[InfiniteSadness]

I keep reading on the web about people against meds and how it messed their life up. and it scares me a lot. I can't just stop my meds or a med on my own, wouldn't be best thing to do.

There are so many medications that can cause dependence (once we start them, it is not easy to stop) which is a scary thing. On top of this, many of us have anxiety--so when we hear negative messages about what we are taking--we can focus solely on the danger and not the benefits. Of course, the drugs we take can have negative effects--it seems like people do not all react the same to their drugs. Right now, my doctor is lowering my antidepressant dose but she is carefully monitoring me while she does this. It turns out that my antidepressant was causing a lot of my insomnia. However, when I was first prescribed it--I was suicidal. At the time, the suicide risk was a greater concern than the negative effects of the drug.

This is why these drugs are only available by prescription. They have their place and some people must take them to function. Before they had their medications, things were worse for them than when they started taking them. So, keep an open mind while being informed and listen to your body. I think whenever you can manage your life without medications--that is the best way to go but some of us find that we really need them. I take mine, in part, so that I can be a better wife and mother--I have made some scary missteps without them. I don't want to put my family through anymore drama so I have decided it is worth it to take them.....

[Shazerac]

The internet is a great place to find hysterical rants about everything under the sun. A lot of it is just recycled info from another source to create content for that website. Maybe Meds did actually ruin someone’s, life but who knows how their life would have gone without Meds. There is really no way of knowing.

people who have no problem with other Meds like for diabetes or heart problems seem to view psych Meds as a horrible thing. I think it’s part stigma and part denial that mental illness is “real”.

Each person is different. I compare the me I was without my meds and the me I am now with the help of Meds. I much prefer the way I feel now.

[Mini2018]

Making peace with your meds can be hard. Some see them as a constant physical reminder of who they are compared to who they used to be. A bit like getting a huge ugly scar on your face, then seeing it every morning when you brush your hair.

I gave my meds names, talk to them. "Come on Mary, in you go, I need to be stable today" etc.

It helps.

[Deejay14]

I have made peace with my meds long ago. Would not be here writing this today if I didn't. My psychiatrist and I are completely in sync. My meds are truly a collaborative effort. He also does not do the "I am the doctor, so I know best" thing.

[surfzulu]

Pscyh meds can react very differently to different people. I have some horrible past experiences due to the meds I was given. An alternative natural Bi-polar depression relief root is called Maca. Has helped my depression more than any prescription med ever given. But everyone reacts differently so have your family keep track of your behaviors. And regulate the dose if you are too anxietal dial it back. Too sad depressed take more. A tsp of powder is suggested to start per day. Piping Rock.com has it cheap good quality. Has been used for 2000 years in the Andes for Libido and emotional menopause issues.

[-jimi-]

I feel like my meds are a part of me. As long as you are on meds that help and are right for you and side effects are not bothersome, I think you should be "happy". Quite a few people struggle for a long time to find the right meds. I wouldn't mess with what works, and I have nothing but gratitude when it comes to meds that actually help.

I am very aware of the dangers of medication but I made my deal. For as long my meds actually help me I am more than willing to risk certain things. For instance, I am a benzo user, and in my particular case I gladly sold a few IQ points to totally raise the quality of my life. I'm still smart, just maybe not over the top clever. Which is fine because with severe anxiety I could just use that smart sometimes anyway, most of the time not. With my SSRI it still helps after over a decade (keeping the dosage low helped that for me since my body chemistry is to have SSRIs poop out), and I have no doubts about keeping on it, because even if I have a deeply rooted aversion against how SSRIs work, I had to just accept that this is my life now. I don't feel torn even if I hold different opinions about that class of meds at the same time. I just made peace about being on the stuff, I have split opinions about many things and I just accept that it is fine not to think just one thing about something.

