[Bucky O'Hare]

I suppose I sort of know the answer to my own question (jn so much as I should really be taking them) but I'm curious if others have a similar experience and how they deal with it.

I'm on quite a cocktail of mood stabilizers, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication. I compare myself to how I was before I was put on this mix (before multiple hospital admissions) and I now feel tired all the time, lethargic and slow witted.

It frustrates me as for a lot of my life I've felt pretty self-reliant and very self aware (despite mental health issues) and it's got to stage where I feel the medication is holding me back.

On the flip side however, when I don't take them... my moods start to roller coaster... it's very frustrating. I have to be careful with this as I'm married now and my wife gets very annoyed with me when it becomes evident that I'm stubbornly refusing to take my meds (which when I was independant... I would let my bull headedness power me through).

Meh.... it's pretty annoying all in all. Curious how others view 'dependence' on meds.

[still_crazy]

it can be rough. with some drugs, some people find that things are worse after suddenly stopping them than they were before the drugs. this is why its recommended that if you're going to stop a medication or lower the dose, that you try to do so very, very slowly. I wanna say the going recommendation is a 10% dosage reduction per month, less if you start having major problems with the tapering process.

to me, personally, the major tranquilizers/"antipsychotics" and the benzodiazepines are the worst drugs, when it comes to problems with long term use, tapering, needing doses adjusted while taking them, etc. its not that way for everyone, but...for me, getting off benzodiazepines was a little taste of hell on earth, and it took a lot just to redcue my "antipsychotic" down to a more acceptable dose.

it seems that most psych drugs aren't all that pleasant. sad, but true: with most psych drugs, its a balancing act. even if the drug works well and you don't have horrible adverse effects, you still lose a certain something while taking them, and then getting off can be difficult, also.

i don't know your situation, of course, but...could you discuss reducing your cocktail a bit with your psychiatrist, or get a different psyhciatrist to take over and see about cutting down on doses, maybe dropping something?

[*Laurie*]

Having a chronic illness sucks.