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#1
Dec 13, 2015, 10:15 PM
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i'm frustrated, but i understand it.
i'm doing well and i dislike taking the 4 meds that I'm on, not because of side effects, just because i want to feel more free from chemicals, plus i don't think my tegretol has done anything anyway. my psych says he waits one year with stability to reduce any meds, just as a rule. I understand this, yet i'm still aggravated. any tips on how to deal with this? it's like, now that i'm doing well, the actual finality of bipolar is upon me. the reality is more real than when i was in the hospital or a treatment center. now i have to deal with it every day while still maintaining a life that is "normal" - it's almost harder than instability at times.
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Dx: Bipolar I ( from old psych) - (current psych/therapist unsure if they agree) Rx: Lithium 900mg, Lamictal 400mg, Wellbutrin XR 300mg, hydrochlorothiazide 50mg (for lithium side effects), PRN Xanax .5mg, PRN propranolol (for tremors) 20mg Familiar with OCD tendencies |
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#2
Dec 13, 2015, 11:05 PM
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How were you feeling before the meds?
I just started taking medicine myself and am still adjusting, but overall I would say it is the best decision for me to take the chemicals, I think everyone here would like to save the money and emotional expense of being on meds, but alas, that's part of this life we lead. |
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#3
Dec 14, 2015, 07:51 AM
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Just had this convo with my psychologist and the truth is I haven't had more than a couple months stable since April. I'm hoping the med combo I'm on now will do the trick this time. It is hard I want to we'll so bad but have to admit I haven't been for such a long time. HUGS
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
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Current Meds Lamictal 200 mg x2 Seroquel 100 mg |
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#4
Dec 14, 2015, 11:59 AM
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Quote:
Each bipolar has to decide what works, but the reality of medications is very strong and somewhat scary too. I wish you the best of luck and I would listen to your pdoc if you're stable. The Tegretol is probably doing more than you know. |
 Cocosurviving, jules77
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#5
Dec 14, 2015, 12:22 PM
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I wouldn't mess with something that works. If it was for depression or something their goal is to usually start tapering you off meds after a year of stability but a disorder like Bipolar is more often something you will deal with lifelong.
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“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” -St. Francis of Assisi Diagnosis: Schizoaffective disorder Bipolar type PTSD Social Anxiety Disorder Anorexia Binge/Purge type |
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#6
Dec 14, 2015, 02:35 PM
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I was told at the hospital 1 year also. Unfortunately, the chemicals in our brains are off and we need meds to be stable. I wouldn't risk the hell that is BP if your meds are working.
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#7
Dec 14, 2015, 04:09 PM
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I agree that if your stable you may want to consider taking what you have been. If you want to be med free go somewhere else. Another doc can help you taper off. I'm not going to tell you whether or not to take meds. If you've been med free before and had no symptoms that you can't handle go for it. It's for you to think abt how you function on and off meds. For me I'm very symptomatic off meds. I was off the rails. I'm not interested in being in the hospital time after time. I had a job coach refuse to place me on a job because he said I would probably become a felon. I had no problem fighting, assault someone with a bat or shooting someone. I have BP1 which is really bad bipolar. I've decided to take meds. Before I didn't know I had it. I don't enjoy taking pills but it beats the mental hospital over and over. It beats being in prison for kicking someone's ****** or shooting them.
Sent from iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk
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#SpoonieStrong Spoons are a visual representation used as a unit of measure to quantify how much energy individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses have throughout a given day. 1). Depression 2). PTSD 3). Anxiety 4). Hashimoto 5). Fibromyalgia 6). Asthma 7). Atopic dermatitis 8). Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria 9). Hereditary Angioedema (HAE-normal C-1) 10). Gluten sensitivity 11). EpiPen carrier 12). Food allergies, medication allergies and food intolerances. . 13). Alopecia Areata |
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#8
Dec 14, 2015, 07:18 PM
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My pdoc had that policy before reducing meds when one was probably redundant. Is that what you mean? I started doing much better when Seroquel XR came out vs. regular Seroquel and felt I no longer needed Depakote. She told me that we'd taper the Depakote in a year if I felt that I was ok on my other meds (and there were several). Then 6 months later I had a high blood sugar and she agreed to very, very slowly wean the Depakote. We did that over 8 months and I did fine and my blood sugar returned to normal. I don't think I would have done as well with a faster taper (and she timed it so that I was off the depakote at one year from responding the XR. I was never stable, just overly drugged). It was nice to get rid of a drug for a good reason for once.
But I am glad she waited because it would have been really, really hard to have to go back on it after I had gotten partially off and had lost weight and generally was feeling more like myself than the drugged version I always was on Depakote.
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Bipolar 1, PTSD, GAD, OCD. Clozapine 250 mg, Emsam 12 mg/day patch, topamax 25 mg, ,Gabapentin 1600 mg & 100-2 PRN,. 2.5 mg clonazepam., 75 mg Seroquel and 12.5 mg PRNx2 daily |
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