[rainwater]

Hello All!
I have Bipolar illness, age 45 and been taking pyche meds for 20 years now. Has anyone else been that long on these meds? I am so worried about loosing my mind now from the illness, med side effects, and can I expect getting dementia now...

God Bless,

Rainwater

[Fresia]

I've been on anti-depressants for 30 and added anti-psychotics for 15 now. I worry about the long term affects but not enough to give up what quality of life I have with them; absolute hell without. If not the meds, something else will kill me (if not myself) so I might as well have the better life (relative) with them while I have it even if the meds end up killing me in the end, otherwise it would come sooner. Who knows, perhaps the chemicals are preserving me. We'll see.

[donut]

Hello there

I am 48 and have been on meds some time. Whilst meds do not get rid of all my symptoms (I still get depression) I am a good deal better on them. I have unfortunately developed mild tardive dyskinesia from the antipsychotics, however I don't do well off them. I take vit E which is supposed to help.

I agree with the poster above saying that quality rather than quantity, I have been on meds for about 20 years and am 44 now. So more or less the same as you, and yes I have the same worries.

For me without meds ( I have tried it ) I ended up getting arrested for having a fight, and took a serious attempt on my life leaving notes for my family. Its a long story but I was saved by a tiny new born baby who I forgot I had in the house.

So....... With meds I can live without I wouldnt be here. No choice for me really is there.

If it means I die tomorrow then at least I would of had some years of fun with my children and hubby.

[rainwater]

That is funny.. lol..because I take care of tiny babies every day at a center and many times there sweet innocent faces on my mind when I feel my worst and dont want to face the day save my life too I bet.

Have a Great Day, God Bless

Rainwater

[Rhiannonsmoon]

I agree with Tishie and Fresia. I've been on meds for well over 20 years and though my memory is not good I most certainly do not have dementia or alzheimers.

And if it were not for the drugs over the last few years I would not be here at all.

Everything in moderation is ok that is why drugs have dosages.

If we were to have more than the dose recommended then we would run into trouble. If we were to have less than the dose recommended then we would revert to symptoms that drove us to look for help in the first place

[Rhiannonsmoon]

Originally Posted by rainwater

That is funny.. lol..because I take care of tiny babies every day at a center and many times there sweet innocent faces on my mind when I feel my worst and dont want to face the day save my life too I bet.

Have a Great Day, God Bless

Rainwater

I don't see what is funny can you explain please?

[Amazonmom]

I think it was just a figure of speech, not that it was truly funny.

[Rhiannonsmoon]

Thanks Amazonmom, at times my brain vacates its position and leaves me wondering about things. I just didn't get the meaning. My brain must be a tad out of sorts cos I still don't get it. But I understand the figure of speech thing so it puts it in context.

Thanks again

[ringtailcat]

I've been on psych meds of one kind or another since 1978, 1st just for depression, then they finnally diagnosed me as bi-polar.... I had been trying to tell them that for several years, but what did I know.... I didn't have the right initials after my name. Back on track.... I have had various effects from meds, memory loss that I have now I was concerned about for several reasons: meds, 1.5 rounds of ECT, and my mother had Alzheimer's.

I talked to my primary care doc & she set me up for a neuro-psych evaluation. This is an entire day of different tests..... verbal skills repeating words, stories, thinking, neuro eval, MMPI, anything they could fit in an 8 hr day. the end result is that the testscan teel if there is any dementia, Alzheimer's, or other problems. It also gives a good baseline if it's fairly normal should thay do one later on. Mine did show that I had some slowing in responses possibly due to being tired and from my medications. I also found that my verbal memory is extremely bad, which explains why I don't remember things especially if I don't write them down. otherwise pretty normal... PM me if you would like to know more..

[Skully]

I think a lot of it is going to depend on which meds you were on. The older generation of anti psychotics (mood stabilizers) have been shown to be more harmful thus the push to come up with the newer generation (Abilify, Geodon, etc.). I have had clients who has developed parkinsonian symptoms (mimic parkinson's disease) due to the old anti psychotics. But those cases are few in numbers. I think if you were going to have any ill effects, after 20+ years you would have seen them by now.

