[Job19]

How many of you have/or do self-medicate on top of your daily regimen. For example I have been diagnosed bi-polar 1 almost 2 years now. I have taken more of my klonopin at times due to severe agitation or insomnia. I also have regularly drank about a 6-pack of beer a week give or take a few as well as smoke pot for the past 6 months.

My wife is pregnant and we are expecting any time now. I have just started latuda which may hold promise for me. Basically, I cannot deal with the thoughts/aggitation/etc, and have told my doc that I will self medicate if I am desperate. Just wondering if I am alone I guess; this seemed the best forum for this question.

God Bless,

Travis

There are many risks of self medicating, especially if what you are taking does not mix with the meds you are on. Please research the side-effects of combining weed and beer with your meds. By all means, do NOT attempt to drive or do any physical labor that involves machines when self-medicating. Also, please make your MD aware of it and discuss the risks with them. If your prescribed meds are not doing the job then you need to make your MD aware of this so that they can be adjusted accordingly. That may negate the need to self medicate. Please be aware that there a non-alcoholic beers you can drink if you crave the taste of beer. Also, many of the super light beers have reduced alcohol in order to lower calories and would be better choices that regular alcohol level beer.

You are about to become a dad. Your wife and your baby need you to be healthy - both mentally and physically. It is important that you are able to be there for them 24/7. You cannot do that and be high on weed or beer. You cannot experiment with weed and beer to the detriment of the beneficial effects of your prescribed meds. Please speak with your MD as soon as possible and ask them what you should do when your agitation or insomnia become severe.

[Hellion]

I self medicate with cannabis, the trazadone and herbal remedies don't quite cut it...and though I have self medicated with alcohol in the past I do my best to avoid that since it never proves to helpful......I still drink some but not for self medicating purposes.

I find cannabis to be helpful with minimal side effects, many people including some experts disagree and vice versa.

I would not recommend mixing the klonopin with alcohol though, not a good combination at all imagine having all your impulse control just gone and not remembering how you even got so worked up. But yeah I'd certainly talk to your doctor and maybe look into some mental health services like therapy or something since that could help with more techniques to deal with stress and such.

I know this can be a difficult issue though, its hard to bring up self medication without an earful of how ashamed you should be so its hard to kind of reach out and even discuss it openly at least in my experiance...but your not the only one who has or does self medicate.

[newtus]

i drink and smoke p0t

[Job19]

Thanks for all the replies and the concern. I am very involved in my own medication regimen, and due to having a dual diagnosis, I am at even higher than 60%(normal bipolar patients) to abuse drugs and alcohol. I do not see these as a means of long term use, but as of right now I just started a new drug on top of my others, Latuda. The benefits may be coming clearer now that it has been 3 days, but it could be pot too. The point is I didn't see a forum dealing with this specific subject, so I started a discussion here.

God Bless,

Travis

[Job19]

Originally Posted by Hellion

:I know this can be a difficult issue though, its hard to bring up self medication without an earful of how ashamed you should be so its hard to kind of reach out and even discuss it openly at least in my experiance...but your not the only one who has or does self medicate.

This was the whole point of the thread as I clarified; thanks this helped a lot.

[Job19]

Originally Posted by unhappyguy

You are about to become a dad. Your wife and your baby need you to be healthy - both mentally and physically. It is important that you are able to be there for them 24/7. You cannot do that and be high on weed or beer. You cannot experiment with weed and beer to the detriment of the beneficial effects of your prescribed meds. Please speak with your MD as soon as possible and ask them what you should do when your agitation or insomnia become severe.

Thank you for the advice, I have an appt. with my psych doc today where we will discuss these issues. Thank you for not pulling any punches. For that I thank you.

[catsrhelm]

Hello Travis,

Does coffee count? I need an occasion dose with my medications. Other then that I don't mix anything with my Tegretol and Abilify. So, I just think it's possible that you are on the wrong medication. You may want to speak with a psychiatrist. Good luck!

Cat

[Atypical_Disaster]

At times I do self-medicate, usually due to insomnia.

[yellowted]

With my docs knowledge and agreement , I regulate my whole medication regime myself, some meds I know I can not do without or I will be very ill very quickly, some I must take as they prevent deterioration, others I take as and when I need them which is often less frequently than if I stuck to the instructions on the box! I do use alcohol to help me get to sleep some times, but not excessive amounts and not every night. my doc trusts that I know my body and what it needs to stay as well as it can, and trusts that when I phone up and say I need x, y or z that I have done my homework and I really do need it.(i do not phone up very often , maybe twice a year for antibiotics for chest infections (asthmatic) and occasionally for UTI caused by incontinence) ok I have to explain why I need it but not once has he said i don't or refused to prescribe them!

I used to self-medicate A LOT. I drugged and drank for years. I would drink daily for imagined relief from anxiety, mood and paranoia. I would smoke large amounts of cannabis and for instant gratification ingest MDMA. I was on very little medication at the time, yet did not even care about the side effects.

I do not recommend self-medicating, it causes more harm than good in the long run. You may find instant relief, but both alcohol and cannabis are depressants and can worsen depressive symptoms. It's also extremely important that you are honest with your doctor about how much you are self-medicating and with what. For years I woud tell my doctor about the alcohol and drugs I used but was never honest about how MUCH and how OFTEN I used them.
It's important for your doc to know and that your current regime is not providing relief...

I stopped self-medicating years ago and got myself into a program of recovery for alcoholism. Again, if self-medicating becomes a habit it can progress, and quickly. I do not recommend it, despite the illusioned 'relief' it brings. I have found much more relief in a straight-edge lifestyle with healthy eating habits and lots of exercise (I don't use coffee either) along with honest and open discussions with my doctor about day to day struggles. I only share my experience in that it may help someone.

I hope you find some relief soon. Best wishes

[avlady]

I used to self medication to calm myself down but the fact that i was going to have a child changed eveything, i gave up the drinking, tried pot once, would not try it again, as it made me sick. do you have a plan on how to selfmedicate and raise a child. i also hope your partner can handle alot as it would take alot to do when you have another to help out with. My son's father was an alcholic i only could stand it for so long. i ended up leaving and it was the best thing i ever did, he would have ruined all of our lives. please i hope you get help, Therapy works so good,i' not trying to pull any punches but maybe you could take a look at the positive of helping yourself, one of my close friends drank regulary on klonapin and she ended up having a stroke at age 30. she took a whole bottle of the stuff. i hope you don't get angry at me but it reminded me of her, i don't even know if she is still alive as even though she had a stroke she still took the pills with no control.

[OnyxRayne]

I do self-medicate on occasion, when it seems needed. I've been told I'm "running out of medications to try" by my psychiatrist, so I guess I started taking matters into my own hands. I started a couple months ago due to agitation and insomnia. I don't really anymore, though, just because I've been feeling a bit better. I understand how you're feeling though.