[cybermember]

My T suggested that I up my meds and now I'm not feeling much as far as emotions go. I feel flat. Neither up or down or in between. I just exist. Have your meds made you feel this way too?

[spiritual_emergency]

Yes, but how is your therapist feeling now that you've increased your medications -- are they feeling any better?

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[spiritual_emergency]

Please excuse my comments above. I've spent the evening (and too many other evenings) with people in crisis who have been psychologically battered and raped so that other people can feel better. I'm angry and that's not a good place to come from because it makes me biased.

The truth is, what matters is whether or not the medications are helping you. For some people they do, for some people they don't. If those around you might want medications for themselves... they're easily found in abundance.

As for anything else... what could I say?

~ Namaste

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[reddragon]

[quote=spiritual_emergency;957408]Please excuse my comments above. I've spent the evening (and too many other evenings) with people in crisis who have been psychologically battered and raped so that other people can feel better. I'm angry and that's not a good place to come from because it makes me biased.

The truth is, what matters is whether or not the medications are helping you. For some people they do, for some people they don't. If those around you might want medications for themselves... they're easily found in abundance.

As for anything else... what could I say?

~ Namaste

.[/quote
i agree. if the med help, stick with it. if it don't, then tell doc. and discontinue.

[deliquesce]

Originally Posted by cybermember

My T suggested that I up my meds and now I'm not feeling much as far as emotions go. I feel flat. Neither up or down or in between. I just exist. Have your meds made you feel this way too?

depends on which meds, hey?

my anti-depressants are don't affect my emotionality at all. anti-anxiety ones kill the anxiety, make me very very relaxed, perhaps a little sleepy but otherwise able to feel joy etc.

anti-psychotics make me flat. useless bloody things. i still have hallucinations whilst on them, so dont know what the point is. but i guess with the anti-psychotics i stop reacting to the hallucinations so much/stop caring that they are there.

i guess it really depends on your condition, as to which is worse - dealing with no emotions, or dealing with the symptoms of your illness.

e.g. - for myself, next time i have hallucinations, i'm just going to use anti-anxiety meds to help me deal with them. anti-psychotics just zone me ou too much.

[cybermember]

After 2 weeks of being on an increased dosage of my antipsychotic and not liking the flat feeling, I've decided to go back to the dosage I was previously on. On the increased dosage, things that interested me (such as reading) no longer hold my interest. Even sexual interest is blase', which has got me concerned. But on the other hand, I don't experience any irritability or want to go on spending sprees (my dx is schizoaffective; mixed bipolar type). As far as hallucinations and delusions are concerned, I still have them, but not so much on the increased dosage. On the lower dosage, I find that I'm a little irritable and need to make a little effort in refraining from spending, but I'm able to feel. On the lower dosage I feel real and in my skin - a sense of self. Also my sexual interest is not affected and I have an interest in reading and other daily activity's.

I realize that either dosage comes at a cost of give and take, which just plainly sucks 'cause I know I need to take an antipsychotic. Sigh.

[cybermember]

Perhaps with the increase in dosage I'm missing all my familiar hallucinations? I've always had music playing in my head from the moment I wake up until I go to bed, so perhaps with this void it's making me feel uncomfortable? And because of this void, today I noticed that I have to have music playing through headphones just to make me feel comfortable in doing daily stuff. On a lower dosage I still have music, but not as loud as not being on an antipsychotic.

I understand that hearing constant music is not the norm, so do you miss your chatter at times?

[deliquesce]

just wandering if a mood stabiliser might be beneficial to you? it could help curb the speding sprees and that sort of thing?

ive been through most mood stabilisers out there, and they just keep you at a baseline, but done kill everything like the antipsychotics do.

[cybermember]

Originally Posted by deliquesce

just wandering if a mood stabiliser might be beneficial to you? it could help curb the speding sprees and that sort of thing?

ive been through most mood stabilisers out there, and they just keep you at a baseline, but done kill everything like the antipsychotics do.

Currently, I'm just on an antidepressant and antipsychotic. I have never been on a mood stabilizer before, but am greatly interested in looking into so that I may talk to my pdoc about. Could you name a few mood stabilizers so that I can research and gain some knowledge and then have a somewhat informed opinion when I speak to my pdoc? It would be greatly appreciated.

