[DocJohn]

While a lot of people want to understand what a specific medication may feel like for treatment, people also want to understand how to get off of medications when the time comes to do so.

Here are some helpful articles:

Discontinuing Psychiatric Medications: What You Need to Know | Psych Central

Withdrawal from Psychiatric Meds Can Be Painful, Lengthy | World of Psychology

This new forum is a place to discuss this important issue, including topics about titration schedules, coping mechanisms for side effects, decreasing the side effects, etc.

Enjoy!

Best,
DocJohn

[Bird Feeder]

Originally Posted by DocJohn

While a lot of people want to understand what a specific medication may feel like for treatment, people also want to understand how to get off of medications when the time comes to do so.

Here are some helpful articles:

Discontinuing Psychiatric Medications: What You Need to Know | Psych Central

Withdrawal from Psychiatric Meds Can Be Painful, Lengthy | World of Psychology

This new forum is a place to discuss this important issue, including topics about titration schedules, coping mechanisms for side effects, decreasing the side effects, etc.

Enjoy!

Best,
DocJohn

DocJohn, Do you believe that everyone can eventually get/should be off meds? Do psychologist believe that DXs like BiPolar & schizophrenia are medical conditions or strictly treatable with therapy ? I was just wondering. I always feel torn when I see forums like this because I think I shouldn't need
medication and should have handled my diagnosis years ago. Thank you

[DocJohn]

I don't think generalizations are a good thing for anyone, so I would never make a blanket statement that says all people should get off of meds.

I think you need to re-evaluate the effectiveness of your treatment and recovery from time to time, and a part of that may be to decide -- in conjunction with your care provider -- that it's time to discontinue medications.

I've seen people with the diagnoses you mention get off of their meds and lead good lives, and I've seen others who've tried and it not work out so well. The key is to find what works best for you and to follow that.

Best,
DocJohn

[Bird Feeder]

Thank you

[WhatDayIsItAgain]

I do not want to start meds.
I am anti-floride and the *treatment* of generic prozac + generic paxil is hateful to cure rape with floride that causes suicide. Depressed suicidal raped patients should have a safe place to sleep or have insomminanightmares too or someone to comfort them the rapists are gone now;

but requiring I take extra floride because of my sickness (tooth punched out, torn sholder, twisted knee... etc)

to me, that is not human, it is ... mean.

[Onward2wards]

I want to repeat in a parrotlike way, "I am NOT anti-med, I am NOT anti-med..." BUT I am at this point anti-med for ME. In my body, they have way too many lasting side effects, not enough benefits (they DO offer some but not always), and they never seem to last long. Being partially treatment resistant and very med intolerant is a huge annoyance because of the "maybe one more try ... oh wait, no way!" dialogue you constantly have with yourself. Thanks for this thread.

[lilmsusa]

How does one know when it is time and which one to start tapering off of when i take 24 meds in all but only 13 psych meds. I don't even feel safe driving myself any further than maybe a couple miles alone. I feel if i were to get pulled over i'd go to jail for a dui for sure.

[Bunnybird]

Where is the right place to post a question about coping strategies when your pdoc states medically you can no longer take ap's?

I really would like some advice on coping, but didn't want to post in regular recovery area as the forum is not only for sz.

[ElephantWarrior]

Originally Posted by Bunnybird

Where is the right place to post a question about coping strategies when your pdoc states medically you can no longer take ap's?

I really would like some advice on coping, but didn't want to post in regular recovery area as the forum is not only for sz.

May I ask why you can medically no longer take AP's? Curious

[Happydog7]

Originally Posted by DocJohn

I don't think generalizations are a good thing for anyone, so I would never make a blanket statement that says all people should get off of meds.

I think you need to re-evaluate the effectiveness of your treatment and recovery from time to time, and a part of that may be to decide -- in conjunction with your care provider -- that it's time to discontinue medications.

I've seen people with the diagnoses you mention get off of their meds and lead good lives, and I've seen others who've tried and it not work out so well. The key is to find what works best for you and to follow that.