The concern I have is not with being on meds, it is more how some doctors are swayed into prescribing what I feel is the wrong stuff, like in my country psychiatry relies very deeply on a Thorazine like med that they seem to give to everyone, I feel that it is bad psychiatry.

I know people who I feel should be on meds, that are actually almost impossible to mix with unmedicated, or they suffered for such long time, still they are anti med. I feel that people who basically have no life and still want to do things off meds are stubborn and annoying. Like what they have to lose now?

[still_crazy]

meds, meds, meds. I don't know, honestly.

I became anti-meds after a horrible hospitalization. It was a private, for profit facility. They "taught me a lesson" alright. Hell on earth.

I'm now...selective, about my treatment providers and the psych drugs. I also take tons of supplements (Orthomolecular).

There's a lot of abuse going on in psychiatry. Always has been, always will be, especially when you come in low status and/or stigmatized. In my own life, I've seen that having my now higher status, more "comfortable" parents solidly behind me has made a world of difference in how I'm treated. They don't "roll out the red carpet" or anything, but...I get some compassion, some much needed -space-, etc.

I don't have a solid, real answer. Maybe one day the world will move past psychiatry, on to a better way of dealing with human beings with problems.

[InfiniteSadness]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

meds, meds, meds. I don't know, honestly.

I became anti-meds after a horrible hospitalization. It was a private, for profit facility. They "taught me a lesson" alright. Hell on earth.

I'm now...selective, about my treatment providers and the psych drugs. I also take tons of supplements (Orthomolecular).

There's a lot of abuse going on in psychiatry. Always has been, always will be, especially when you come in low status and/or stigmatized. In my own life, I've seen that having my now higher status, more "comfortable" parents solidly behind me has made a world of difference in how I'm treated. They don't "roll out the red carpet" or anything, but...I get some compassion, some much needed -space-, etc.

I don't have a solid, real answer. Maybe one day the world will move past psychiatry, on to a better way of dealing with human beings with problems.

yeah but if the chemical imbalance theory is true, it's as bad as a physical problem. I wish one day to be med free but I don't see it now.
Not with all my symptoms. there has to be something wrong with my brain chemistry..

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by Shazerac

.......
people who have no problem with other Meds like for diabetes or heart problems seem to view psych Meds as a horrible thing. I think it’s part stigma and part denial that mental illness is “real”.
.......

^^^^^ Damn straight! The bias against psych meds is stigma. Period. And it's fear-based (which stigma is).

"You're taking medication, does that mean I'm crazy and might need medication, too? 'Cause deep inside I think I might be crazy......"

And then you get people like my husband, who has a dread terror of All Things Medical and justifies never going to the doctor by blaming "big pharma" for creating diseases to make money from (especially mental illness). Ignorance reigns supreme, folks.

[Mountaindewed]

I’m against meds that cause weight gain. But just for me and that’s just because of my own personal experiences.

The only one med I had an actual reaction to was Klonpin.

[marvin_pa]

Whilst fear & ignorance are probably behind some of the anti med thinking, the thing is that with a lot of ADs, the boffins still have only a rudimentary understanding of why the meds work for some & not others. Quite a few meds were originally designed to treat other things & their effacy for use with MI was a secondary, or accidental consideration.

It is also a little disconcerting when you think that you're taking something that essentially alters the way your mind works. However, in my case, the way it was working became untenable, so the meds were preferable.

[InfiniteSadness]

can you explain more?
how it was working before med.

[marvin_pa]

Originally Posted by InfiniteSadness

can you explain more?
how it was working before med.

If you're asking me - a succession of events/stressors eventually overwhelmed a lifetime's worth of coping strategies & I simply broke. At that point my mind had become incapable of doing anything terrifically useful, beyond sort of existing. I credit the meds with creating a sufficiently calm space that I could begin to move forward.

Years ago I was put on the psychotropic medication gauntlet, trying this one or that one to gauge whether they would be helpful.

