[Patagonia]

**Under no circumstances did my T recommend this**

What she did say was that she's had many clients go off all meds during trauma work w/ the help & ongoing supervision of their Pdoc. Some secondary problems can be from the trauma & she said she'd support me if I wanted to go this route.
Have you ever heard of this?? Tried it?

It was a shock to me & made me a bit angry. I've been depressed all my life. I started meds when I was 19yo. Throughout my 20-30's I'd ask my Pdoc about going off meds. Each one of them would get angry & in the nicest way possible basically told me that I'm the type of person that'll be on meds for life so get used to it.

This has thrown me for such a loop. I know many people in my immediate family that would be very upset if I went off meds but if I discuss it w/ my current Pdoc & she agreed would I have the guts to go w/o them? Guess the big question is what does my Pdoc think.
Has your T suggested anything like this to you?

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[Open Eyes]

Patagonia, I can see how this is confusing to you. What I "can" say however, is that your old treatment providers when you were younger were going along with whatever was "thought" to be the best way to treat individuals that struggled with depression or other MI challenges. Actually for a while it was felt that the route to go was not therapy but medications and there was a time where there were "less' therapists and more psychiatrists because for a while MI's were consider to be more of a chemical imbalance in the brain and that no therapy could fix that.

Well, we are beginning to realize through research that often the imbalance can be due to trauma or a person's environment and social challenges that stress them out so much that leads to some of these mental illness challenges. We have been learning about different learning disabilities and how some individuals are treated badly because of dyslexia or ADHD, or other challenges they cannot help, but that if they are helped, they can do much better and thrive and don't end up with some of these mental illnesses. It has been slowly turning to where the field of psychology/psychiatry is realizing that they are only treating the symptoms, but not the illness itself or whatever is happening with a patient that is creating their psychological issues to begin with.

I think that what your treatment provider is trying to do is to take the drugs away that are treating your symptoms so they can see if you respond better by working through therapy and bringing up the "root causes". However, IMHO, for someone who's brain is used to being treated with drugs to create chemicals that help your brain function, it can be dangerous to take that away because often the brain's natural ability to do this has been challenged and may be very weak. What I am thinking about is if someone is given something to use instead of their hand and arm for example, and that leads to that person barley using that hand and arm, then what is given them to use instead is taken away, that hand and arm is going to be "very weak" and hard to use.

I am not a specialist by any means, but I am concerned about how making a sudden change might do more harm than good. I don't know if this is something that has been done a lot and they have discovered it to be very helpful and successful or if you are in a group of patients that is actually a guinea pig. That being said, I do know of people that have weaned themselves off of medications and have found they do much better and have stated that they wished they were never put on drug treatment plans. I have even read threads here that have discussed that.

I do not know what medications you are on now, what you have used long term for maintenance and what stopping these medications can present in patients either. I have heard that some AD's, after a while have lost their effectiveness in patients. I have also read how it isn't really known for a fact if AD's actually "do" work either. I have read that the placebo effect has been found to be challenging and that drug companies often have to run several studies until they can provide the results that are favorable to get their drug finally approved for market. We have discovered how the placebo effect is significant where someone just "thinking" they are on a medication that will help them will report they feel better, when in reality they were not even given a drug.

I think you are "right" to question this and to take your time to research it before making a decision.

It will be interesting to see what responses you get. I think you should also present this question in the open forum too. Perhaps under medications, and Other mental health issues too.

[ThisWayOut]

I would definitely do research into this and talk to your pdoc (and t again as well). You've been on needs for a long time. As open eyes said, for a long time there was a huge push for meds being the best treatment. But she also pointed out that such a long time on meds can change the way your body and brain work.
that said, I've never been as stable as I have off meds. I've struggled with depression all my life (take that with a grain of salt, because I don't remember the first 15 years very well). I went through the gamut of meds and med cocktails trying to stabilize. None of it worked, and much of it actually made me much, much worse. The doctors I saw were about to force some pretty scary treatments, but I was adamant on trying more specialized and therapy - focused options (I had found once that talking helped me more, so I wanted to try it with specialized providers). I was able tp wean off the meds (took several months op accomplish, and was very difficult), but it was the best decision I ever made. Now, when I do have a crisis, it's nowhere near as damaging as it has been in the past. I'm able to stay out of the hospital and pull myself (kicking and screaming, but also with support) out of my hole. I think more clearly, and my horrid times don't last as long as they used to. I have to fight hard to keep doctors from trying to put me back on meds when I do wind up in the hospital, but it's been worth it. (Many doctors told me I was hopeless, and that I would wind up not only on meds for life, but in a facility for the rest of my life, that scared the crap out of me)
It's a scary process, and really trying, but it can work for some people. It's something worth thinking about. If you do decide to do it though, plan. Have back up plans for your back up plans. Make sure everyone knows the plan, and at least your husband can be supportive in times of crisis (because they will likely come, but they can be dealt with). And it would be a huge help to have your t's support through it all (my t got about 30 calls a day at times)... also, I started the taper off while inpatient, so I had access to medical services 24/7, which was hugely helpful when I needed to up the doses of meds because the withdrawal symptoms were horrible, or I needed something else to help ease the withdrawal. Also, if you decide to try, make sure you have back up plans for child care in case there are days you can't handle the responsibility.
Good luck either way. I know you've been through a lot.