Best,
DocJohn

Hi, Im hoping somebody will help me with my dilemma. This is regarding getting off psyche meds. I have been on them for 17 years. I hate them with a passion. The side affects are hurrendous, but they do help my depression and ADHD. I have been reading so much information about how harmfull they are that although I take them, it scares me. I believe they have done more harm than good. In 2000, after taking paxil for a year I developed a pituitary tumor, these drugs , especially paxil elevate your prolactin level, which leads to prolactenemia, thus a tumor develops. My psychiatrist refused to believe that paxil caused this problem. She does not want to admit she has been poisoning people. Overall though, she is good at combining meds and was not the doctor who originally prescribed paxil. My experience with them has not been good and I dont take paxil anymore on which in addition I gained 100lbs-horrible. The current drugs I'm on are better, but I still cannot loose weight. I usto be an aerobics instructor and personal trainer so I know its the drugs plus taking Concerta( extended release RITALIN) takes a toll on your adrenals which I know are shot from the psyche drugs. Considering everything I have been through, I feel trapped by the psychiatric industry and I know BIG PHARMA want us all to be on these drugs. I just don't know anymore if the benefits outweigh taking these poisons. The other problem that exists is the withdrawl, i have tried 6 times to get off these drugs without success. I cannot get off Viibryd because the withdrawl is to powerful and that's supposed to be the drug with the least amount of side affects. Here's the other concern: Not only my psychiatrist but my psychologist also believes I will be on these drugs for the rest of my life. Nevertheless, they could be wrong. Should I let them decide my fate? I have a stresfull job, so I am also concerned I will not be able to focus at work due to the ADHD if I get off the drugs. So basically its a risk and I don't know what to do? I hate taking them and I have no peace when I put that pill in my mouth. Any advice, comments would be appreciated.

[Takeshi]

It's tempting to get back on it sometimes. It would be sweet if my mind knew how to stabilize on its own. The conversation with a new doctor a few days ago went like, "Where's your base line?", and I couldn't keep my mouth shut after that. I told doctors a few times to seek for other possible causes, but I don't faint or anything, no migraines, no pain on the back of my eyes, no shakes in any part of my body, I got nada for symptoms to suspect anything's wrong with my brain or my guts, so the psych doctors weren't as helpful as I wanted them to be, they only know how to prescribe pills.

During back and forth of this evaluation, this young psychiatrist wanted to know where I was from, and then I asked back what the information was for and why it did matter. I could tell by his demeanor that he was just a young professional who couldn't deal directly with the person he was talking with to resolve MY question, and while I was waiting in the hall to be called back again, he was consulting with another doctor saying, "He doesn't want to tell, blah blah blah.".

Why doesn't people take my NO seriously? I'm pretty sure from the name of the hospital that it is funded by the government, where did my liberty and free speech go? Never forget that doctors work for you, and not the other way around or else you could be taken advantage of. There was no possible hellish withdrawal warnings when the talk of medication started, what happened to the difficulties of diagnosing bipolar? The psych department of this hospital simply refuse to be accurate in their work, how else am I supposed to assess what happened in their office?

Psychologists can work without disorder names 'being branded' on me. My country doesn't have them in medical practice, I searched for them and the few that exists were crooks. Why can't they perform a medical observation for certain period of time? My memory is not great, I didn't answer for the questions which I didn't have an answer for. I am an honest dude, the second guy asked 'how criminal I am', not in those exact words but he did good. So, y'know, I don't understand why sometimes people complain about the public perception of mentally disordered people, doctors have a good reason to ask that type of question, and as for normal people, it might be best to leave them alone. Those people who try to spread accurate information about mental disorders cannot predict future criminal behaviors of a person. Social and political interests lies elsewhere, I don't have a privileged point of view regarding mental health. People look stupid to us for many things, I don't get this 'craze' that's been around for decades now.

Do I expect kinder society for mentally disabled? It's a tough question to answer. People can pretend and lie, it only takes a good actor. Making up a new protected class of people, in another words, to make mental disability merged into the class of 'being disabled' means to discriminate with our arbitrary standard. Human behaviors are recognized as such, in human society. The way I prefer to look at this might be the ones that I need to think for low IQ people. We can't make them any more functional than they already are, and I would like to see the society to change to function alongside with them.

Can a topic like mental health taboo be just confidencial between a doctor and a patient? From where I'm sitting, no one's got a right attitude, my experience has been personal, it has been changing, and will keep changing for the better.

Meds cover wide varieties of symptoms, so this is like at least two folds in the acceptance of one's condition. One may accept what manual/bible (of mental kind) says or others may ignore the stories written about a person and see medications as just what they are, which would be called some controlled substances that assist a person's living.

Why would anyone be off meds when they think it might help? It's affordability of stable environment in physical sense. I would do more in depth research if I could afford the time and effort, I don't gamble. The FDA approval doesn't mean much for the quality of life one could possibly get. It's not like Marijuana/Alcohol even Tobacco safe, the reaction will be quite radical. My stance towards medication is almost the same as the time I joined this website, I was on and in search for best meds! And I've lost my faith.

