The bipolar, depressed, where are my meds thread.

[Betticus]

For my fellow borderline psychotics, a place to post about it.

I for one am right on the edge of something. Already depressed but will it get better or worse? I've been going through my friends and losing the contact info of the ones that don't feel real. My myspace is down to the twenties and three of those are only there because they are family. Some are borderline but mean too much to me.

It's just time for a change, kick off the stuff from the past that's hurting me and fix myself and then see where I want to go.

Also, a note to my doctor. If as you say I will be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life why is my prescription only for three refills? Also, antidepressants... why do you only prescribe enough to last a single month? I'm fucked up 12 months of the year you know.

 

[iluvyou3638]

For my fellow borderline psychotics, a place to post about it.

I for one am right on the edge of something. Already depressed but will it get better or worse? I've been going through my friends and losing the contact info of the ones that don't feel real. My myspace is down to the twenties and three of those are only there because they are family. Some are borderline but mean too much to me.

It's just time for a change, kick off the stuff from the past that's hurting me and fix myself and then see where I want to go.

Also, a note to my doctor. If as you say I will be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life why is my prescription only for three refills? Also, antidepressants... why do you only prescribe enough to last a single month? I'm fucked up 12 months of the year you know.

haha....man. i hate when you get down to the last one and realize you forgot to refill the prescription.

 

[Betticus]

haha....man. i hate when you get down to the last one and realize you forgot to refill the prescription.

I want to have a new thyroid cloned and installed.

 

[pellso27]

Don't worry Hillary is on the way!....OMG we're all fucked

 

[Betticus]

Don't worry Hillary is on the way!....OMG we're all fucked

I want Ron Paul.

 

[pellso27]

I'll take anyone with half a brain!

 

[EmpressFi]

I want to have a new thyroid cloned and installed.

ditto on that and the question..although, I know it's because they're going to check the level and adjust the dose..or so they say

 

[Betticus]

ditto on that and the question..although, I know it's because they're going to check the level and adjust the dose..or so they say

No, it's so they can charge the insurance company for visit upon visit.

 

[Etoile]

No, it's so they can charge the insurance company for visit upon visit.

Yep, it sure is.

I have been on at least 30 long-term medications in my life. I'm currently on - let's see Allegra, Atarax, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Trazodone, Strattera - six of them, down from 8 earlier this year. I am medicated for three mental things (ADHD, anxiety, depression) and one physical thing (chronic urticaria). If I miss a dose of the anxiety meds, I feel it later that day. If I miss a dose of the ADHD meds, I'll feel it by the next day. It takes a couple of days without the depression meds to provoke a change worth noticing, but if I go off them for a week I'm a wreck. Actually, I'm a wreck if I skip the anxiety meds more than twice in a row. I have BAD anxiety.

I don't rattle off these meds and disorders to be "crazier than thou" - it fucking sucks. I wish my life wasn't ruled by anxiety, or controlled by ADHD, or affected by depression. When I was a kid I used to cry about being "not like Kim" (the girl down the street) and my other friends because I was always hyper and always anxious. I fucking hate it. I've been taking meds for ADHD for 15 years and I was diagnosed with it 21 years ago. Thank god I got diagnosed with anxiety 10 years ago, prior to that it was assumed anxiety was an adult's problem and therefore the fact that I had a nervous breakdown over a spilled glass of milk was just...weird, not anything correctable. Thank god for anxiety meds.

I think the anxiety is what scares me the most, because while I can shuffle through life with depression and ADHD, I can't function if I'm not on anxiety medications. Seriously, I get so wigged out that I shut down.

Sometimes I think about going off the chronic urticaria meds, just to see if I still have it. I would NEVER EVER do that with my "crazy meds" - I need them to achieve normalcy.

Oh, and as for having to get a new prescription all the time! Man, that's why I got off Dexedrine. I was on that shit for 10 years. That means once a month, for 120 months, I went to my doctor's office and picked up a new prescription. They can't call it in, you can't have refills, you HAVE to go pick up a new one every month. Thank goodness for Strattera, which is a non-scheduled ADHD med that works pretty well for me.

I am gonna loooooove this thread. Thanks Bett!

 

[Netzach]

I love psych meds.

I despise psychiatrists.

And yeah, the hurdles to getting ADD meds are insane. M forgot his when we went to DC (hello - that's one of the perils of ADD) and getting it was, well, not a good day for us.

 

[Etoile]

I love psych meds.

I despise psychiatrists.

And yeah, the hurdles to getting ADD meds are insane. M forgot his when we went to DC (hello - that's one of the perils of ADD) and getting it was, well, not a good day for us.