PS I don't know if this would affect taking a mood stabilizer, but I also take a thyroid medication.

[deliquesce]

ok - the two main mood stabilizers are lithium and lamictal. i'm currently on lithium alone (no more antidepressants ) and it seems to be holding up well for me. lamictal when i was on it had a slight anti-depressant effect, but didnt do enough for me to keep me stable.

there are also a bunch of anti-convulsants that pdocs prescribe as mood stabilisers - epilim (sodium valproate?) is one that i was on for a long time, but it didnt have any anti-depressent effect, so i had to take it in addition to an AD.

its possible to be on an anti-depressant, & anti-psychotic whilst using a mood stabiliser, so there's no problem there. i really have no clue about how thyroid meds interact however.

[tarabug922]

Topamax is a great mood stabilizer. It has so many good qualities. Works well for migraines, helps with weight loss aids the anti depressants. I'm on it and love it.

Love and Hugs,
Tara

[kaytibear]

My meds have made me feel flat. Most esp Geodon did this to me. I would definitely talk to your doctor about a mood stabilizer. It might be worth a try. My voices are gone after a week in the hospital and some medication changes. Silence takes some getting used to . In many ways it is a relief but on the other hand like you I miss the noise somewhat.
While on Geodon I felt flat but my mood didn't sink so low. I still heard voices. Eventually I went off the Geodon because it wasn't doing what it was supposed to do and my voices grew louder and louder until I couldn't think at all.
It's hard sometimes with meds to weigh the bennifits and side effects. One day I hope they make pills with no side effects. Hang in there.

Kayti

[cybermember]

Thanks for all replies on mood stabilizers. They sound like they could be the answer, but I'm a bit concerned about the greater chance of getting diabetes on them. I don't have diabetes and don't think I'm predisposed to it as it doesn't run in my family, but am still concerned about it. Now I'm not sure if this is a logical fear because it could happen (but it doesn't run in my family) or it's a fear that's been manifested from my disorder (I tend to be paranoid).

[cybermember]

Originally Posted by kaytibear

My meds have made me feel flat. Most esp Geodon did this to me. I would definitely talk to your doctor about a mood stabilizer. It might be worth a try. My voices are gone after a week in the hospital and some medication changes. Silence takes some getting used to . In many ways it is a relief but on the other hand like you I miss the noise somewhat.
While on Geodon I felt flat but my mood didn't sink so low. I still heard voices. Eventually I went off the Geodon because it wasn't doing what it was supposed to do and my voices grew louder and louder until I couldn't think at all.
It's hard sometimes with meds to weigh the bennifits and side effects. One day I hope they make pills with no side effects. Hang in there.

Kayti

I'm currently on Geodon and I know that this is what's making me feel flat... at least on an increased dosage. Things are not as vibrant as I am used to. Even exterior music, which even though music is nonstop in my head, is just so eh. But I have to admit, the music in my head is almost inaudible on an increased dosage, which I guess is a good thing. Right now I'm feeling my brain is mush. But when I'm not on any antipsychotic, music starts to get louder and louder over time until I can't hear anything else. It can be deafening at those times, so I know I need to be on one.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am diligently weighing the benefits and side affects of the increased dosage.

[PainInMySawdust]

Yeah my meds make me feel flat. The alternative is nonsense for me though, I get very paranoid and eventually am non-functioning. So, the flatness kind of sucks, but it is better than the alternative. I don't know if that makes sense?

[cybermember]

Originally Posted by PainInMySawdust

Yeah my meds make me feel flat. The alternative is nonsense for me though, I get very paranoid and eventually am non-functioning. So, the flatness kind of sucks, but it is better than the alternative. I don't know if that makes sense?

Do you feel you adjusted to the flatness? I just don't like the non-connection feeling with my body, but I was only on the increased dosage for 2 weeks. I'm wondering if over time I would have settled into that feeling and it would have been a non-issue. The other issue I was having was that my attention span was suffering. It felt as if my brain turned to mush. I was forgetting to do things or wasn't mindful of what I was doing. I was basically zoning out a lot, and that's what bothered me the most. So, I also wonder if I did stay on the increased dosage would I have adjusted to that as well.