Posted by Sleepy on November 8, 2001, at 14:43:40
In reply to Re: SickNTired of Meds, posted by houstongirl on November 8, 2001, at 12:03:37
Cristy and Mitch,
I appreciate the replies! I've tried to go meds-free in the past, but my boyfriend keeps catching it (he notices a difference in me if I'm off meds for even a day or two). He's had to become the Meds Police and I know that's not fair to either of us. Also, if I'm honest with myself here--like Cristy, I do seem to go into a major nosedive as soon as the initial euphoria wears off. I love the feeling of being off meds for just a short time and my mind feels so sharp! Once I get back to the Depakote though, I'm just so tired all the time and can never get enough sleep. We've tried lowering the dosage, but I still feel like I could sleep for years. I wonder if that's a common side effect or if it's just me?
Just got back from my first appointment with a new therapist. It went pretty well and when I started to say things about wanting off the meds she put me on a list to see a psychiatrist (I've just relocated recently and have had to start from ground zero for doctors). Anyway, Mitch, I don't know anything about Neurontin, though I know I've heard of it before. I'll ask the pdoc about it. He's supposed to be very good with meds, from what the therapist told me.
Beginning to feel like one of those little gerbils on a wheel--around and around. Different meds; different side effects. The Depakote had my hair falling out at one point. My main gripe with the Depakote is weight gain, but I also just don't want to feel like my life is run by medication. Still--my therapist did point out that my friends and family are concerned (and some are even frightened) when I get off my meds. So I guess that tells me something right there.
All the Best,
Sleepy
> I just tried it (see above BPII - went off meds!). I gained 30 pounds on Depakote. I'm sick of it, too! Going off the meds worked great for a while, but I ultimately crashed. Not as hard as I've crashed in the past (i.e., I'm not suicidal), but this is not fun. I'm trying Topamax to see if it will help with the weight, but it's too soon to tell. I'm tired of having terrible memory, too.
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> Cristy
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>
> > I'm just writing to see if there is anyone out there who's been diagnosed bipolar and has successfully gone off all meds--? I was misdiagnosed at one point and put on Prozac for a time, which led to bouts of extreme mania, then put on Serzone, which gave my life entire blank voids (memory blackouts I still haven't filled in). Now I'm on Depakote, which suppresses the mania okay and does absolutely nada for depression. So my dr. put me on Effexor, which he seemed to think would do the trick, but after a brief and horrible time I took MYSELF off that drug. I had awful memory lapses (during one incident I had both my children in the car with me and forgot how to get to my daughter's music lesson--I'd been driving her there for months and suddenly I couldn't recall how to get there! I drove around frantically searching before realizing I was scaring my kids to death) and decided it was NOT for me. I've gained 20+ lbs. on the Depakote and that in itself makes me miserable. I start with a new therapist today and I'm going to start making noise about getting off the Depakote and staying off of everything. I know this probably sounds outlandish to some of you out there, but isn't there some way to get beyond all this without medication??? I keep hearing, when I complain about the weight gain, "Isn't that a small price to pay...???" Well, it isn't a small price to pay. I've never weighed this much (nonpregnant) in my entire adult life and it's making me so, so unhappy. *sigh* Friends and family seem to think it's their job to make sure I'm taking my meds and it's just really getting to me. Sorry to be such a downer. Thanks for any advice/suggestions, etc.
poster:Sleepy
thread:83541
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011104/msgs/83563.html