Have you ever done the "please Fedex my meds" thing? That was a barrel of laughs. Unfortunately we didn't know to insist that the medbox be taped shut, so naturally I received an envelope full of loose pills and one mostly-empty medbox. (I portion out all my meds in advance, I have a two-week medbox.)

 

[_kiana_]

Oh, you have freaking good timing Betticus.

I'm going to see my psychiatrist tomorrow. I will very likely be changing my medication. Currently on Effexor (and have been for almost 10 years), which has withdrawal symptoms if I miss a single dose. Will most likely be going onto an MAOI, and I hope I can get him to give me something for my anxiety.

And I've just started my first real job. I need to have this job, need to be earning this money. Please oh please oh please make this med change easy-peasy. I'm already having problems making it through the day and I'm on the verge of tears at least once a day while I'm there. I can not imagine being able to keep the job if the med change is a rough one.

My husband has only just gotten onto ADD meds that work as well. He'll be seeing the psych tomorrow too.

I need to go make notes on what to tell the psych tomorrow. *sighs*

 

[Netzach]

Have you ever done the "please Fedex my meds" thing? That was a barrel of laughs. Unfortunately we didn't know to insist that the medbox be taped shut, so naturally I received an envelope full of loose pills and one mostly-empty medbox. (I portion out all my meds in advance, I have a two-week medbox.)

Hahah, that was pretty much it in a nutshell. Please please Fedex my meds.

 

[LunarKitten]

Yep, it sure is.

I have been on at least 30 long-term medications in my life. I'm currently on - let's see Allegra, Atarax, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Trazodone, Strattera - six of them, down from 8 earlier this year. I am medicated for three mental things (ADHD, anxiety, depression) and one physical thing (chronic urticaria). If I miss a dose of the anxiety meds, I feel it later that day. If I miss a dose of the ADHD meds, I'll feel it by the next day. It takes a couple of days without the depression meds to provoke a change worth noticing, but if I go off them for a week I'm a wreck. Actually, I'm a wreck if I skip the anxiety meds more than twice in a row. I have BAD anxiety.

I don't rattle off these meds and disorders to be "crazier than thou" - it fucking sucks. I wish my life wasn't ruled by anxiety, or controlled by ADHD, or affected by depression. When I was a kid I used to cry about being "not like Kim" (the girl down the street) and my other friends because I was always hyper and always anxious. I fucking hate it. I've been taking meds for ADHD for 15 years and I was diagnosed with it 21 years ago. Thank god I got diagnosed with anxiety 10 years ago, prior to that it was assumed anxiety was an adult's problem and therefore the fact that I had a nervous breakdown over a spilled glass of milk was just...weird, not anything correctable. Thank god for anxiety meds.

I think the anxiety is what scares me the most, because while I can shuffle through life with depression and ADHD, I can't function if I'm not on anxiety medications. Seriously, I get so wigged out that I shut down.

Sometimes I think about going off the chronic urticaria meds, just to see if I still have it. I would NEVER EVER do that with my "crazy meds" - I need them to achieve normalcy.

Oh, and as for having to get a new prescription all the time! Man, that's why I got off Dexedrine. I was on that shit for 10 years. That means once a month, for 120 months, I went to my doctor's office and picked up a new prescription. They can't call it in, you can't have refills, you HAVE to go pick up a new one every month. Thank goodness for Strattera, which is a non-scheduled ADHD med that works pretty well for me.

I am gonna loooooove this thread. Thanks Bett!

Our oldest is almost 15 and is on Concerta and Lexapro, for ADHD and anxiety. We've been through three or four different meds for the ADHD before the Concerta gave us the best results. Thank goodness, after reading above, that the doctor also diagnosed her with anxiety at the same time. She gets very very emotional and stressed out over a simple good morning sometimes And if she misses any doses of either - which she regularly "forgets" at least once or twice a week - she is close to non-functional. Hopefully, the teenage years will be over and she will stop passively "forgetting" to take her meds because she doesn't want to be a "freak".

 

[HB1965]

For my fellow borderline psychotics, a place to post about it.

I for one am right on the edge of something. Already depressed but will it get better or worse? I've been going through my friends and losing the contact info of the ones that don't feel real. My myspace is down to the twenties and three of those are only there because they are family. Some are borderline but mean too much to me.

It's just time for a change, kick off the stuff from the past that's hurting me and fix myself and then see where I want to go.

Also, a note to my doctor. If as you say I will be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life why is my prescription only for three refills? Also, antidepressants... why do you only prescribe enough to last a single month? I'm fucked up 12 months of the year you know.

All I can tell you is I have battled depression since childhood. In my 20s I was finally put on antidepressants and that made a great change in my life. I wouldn't be able to function without them.

