[MooseintheReeds]

So I ran out of funds and energy to get my medications refilled so I just quit cold-turkey about ten days ago.

Since I've been on some sort of antidepressant for almost seven years I'm surprised I haven't turned into a mess. Also, almost no side effects thus far besides a few headaches.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

[Sunflower123]

I think that's great. Best wishes for continued success.

[MickeyCheeky]

Perhaps the side effects will show after a few more days..

[WildcatVet]

Watch out for rebound depression symptoms.

[Guiness187055]

I have a funny feeling the side effects are on their way. I hope I am wrong though. Congrats

[*Laurie*]

The thing is, you might do just fine...until something happens to trigger the symptoms for which you were on medication. Then the ***** hits the fan. I'm referring to your decision to go off meds, especially cold turkey.

Hopefully, you'll be fine, though. Good luck.

When I stopped 4 medications cold turkey a while back, I was fine until about 4 months in when the symptoms started coming back. I ended up having a short hospital stay while they re-introduced the anti-depressant. I learned my lesson from that experience, and will never stop meds cold turkey again.

I hope this works out better for you but keep in mind that it can take months to feel the full effects of not taking your medication.

[vishva8kumara]

Prozac naturally tapers off through a period of two weeks (even after you stop taking). What I did was to save some to go for a slower taper off if I started getting unbearable withdrawal symptoms. Hope you get off of meds well.

With Cymbalta last time, my withdrawal symptoms hit me after a whole week, and it hit really hard, like a train out of nowhere and knocked m-e d.o.w.n. I battled with withdrawal for over 4 months.

Meds aren't all they are cracked up to be. I stopped mine a few years back and I have never been happier. I cut off a couple cold turkey and I was having withdrawals for about a week or two but afterwards, I gradually started feeling better.

Big pharma just wants people to be drugged up on pills so they can milk us for money. That's why I am opposed to taking any type of medication for anything that isn't a life threatening condition. Even if you have to take meds, nobody should need more than 2-3.

My potentially controversial advice: wait it out for awhile. Don't take them again unless you absolutely have to. Some people actually need meds to function but most people are either overly medicated or are given meds to treat an issue that could be treated another way. Medication should be used as a last resort and not treated as a band aid for peoples health issues like how they are used today.

[still_crazy]

I'm not one to dish out advice, so...just be good to yourself, and keep tabs on how you're handling your life. no shame in taking something if you need it. if you end up not needing anything...that's --wonderful-- , of course.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by DarknessIsMyFriend

......
Big pharma just wants people to be drugged up on pills so they can milk us for money. That's why I am opposed to taking any type of medication for anything that isn't a life threatening condition. Even if you have to take meds, nobody should need more than 2-3....

Sadly, I have seen many times when mental illness turned out to be a life-threatening condition. I don't know about you, but I've lost a number of loved ones and known people to suicides.

AND.

Please don't stigmatize people who are taking more than "2-3" meds. You do not know each individual's history or situation. Sometimes, some people need more than 2-3 medications.

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

Sadly, I have seen many times when mental illness turned out to be a life-threatening condition. I don't know about you, but I've lost a number of loved ones and known people to suicides.

AND.

Please don't stigmatize people who are taking more than "2-3" meds. You do not know each individual's history or situation. Sometimes, some people need more than 2-3 medications.

I'm not stigmatizing people who take a lot of meds but the doctors who prescribe them and the companies that manufacture them.

I see no other reason to put most people on several different medications (with the exception of a person who has a lot of various health issues) than to milk the patient for money. Corporate greed extends to medicine unfortunately.

[Ray_808]

Originally Posted by MooseintheReeds

So I ran out of funds and energy to get my medications refilled so I just quit cold-turkey about ten days ago.

