Posted by chujoe on August 1, 2010, at 7:02:42
In reply to Re: What steps should I take?, posted by sigismund on July 31, 2010, at 23:48:38
My strictly amateur advice would be to back off the medications slowly for a few weeks while at the same time getting some talk therapy (with maybe a CBT component or Mindfulness training) going with someone you trust. Then, you can see about starting to use an SSRI or SNRI if you need it. I agree with others that you haven't given those other drugs a long enough time to work, but I think there is another aspect to taking psych meds that many people don't consider: a person taking meds needs to build on the openings the meds provide & consciously work with the meds for them to be fully effective. The brain is dynamic and constantly rebuilding itself -- not just its physical connections but the very sense of self sponsored by all those neurons & synapses. That means that thinking itself & behavior itself actively "rewire" the connections in your brain. I think meds simply make the rewiring more plastic. The implication of this view is that there is no drug you can take for psychological issues that will just turn off a problem the way you take a couple of ibuprofen for a headache.
Finally, I believe your symptoms are real -- I'm not minimizing your suffering, but I am suspicious of treating people in late adolescence with one drug after another. It is as if you are being treated for adolescence itself, which is the most emotionally turbulent period in life. That's why I suggest a good therapist & probably a new pdoc who won't just toss one magic pill after another at you.
poster:chujoe
thread:956554
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100731/msgs/956681.html