After one of the medications turned me from mild-mannered to so violently psychotic that I had to be locked in a room away from others, I swore I wouldn't touch any of them again, and I haven't.

I never want to experience that kind of thing again.

I'm not anti-medication in that I say nobody should be on them, but I won't revisit them for myself.

[Shazerac]

If it wasn’t for big pharma I’d be dead.

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by marvin_pa

If you're asking me - a succession of events/stressors eventually overwhelmed a lifetime's worth of coping strategies & I simply broke. At that point my mind had become incapable of doing anything terrifically useful, beyond sort of existing. I credit the meds with creating a sufficiently calm space that I could begin to move forward.

I’m not “against meds” - my body simply won’t tolerate them. I wish I could find that calm space

(Sorry to the op, I’m not in a calm space today )

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by Shazerac

If it wasn’t for big pharma I’d be dead.

I often hear this or similar.. is fuzzy bear actually alive? Sometimes I wonder if I’m a ghost,

So no, I’m not “against meds” - I wish I had that option

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by InfiniteSadness

I keep reading on the web about people against meds and how it messed their life up. and it scares me a lot. I can't just stop my meds or a med on my own, wouldn't be best thing to do.

I did actually stop my meds.. long story. When I tried to start meds again.. long story, I don’t want to discourage you, they did actually help me for quite some time. And I’m “atypical” (aka “weird”)

[marvin_pa]

Originally Posted by Fuzzybear

I often hear this or similar.. is fuzzy bear actually alive? Sometimes I wonder if I’m a ghost,

So no, I’m not “against meds” - I wish I had that option

[NOS-NOS]

I will NEVER be off of meds, that is for certain. That said, you fix one thing and break another. So even though my meds keep me sane and functioning, there are some things that I could do without and I have to learn to live with or mitigate somehow. My life off of meds though would be unmanageable.

[Americano]

Because it’s harmful chemicals. Your brain and mind become dependent. It can cause your behavior to change in ways that are risky and deadly, or make you a zombie.

That being said I still take meds, and doubt I will ever be able to quit. Perhaps I need them however I can’t say they have made my life better for sure. Tread carefully and make a journal of how you feel every day and look to lifestyle and diet changes, therapy, meditation, etc before going on meds.

[Alex is not my name]

I've been on meds so long now, and on so many different ones, but I feel like they just don't really work. I still take them though, and I continue to see my pilldoc. I have quit Cymbalta twice cold turkey, which wasn't fun, and not advised, but that's the only med I've ever done that with. I have given up fighting the meds, even though I doubt their efficacy. I just do what my therapist and psychiatrist say to do. Oh....and I recently just had a genetic biomarker test done to see what classes of meds are compatible with my body. Haven't got the results yet. After 25 years of taking meds, I'm surprised this is the first time I've ever had this done, but maybe it will shed some light on things.

[marvin_pa]

Originally Posted by Alex is not my name

I've been on meds so long now, and on so many different ones, but I feel like they just don't really work. I still take them though, and I continue to see my pilldoc. I have quit Cymbalta twice cold turkey, which wasn't fun, and not advised, but that's the only med I've ever done that with. I have given up fighting the meds, even though I doubt their efficacy. I just do what my therapist and psychiatrist say to do. Oh....and I recently just had a genetic biomarker test done to see what classes of meds are compatible with my body. Haven't got the results yet. After 25 years of taking meds, I'm surprised this is the first time I've ever had this done, but maybe it will shed some light on things.

Interesting - I didn't know that they could check your med compatibility via genetic markers. Do you know if it was an expensive test? Please let us know how it goes with respect to determining a new choice of meds.

[maybeblue]

A lot of people have black and white thinking. It's easier to say "all meds are bad" than to figure out what does and does not work for a particular person. On the other hand some doctors want to medicate everything...because that's what they know how to do.

It doesn't really matter to me what other people think. I'll take medication that I think is helpful and I won't take ones that I think are harmful to me.