Posted by zeugma on September 22, 2005, at 10:57:12
In reply to Re: A very good doctor??, posted by linkadge on September 21, 2005, at 15:54:43
> What scares me is the idea that I have to take one of these drugs to function normally.
It scares me that I have to take these drugs to function quasi-normally.
>
> Not so much that it is intollerable, but just the fact that my body has become physically addicted to them.
>
Provigil is definitely addictive and makes me feel awful, but I feel wrapped in sheets of wool when I try to go off it. Ritalin's side effects are a little less immediately annoying, but every pdoc I have ever had has been concerned about my weight, and even a small dose of Ritalin is an anorexiant (I have no interest in food anyway, except on Provigil last year, and that effect may not return). But when I've lowered the Provigil dose I've become non-functional at work in short order (I'm non-functional at home too, but that's another story). I'm trying various products to alleviate the severe dry mouth, none of which have worked so far, and I've tried to compensate by increasing caffeine dosages (totally ineffectual without a prescription stimulant on board). I can accept being dependent on meds, but not sure if I can accept the side effects, which become worse with time.I suppose it comes down to competing values. Being able to pay my own bills and have a job that is satisfying, or feeling a little better physically but feeling like I'm asleep/in a trance 24-7.
I should add that it is only stimulants that have made me regret psychotropics. Tricyclics are 'normalizing' meds IMHO, and clonazepam makes it easier to go to the supermarket (assuming I have the energy to go), and both of these without what i consider undue side effects. This is just IMHO, of course.
-z
> Linkadge
poster:zeugma
thread:557373
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050921/msgs/558105.html