Med holiday

I went on a self induced med holiday for a week, I made sure to exercise, rely on support if needed and get enough sleep. I did very well, i did mindfulness and I journaled it was fabulous.
Makes me wonder though, are all of these meds needed then? today is my first day back and I feel crappy again.

Experiences anybody??

I was on meds faithfully for 13+ years, and got sicker and sicker and sicker to the point I was virtually bedridden from all the unrecognized side-effects.

When I went off them due to developing a receding hairline, not to mention a host of other nasty side-effects, I was truly amazed at how wonderful I felt!! And my mood was even better than it had been on the meds. Later I discovered that most meds have both anxiety and even depression as side-effects which explained why I'd be feeling okay, take my meds, and then a few hours later be hit by a wave of despair. I just chalked it up to being bipolar, but looking back on my life, I didn't have that before I went on the meds...

I now use amino acids and the mineral supplement lithium orotate to control my bipolar 2 with great success. My mood is far, far more stable than it was on meds, I don't have any noticeable side-effects and my life doesn't revolve around my Pdoc telling me what to do.

Maybe the meds you're taking need to be adjusted, JPB. I wouldn't go medfree anymore without consulting with a doctor before hand, as you might just be experiencing mania filled euphoria without them to help stabilize your mood. This can lead to a dangerously deep downward spiral from whence there is no return. In short, what you did was very VERY dangerous, and shouldn't be done without proper medical supervision.

Maybe you are over medicated. Talk to your pdoc

I don't know... I went off my last antidepressant a year or two ago now. I feel pretty-much the same either way I'd say... maybe a bit less groggy. My last antidepressant was Cymbalta & it worked well for me. I was on the maximum recommended dosage & there were almost no side effects. But, still, I prefer being med free...

I did that. And continued on. It ended very, very bad, with florid psychosis and trouble with the law. In the beginning it was as you just described.

It would be dangerous to go it alone, but if you have a competent prescriber who can monitor you clinically, you can experiment safely. The keywords are "not alone".

Do keep in mine the half life of meds. When you start a med it takes time to build up and work.

So..... It is going to take time for your brain to revert back to pre medicated days.

For example I took lithium for a couple years. When I quit it. It took me at least 2 months for my brain to re adjust sans medication. It was truly a hellish time.

Stay safe ❤️

I agree with the others...play it safe and do med changes under doctors supervision. I don't always follow my own advise, but it's good advise all the same. Better safe than sorry as the saying goes.

I did that once, on my own. I thought I didn't need the meds anymore, that I was "all better". I spent the next couple years one hot mess. And that was even with exercise and trying alternatives. I did not want to go back to medication. But mentally, I was a wreck. I kind of had to drag myself back to the doctor because I didn't want to admit that something was still wrong.

I became psychotic within a month.Bad idea.

I am back on my meds as prescribed, I just felt like I needed a break. I was hyper vigilant about keeping track of where my mood was at all times. It just makes me wonder, are we all just part of a big pill mill? Do these stupid medications even work? I know that I have had success with my cocktail, but I have also put in place an immense support system and coping skills. It makes me think, whats actually working for me?

If you want to, you can try reducing Klonopin. Klonopin is PRN anyway, unlike your Lithium and Seroquel. You probably need the heavy duty mood stabilization provided by Lithium and Seroquel, but do not absolutely have to rely on anxiety relief (which is temporary anyway) provided by Klonopin. And 3X is a lot. So improving the support system further and bolstering your coping skills in order to reduce Klonopin would be a good goal. I am sure your prescriber would back you in that.

I need to change my sig, I am back down to .5mg at night of the klonopin. ramped up while I was in the beginning stages of my divorce, but now I am not as anxious and have stepped back down.

If you want to stop your Rx treatments or reduce the dosage, I would recommend you do so very, very slowly, with a professional who is willing to help you find the lowest effective doses (assuming you need the pills) over an extended period of time.

Most psychiatrists put together a cocktail and forget about it. I asked my shrink about reducing my Abilify, and I got a blank stare, then he mumbled something under his breath. I get it. When I decide I'm ready to reduce, I'll just have to find a different doctor.

The 1st thing that popped out at me was the 800mgs seroquel. That, I think, is like taking 1 gram of thorazine (there are equivalency charts online on PubMed...). That's a lot. I don't know you, I don't have an MD (clearly), but...that's a lot of antipsychotic. Personally, I would want to reduce the antipsychotic dose (very slowly, with a professional's help) 1st, and then see how that makes you feel. Antipsychotics can be very helpful, but they have lots of adverse effects.

I've never taken lithium, but I hear discontinuing it can be rough. Mania upon withdrawal or something. I dunno. Again...I'd work with a doctor who will listen to you and try to get down to the lowest effective dose, or maybe even discontinue it, if possible (with lithium, discontinuation might save you some kidney trouble down the road).

Good luck!

Another thing, you are on a high dose of Seroquel and a medium dose of Lithium. Something must have happened in your life that was serious enough to justify that high a dose of Seroquel. What was it? You realize that being fine for 7 days does not constitute enough datapoints to say that you can be stable without medications.

My opinion based on my personal experience is that your 'Med holiday' was just an exhilarating walk along the same tightrope, except without a safety net.

If a particularly exciting or stressful event occurred during the time that the lithium and Seroquel were not present to suppress your disease, then .

I had to stop my doxipen cold turkey due to a rash .... also reduced my lamictal at the same time ... been around a month and today caught myself rambling and over sharing in front of a customer ... kinda high ... but it sure feels good .... I like this "low" dose me ....