Doctors only give you a certain number of refills because they want to monitor who you do on the medication. Once they've had a while to see you on it you may get a longer script. I have that with some of my meds.

 

[Etoile]

Our oldest is almost 15 and is on Concerta and Lexapro, for ADHD and anxiety. We've been through three or four different meds for the ADHD before the Concerta gave us the best results. Thank goodness, after reading above, that the doctor also diagnosed her with anxiety at the same time. She gets very very emotional and stressed out over a simple good morning sometimes And if she misses any doses of either - which she regularly "forgets" at least once or twice a week - she is close to non-functional. Hopefully, the teenage years will be over and she will stop passively "forgetting" to take her meds because she doesn't want to be a "freak".

Yeah, I have been through the "try all the meds until something works" mill too, for me it was with the antidepressants. They are much better about diagnosing now - formerly adult things get diagnosed in kids, and formerly youth things get diagnosed in adults.

I'm so sorry to hear she's avoiding taking her meds. If only she knew how people see her when she doesn't take them. It is those times when she is non-functional that she is more of a freak. I saw it with my own mother. She has ADHD too and even though I've been medicated for years, she had only done it for a short time many years ago. We felt, and many of her friends agreed, that she was difficult to get along with because she was so flighty and moody due to the ADHD. I finally got her to start taking Strattera (like me) and there's already been an improvement.

I hope your daughter can embrace the meds and treat them as her "new normal" - it's the best thing she can do for herself, and she will be so much happier if she does.

 

[myinnerslut]

Hopefully, the teenage years will be over and she will stop passively "forgetting" to take her meds because she doesn't want to be a "freak".

dont worry. she will. i did.

*disapears again*

 

[Betticus]

I think my buddy up in Colorado Springs said it best with a bit of a remake of this song by The Spill Canvas.

http://www.ytcracker.com/music/ytcracker - these pills.mp3

 

[_kiana_]

So, I'm changing meds as expected. I'm going onto a generic of Aropax (it might be a different name in the States).

Only three days after beginning to lower my Effexor dosage and it's fucked me up. Missed a few hours of work today because of mild withdrawal symptoms + anxiety attack.

I went down from 450 mg to 300 mg pretty well. Only a mild fuzziness to my head. I tried going down to 225 mg when it caused the problems this morning. So I can't afford to try lowering dosages when I have to be up for work. So strike those 5 days of the week out, and it will probably be a week between going down doses...

That means it will be a month or more before I'm off of this stuff. Add in three days of no medication, then up to 2 weeks to start seeing effects on the new stuff but count 4 to 6 weeks for good effects.

Fuck.

I can not imagine feeling like this for that long. Not with how bad things are right now in my head.

 

[Betticus]

So, I'm changing meds as expected. I'm going onto a generic of Aropax (it might be a different name in the States).

Only three days after beginning to lower my Effexor dosage and it's fucked me up. Missed a few hours of work today because of mild withdrawal symptoms + anxiety attack.

I went down from 450 mg to 300 mg pretty well. Only a mild fuzziness to my head. I tried going down to 225 mg when it caused the problems this morning. So I can't afford to try lowering dosages when I have to be up for work. So strike those 5 days of the week out, and it will probably be a week between going down doses...

That means it will be a month or more before I'm off of this stuff. Add in three days of no medication, then up to 2 weeks to start seeing effects on the new stuff but count 4 to 6 weeks for good effects.

Fuck.

I can not imagine feeling like this for that long. Not with how bad things are right now in my head.

Look at the bright side. You do at least know that it is due to chemical imbalance and that it is only temporary while they switch your medications.

 

[Etoile]

Aropax is Paxil in the US.

 

[coy_one]

Doctors only give you a certain number of refills because they want to monitor who you do on the medication. Once they've had a while to see you on it you may get a longer script. I have that with some of my meds.

Yeah, my shrink is constantly asking who I'm doing.

I've been on meds for 10 years now. Geez. Can't believe it's been that long. I can totally tell when I miss my anti-depressant. The other ones, not so much. I'm a puddle of tears without the AD.

 

[Betticus]

Taking the medication isn't much of a problem. It's having the medications on hand that seems to be the problem.

Maybe we should do like in that Equilibrium movie and the whole society stops at the same time three times a day to medicate.

Perhaps that's where we're going as a society. Drugged worker bees.

 

[HB1965]

Yeah, my shrink is constantly asking who I'm doing.

I've been on meds for 10 years now. Geez. Can't believe it's been that long. I can totally tell when I miss my anti-depressant. The other ones, not so much. I'm a puddle of tears without the AD.

Thanks for pointing out my typo. So nice.

 

[coy_one]

Thanks for pointing out my typo. So nice.

I was being serious. I have to give a run down on all the fucked up relationships I've been in since my last visit.