Quitting the pillbox

I'm trying something new. Instead of working with my doc to add more medication to control my bipolar disorder, I'm working with him to wean myself off. Right now I'm down to about half of the medication I used to take. My main question is: Does anyone have any advice for life after medication? Right now I'm in a totally new situation, too. I just started college, and I'm living away from home. Again, any advice?

Hi there,
The only advice (from experience) is with stress, such as college, etc. you can risk triggering things while cutting back on meds. I am fortunate to only have to take Lamictal for the Bipolar, and only 200 mgs per day, I too was working on gradually getting off of them but things at the present time in my life caused me to decide on waiting to cut back. So do not try too much too soon is my personal advice, the time will come when you will feel when the definate time is, but also realize if meds can give you stabilization, and a better quality of life than when not on meds for Bipolar, there is NO big sin to take them.
Over time I learned to accept the fact they may be life long, I said to myself, "that is no big deal, I rather to take them than the nasty alternative some of us have to face.
Whatever you and you pdoc do, I sincerely wish you luck with this, I know it is a hard thing to deal with.

Take care,
DE

Yes, de, that was my thinking too... if your life was steady and routine blue, then perhaps trying to live with the meds would be ok to try. That you are starting college too? I don't think it is a good idea at this time... maybe delay it a bit?

Welcome to the forums! Come back and post often!

I am wondering what is the longest someone has been taking antidepressants? I have had anxiety on and off, mostly on, for 38 years. I have had depression on and off, for 35 years. I used to just go to a psych doc and a therapist during specific emergencies. But, since 1994, I've been continually seeing a psych doc and a therapist. I have been on different anti-depressants constantly since 1994. Several were just bombs, with bad side effects for me like Serzone. But, now I take zoloft 200 mgs for a few years, then switched over to Paxil, now Paxil plus Wellbutrin XL for a few years. I am now again in a severe depression feeling awful. I am also in the process of changing pdocs. I've been with this guy for 9 years, and lately he's been making mistakes, not exactly listening to me like I've tried to get him to.

I was considering quitting all meds except the 2 mg daily xanax I've been taking on and off (PRN) for 10 years. I sincerely don't think I can live without a benzo because my anxiety does at times get way out of control with panic attacks, plus my most dangerous depressions are the agitated ones like I am having now.

I've read that there have been no longterm studies on taking SSRI's for years and years.

My questions are: how long have you been taking anti-depressants (all kinds)? Have you been successful in taking care of your major depression without anti-depressants but with continuing psychotherapy?

Thanks,

I've been on medication since my freshman year of high school, when they started me out with Prozac, so I've been tweaking my medications for the past four years. It turned out that the only thing that Prozac did to me was make me not want to eat, so I lost a bunch of weight, much to the distress of my friends and family, and I got off the Prozac. My psychiatrist ended up prescribing me different medications, ones that I don't even remember now, and none of them worked. I went without medicine for a little bit, since my family and I moved soon after my freshman year ended, and I had to find a new pdoc. We found one, and he diagnosed me with bipolar disorder instead of depression like before. So he took the approach of mood stabilizers instead of anti-depressants. After flirting with Lamictal, Depakote, Topamax, Serequel, Klonopin, and countless others for a year and a half, we moved again and I started fresh with a new doctor.
By this time I figured I had a pretty good cocktail going, when in all truth I didn't, I just wanted to stop switching medicines all the time, since it was always pretty much every few weeks I needed to change it (and we all know how bad the first few weeks of a new med can be!). Then I tried several other medications. By this time I was fine-tuning the medicines I took so everything that got changed was pretty much upping the dosage, lowering the dosage, or adding on another symptom-specific medication. I ended up with Lamictal, Wellbutrin, Serequel, Topomax, and Buspar. I've been on that mixture for a while now, until lately when I cut my morning medicine, and now I take less Lamictal, less Buspar, and no Wellbutrin. That's been the case for the past two months or so, and so far I'm doing really well. I keep busy and confide in my family and my room mate. I'm not going to make any changes for a while now, since I'm doing well now.
But I don't know if this was any help, or if it even answered your question. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Power to you!!! I totally support people who after a time of stability want to try life without all those meds. My experience has been that shrinks (not all!!) like to to prescribe increasingly more medications, which kind of makes sense if you see it from their side: with hoards of patients and long hours it is just much easier to keep adding med after med instead of trying to problem-solve and just simply find something that works. I was on twelve different meds for a looooong time. Then, I by chance and with the help of a wonderful, knowledgeble and compassionate psychiatrist was able to fing a med that just suited my body right. Now I'm on three meds. I know that that isn't like being entirely off meds, but a 75 % reduction is a good start in my view. It is also great to have energy again and be able to sleep on my own accord at night without waking up totally hungover. Much better quality of life. So I believe that working to live either entirely without meds or with as little as possible is a really healthy and empowering thing. All the best of luck!

Bluemoonfairie - In my years of study and clinical experience I have found that all people who are unfortunate enough to be afflicted with bipolar disorder must take a mood stabilizer or combination of mood stabilizers to prevent recurrences of manic &/or depressive episodes. Studies have shown that 98% people who have had at least one manic will have another. The main problem with subsequent manic episode is the occurence of a phenomenon known as the "kindling effect".

Each manic (or depressive) episode that someone with bipolar disorder experiences "kindles" the next episode. That is, the time interval between each episode becomes shorter, and each subsequent episode lasts longer and is more intense than previous episodes. We use mood stabilizers to prevent kindling by (hopefully) lengthening the time period between subsequent episodes.

Unfortunately, even if someone finds the best combination of medications for their particular situation, the likelihood of eventually experiencing another episode within their lifetime is close to 100%. We just cannot predict when that episode will occur. The best we can do is try to keep the time interval between episodes as long as possible.

The way to do this is to try figure out what events or situations have triggered episodes in the past. This is definitely not easy, as some episodes do happen for no apparent reason at all. By consciously being aware of what types of stressors have seemed to precipitate past episodes (eg. certain types of social situations; recreational substance usage; certain emotional states, etc.) one can minimize the amount of medication needed to control kindling, but unfortunately almost all people afflicted with bipolar disorder do need to take some sort of mood stabilizing medication for the rest of their life. This is a well documented fact; and coming to terms with this fact is the greatest accomplishment and biggest step one will ever make in the battle against this incidious (and cruely unfair) disorder.

I'm sorry if I seem blunt and cold, but that is the reality of this disorder. I am not one who believes in the adage of "better living through chemistry", but bipolar disorder is a disease that requires one to take medication for life, very much the same way that someone with diabetes needs to.

As I have said, medication is just one component in the assault on this affliction; as important is the lifestyle on has to adopt. The choices that need to be made aren't easy, but they are necessary.

Sincerely - Cam

i think quitting the meds sounds like a great idea! im not a doctor but it seems like once all the medication is out of your body, you can evaluate how you feel without it so you can address those symptoms only. i just think that maybe as you grew or matured, your brain did too, and the meds that worked before may not be needed now. how would you know until you stop them.