Medication

[diarose_]

Hi, I'm new to his but I've been long trying to look for a place where I can express how I feel and get advice from others. I want to know if people think that medications actually work? specificly anti-depressants.. I had something happen to me as a teenager, I was then diagnosed with chronic-depression and then put on medications and none of them ever worked. I was then on a specific one to help me sleep, that's all it was really good for. Other than that medications have always made me feel flat, like I have no emotion towards anything.. I feel as though psychiatrists want to keep us sick as I've done heaps of research behind it.. I want to come off of them but I don't know what it's been like to be medication free since about six years ago and I've read that comign off of them is very difficult. I have been worse off whilst on medication and have COUNTLESS of hospital visits.. I'm just wondering if the reason I'm unhappy is the medication.

[theaveragejoe]

HI Diarose,

it is difficult to reply to your post because one could  easily get into trouble, especially someone like me who is not qualified to give you professional advice about your problem. 

All I can say is that if something heppened to you when you were young, then that "something" may well have caused disorders related to Post Trumatic Stress. As far as I know, from what I have read, the best thing for Post Traumtic Stress related disorders, including depression and anxiety, is therapy. 

Best thing to do is look for a mental health professional that is not biased, in terms of favouring medication therapy, even a GP. He or she will be able to give you good advice as to what you should do. 

But here on the site, unless an expert that works here gives you advice, it is best for the rest of us sufferers not to give you any  specific advice so that we don't get into trouble. And we are not qualified to give you this kind of advice.

I can say that medication never worked for my depression. It actually made me more anxious and agitated. 

You are right, going off medication is very difficult and must be done under the supervision of a professional. Never do it on your own that is the worst thing that you can do.

[Former-Member]

Hi @diarose_, welcome to the Forums.  I hope you find it to be the place you've been looking for to express yourself and receive support.  I think the dilemma you've described is one that most people who've been on medication for a long while start to grapple with.  It becomes hard to work out how it's impacting on you and also what else might be making you feel that way.

I agree with @theaveragejoe that counselling may well be helpful if you haven't already tried it.  It can provide a place to explore the lack of emotions and, if you want to, address the impact of what happened when you were a teenager.  Good counselling will also help you build up some coping strategies so that if you decide to make some medication changes you have ways to deal with whatever that brings.

Thanks for being so careful @theaveragejoe in your response.  I appreciate you trying to provide support within the guidelines.  But you and others are very welcome to share your experiences with medication.  We're a peer support platform so it needs to be read as simply that - the experiences of others - rather than advice.  Our circumstances are too individual to allow us to extrapolate so directly.  But within that spirit, please share away! 

@diarose_ there was a recent Topic Tuesday about changing medication which might be useful to read.  You can have a look here.  Lots of peoples questions and experiences are there plus for info to help guide the process if you decide to review and change your meds.  Threre's another recent thread here where members are discussing medication.  Lots to read and absorb!

[diarose_]

I have been to several different councillors and psychologists which didn't seem to do much apart from one I've found a bit helpful. I also have a drinking problem which is hard too.. I use it as my own self medicaiton I guess but it is making me even more worse off than I was in the first place as everyone knows that's what alcohol does.. I study but haven't been lately due to my mental and substance abuse. I hadn't studied in years before now and I still find no joy in it. I've been watching a lot of documenteries and now I feel as though I shouldn't study something that I hate to get a job that I probably won't like.. I've got to find that something in life that I do enjoy.. well what brings me most enjoyment is animals, lol... so maybe I should study in that area. I feel everyones been taught to believe we have to act a certain way and live a certain way that's why we end up depressed and anxious.. I want to be myself but that wouldn't be 'socially acceptable' and my parents want me to 'just get a job' but I'm not ready.. 

[MoonGal]

Hi @diarose_ , it is always so hard to untangle what is making us ill or not feeling right. I have had periods where medication that has been subscribed has definately left me feeling nothing - just nothing, just numb but still dissaffected and unhappy - but too numb to care. That flatteneing is unbearable to me, i want to live a life where ther eis a bit of spark sometimes! Even if my particualr diagnoses and lived experience means that comes and goes.

If you have been on medications since 6 years old and you are beginning to wonder if the medications might be making you unwell (rather than helping) I really suggest you talk to your GP - if you are going to withdraw it is important to have someone who knows you (medical - so a GP or Psychiatrist) well. 

I recently stopped one long term anti depressant (had been on it 13 years) and went on a new (different class and newer) one - that was 9-12 weeks of very, very difficult time for me, suicidal ideation, hysteria, and jsut feeling like life was a pile of poo 24/7 - but I KNEW this was all hapepneing becaus eof biochemistry - my brain was adjusting to neurological/physiological  changes as a result of the medication change, so I had some insight. my friends here on the forums know because I wrote about it alot! But I got through it. I think you can trust your own intuition about i if something is not feeling right and use that to explore with a professional potentials for changing or coming off - but it is very important to not just suddenly stop any medication.

If you have not yet spent any time with counselling with a psychologist (I avoid Psychiatrists I am not a good candidate for that kind of psychotherapy) I have found psychologists who focus on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (ie. learning how I think and how my thinking affects my mood, decision making etc and learning better ways of thinking) very helpful from time to time - I go for about 6 to 10 sessions to sort out yet another layer of the mountain of Moongal's issues, and then get on with life again for a while until i fall over again.

Hope you stick with us here through your journey. 

[soz]

Hi diarose.

Meds are a pain but being without them can be waay bad. Maybe you just need to swap what you are taking? Sounds like you need better health care - maybe shop around for a better Psych? I know thats really difficult but the meds cant do it alone. 

I totally get the self-medicating thing - dont be to hard on yourself, sometimes its a matter of what gets you through the day... and waking up the next. 

Just remember that there are other people just like you doing it hard and even though you might not know all of us we are all behind you!!