Since I've been on some sort of antidepressant for almost seven years I'm surprised I haven't turned into a mess. Also, almost no side effects thus far besides a few headaches.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

Years ago I ran out of medicine and stopped taking it. 2 weeks later I started feeling depressed more than normal and it took me a while to realize it was the lack of medicine, believe it or not. Another time I stopped taking Prozac and things got worse but that doesn't mean it will happen to you. The lamotrigine you are taking seems like a low dose so maybe it won't be a huge change.

[with or without you]

Be hyper vigilant about your mental health down the road. I don’t want to scare you, but I’m just speaking from personal experience. 5 years ago, I stopped taking meds without a doctor’s advice. 3 months *after* I tapered off and took the very last dose, I got slammed by a horrific depressive episode, the likes of which I had never seen before. There were no events that triggered this breakdown (death, breakup, work stress, job loss, financial trouble, physical illness, a disappointment, or what have you). I was pulled out of work for the better part of 2 weeks and then could only work half days for the next three months on partial disability.

People can rail about big pharma all they want and how AD’s do more harm than good (which has happened to me with some subsequent medication) but for me they *were* working before I went off and I was unaware of it. I’ve never been the same since that decision I made.

For the record, it was Paxil, and I took myself off of it because I was pushing 30 and thought I had “grown out” of my problems, my weight was ballooning, and I was always hungry.

Good luck.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by DarknessIsMyFriend

I'm not stigmatizing people who take a lot of meds but the doctors who prescribe them and the companies that manufacture them.

I see no other reason to put most people on several different medications (with the exception of a person who has a lot of various health issues) than to milk the patient for money. Corporate greed extends to medicine unfortunately.

So, when you rail against big pharma you are also shaming the patients who depend upon meds for quality of life.

[~Christina]

The half life of many psych meds are quite long.

Do keep in mind your brain took time to adjust to the meds and it will take time for your brain to go back to functioning without the meds.

I quit lithium years ago I literally didn't feel my brain was okay without for almost 3 months, was pretty damn hellish.

I wish you luck, be on the look out for issues.

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

So, when you rail against big pharma you are also shaming the patients who depend upon meds for quality of life.

If people perceive my claims as me shaming them, than it's not my fault.

I spread knowledge and ideas. How people utilize my knowledge and ideas is entirely up to them.

Unfortunately, the truth is often painful, therefore, I can't control how people feel about it.

[still_crazy]

i think there's a tendency to over-medicate people. I think its particularly bad in psychiatry, but...I read that doctors in the US push pills more than their peers in many other nations. I don't know what that's about, honestly.

I'm blessed to be down to just a couple. I even got my tranquilizer dosage reduced a bit, and I'm actually doing better on a lower dose (more energy, better concentration, better mood, overall).

I've found that, in the world of mental health, a lot goes into "treatment" besides a person's "symptoms." One's social class, gender, age, the rapport (or lack thereof) w/ the psychiatrist...on and on it goes.

When I was flat broke and low status, my "treatment" was punitive and pill-based. now, I'm on disability, but my parents are also taking care of me. Not ideal, but...I'm on disability as much because of stigma as the underlying "illness," so...yeah.

Anyway, my parents are now "well-to-do"; not rich, not really middle class, at least for this area. So...surprise, surprise; the psychiatrist chats with me, the counselor takes an interest in my psychosocial stuff, I'm on clean(er), more modern psych drugs, and I have input into my treatment. I'm not --special-- ...clearly, this is the sort of "treatment" everyone needs in order to genuinely recover, but...because of social factors and such working in my favor (for once...), I'm actually benefiting from what Mental Health, Inc. has to offer.

((off soap box now))

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by DarknessIsMyFriend

If people perceive my claims as me shaming them, than it's not my fault.

I spread knowledge and ideas. How people utilize my knowledge and ideas is entirely up to them.

Unfortunately, the truth is often painful, therefore, I can't control how people feel about it.

The thing is, it's not "THE truth", it's your truth.

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

The thing is, it's not "THE truth", it's your truth.

This isn't "my" truth as you so eloquently put it, but the truth of millions of people who are beginning to wake up and see that they are being controlled and manipulated by a system that only cares about profit.