[ana_rdh]

All medications that are included in the traditional medicine have side effects. The reason why is because we take them through blood stream not locally where we want the effect of drug to take place.
Try switching to homeopathic medicine. I know that pharmaceutical corporations do everything they can not to approve them by FDA but they surely have less side effects

[noname1000]

I have been on antidepressants for 15 years, and on and off others (benzodiazepenes, antipsychotics) during that time. I worry a LOT about the long term side effects, especially because I would like to get pregnant in the next couple years and I am worried about being on any medications while pregnant. I don't think there is much good research on the long term effects of antidepressants (I am referring to SSRIs, don't know much about the tricyclics since I have not taken those). It is also hard to weigh the potential long term harm against the harm of being *off* the medications - for me, I had such a severe depression that I probably would not be alive if it were not for medication. So in that case, the long term risk of harm is a worthwhile chance to take. It is going to be a very hard choice though with thinking about pregnancy - I am so scared to be off all the medications for that long.

[rainwater]

I always have taken the most minimal amount of my medicines but stay stable by taking the theraputic doses. My most upsetting problem to my self esteem is verbal communication..it is really upsetting, spelling, prounouncing, and often going blank and forgetting. I do have long term depression maybe symptoms of. ter

Rainwater

[Fresia]

Originally Posted by noname1000

I have been on antidepressants for 15 years, and on and off others (benzodiazepenes, antipsychotics) during that time. I worry a LOT about the long term side effects, especially because I would like to get pregnant in the next couple years and I am worried about being on any medications while pregnant. I don't think there is much good research on the long term effects of antidepressants (I am referring to SSRIs, don't know much about the tricyclics since I have not taken those). It is also hard to weigh the potential long term harm against the harm of being *off* the medications - for me, I had such a severe depression that I probably would not be alive if it were not for medication. So in that case, the long term risk of harm is a worthwhile chance to take. It is going to be a very hard choice though with thinking about pregnancy - I am so scared to be off all the medications for that long.

There are some good studies that do show little to absolutely no long term side-effects that directly affect children in parents having taken psych meds, depending on the med as long as you do not take them during the actual pregnancy or while breast feeding. It is a scary idea of being off of them even during this time so having a plan in place and support with physicians and T is so important.

There is a friend who found she could not cope at all and shut down completely during her pregnancy, became suicidal, and the doc found one anti-depressant, I don't know which, that she could take during with minimal side-effects. She is better and her testing has come back fine on the pregnancy so far, has not shown to cross the placental barrier according to the tests; she is in her 8th mo now so we'll see but weighs heavily on her, more than I can say, and was truly a last resort.

Another friend went off her meds and had issues but with the help of T and her doc, and support of family and friends made it through ok; decided not to breast feed so she could start her meds again immediately. So talk to your docs and other providers about your concern and be sure to have a plan and support in place. Whatever you decide, it may be just fine, really.

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by rainwater

Hello All!
I have Bipolar illness, age 45 and been taking pyche meds for 20 years now. Has anyone else been that long on these meds? I am so worried about loosing my mind now from the illness, med side effects, and can I expect getting dementia now... God Bless, Rainwater

Dear Rainwater,

The best and most complete information I've found on my meds (including long term effects) is in Wikipedia. They also have excellent links to other sources. Or a search with "NIMH" and your drug's name can bring up interesting results. Even if many of your hits are articles you can only read by paying for, the abstract of the article (basic information and conclusions) is usually free. If you want to avoid the nonsense, restrict your search to .pdf files. Hope this helps. Take care.

[rainwater]

Originally Posted by Rhiannonsmoon

I don't see what is funny can you explain please?

Rhiannonsmoon, I meant that for me children around do help cheer me up

[rainwater]

Originally Posted by Ygrec23

Dear Rainwater,

The best and most complete information I've found on my meds (including long term effects) is in Wikipedia. They also have excellent links to other sources. Or a search with "NIMH" and your drug's name can bring up interesting results. Even if many of your hits are articles you can only read by paying for, the abstract of the article (basic information and conclusions) is usually free. If you want to avoid the nonsense, restrict your search to .pdf files. Hope this helps. Take care.

Hello Ygrec23, I appreciate the suggestion about going to wikipedia..I have gone there before and like it how thorough and factual of a resource. My meds have been slowing me down as im getting older or just age is doing that? The klonopin Ive had to cut back on because of having major depression and getting real short of breath. It just seems so much more difficult to stay balanced than it used to and Im sure tons of stress right now is a big factor. God Bless All! Rainwater

[christa]

I have been on an anti-anxiety drug for fifteen years, the drug is known to cause cerebral ventricular atrophy with long term, high dose use. I am concerned, even though I only take .5 milligram a day now. I have significant memory loss. I feel like my brain is not functioning well. What use is living if one is brain damaged ?