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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Huxley on July 25, 2010, at 20:25:11
Hi all,
You might remember me from controversal threads such as 'rejection of meds gives me hope' /troy mcclure voice
Thought I would give you an update on how I am going.
It is going pretty slowly. I am down to 50mg Lactimal, 0.5mg Zyprexa and 25mg of Pristiq per day.
This is down from, at the peak 5mg Zyprexa 400mg Lactimal and 100mg of Pristiq per day.
It has been a bit of a roller coaster so far, whenever I make a dose change I get knocked around all over the place but after a week or so It all settles down and I end up feeling pretty good.
I am feeling really good, better than I have at any stage in the last 2 years.
Agitation is gone, what my dr was trying to use to label me with BP. It is gone, I am no longer worked up in a horrible anxious agitated state.
Mood is greatly increased. Feel somewhat happy most of the time. Periods of having a foul mood still pop up but much less frequently.
Feelings have returned, some good and some bad. Things I had completly forgotten about. Everything seems much more real, it is quite confronting beause these feelings have been completly numbed/obliterated by the drugs I have been on.Mental clarity/fogginess/memory problems remain.
5 months ago, I felt that I would be on meds for the rest of my life and that I needed them to be normal. I believed anything my dr said.
It has been quite a turn around for me. And so far I have discovered that either
A. My meds were causing alot of my problems
OR
B. I was on two high a dose on my meds and am now on the optimum.I am leaning more towards A.
Posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 0:37:26
In reply to An update on my Withdrawal, posted by Huxley on July 25, 2010, at 20:25:11
Huxley I'm impressed you have cut way down and not just on one med but several your dx is or was bipolar as you wrote BP and that could stand also for borderline personality just making sure. What about anxiety gone? What about sleep? Phillipa
Posted by Huxley on July 26, 2010, at 1:33:05
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » Huxley, posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 0:37:26
> Huxley I'm impressed you have cut way down and not just on one med but several your dx is or was bipolar as you wrote BP and that could stand also for borderline personality just making sure. What about anxiety gone? What about sleep? Phillipa
Hey Phillipa,
BP = Bipolar which I never was. This is a clear case of a doctor diagnosing me with a mental illness based on the side effects of another medication.
Keep in mind that I was already well down on my meds when I first popped up on here so have actually been going pretty slowly with the zyprexa.The Lactimal has been easy.
Pristiq gives me grief but I find that Zyprexa pretty much eliminates SSRI withdrawal (still get the emotional turmoil) so I have done a big jump down to 25mg and am just letting that settle for a month or two.Zyprexa is looking like the hardest to kick. Even tiny tiny dose drops throws me out for a day or two.
Wish someone had of told me about Neuroleptic withdrawal and possible tardive psychosis before I started taking it.
Posted by Huxley on July 26, 2010, at 1:37:42
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » Huxley, posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 0:37:26
> Huxley I'm impressed you have cut way down and not just on one med but several your dx is or was bipolar as you wrote BP and that could stand also for borderline personality just making sure. What about anxiety gone? What about sleep? Phillipa
Sorry forgot to answer all of your question.
I have always slept really well and nothing has changed there.
My general anxiery has diminished alot. It's still there, I am an anxious person by nature. What I am finding is that I am not getting worked into agitated states so when I get a thought that I worry about instead of being stuck in an endless loop and getting all stressed and frustrated about it I am just letting it go.I was in a bad state from these pills and I barely even recognised that I was in it.
My social anxiety has not improved or gotten any worse.
I am pretty happy with the progess so far but I guess the big test will be when they are completly removed from my system.
Posted by linkadge on July 26, 2010, at 10:38:42
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal, posted by Huxley on July 26, 2010, at 1:37:42
Hi Huxley,
I'm kind of in the same boat. A lot of doctors will never admit (or simply don't realize) that the meds can induce such side effects.
I've had problems with anxiety and depression my whole life, but one meds, the problems always seem to morph into something else - ADHD, akathesia, irritability, hypomania, insomnia etc. and all of these issues are subsequently treated as comorbid disorders.
I think a lot cases of 'mania' or bipolar are simply a reaction to drugs. Of course, the medial profession will never admit that the drugs cause mood swings, intead they say that the the drugs simply 'unmasked underlying bipolar'. This covers themselves nicely.
Also, the combinations or 'cocktails' that people are put on are not tested. How can doctors say with assurance that such combinations are safe?
I'm not anti-med, I just like to think for myself.
Linakdge
Posted by johnj1 on July 26, 2010, at 11:21:38
In reply to An update on my Withdrawal, posted by Huxley on July 25, 2010, at 20:25:11
Good for you. I am 3 years med free. I can tell you the first year was rough, 2nd better and the 3rd even better. I was on medication for depression (actually anxiety induced the depression) for 15 years. I got pneumonia and all the meds stopped working. After the illness I tried everything, SSRIs, remeron (horrible drug), etc. Nothing worked just pure side effects.
I am anxious by nature too. Now, I just try to roll with things. Let the anxiety come, it won't kill me. Eat healthy. I improved a lot after putting dairy back into my diet. I don't sleep as well as I did in the past but that is slowly improving too. Remeron really screwed my sleep up. If I wake up I don't let it bother me and I usually get back to sleep. I may wake up 2 or more times but that doesn't bother me.
Good luck. I don't know if I will ever need to go back on something but a person should never say it couldn't happen. I am just a better person without it right now.
Posted by chujoe on July 26, 2010, at 12:20:23
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal, posted by johnj1 on July 26, 2010, at 11:21:38
I thought remeron was the one AD that didn't mess up REM sleep. Of course different people have different reactions & I just have hearsay to rely on, but I've seen that posted as a fact here at Babble.
Posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 19:41:00
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » johnj1, posted by chujoe on July 26, 2010, at 12:20:23
Babble was intended for the sharing of personal reactions to meds of various categories. So take what you read with a grain of salt. For me remeron did nothing at 15mg. After a month I just stopped it no withdrawal, no weight gain. The only thing that works for my anxiety is low doses of benzos. Phillipa
Posted by chujoe on July 26, 2010, at 20:29:56
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » chujoe, posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 19:41:00
Yes, I know that Phillipa. I was just saying where I got my information, admitting that it might not be reliable.
Posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 21:49:02
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » Phillipa, posted by chujoe on July 26, 2010, at 20:29:56
Sorry I reread what I wrote and boy do I sound like a B*tch. Sorry. Phillipa
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 26, 2010, at 22:32:31
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » chujoe, posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 21:49:02
Posted by johnj1 on July 29, 2010, at 19:10:03
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » johnj1, posted by chujoe on July 26, 2010, at 12:20:23
I don't think remeron is the med that doesn't mess with REM. There is a TCA surmotol (sp?) that doesn't mess with REM. I don't think I remember dreaming much on REM. The problem with it was the sponge brain it gave me. I felt rather stupid and it actually increased my OCD. I only took it for the sleep. It is very nasty to come off of that is for sure.
Posted by johnj1 on July 29, 2010, at 19:13:45
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal » chujoe, posted by Phillipa on July 26, 2010, at 19:41:00
No need to be uncivil towards me. I thought we had the agreement not to respond to each others posts? I do agree, take EVERYONES posts with a grain of salt even YOURS! I am outta here.
Posted by linkadge on July 30, 2010, at 18:12:23
In reply to Re: An update on my Withdrawal, posted by johnj1 on July 29, 2010, at 19:10:03
I have experienced both the sponge brain effect and the increased OCD effect.
I think its the 5-ht2a blockade which affects short term memory (and perceptual integration). It feels like taking an anti-enlightenment pill.
This is the end of the thread.
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