Surviving Unmedicated

Hi. This is my first post here so I will intoduce myself briefly. Im 36. Im a mom. I just moved mself and my 3 kids across the country to love with my fiance...which is a long and tangled story all its own. I was dxed bipolar among other things several years back. I have a history of drug abuse but have been clean for a few years. Also been an abuse victim..lived a promiscuous life....you get it.

Anyway. I have made the decision to deal with my issues without uaing medication. I have been med-free for about 8 months now. I made this decision because every cocktail I tried left me feeling either numb and emotionless or downright sick. None of them created any sort of balance I could live with. Before I moved here, I was working with a therapist who supported my decision amd was helping me learn to recognize my triggers, when a manic episode was coming and how to manage my symptoms without meds through meditation, exercise and a certain amount of CBT. It wadnt always perfect but I was.doing well and feeling more stable every day.

I have been unable to find a.pdoc or a therapist here willing to suppory this decision and Im very frustrated. It seems I am left struggling to continue this journey on my own. Any advice and support I could get would mean the world to me at this point. I find myself having a much harder time managing without the care and support of my therapist to keep me grounded.

Hi Darkestangel. I wonder if your previous doc could refer you to a like-minded doc where you are living currently?

I asked her but she isnt very familiar with the practitioners in my new area. She said she would do some looking around for me but wouldnt make any promises.

I'm new here too, so welcome. I was just diagnosed with Bipolar I this past Monday, and my psychologist and psychiatrist don't know yet (had a complete neuropsych eval), so I'm also dreading the likely change in medications when I inform them. I have been wondering if it's possible to manage BP without medication, because frankly, I'm a bit scared of all the medications, mainly their side effects. Right now I'm on Wellbutrin XL, which seems to be fine, but Abilify I'm also taking makes me feel flattened out, and extremely twitchy, which I hate. So, trying to do my research and hope for the best.

I'm sorry to hear you're having a hard time finding a new pdoc that supports your decision. It's really hard to find a good one, and especially one that's going to be supportive about a non-medicated preference. Like the above poster suggested, maybe your previous doctor could refer you to someone nearby they think would jive with your preferences. Wish the best of luck to you!

Hello. Welcome to Psych Central. I agree with the idea of Love and Toil. You can
also consider checking out DBSA and NAMI. Just Google them and they may have a
locations in ur area.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Maybe looking for someone specifically who does CBT would be a good start... you can do meditation practice separately and exercise, both through groups or individually. What kind of exercise did you do that helped you? Have you meditated at home by yourself?

Welcome to PC .. You will find a number of members here that are medfree . I hope you find the support you need . Its a shame there are not more health professionals willing to be open to non medication options .