Do you loathe taking psychiatric medication?

[Droopy]

Why or why not?

I take my meds religiously. They are like a sacrament to me. Without them I'd either be dead or in an asylum for the criminally insane. They have literally saved my life. There is nothing that can be done for me when I am experiencing my symptoms beyond drug therapy. No amount of talk therapy will reach me no matter how good the therapist.

When I was in the hospital the last time I was talking to the doctor one day. The drugs that he had been giving me were starting to take hold and I was explaining my symptoms to him now that I had started to get a hold on reality. I told him that part of what was happening to me was that I thought that other people could see some greater reality that I could not see. It was something that I thought of as supernatural or heavenly. Only I could not see what other people were seeing. I was the only one. It led me to believe that I was some unevolved sub-human who should be swinging in the trees instead of walking amongst the enlightened. I thought most people were on some other plane than I was and that they had supernatural abilities like telepathy. When I finished I asked the doctor if there really was some reality out there that I wasn't aware of. He smiled and said, "Just take your medication. It will clear up."

And clear up it did. There really was a reality that I was not seeing, but it didn't turn out to be heavenly or supernatural. Then again, when you are in the throes of an illness like schizoaffective disorder what is real may actually be heavenly. I know I felt that way for about the first month after I got out of the hospital. My mind was free from all the torment. Just being able to function as a sane person was paradise.

[DemExpat]

1. I personally will do all that I can to avoid them, but they are a godsend

to some. I am happy for you that you have received help with these means!

Psychosis, schizophrenia, suicidal depression - these are mental conditons that I feel need medication for people to survive and to function.

Other states I would rather try all that I can to re-gain balance without meds.
I tried it with drugs for years to no avail, and have booked very good progress learning to live without. It has empowered me to deal with the agony and angst with my strength, my will to change my thoughts=change my chemistry.....
This takes time.....

Certainly I see widespread and growing use of all of the drugs as a seriously negative situation.

And feel mankind needs to re-examine the societies we are building instead of often needing medication (prescription or self-medication!)
to feel half-way human within the existing ones...
This takes even more time....:-)

:hi:

DemEx

[Droopy]

2. I know what you mean by widespread use of drugs

I know people often get prescribed drugs that they don't really need. When I got out of the hospital the time before the one I was talking about in my original post I was prescribed an anti-anxiety med as well as stuff to treat psychosis and mood swings. The anti-psychotic I was taking was making me sleepy most of the time and they had me on an anti-anxiety drug that brought me further down. I ditched the anti-anxiety drug after a couple of months but still felt really tired all the time. Thank God for the newer atypical anti-psychotics or else I'd be on disability right now.

I also think that anti-depressants get handed out too easily. My sister who has OCD but is not depressed is going to be getting a prescription for an anti-depressant through her family practitioner. I don't know how they figure an anti-depressant is going to help with OCD and I really wish she would have seen a psychiatrist instead. I've heard of people being prescribed anti-anxiety meds for that to take only when needed, but not anti-depressants.

All you have to do to get an anti-depressant is go to any doctor and say you are feeling down. They might ask you a few questions, but other than that they don't do any real screening process. I don't know why people would want to be on a med when they don't really need it, but apparently it happens all the time.

[DemExpat]

3. Yes...

People resort to meds because they feel overwhelmed and frightened of their mental state. Everybody is talking about meds - family and friends,tv, books, magazines, Internet, doctors - whereas in many cases, good support and feedback from people (longterm) would be what most people really need...imho.

DemEx

[Deja Q]

4. Yes. For many cases, it's another attempt by the drug companies to

make money.

A doped up society is what they want.

My parents are against the drugs. As is my aunt. My aunt prefers a holistic approach.

Counselors and psychiatrists are overzealous to diagnose. It's like they get a commission.

In less than 3 visits (a combined 2 hrs 15 minutes), I was pegged with schizotypal disoder. (And if I told her I like Prodigy, Jefferson Airplane, Public Enemy, Ike and Tina Turner, Garbage, and Mozart, she'd peg me with "schizotonal" disorder too. :eyes: )

My previous quack pegged me with pshizo-affective disoder after 6 visits.

The one before was lame. Only had bipolar disorder, and after 4 visits.

The one before that said 'depression', after 2 visits.

The one before that said the very first day 'PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA!!' and doped me up big-time. :eyes:

At age 7 I was pegged ADD despite the drugs not working. The diagnosis is accurate as my latest one (the schizotypal peg) also believes I have ADD>

At age 3, it was said I had a high IQ but couldn't follow directions. (Why just draw two lines when, at age 3, the letter "H" was far more amusing?!)

[Droopy]

8. Well, HypnoToad, I don't know what you have

or even if you have a mental disorder. But from your writings here I think I can safely say that you are not a paranoid schizophrenic. ;) If you were and you were experiencing your symptoms then chances are that you would not be able to write coherently. Also from your writings I've determined that you are a bit on the eccentric side, but I don't think that is due to any illness. You're just a very unique person.

One thing I've learned about mental illness is that it can take a long time to get a proper diagnosis. There is no physical test that can determine a mental illness although that may be becoming a reality in the not so distant future. The doctor or the therapist is trying to diagnose an illness that is invisible and they are totally reliant on what you can tell them. I was misdiagnosed twice over a 7 year period (depression and bipolar) before I got the proper diagnosis and thus the proper treatment. Keep trying things and you will know when they've got it right because you will feel wonderful.

[LDS Jock]

5. I hate taking my Depakote

The pills are huge. It's like trying to swallow a thumb. Other than that, I don't mind it too much. I also take Lexapro. I have some side effects from both, but both are tolerable when compared to the life I would live without them.

[FuzzySlippers]

6. Why don't you get a pill splitter and cut it up?

[Droopy]

7. I used to take Depakote so I know what you mean

Those are some horse pills. I used to be on a combination of Risperdal and Depakote. I felt like a slug on that. I think that was mainly the Risperdal that did that to me. After about 6 months of feeling tired all the time I decided to go off those meds rationalizing that I'd just had a nervous breakdown and I was fine now. 4 months later I relapse. I told them why I stopped taking my meds. That's when they put me on my current combo of Geodon and lithium. I've never felt better.

[jdots]

9. I had one of the worst pychopharmacologists in the world

everyone hated the guy that i knew went to him so naturally i felt sorry for him and kept going because the Nardil stuff i take works fine and he writes the scrip so i went till he finally fucked up by being out of the country for months and i hade to cold turkey.What an asshole,he left me with no other doc to fill the scrip.
This is why i hate taking the stuff,knowing that if i can't get it,i get to go thru a pretty intence withdrawal..