I could be just logically ill... The conception of the idea that our 'mind' can definitely be ill is just poetic, it should remain in brain science business. APA's been wilding by saying 1 in 3 or 4 people are mentally disordered without physical proof, if that much diseased brains are around, then wouldn't the CDC be on it? Who would be so prejudiced against diseased organs? Ethical attitudes/understandings of any disease on any part of the planet is different. Exceptionalism is cultural, what we care is what we could see through our moral lenses.

I prefer the state that tries to assist to kill me rather than the one tries to assist to torture me. I stay off no matter what, hope this is a promise to myself. (I can't order to obey me, if I'm not inside of my head. Em(p)ty minded, maybe this is the person i been looking 4.)

[cptsdwhoa]

Thank you for this information.

[SparkySmart]

Originally Posted by Onward2wards

I want to repeat in a parrotlike way, "I am NOT anti-med, I am NOT anti-med..." BUT I am at this point anti-med for ME.

LOL I'm the same way...not for ME.

I've been reading a psychiatrists' forum with posts that go back for 10+ years. The posters often inherit patients who have been prescribed polypharmacy by their retiring physicians. Sometimes they list all the meds the patients are taking and ask for advice in reducing/discontinuing them. The issues of overmedication and misdiagnosis are hot topics, and the distinctions between bipolar and personality disorder (for instance) are vague and overlapping. They talk about how angry and defensive patients get when it's suggested that their diagnosis may be inaccurate/nonexistent or when med regimens are challenged. These doctors all acknowledge that serious MI exists but that it's WAY overdiagnosed.

The weird thing for me is that... gosh, I LOVED how I felt on polypharmacy. The drugs really worked! It was really awesome until one day when it wasn't awesome anymore. I can't describe it except to say that I had a terrible, terrifying realization that I wasn't me anymore; I was stuck in a chemical nightmare and couldn't wake up. It was an awful revelation. On that day, I started researching withdrawal protocols.

My doctor isn't infallible. I'm no longer a child, and he's not my father. Just because he prescribes a drug or announces that I have to take a drug for life doesn't mean I have to follow his recommendations, even though I know his intentions are honorable. When I've been IP, the pharmacist would always say, "Your doctor has added this new med, but you have the option of declining it if you like." I always refused. "I'm taking enough drugs, thank you."

[88Butterfly88]

I feel like a disclaimer should be added warning people not to go off meds on their own, it should be done under a doctor's supervision.

[Whiskeypoet]

Hi I’m currently going cold turkey off Prozac and Abilify. I’m pretty much flipping out. Any thoughts or helpful ideas would be helpful.

[cptsdwhoa]

Originally Posted by Whiskeypoet

Hi I’m currently going cold turkey off Prozac and Abilify. I’m pretty much flipping out. Any thoughts or helpful ideas would be helpful.

I did stop cold turkey earlier this year and that was a BIG mistake. I HIGHLY suggest never stopping meds cold turkey. It can be SO dangerous.

In my situation...and this was only MY situation...I ended up calling the emergency room psychiatric unit to ask what I should do. They told me to go back on my meds at the doses prescribed until I could see my psychiatrist. I scheduled with her as soon as I could.

When I was ready and recovered from the horrible withdrawal I experienced I did a slow taper to get off of the meds I wanted to stop taking with the knowledge of my psychiatrist. I used this resource (it had some helpful information on coming off psych meds...PLEASE use wise judgement) Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs and Withdrawal | Will Hall, MA, DiplPW

The Withdrawal Project has an A-Z list of the different withdrawal symptoms that people have experienced. I found it helpful Home Page | The Withdrawal Project

PLEASE be careful. Blessings and Shalom.

[mjdalton45]

can taking medication to relieve mental health symptoms eventually exacerbate the same symptoms?

[mary2020]

I tend to agree with Happydog? "Considering everything I have been through, I feel trapped by the psychiatric industry and I know BIG PHARMA want us all to be on these drugs. I just don't know anymore if the benefits outweigh taking these poisons."

However, they do help some people. They have helped me, in the past, but it seems like the pharma and psych industry has taken over me, as the human, and prescription medicine keeps becoming new and improved and new medicines. I was told not to read about the side effects when I first went on about 15 years ago now. When I complained about physical problems, I was complete ignored and worse, patronized. One side effect was sleep walking. If you can sleep walk, you can sleep drive. Hence, cold turkey. It was hell, but fun, too sometimes. I do NOT recommend cold turkey, but if you did what I did, you would. The side effects, in my case - not necessarily yours, were not worth the apparent benefits.