[sfashian1187]

Im 21 years old and I had a mental breakdown, in June 2008! I was diagnosed with Schizoaffective- Bipolar type. I've been off my meds completely since October, wich were seroquel and remeron (sleep aid) and visteral ( anxiety). The doctor told me in the hospital that if i quit taking my meds, then i will deff. get sick again and present symptons of schizophrenia and bipolar. WELL NEWSFLASH >>> so far its been like 4 months and I feel completely normal as if i had never gotten sick in the first place. And Im pretty new to all of this but I just need ADVICE from other people who have quit taken their meds and got sick, and if so how long did it take??????
Thanks, Shannon

[spiritual_emergency]

Hello Shannon,
There are a few different issues that I think need to be considered in regard to medication.

- The first is that medication affects different people differently. Some people find medication to be enormously helpful, even life-saving, whereas other people find it only impedes their recovery and the costs to their physical or mental health are too heavy to justify their use. There are no black-and-white answers, only individual applications.

- A second factor that should be considered is side-effects. All medications have them. For some people, the benefits outweigh the risks. For others, they do not.

- A third consideration is function. Ideally, any treatment should allow you to function well on a daily basis. Here again, there is a room for individual variance. For example, someone with three children or a 9 to 5 job might feel that optimum functioning is a priority for them. Individuals who don't have the same degree of external commitments may find they can comfortably set the "function" bar a little lower. For example, depending on class schedule, a student might be able to sleep in later if they had a difficult night whereas a manager who has to be at work at 7:30 a.m. might not have that option. The critical point is that we are all individuals and what works well for one person may not apply to another.

- A final factor to consider is that it may be beneficial to develop alternate coping skills if you are not taking medication. For example, if you previously used anti-anxiety medications, it may be helpful to gain some insights into how anxiety is produced (both physiologically and within your personal environment) and learn some techniques for coping with any anxious moments that might come up.

This topic had come up before here: Talking to your pdoc. There are some guidelines in that discussion on reducing or withdrawing from medications, issues you should discuss with your support team, and risks you should be aware of when it comes to reduction or withdrawal, such as medication-induced relapse. There are also some external links that can provide you with more information. I suggest you read through those and feel free to post more questions as necessary.

By the way, I've never taken meds but in hindsight, I think there was a period of time when I might have benefited from a short course of anti-depressants.

~ Namaste

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[spiritual_emergency]

The following resources might also be helpful to you (or others) Shannon; both Gianni Kali's blog Beyond Meds and the blog, Furious Seasons.

New Social Networking Group For People Who Want Beyond Meds

Gianni Kali, the author of the Beyond Meds blog, has begun hosting a social networking group online for people who want to discuss all manner of issues around psychotropic medications and alternatives to psychiatry. It has several dozen members already. I pass it along to those of you who may be interested.

Source: Furious Seasons

[reddragon]

sfashian1187
i am glad you are felling good. i go on 40 as of wensday, i tried a med once. it did not help. for me it was no help. some it does help. if you decide no meds like i did , you need to learn to controll and when know when to vent. gl and i pray for you.

[spiritual_emergency]

reddragon, have you ever tried any vitamin therapies? Some people have had good success with that.

.

[tarabug922]

Sfashian,

Just because you had a mental breakdown doesn't mean that you are indeed schizoaffective or bipolar. If I were you I would see a psychiatrist for a certain time and go from there, let them assess you from your history and not just a one time event.

I too had a mental breakdown and was labeled schizoaffective. I stopped taking my meds for a short time and had minor symptoms return after only a few weeks. Some people it takes months before a relapse. Some people probably never relapse.

It's up to you whether or not to take your meds. You know yourself the best. So just be honest with yourself.

Love and Hugs,
Tara

[reddragon]

yes, if med work, do it and tell your doctor about everything that happens when you take it. something you may think is small , like a headache or irregular bowl movements,anything, tell him/her about it.
and no se i havent.

[alyssa_angel]

It took 6 months after coming off of meds to get symptoms of schizophrenia back. Could be that I hit a stressful point and brokedown at 6 months, or that the meds took a long time to get out of my system, I don't know the exact science so I can't say for sure, but just as a warning it took me longer than 4 months. But that said if you cant function on the med then maybe a change of meds.

[kaytibear]

Hi,
It's a hard decision whether to take meds or not. I too had a breakdown but was given no meds. In hindsight they may have helped me then. Some people seem to only need meds during a breakdown where others do not and whether you relapse or not and when is a highly personal experience. If I were you I would talk to my doctor and tell him you are doing well without meds and maybe monitor myself and how I was doing closely. I hope you continue to do well without meds just remember they are there if you need them.

Kayti