Stopping meds... I'm scared meds cause damage

So I'm going to talk to my t before I take my injection. I'm scared the meds will cause Alzheimer's and dementia, weight gain, high cloresterol diabetes and brain damage. Plus I miss certain voices. I don't trust anyone to give me the injection besides 1 nurse and I'm not trusting her right now. Not that she's done anything. I think it maybe my meds aren't high enough but I'm on the highest abilify injection. I realized my head is loud. I'm using my headphones all the time in the house.

What things can I do.... besides adding more meds because I want off them.

The reality is that mental illness damages our brains, too.

I totally understand what you mean about missing certain voices.

As for the weight gain and accompanying health problems...yes, it's terrible. I don't blame you for the way you're feeling. The one thing I will point out is that your top priority is to set an example for Miguel.

I'm taking the shot on the scheduled day and will take Miguel with me to set up an appointment to talk about whether it's worth trying again. I'm going to tell my T my feelings though.

That sounds like an excellent plan, Mm!

Yes, it does sound like a rockin' plan.

Hi, I have been on meds for over 39 years and have been on many psychotic meds along with that. About 7 years ago I had a bad outcome with Zyprexa and had to quit work. A year later I started having tremors so was sent to a Neurologist and he ran tests only to come back and tell me I was having seizures in my frontal lobe and was also diagnosed with Parkinsonism which is caused by psychotic and other psych meds. Now my seizures and tremors are worse and they tell me my Parkinson's will get worse. The psych dr has tried to lower my meds but starting to slowly lose it and I know I will have to go back up. I also wish I could stop them but know that it's not an option for me, just trying to keep it together so I don't lose my sanity while my health declines.

How do you know whether It's better to stay on it or risk the side effects?

I know how I feel off meds or when meds aren't working. I'd rather risk problems later that to feel that way forever. I will do anything to avoid going back to the unstable, in and out of the hospital, fragile person I was 6 years ago.

For me, my body told me that time was to stop using lithium, and also seraquel. Those medicines changed completely the way of my life. Despite that I followed all requirements to the very dot, my body rejected them. However, I still used them because I didn’t wanted to risk be ill - just as my doctors recommended it. Till they founded an alternative who was better. And after some analyses from my psychiatrist clinic (they followed this btw from the first side effects), they saw via my blood that my entire thyroid gland was going to get crashed.

So in 2014, after been in hospital for the tests and the exchange of medicines, they gave me olanzapine along with ergenyl retard (little weirdly, funny name but that’s it’s fully name). Olanzapine’s only side effect is that you will get bit hungry. That’s it. Ergenyl’s however is same as any anti-epileptic medicine. In my case it was to really take care of the liver and such. So yes, forget about consuming a lot alcohol. Also, it can give you shaky hands with 500mg 2x on morning and night, so doctors gave me 300mg 1x in morning and 300mg 2x at night.

I’m not sure which are your medicines, but always and I mean ALWAYS consult with your certified doctor about the changing your medicines. I never quit them, no matter the side effects. Because they are there for a good reason: to help you to be YOU and have a normal life like everyone else. I won’t quit mine medicines, because then I know I will be changed and get in a bad spiral that will drag me down to misery. And I recommend strongly that you don’t do that too.

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Zyprexa ruined my liver. I now have non-alcoholic fatty liver that has turned into cirrhosis. Ugh. So stay on your meds no matter what? I practically begged my pdoc to take me off it but she wouldn't. I should sue her for my broken liver!

”Some instances of ALT elevations occurring on olanzapine therapy may be due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease caused by weight gain that occurs in at least one-quarter of treated patients generally during the first 1 to 2 years of therapy. Weight gain averages 1 kg/month and can be extreme (20 to 30 kg). Olanzapine has extensive hepatic metabolism, partially via the cytochrome P450 system, and some cases of clinically apparent hepatotoxicity may be due to production of a toxic intermediate of metabolism.”

Source: Olanzapine - LiverTox - NCBI Bookshelf

Lithium is far more worse than olanzapine. But usually, you will eat like 2,5g to 5g. Not 20g.

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What plan(s) do you have in place for when things go sideways? I’m not saying you absolutely must stay on meds…but I’ve know you forever and when you decide to come off meds it results in you crashing and burning and it often takes months to get better which always includes you back on medications.

Only you can decide what is best for you and your family.

Good luck

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Right now I'm going to get the injection and have several discussion with my t, h and pdoc. I'm on a lot of meds so it has to be done carefully. H also brought up that I seem to have a problem taking my meds about 3 weeks into the injection.