Taking meds for side effects from other meds

I've been in a really rough place with my anxiety. I'm not sleeping. My anxiety is through the roof and my body is constantly shaking. I vomit at least once a day.

My therapist said I need to commit better to meds. I've been on many meds that provided no relief. Then, there were a few (anti-psychotics) that lessened the anxiety, but came with dangerous side effects like overly high blood sugar, massive weight gain, muscle tremors, muscle stiffness.

My pdoc seems at a loss with me and keeps saying that I can take one of the anti-psychotics and then 3 additional medications to combat the side effects: one to curb weight gain, one to regulate blood sugar and one to lessen muscle tension.

My problem is that I'm scared of being on so many meds and the side effects they may cause. Both my therapist and pdoc keep telling me that the side effects from the additional meds might not be as bad as the side effects from anti-psychotic. But I'm still scared about giving myself physical health problems.

I guess my question is: what are your reactions to being on medications to treat side effects of other medications? Is this something you have done or does it seem wise to do?

When I got extrapiramidal symptoms from amitriptyline (a TCA) my pdoc consulted with a pharmacist and prescribed akineton. Akineton is usually prescribed for extrapiramidal symptoms from antipsychotics, but it worked for mine, too.

I've also been prescribed lorazepam and oxazepam (not at the same time) when I was severely restless as a side-effect from antidepressants and antipsychotics.

In all those instances I had to eventually quit the drug that caused the side effects.

For a period of time, when I was having a very difficult episode, I had to take meds to treat the side-effects of an anti-psychotic. When the season changed and the episode stabilized I was able to stop taking the anti-psychotic and the extra meds.

i dunno. the tranquilizers/antipsychotics are a very serious class of drugs. the newer ones apparently still cause TD a good bit. The risk is higher in mood disorder, females, and older people. That's just --1-- serious adverse effect to consider.

I wish I could offer some real advice or...something. Can you take some other sort of psych drug for a while, instead of all these drugs combined? Seems like a lotta drugs and a lot of risks, honestly.

Even "alternative" mental health might be a better alternative. Supplements do help a lot of people. I do Orthomolecular with my psych drugs (including an "atypical" tranquilizer), and it helps tremendously. I used to get EPS and such from all the tranquilizers, so I just had to settle on Abilify because it caused fewer problems than the other ones. With the supplements, I have 0 EPS, 0 TD, and even the subjective, inner-experience of taking the tranquilizer is better. I don't get the dysphoria, cognitive impairment, dullness, apathy, etc., not nearly as much as before the Orthomolecular.

I do hope things get better for you.

What I've always believed is that the tremendous stress caused by mental illness is harder on our bodies than the meds are.

Did you manage to find something that worked with less side effects?

My therapist keeps trying to get me to accept that side effects will occur and I can take meds to curb them so I should stop searching for lower side-effect meds that may or may not work.

Are you doing orthomolecular with someone or did you figure it out yourself?

I want to try non-prescription meds, as well, but no one I've asked knows an alternative medicine practitioner. My therapist and pdoc have been unsupportive of the idea, saying I need to settle prescription meds first before trying an adjunct. But I really do want to try! Any info/advice of yours would be great!

I've yet to find anything that works for the depression.

hi, lola.

I put together an Orthomolecular routine myself. I just read about it and thought I'd try. That was about 7 years ago now. I'm doing much, much better now, at all levels.

Even a lot of Orthomolecular sites will tell you to talk to an expert, blah blah blah. Thing is, if you get a book on it, read some websites, etc., you can put it together fairly quickly and easily.

I'm talking about doing Orthomolecular for psychiatric stuff, of course. If you're looking into Orthomolecular for cancer, heart disease, etc., you'd probably be better off looking for a clinic that's offering those sorts of treatments (vitamin C injections, for instance).

www.doctoryourself.com

That's one excellent site. Also google "Abram Hoffer" . He was a Canadian psychiatrist who put his patients on vitamin mixes (this was originally called "Mega-Vitamin Therapy" and then renamed "Orthomolecular" in the late 60s, once Linus Pauling got involved...).

Its pretty straightforward. Lots of b-complex (I take 3 b-100 capsules daily. They're time-release. 2 in the AM, 1 in the PM), lots of vitamin C (I take 20 grams/daily. They're time-release, 1 gram tablets. 10 AM, 10 PM), lots of some form of B3 (that's critical...I use niacinamide. I take 3 grams in time release form AM, and 3 grams again PM).

You'll probably also want to take lots of vitamin E. I take natural form w/ mixed tocopherols. I take one 1,000 IU capsule with a high fat meal per day.

Other than that....I've found that I can add stuff to the core protocol. I take 10,000 micrograms biotin per day, to add to the b-complex (they skimp on biotin) and help my hair. I also take 12mgs/astaxanthin (I use Nutrex brand, but there's plenty of options out there...take it with a high fat meal...) daily for additional antioxidant support. Seems to help.

I hope this helps. If you get over to amazon or wherever you like to get books online, there should be some books available on Orthomolecular, especially Orthomolecular psychiatry. Personally, I buy my supplements online (better prices than I can get locally, no pretentious sales people, and free shipping...).

Good luck!

The question I ask is if the medication improves the quality of your life enough to accept the side effects. I realized I am fighting for my life.

I have almost always been on at least one medication to combat side effects. I think it comes down to what side effects you are actually experiencing and how disabling are they. For instance, weight gain. It varies. Some people start out small and gain a little, but their overall health isn't compromised. Others need to lose weight for their overall health before taking meds, so any gain is only making things worse. Some side effects are simply dangerous.

Finally, if not taking meds is going to leave me dead or institutionalized, I ask is the sacrifice worth it? So far seeing my kids grow up has been worth knowing the meds are not extending my overall health.

This is a great question to really sit and think about. Most avoid the topic altogether.

There are herbal medicines for anxiety that you could try instead of going straight to psych meds.

I buy my daughter something called Calmettes during exams, as she suffers greatly during examination times.

So far so good, no nausea, upchucking, or outright panic.

Last exam, she didn't even need any, so maybe she's outgrowing her performance anxiety...