[Downsideup75]

I have been on Meds for 7 years now but they are always changing them either because they don't work or because of the side effects the last four years I was taking the same two Meds daily because they seemed to work but I also smoked pot because the Meds alone we're not enough now in those 4 years I actually had a somewhat normal life until I noticed I had a twitch on occasion which now is constant and came to find I might developed something like Parkinson's disease so once again I'm trying a new medicine and feeling like a zombie I have stopped smoking pot to see if the Meds work but the side effects are pushing me back to pot and I'm very close to telling the dr where he can put his Meds do the doctors really care what happens to us? Or are they lining there pockets with drug company money I am losing patients and giving up on hope that I will ever be half way normal

[Altered Moment]

I think docs really want to help and get frustrated with it too. They have never gotten many perks from drug company reps. Pens, food for the staff, sometimes dinners. All that is against the law now. Reps can't give them squat. My brother in law was a rep for Pfizer for many years so I had a window into what really went on.

I have been on many meds over twenty years and just keep playing the game. You can always go off all of them and see how you do. But then you might find yourself back on the merry go round. Hopefully they will come out with better ones.

What meds are you taking right now? I am guessing an AAP. Do the mood stabilzers help?

[~Christina]

The med merry go round sucks ! Been there did that !

What are you doing besides Meds? Therapy ? coping skills ? Meditation ? Minfulness? hobbies? healthy diet? exercise?

[Hopeful Camel]

It is incredibly frustrating. I think that pdocs are doing the adjusting in the dark, at best. I think self-education is the best defense. Knowing what your body reacts to and how, seems to me to be the best way of preventing myself from going off the deep end. And making sure that I have a bunch of other support besides meds. Therapy, meditation, walking, friends, journaling, and this site. Hang in there.

Like others posted, I believe that most doctors do want to help, but research on mental illness is just too new and no one is entirely sure of how to treat it. It's a lot of trial and error. That said, money is certainly involved. Anyone who needs to see a doctor or buy a prescription, but doesn't have health care or a lot of money knows that money plays a huge role in the practice of medicine. When all is said and done, the situation isn't black/white, but grey.

[vjdragonfly]

When I was first diagnosed I was told that it could take a while to find the right combo because we all react differently to the meds. Then I was told that I could get on the right combo and one day it could just stop working. Makes it seem not worth while, but honestly I have been good for the last 2 years with some minor glitches and I think it is sooo worth how good I have felt even if it is not indefinite. Sister has it right about the financial end of it. Unless I get it for free through companies, I am very limited to what I can be put on.

I know it is rough right now and you have probably heard this a lot, this to shall pass as it is with bp.

[Downsideup75]

Thanx for all the input I am on Prozac and lithium and take them everyday because I know from experience that without it I will certainly lose it and either I or somebody else will get hurt along with my Meds I have just started back to therapy once a week and today I attended my first support group and I do my best to stay active like this weekend I am going camping and now using the forums I know Meds are a crapshoot I just get frustrated when I see all these new Meds with side effects that could be worse than what they are supposed to helping

[Yoda]

I understand your frustration. It took me seven years before I found a combination that was effective for me. We are still fine tuning it because I told my doc I didn't notice any effect when I ran out of the selegiline so he said just play with it and cut it in half and if that works reduce it to every other day and maybe I can stop taking it.

But yeah I remember quite some time ago when my symptoms were bad and nothing seemed to help much and I asked my pdoc if this is as good as it gets and she answered honestly, I don't know.

Also, our bodies change with time and meds need to be adjusted accordingly. It's no fun.

[moremi]

I think a lot of pdocs overmedicate us. I am seeing like my 5th ot 6th pdoc in 6 years. All but this one had me doped up. Thats how i felt. Like they would rather make me a zombie on the couch rather than take a chance of me being manic. That doesnt work for me which is why i have tried relentlessly to go unmedicated until my new pdoc. He spent over an hour with me. He said you are 35 and gained a lot of weight from all the different ap over the past years. He asked if i felt viibryd helped me and i didnt so he took me off of it. He put me on triliptal. Within the first week i felt a difference. He started me on a very small dose then upped it after a few days. Ive had no side effects. Im not too high or too low im just in the middle. Normalcy after 6 years. Im still waiting for the other shoe to drop. If you know what i mean. Its been over a month though and he said we have a lot of wiggle room with dosage. So i think my rollercoaster ride is over for now anyways. I do hope you find something that works for you. I can not take the heavy sedating crap long term. I think it ******** that they want to give us pills that inprison us in our own minds. I like to feel awake and alive and i like my emotions as well. Ive had meds that took all my feelings away. Made me empty, i deriously felt nothing. I couldnt be happy or sad just empty. Sorry to go on and on but i believe i function better on the least amount of medication possible. This may not be the case for everyone but it is for me. I hope you find your happy medium. Hugs!