and not gotten hypomanic proves to me that I don't actually have bipolar and whatever happened to me last year was my own fault somehow.

I won't go back on meds any time soon. I should be able to hack it alone. I don't have a pdoc appt till end of May anyway.

Your story sounds like mine in a lot of ways WildflowerChild. I was diagnosed at 21 during a hospitalization and was compliant to meds for a little while, but I thought everyone was full of it and went off and went on with my life. It was about 10 years before things hit bottom again, but during that time I now see I had many "episodes" of hypomania.

I've had shorter and shorter periods of stability between my major depressions, which are the periods I dread the most. I've been varying levels of compliant with meds during that time because I keep thinking that drugs are bad for long-term and I shouldn't need them.

I find myself scared of this existence and want stability.

I've been having recurring thoughts of stopping my meds again for the last few days. They just make me feel so flat. I went 4 hears med free with no episode but unfortunately when the episode hit it hit hard and fast and my mania lasted quite a while. Still. The 4 years I had off meds felt so much better than this. Flatness. Yuck.

I have always been compliant with my meds. It just became a habit related to a compulsion of mine, like I used to have taking an assortment of vitamins every day in the past. The only times I have not been compliant is when I became unstable enough. I missed medications, appointments, not picking my daughter up at school until real late, and other "mindless" things. But then I recovered from that period in my life.

I have had jobs where I had to be accountable and fully functional 24/7 100% of the time. So this is another reason I kept taking my meds. Otherwise I would of lost my well paying job and the respect of other professionals in my career. So it was simply not worth the risk to me. There was too much to lose. But as it turned out, many years later, I started to have frequent episodes of instability. So now here I am on SSDI. Not the place I want to be.

Now I am on Lamictal with renewed hope. I wanna work and get on with my life! If I have to take meds to get my life together, then I will take meds for the rest of my life. This will be well worth it for me.

tucson

I am 98% compliant with meds...that other 2% is pure laziness. I'm afraid to be off meds for the simple fact that depression scares the bejeezus out of me. I realized tonight after having a tearful hour that I have been lazy with my meds the last few days. Not saying I wouldn't still be dealing with some hurt feelings but not sure I would have been tearful otherwise.

Ya I can surely feel it when I forget my meds. Within a day I get so sad and weepy. Meds are bittersweet. So much relief but thought of being on them my whole life? Eekk! I can just see myself as an old woman who gets handed her meds in a little cup. By then hopefully I'll just be on like one or two. I take 4 now. Well 5 if you count my adhd med too. I am different in that I have rarely had a bad experience with a pdoc. I have an excellent one now...he really listens and isn't cold and arrogant. Lol. I hope to God that he doesn't leave the practice he's in now. It's really convenient cause my T is at the same office as he is. So the meds are the right road for me.

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I just had this conversation with my pdoc today. She told me as sick as I've been on meds, she would hate to see me off my meds. She also said there could be consequences if my behavior got out of control. She told me it was not a scare tactic but that I could lose my kids. Anyone ever have a manic episode while not on meds that has been bad enough for this type of consequence? I am leaning towards going off my meds.

Are you yr kids only parent? I do know that if someone who has been deemed mentally ill and not treating it, it could have consequences. I've never heard of children being taken away but as a single mother with mental illness I could risk my daughter being put with her father if I'm not treating it. I wouldn't risk it. Why do you want to go off yr meds? Are you feeling really stable? It could be because you are medicated. But I toy with the idea of life without meds but it's only a pipe dream. I know im a better parent with meds and therapy. I want to be a stable parent. I'm not judging here at all...just the opposite. If someone feels like they don't need meds then that's their right. I'm just speaking for myself. My daughter is in therapy too since she has a mom with mental illness I want her to have a positive outlet. If her therapist found out that I went off my meds she would call me in for a mtg as she'd be worried for my daughter sake. Just things to think about.

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I am bad about tapering off my meds, but it never ends well. The last time I decided to stop a med, it was Abilify. I started having bad (for me at least) hallucinations. I have been trying to talk myself out of it lately after my husband warned me he would leave with our daughter if I caused myself to be out of control (vs it happening naturally).

So are you asking if its a good idea to go off and on meds? or if there is a chance of mood swings returning faster??

I couldn't tell you on the second. But its not a good idea to go off meds. At least for me. I want to so bad but these pills keep me semi-sane. I was very bad off before them.

I think you have to weigh the pros and cons. Especially if there's psychotic symptoms you're dealing with. Can you handle your swings legitimately without??

I never have any luck with missing doses. I usually go into a depression first leading up to a hypomanic episode, then a full blown episode. I have Bipolar I w/ rapid cycling. I am still trying to get into a good routine for taking my meds. I miss doses often and feel as though I am always trying to "catch up." I have condensed all my meds to evening now in hopes this will help. So far it has.

It's me and my husband with our three kids. I have become preoccupied with my faith and feel like God wants me to come off my meds. My hubs says I'm hypomanic and that is what this is all about. Also I was off of meds for about 8years in the past and managed--but since have had severe symptoms. I am still debating this though. I told my pdoc at least for now I'd stay on them. Thank you for your input; it is helpful.

I will tell you that as you get older the mental illness can become worse and harder to treat. You may have handled being off meds when you were younger but things change as we age. I respect yr feelings about God but as yr husband feels it could be a hypomanic state that yr in. I'd encourage you to pray about it. It's good that yr talking with yr pdoc about this. You don't want to risk anything by going off of them. Maybe you could try eliminating one at a time to see how things go? That's an idea too. I hope things work out for you. Keep us posted on what you decide. Take care

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