Too Many Meds Affects

[ILostHer]

How do you deal with bad side affects but when the drugs are having a good affect on the actual illness?

Do you stop taking them to rid the side affects or do you put up with them to keep feeling well?

I am on

Clonazepam

Concerta

Abilify

But multiple dose of each throughout the day. Stupidly tried to take less C'pams and now I feel crap. So took my proper dose today, gained 9lbs on abilify, and the concerta is too low a dose I think.

I know without these drugs, I am buggered basically after not taking enough C'pams. Nothing is ever going to be balanced or normal without drugs but I don't want the side effects.

The c'pams are a sedative the concerta a stimulant, I am forever going 'speedy - slow - speedy - slow' plus I really hate the weight gain having an ED. Tempted to buy something really strong off the internet but not sure what.

What do you all do? If I stop the abilify (aripiprazole) I will get the psychosis back, my psych and cpn will be cross but I will lose the weight again.

[Eagleheart]

Meds are such a paradox. On one hand,they help with the problem they're prescribed for,but then they all have their own nasty side-effects. Sometimes,you end up taking another drug to counteract the effects of the first one. It's crazy. If i am late taking my duloxetine,even an hour late,i'm on the floor with side-effects. I had to stop taking olanzapine because it made me diabetic. Risperidone made me lactate. Now,i manage my psychosis without meds. It's not easy but i have not had a full-on psychotic episode and i am healthier. I'm not recommending that anyone stop their meds. I just know that it is possible to manage your symptoms without drug intervention. xxx

[doormouse]

Side effects do indeed suck - I've put on weight with my meds too, and it really does mess with your head!

That said - I really wouldn't just come off your meds.... My suggestion would be to talk to your doc and see if there are any alternatives, but as far as I know the aripiprazole is one of the 'best' in terms of causing weight gain, most other antipyschotics are much worse.

Avoid tabs off the internet - for all you know you could be sent a tablet combination of laxative, talcum powder, and the fluff from coat pockets....

[Dibley]

I should take 150mg of Sertraline. I take them on and off. I like them because they numb me, and I dont think all the shit that I do when I'm on them. But, I feel like a heartless bitch on them, because I can't cry, even at sad things on tv, and I also feel like they are too good for me and will possibly make me naive, which I really really can't afford right now.

Not really answered this have I? Sorry.

xx

[ILostHer]

Thanks for replying everyone.

Eagleheart, how do you manage the psychosis without tablets? Maybe I could try that?

I think the weight gain and the c'pams do my head in so much because I have no control over either. I don't even know if the weight gain is from the anti p's as it could be because I am not withdrawing from the c'pams any more. When I was taking them only 3 days a week for a couple weeks I lost nearly a stone so it could be that I am taking them every day. Then with the c'pams I know without them I am nothing. Both ill and despairing and very often suicidal, so I can't believe I'll ever come off them. But if it's them making me gain weight, I want to go back to 3 times a week but I was so ill last night on just two, one less than my normal dose.

I am going to beg my psych for something, I have to. Don't know what though.

Sorry if this was pointless reply. I just hate the lack of control.xxx

[Eagleheart]

I think the secret to my coping is basically a "fuck you" attitude to my psychosis. I spent 2 decades being controlled by voices and visions,meekly swallowing any pills thrown at me,submitting to side-effects like i had no say in what was happening to me. Then one day i woke up,having been informed that the olanzapine had caused diabetes,and i thought "fuck this! This is MY body and mind they're playing with as if it's unimportant". I still hear voices every day and hallucinate constantly but i challenge it all the time. I'm not terrified of it anymore and can argue with the voices and be rational. I get a buzz from confronting my demons and remaining sane inspite of it all. xxx

[doormouse]

I guess the way I've come around to thinking about it, if it takes meds to allow me to live a relatively normal life then thats what it takes. If I had diabetes, I would need insulin - which causes weight gain, and if I had epilepsy I'd need meds - (clonazepam is also used seizures) - which have all kinds of side effects but I would need them to live. It's a trade off - what can I live with, and what can't I live without...

There are some things I cannot control - like my need for medication - but whether I take it and stay well is up to me. Whether I chose to talk to my doctor about it, no matter how crazy I know it sounds, is up to me. I supposed I think that the only way I'll ever have control over my life is to be well enough to make choices about what I do, eat, exercise etc etc etc

I'm lucky in the sense that I have the 'inside track' a bit when it comes to meds, and my psych knows this, and knows I have access to exactly the same information and research as she does. But its a double edged sword - knowledge is a dangerous thing!

[Lily-Bee]

Eagle thats really great you found a way to deal with your psychosis,not everybody is able to handle it though without meds.

For Ilosther it might be dangerous to go off them,so Ilost if your MH team is against it please take them seriously in that. At least discuss it before you do anything rash like quit your meds.

I wonder if acceptance plays a role in this,acceptance that maybe you need meds,that this is not going away etc.

I think its good to see what the best combo is and best dose for you though.

I am overweight,it sucks I know,I also think I might die younger because of the meds and weight but you know what;Id rather live shorter but happier then longer in misery.

[toaster]

Can you talk to your doctor?

Me, I've decided enough is enough and I'm coming off seroquel. I have called the pdoc and had my appointment brought forward because I feel as though I do need a mood stabiliser but seroquel, with its shitty side effects (excessive tiredness and mega weight gain) is making me feel depressed. I have stopped taking it properly now and I am aware that my moods have gone totally erratic again and I'm quite paranoid.

I guess you have to outweigh the pros and cons. Are side effects making you feel worse so therefore the meds aren't worth it?

Hope you are ok x

[ILostHer]

Hi all,

My mh team and I decided for me to take the abilify at night time, and today since not taking it I have hardly eaten again so it's def that. I am lucky that I was close to underweight before so I can lose it, but I did say to my cpn that I'd rather have my psychosis that gain weight. That may seem shallow but it's about wanting to remain genderless looking body wise, not anything else.

My C'pams are not working as strong and I am gutted that the tolerance is building already. They are my life, seriously, without them I am worse than nothing.

Not sure about the side affects making me feel worse, no, not really apart from gaining the lbs. My cpn said to me what doormouse said about needing tablets for diabetes or some other long term illness.

I just vowed I would never go on anti p's. I will see how it goes.

Thanks every one. Hope you are all ok xx