[lunaticfringe]

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well today.

I'm really struggling right now and I'm not currently on meds and I wanted to ask - Do your meds truly work for you? Do the benefits outweigh the cost? I stopped taking my meds because I felt that the side effects were worse than my symptoms, AND the meds did not even knock out my symptoms. I'm having a lot of trouble trying to figure out what to do because I kind of fundamentally disagree with the psychiatric industry and big pharma, plus I don't trust doctors.

I just need relief and there's none in sight.

[leejt1986]

For me personally my meds cut down my paranoia to almost non existent. It still occurs occasionally but I'm able to reason with myself. I was never able to do that before

[wiretwister]

my biggest concerns were and are depression and stress (mostly work) ... yes the meds have helped ... not bursting with happiness yet ... but very stable and working on it ... I think I have the right med combo this time ... it really seems to be right on ....

[Nammu]

My meds do alleviate my symptoms enough to be very effective. It took me years to find the right ones tho. I spent about 4 years off all drugs and completely despised big brother Pdocs and big pharma....it was somewhat manageable because I had a great T but my symptoms did interfere with my life and there came a point where I simply couldn't function.

When I went back I found to my surprise that the Pdocs were better at listening and taking side effects into consideration. I'm also more amendable to tolerating the first months of mostly temporary side effects to see if the meds are really working. Once I passed though the temporary side effects that went away after my body got used to it I found that they really did help. My paranoia is in check, the anxiety is still there but now manageable and I've had neither highs nor lows( I do miss the highs tho)

As for benefits outweighing the side effects...for now yes. I've gained unwanted pounds and I'm a bit flat but overall the stability is worth it. Once I've moved i'll reevaluate and see if I can get off the AP and just use the mood stabilizer as maintenance.

My meds don't work 100% but i'm a basket case off them -- soaring in the morning, despairing by the evening. Life is definitely more manageable on meds. I'm way overweight but better fat than dead.

[Kharon97]

I've experienced this every time I've taken medicine; The symptoms usually outweigh the benefits of taking them. It's give and take really...
All the meds really do is suppress your illness so that at the very least you can function properly in life.... and that's only maybe, if you find the right ones.

I quit taking my meds over a year ago because of the bad symptoms they were causing and I'm caught in-between struggling and "normal" but now at least I don't constantly feel sick and groggy...

oh, and some meds cost a lot if your insurance doesn't cover it, yah... you might feel some piece of mind but if your'e always broke because of your meds then it's not worth it in my opinion, I hope I helped a bit.

It's worked very well for me. If there is a symptom that happens, I'm more able to deal with it without the further introductoon of any additional medication.

I'm on my meds, but this is such a difficult question to answer. I think my meds put a cap on my moods. Keeping me from going too high or too low. I still cycle a bit, but not severely. I also believe they significantly reduce my paranoia. Like I said, I still seem to be hitting hypos and in the past have had mixed states and depression while on meds. They were bad meds. For me, self care is as important as my meds. I'm not the picture of health and wellness ....I don't live as well as I should. It is my goal to get very physically healthy if it's possible and to live a pretty strict life when it comes to following self care. Then I may try to go med free. For the time being, I recognize my strong need to be on meds and have that cap on my moods. I don't trust mental health docs and psychiatrists either. While the science behind it is good, it's far from perfect or concrete and so much of what they do is guess work. I need concrete ideas to feel safe sometimes.

Best of luck with your decision and I hope you find the solution which works for you.

[gina_re]

They do for me, but I still experience emotions, just not to the extreme as before. They also need a little tweaking here and there. Otherwise I don't know how I would have been able to finish school and to hold down a job for years at a time.

[SingDanceRunLife]

My meds don't get rid of all my symptoms, but they dull them and get rid of quite a few of them. The negatives are there, but the positives definitely outweigh them.

[wildflowerchild25]

My meds knock out mania and mixed states and psychosis. I started a new med for depression in February and so far so good. Took me a long time to find the right meds that don't have side effects but it was worth it. I can function for my son now and even hold down a very stressful job.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

For me meds aren't great but being without is impossible. During all the months before clozaril started working and the other meds I was on weren't doing much I thought I was going to die. Not just suicidal ideation, I just couldn't imagine living longer.

Now I'm annoyed by being tired all the time, lacking motivation and my weight but those things pale in comparison to how I was living before February.

[hopeless2015]

I'm still struggling to find a med to help with the depression I've been on latuda for months and it's just not doing the trick

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[st0psign]

meds are far from a cure for me. I feel I'm better on them than off them. its as though they kind of smooth over the symptoms rather than eliminate them.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

It takes people YEARS to find the right combo sometimes. Most of my diagnosed years I spent unmedicated and hiding my symptoms with alcohol. I smartened up and got back on meds 8 months ago. With a few tweeks along the way, my mood stabilizer (trileptal) has been my staple. But now that I'm not having any episodes, I feel flat.

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[bizi]

Originally Posted by Nammu

My meds do alleviate my symptoms enough to be very effective. It took me years to find the right ones tho. I spent about 4 years off all drugs and completely despised big brother Pdocs and big pharma....it was somewhat manageable because I had a great T but my symptoms did interfere with my life and there came a point where I simply couldn't function.

When I went back I found to my surprise that the Pdocs were better at listening and taking side effects into consideration. I'm also more amendable to tolerating the first months of mostly temporary side effects to see if the meds are really working. Once I passed though the temporary side effects that went away after my body got used to it I found that they really did help. My paranoia is in check, the anxiety is still there but now manageable and I've had neither highs nor lows( I do miss the highs tho)

As for benefits outweighing the side effects...for now yes. I've gained unwanted pounds and I'm a bit flat but overall the stability is worth it. Once I've moved i'll reevaluate and see if I can get off the AP and just use the mood stabilizer as maintenance.

If you go off of the anti-psychotic aren't you afraid the paranoia will return?
bizi

I was like the op for a long time before I went into the psychosis. There was no way I was going on a mood stabilizer or an ap. But whoa have I had a change of heart. I do still think big pharma is corrupt in some ways. I still think bp is way too over diagnosed. But for me the meds have helped tremendously even with the huge weight gain from APs. I've tried going off APS but I feel really paranoid off of them since that psychosis.

Idk, I wouldn't accept the diagnosis or meds before, it took losing touch with reality for me to accept both.

Are you struggling...

[Nammu]

Originally Posted by bizi

If you go off of the anti-psychotic aren't you afraid the paranoia will return?
bizi

Yes. But I'm also afraid of love ng term side effects. Right now it's a moot point since I'm about to start a job and in September move in with mom to care for her....so seeing if I could go off the AP will have to wait.