dropping my meds

please hear me out first.....

i want to drop both of my meds i dont think either is helping. my lithium is not making me feel any better it was but it has stopped working and now it is just making me sick (hand tremors, nausea, diarrhea, vision problems sometimes, tiredness, and other things). My Abilify is making my anxiety worse and making me gain weight it also has not helped me in anyway. i want off these meds i dont trust them and i think they are just making me sicker how do i get the doctors to take me off all my meds?

Maybe you are just on the wrong meds for you and there are others that will help you with your symptoms more effectively. Tell your pdoc about the negative impact they are having on you and they can help you taper off them and perhaps offer a med that suits you. It can really take quite a few tries to get the right meds so don't give up on them entirely. I could be wrong but I sense that you would be worse, or at least no better, without any medication.

Taking medication is your decision in the end but it is better to make that decision when stable.

It's very frustrating, I know.
Even so, I'd suggest you keep working with the pdoc to find more suitable meds.


WC

Do not drop your meds. Rather, go back to your doctor or give him a call. Tell him what side effects are bothersome and allow him to work to find solutions. It may be a change in dosage or a different med, etc. But dropping your meds will only accomplish sending you back into psychosis and potentially toward inpatient. You haven't been doing better for very long; meds needs consistency to really work. It also takes working WITH your doctor, not against him, to find the right solution.

I dont want more meds I think the chemicals are toxic to the body and do more harm than good. I am not doing well on meds anyway. I dont trust meds I really dont

And off of them, what was going on with you? Be honest with yourself about that. Were you psychotic? Were you paranoid? Were you hallucinating? Were you manic?

I am still paranoid on the meds and depressed and anxious. off meds i at least felt happy sometimes on meds I don't. Was I manic and psychotic off them sometimes but not all the time. On meds I am in a constant state of depression fear and paranoia and i can't stand it anymore I really can't.

I agree with you.

are you med free and functioning reasonably well?

I am. However I don't want to recommend it to anyone else since we're all different. For me personally, meds made me feel a lot worse mentally and physically, and my husband confirms that. I am on disability though and am 100% focused on and dedicated to self care and therapy and living a clean sober drama free lifestyle. I also cut all toxic people out of my life and that has helped a lot to minimize triggers.

i know it isnt the same for everyone but i think it could work for me.

Only you truly know what's right for you!

Please take good care of yourself and if things start deteriorating please seek help

i plan to ask the doctor to help with this but i do plan to be med free hopefully soon.

Here's my take are you willing/able to do intensive out patient for months? First month on med, second+ month slowly going off the med, last month stable off meds. It'll take 3+ months but you'll have the support you need to make this transition easier.

OK, so you want to go off your meds. You've started at least three or four threads on this board saying so. What exactly are you looking for from us?

intensive out patient doesnt exist where i live but i am willing to do a lot of therapy or whatever else it takes

a person who had successfully done it and i found one so i am all good now

Please consider you found ONE person out of the many others advising you against just quitting your meds. Just ONE. And if you're honest with yourself and you go back and read your threads begging for help before you were put on your meds, you will see how much your posts actually have improved. It sounds like your lithium level needs to be checked. The symptoms you describe sound like it's too high. And Abilify may not be the right AP for you. There are many others that might work better with your body chemistry. I agree with the others, seek help from your pdoc.

If you do go off meds can you see a therapist 3x a week?

Well, there were two of us on my thread earlier who have been doing well off meds. And I think you'll find that if you look elsewhere on the internet, there are many alternatives to treating bipolar. Med free doesn't mean treatment free. Now that Trumpcare has passed, if you're a low income person you will not be able to get treatment for bipolar covered by insurance.

Having a diagnosis of bipolar does not necessarily mean that you are doomed to be on psych meds forever.

edit: ^^ for those of us unfortunately in the U.S.

I wish you luck in whatever you decide. I think being bipolar and med free is possible with lots of safety measures in place and zero stress. Speaking for myself, all going med free accomplished for me was going from one crisis to the next. I have lots of stress I can not eliminate though.....without the stess I might be able to consider a med free solution as I used to do ok without meds. I'm shooting for more than just ok now though and holding meds can help make that happen. No matter what you decide, make sure to have safety measures in place. I'm deeply sorry with the side effects you are experiencing....they do not sound acceptable to me and a change of some sort is in order. (((Hugs)))

I am not saying I won't do stuff to help myself I just mean I don't think psych meds are the right choice for ME and I am still feeling terrible actually I just haven't been posting as much about it so meds aren't really helping atm anyway but the point is I now feel more hope that this is possible and am going to work towards it.

I've gone off meds in the past and did just fine. Then things fell apart again and I needed the meds. It can go either way. Whatever you choose, I hope things improve for you.

This is pretty much what I was going to say.
Good luck in whatever happens