Mental Health howmhas life become better for you once you were on a pill ? How about off and sober?

[Joker11789]

I'm curious bc I suffer form so much and im struggling but idk what it is I need to change .

things were fine whn I was on certain pills and now that I'm on reg or no doses I just feel idk different in a not bad or good way but not a way I want to be idk how to explain it .

so I'm curious all those who took a pill for their disorders or illnesses , when we're you functioning better in your eyes (functioning also meaning in a way you could enjoy doesn't mean you fit in society lol) .

before vs after?

 

[herbavore]

I have not had the experience of being on any kind of pills for any length of time so no direct experience. But I can answer from observing those around me (family, friends, etc). It seems to me that medications often cause what they sometimes alleviate so it is awfully hard to know what is your brain chemistry, what is an effect of the drug, what is interaction with another drug, what is situational, what is a combination of all, etc., etc.8(

It is a personal journey and one that can change over months or years. My best advice is to seek non-medication treatments concurrent with any medication therapy or instead of medication therapy if that is possible. It comes down to knowing and understanding yourself--your triggers, stresses, what makes you feel at peace and what prevents you. Once you begin to have that knowledge the task is to build your life in such a way that you are in the optimal habitat for you. Some people work on themselves spiritually and ignore the body, others do the opposite. Some obsess about the mind and forget both body and spirit. Finding your own balance that addresses mind body and spiritual needs is what it is all about. That may or may not include any pills at all.

 

[Joker11789]

I have not had the experience of being on any kind of pills for any length of time so no direct experience. But I can answer from observing those around me (family, friends, etc). It seems to me that medications often cause what they sometimes alleviate so it is awfully hard to know what is your brain chemistry, what is an effect of the drug, what is interaction with another drug, what is situational, what is a combination of all, etc., etc.8(

It is a personal journey and one that can change over months or years. My best advice is to seek non-medication treatments concurrent with any medication therapy or instead of medication therapy if that is possible. It comes down to knowing and understanding yourself--your triggers, stresses, what makes you feel at peace and what prevents you. Once you begin to have that knowledge the task is to build your life in such a way that you are in the optimal habitat for you. Some people work on themselves spiritually and ignore the body, others do the opposite. Some obsess about the mind and forget both body and spirit. Finding your own balance that addresses mind body and spiritual needs is what it is all about. That may or may not include any pills at all.

 

[vykr]

The best I've gotten from psychiatry trying like 10 different meds on me and multiple combinations over the years was a 1 month period where a combination of 3 meds worked almost completely, then just totally shit out and became absolutely useless right after that. Vast majority did absolutely nothing or were at best marginally effective in the short term for making things slightly more tolerable.

 

[ThePharmacist4925]

I've been placed on many different combinations of medications over the past 5 years. I couldn't exactly say when things were going the best. The common denominators when things are going well have been seroquel and vyvanse for me. I'd say my anxiety is debilitating and unmanageable without the seroquel but the seroquel leaves me so tired when I wake up in the morning that without the vyvanse I'm basically worthless. I experienced high highs and low lows before I took medication, and now my emotions are much less volatile. Medications are fickle though and definitely have a risk factor. Not to mention SSRI's and Antipsychotics can create as much or more physical dependence than street drugs. They may have minimal to zero abuse potential but trying to stop those medications once you've acclimated to them can be a much worse experience that withdrawing from a drug of abuse. This all being said some people greatly benefit from medication and it's worth the side effects. Just be careful and make sure you work with a doctor who is both knowledgable and caring.

 

[SixBuckets]

I'm on several medications and have changed my regime a number of times over the last twelve years. I'm currently pretty functional, happy with life, able to work two jobs and study and maintain good relationships. I only have a few side effects and consider myself more stable over the past few years than I've been since I first got sick.

As for functioning better - it's the difference between completely incapacitated and feeling like a normal human being. Finding the right medication is one of the best things to ever happen to me.

 

[Smiley91]

I've tried 4 different types of AD's consisting of 2x ssri (citalopram and Prozac) 2x snri (mirtazapine and Cymbalta) over the last 3 - 4 years. Most recently Cymbalta which along with Prozac gave me major urinary side effects.

The conclusion that I came to for myself is that all of the above made life a little more bearable and evened me out a little which can be beneficial if you use this to your advantage. For example, made talking about painful things easier for me in order to get somewhere with my councillors. However, in my exp. I felt some can "mask" your feelings if you're not careful, dulling down emotions, sweeping things under the carpet, become content with lifestyle even although deep down you want to change. On Mirtazapine I gained 1stone in 9months because all I wanted to do was sleep and eat and was content doing so. At that time I had just started the grieving process, had given up most drugs I had been taking recreationally, and went a bit "mad" so felt the need to hide myself away to avoid embarrassment - therefore putting up with a med that was not helping in the grand scheme of things.

I am now on 140mg Lofepramine daily but still only approaching week 3 so can't judge on this yet (fingers crossed).

All I do know is that I don't feel any different so far, but that I'm glad to be off Cymbalta and it's withdrawals have faded. NOTE: if you ever take Cymbalta and its not for you don't hang around for long, it made me suicidal and my doc had to prescribe me diazepam (which she would not normally do)

It really does depend on the individual but I hope I helped answer your question in some way.