[erysichthon]

I'm thinking about taking medication. I haven't seen a psych yet, but I've been urged in the past to do so. I've always been very resistant to the idea of medication, for various reasons, such as it being, in my estimation, a moral flaw, or that my problems just aren't serious enough to warrant medication.

So, I'm asking anyone who was once resistant but decided to take meds to share their reasons why. What were your reasons for avoiding it? What convinced you otherwise?

And second, anyone who was taking meds but has since sworn them off, I'd like to hear from you as well. I doubt this is a decision to be made lightly.

[polkadotpixie]

I never thought I would need to take medication but I reached a point where I couldn't hold my life together anymore, I went to the doctor and she prescribed Prozac, which at the time I was horrified about and it took a lot of persuasion from my family and ex boyfriend to try it which i did and it had an excellent effect on me

I stopped taking it after about 7 months and for a while I was managing okay but then it all started reaching an unmanageable level again so I'm back on anti-depressants again, Dosulepin this time and they are beginning to work

I had the same thoughts, that it was a weakness to need to take medication but I've come to accept that if all I have to do to make my life more bearable is swallow 5 tablets a day then I can handle that and if other people can't then tough cause its really nothing to do with them.

I was told to think about it like this...if you were a diabetic, you wouldn't think twice about taking your insulin because you need it and I need anti-depressants to lift my chemical levels in the same way a diabetic needs to.

Go and see the psychiatrist, they may not recommend medication anyway, maybe therapy and you won't need to worry

Good luck, let us know how you get on!

[iknowpi]

I have recently started taking meds. I'm on my fourteenth day, and I haven't quit yet! The only reason I'm taking the meds is because my parents would not let me return to college otherwise. That, and, a psychiatrist said I would likely end up in a mental institution. Not fun.

You need to see a doc, before you start jumping to conclusions.

I understand and share your dislike of medications. It's been a struggle for me to continue to take mine. I dislike all meds, even tylenol, because I don't like being affected in that artificial way. I suppose I just don't like having it in my system. I think it's creepy. And it sort of plays off my occasional paranoid beliefs that someone is out to get me / poisoning me.

So--yes. I resisted royally. I wanted to avoid it. But in the end, I couldn't. And maybe that is for the best.

Best of luck to you! Be brave and see a psych, they're not that bad, and maybe you won't need meds.

[Eva1nder]

I myself am extremely resistant and very fearful at this time in my life, but that is only because of what I went through in my 20's.

I'm now 36.

I basically lost almost all half of my 20's due to meds and putting all of my trust into 1 doctor from the beginning, which btw I'm not blaming anyone.

I was way over medicated...so much so everytime I went into the hospital they had to legally take me off of one med, but on the outside they were able to Rx the combination. Strange..huh

Due to being over medicated I became catatonic for about a year. Lost my son for 2 and basically have never been the same since.

I fought my way back and slowly got off most of my meds. I would fool myself and say that I wouldn't have ever had a problem had I not been overmedicated and that once off of them I'd be totally fine. Well that wasn't the case.

Once off all but 1 I was able to "get by", but eventually it wasn't working.

To tell you the truth I wasn't even sure psych meds worked at all because of being so over medicated I didn't know what the difference on them was other then being completely out of it.

3 years ago I needed help. I went to a doctor who wanted me to take Lamictal. I was scared to death, but my issues were leaving me w/no choice.

I carried the medicine in my bag for like 3weeks and eventually gave in to try it.

It was amazingly to me cuz it actually helped me. I was shocked and realized that it's true that certain meds are able to help and without it I wouldn't be making it. I have tried and it doesn't work.

I tried believing that I'm ok and this was all brought on by overmedication etc., but the truth of the matter is it went further back before that period of time and maybe the over medicating just made the problem worse. I'll never know.

Too many things happened along the way to say.

I just know I have to be on this medicine or I would not be functioning what so ever.

Eva

[Renwolf]

I've been resistant to take medication, or go to therapy for that matter, because I figured my problems weren't severe enough to warrant that kind of attention. I've always been more or less functional and I guess I just assumed that I just had a depressed and anxious sort of personality and that's how I was supposed to be.

At the encouragement of some very good friends, I started with therapy and it took me a while, but eventually I started to realize that mental illness isn't any different from so called physical illnesses like Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease or Epilepsy or any other physical disease where I wouldn't dream of questioning the need for meds. Depression, bipolar, ADD, anxiety, and so on, they all show up on brain scans, just like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and Epilepsy. They're physical brain disorders, so it makes sense that meds are used to control the symptoms. In fact, a lot of the same meds that are used for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Epilepsy are also used to treat various types of mental illness. The disorders are that similar. And yet no one expects someone with Parkinson's disease to control the symptoms through force of will and positive thinking alone.

So now I'm ok with having to take meds. I mean, don't get me wrong. Give the choice, I'd rather not need any of 'em. No one likes taking meds. The side effects are lousy and they don't always work as well as they should, but I also know that my life is much much easier for me when I'm on the right meds.

hey. i never had trouble with the idea of taking medication. i've fairly much sworn off the stuff now, however, for the simple reason that it doesn't really help me.

we don't think that if diabetics take insulun that it is a moral flaw and so i guess i don't think that if people take psych meds it is a moral flaw either. but that being said, if they don't really help then taking them seems pointless.

part of my reservation is around people being (imo) too quick to take them in the sense that they see them as a first port of call or a quick and instant solution instead of seeing them as something of a last resort.

i'm not sure what problems you are having...
some people find therapy to be an alternative...
but that being said: if the meds help then that has got to be a good thing.

why am i reserved about meds? because... we simply don't know enough about what they do to the brain long term. thats why i'm reluctant. it also seems to be the case fairly often that the side effects of taking the meds (or of withdrawal from the meds) are worse than the problems one was having before they started taking them.

but then i'm talking about taking meds for depression / anxiety for the most part.... though... there have been some fairly good reports of social management for psychotic symptoms so who knows...