In the meantime, I will leave this bit of information for anybody with basic critical thinking skills to think about: What is more probable? That this many people with MI need to be on 5-8 different medications or that there is something fishy going on with the pharmaceutical companies who make them? The companies that manufacture these medications are for profit and as such, don't hold our interests at heart; especially since there is nobody to keep them honest (don't even try to say that the FDA keeps these companies in check because the FDA is just as much motivated by greed as the companies that manufacture these "medicines").

I stand firmly with my stance on medication. I believe that medication should ONLY be used as a last resort and not as the band aid that the mental health system uses it as in America. I think that other treatments like proper diet, supplements, exercise, yoga, meditation, therapy, ETC should be tried first. Only when every other option is tried and the person is still suffering from their symptoms should medication be incorporated into their treatment plan.

I can dig up some sources as soon as I'm able. Right now, I have a test to study for and a research paper to write so these things take priority. Still though, I will make time to contribute to this topic further and hopefully enlighten some people in the process.

To the OP, best of luck to you. I hope it works out.

[Shazerac]

Originally Posted by DarknessIsMyFriend

If people perceive my claims as me shaming them, than it's not my fault.

I spread knowledge and ideas. How people utilize my knowledge and ideas is entirely up to them.

Unfortunately, the truth is often painful, therefore, I can't control how people feel about it.

Keep in mind that your "truth" is subjective. It's your opinion, not THE truth. You are spreading what YOU perceive as knowledge and truth. It's not helpful for those who need multiple meds to function and have quality of life. You are letting your anger with big pharma to color your feelings

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by Shazerac

Keep in mind that your "truth" is subjective. It's your opinion, not THE truth. You are spreading what YOU perceive as knowledge and truth. It's not helpful for those who need multiple meds to function and have quality of life. You are letting your anger with big pharma to color your feelings

Well put, Shazerac.

It's hard enough to have to take meds and cope with the side-effects, always thinking 'Maybe I should stop taking these things'- and knowing full well how messed up my life would be if I did stop taking meds, without coming onto PC and seeing this post and many other posts about how bad meds are. Members shaming and stigmatizing other members for being on medication. And the saddest part of it is, oftentimes the very people who speak out against meds are the people who might benefit most from taking them....

Darkness, doctors take the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. Do you really think psychiatrist get bonuses from drug companies to push their pills? I know of pdocs who aren't minimalists when it comes to a med plan but what your are talking about can be considered a paranoid delusion. Pharma may buy commercials but they do not buy doctors.

Originally Posted by Day Tripper

Darkness, doctors take the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. Do you really think psychiatrist get bonuses from drug companies to push their pills? I know of pdocs who aren't minimalists when it comes to a med plan but what your are talking about can be considered a paranoid delusion. Pharma may buy commercials but they do not buy doctors.

I'm not paranoid; I am a businessman and I know how other businessmen think.

I will admit, I am a bit biased towards medication because I am a Muchasen by Proxy survivor where my mother would lie to the doctors about my so called "issues" to garner sympathy and these doctors would push to have me on 8-10 different medications that I didn't need.

With that being said, however, these doctors that drugged me didn't care about any oath or anything. They were happy to drug me with their poison because each medication that I was on cost anywhere between $200-600 for a 30 day supply. I am not the only person that I know that has had to deal with this; I have had 3 friends in my lifetime that has had to deal with the same B.S and they finally admitted that they are fed up with the mental health system. What's more is that there are a lot of people who think like me.

To give you an example, notice how it's become trendy by many young people to try more holistic remedies and to value diets that keep GMOs and processed foods to a minimum? Some of the people that I've observed who are into "alternative" medicine as it is commonly called are mentally ill people who are tired of the system. Of course, such a movement has it's downsides (e.g anti vaccine people) but the fact that there are so many people who are tired of the medical system should tell you that something is terribly wrong.