;-)

[erysichthon]

My problems, Alexandra, are mostly anxiety related-- depressions follow when you beat yourself with anxiety. They are problems of coping with everyday stressors, and also in facing certain fears. It's an emotional overreaction to everything, and then obsessive worrying about outcomes and the problems themselves. I'd say I've gotten to the point where the only thing I can consistently do is ruminate over my problems.

It's odd to me, not to mention suspicious, that meds have such wide-ranging effects on people. I've heard the gamut, whether on this site or elsewhere. Now, I've heard that good therapy (CBT or REBT) used in conjunction with medication which is supposed to clear thinking and allow for change, is a very effective strategy. I'm trying to coordinate that now.

[jefftele]

i am very resistant to the idea of meds i worry about their long term effects but i feel that depression without meds has altered my brain i know that there is a stage when i have to take meds otherwise i'd end up dead,so far my self preservation has assisted in this .when i feel slightly better i stop my meds i know myself after 20 years of depression when to go back on meds i'm sure drs and drug companies say i should stay on meds but i like to be in control of what i put in my body .i know several people who resist meds totally i say now that they were not that depressed or else they would have asked for meds.these people are involved in alternative lifestyles or a health fanatics who think that anything in straight society is bad ! i am slightly anti psychiatry and a bit rebellious i guess my reluctance with meds reflects this

[ickydog2006]

I was on medication (Wellbutrin) and then quit for a year. I got off because I felt like two completely different people on and off meds. I wanted to know who I was. This year OCD symptoms and anxiety were getting out of control again and I really needed help (doctor and T agreed) and really urged me to get on meds again... different type too (Zoloft). I was really scared and hesitant. I was worried it would interfere with my school work. I was worried it would change my personality. It took several times to find the right med for me last time and I was scared I couldn't afford the same thing to happen during college this year. I did give in after much prayer and thought and therapy. It was hard for about two weeks. The meds made me sick at first but I knew it was supposed to wear off. My teachers were really understanding and worked with me. I am now so happy I did go on meds. It is really helping and I did need something to help get my anxiety under control.

There's my story. Hope that helps some.

Good luck

[(JD)]

Thanks ickydog I agree that ppl need to try ALL of the new meds if they can, as one of them might work and it's well worth it.

Much success in college! I hope the toughest parts are over for you

I took meds for years. About 10 years. Then decided to see what it was like to not take them, as it had been so long. Also, even though I was at that time on Prozac, I still had days of being horribly depressed (yes I had many med adjustments and tried many meds). So, I was curious about what it would be like to not take it.

I stopped the Prozac in August 2006 and haven't been back on. I do use Xanax on occasion, as my anxiety increased a lot when I quit smoking 3/1/2005. I have returned to therapy seeking long lasting relief by identifying the cause not just treating the symptoms.

I think meds are fine. I think it is a personal decision. I don't think taking meds is a sign of weakness or a moral issue. We take something for a headache or a backache and this is the same thing: medication for relief of symptoms.

You might want to see what it's like for you. First hand knowledge will give you more of a perspective and you can always change your mind later after your experience; just be sure to give the meds adequate time to do their work.

[Randy33]

When you say resistant, I assume you mean reluctant? Or have you actually tried all the medications with no success?

Do you consider taking medication for diabetes or arthritis or any other disease or disorder a moral flaw? While depression and mental illness have a mental manifestation, they are mostly based on phyiscal malfunctions in the brain like any other physical illness. If your thyroid was low or high and making you ill, would you take thyroid medicine? If so, then why, if the chemcials in your brain are lacking or off balance, would taking medicine to try to correct that imbalance be any different.

There are great efforts being made to break such stigmas and misinformation about mental illness which it seem that you may have fallen victim to. You might find it helpful to do some reading of the many studies and advances made in this field. You may also find it helpful to go to NAMI's website. They are making great strides in breaking the stigma of mental illness and their Stigma Busters webiste might amaze you.

As far as ALL medications are concerned, with the exception of possibly a few, if any, they all have possible side effects. Everyone is different, what affects one person, does not affect another. Some have side effects that are not tolerable and they have to discontinue them and try others. Others can have little or no side effects and have tremendous success on the same medication.

No matter how many people you poll, you will never know how that medication will affect you or if it will work for you without trying it yourself. What is most important is that you have a proper evaluation and diagnosis and have a psychiatrist prescribing them and that you are closely monitored on these medications. You should read all about the medicine you are taking and be educated on the possible side effects and what to look for. You should also not start or stop a medication without first consulting your doctor. Stopping some medications can cause significant unpleasant withdrawal symptoms that may be avoided by following your doctors instructions for discontinuation.

[(JD)]

I took the "resistant" as meaning having tolerance problems or efficacy problems with the medications.

I know I'm allergic to common fillers, so I have to try Name Brands only. But still, my body must be wired backwards, for most medications react to me. Usually the class of med reacts the same way, no matter what the name of the drug. ADs cause paradoxical reactions, for example.

I, personally, have an 8.5 x 11 " paper TYPEWRITTEN of medications with dates of reactions FULL.