Getting off meds
Question:
Hi All.. How is everybody doing? Its been a while since i have posted and read very much but i have noticed the number of post going up wildly – whats going on? Ah well, i am getting off meds now. Im happy about that but i have a few questions thoug. I am supposed to go down by 10 mg at a time. One month on 50 mg, then a month on 40 and so on. Well 2 days ago i went down to 50 from the 60 i have been having for several months now. Its not that im not doing fine on meds but i just feel like a druggie eating all that and i would rather not eat it. So for the first couple of days i have been annoyed at very small things, VERY antisocial, very procrastiating and feeling very sad. My rituals have also come back to some extent. So my question is – is that normal for the first couple of days every time i go down 10 mg? If so – whats the point – why not quit it all at ones and be done with it? What will happen when i get down to 10 mg a day and then stop entirely? My doctor told me that if i felt my ocd flaring up i should go up a bit but im on 50 mg now and going up to 60 again would bring me back to square one and i havent accomplished what i wanted. What am i supposed to do – live with the thougt that i will be eating this shit for the rest of my days? Thats freaking not fair. And another thing – no matter what education i can think of its too stressfull for me to complete and even function in the job afterwards. I will have to be a secretary or some creepy shit like that. Why does stuff like this happen to me? I want to use my creative skill – i have MANY but its all just too damn stressfull. My life sucks.. its almost christmas and i am seriously looking forward to that but afterwards i have NOTHING to look forward to. I might as well just stay in bed all day and do nothing and wait for my body to rot till i die. Sussan — http://www.aub.dk/~zannie/hamster/
Response:
It’s freaking not fair, but i am going to stay on meds because otherwise i was depressed all the time, suicidal, only wanting to stay in bed, etc. Meds saved me, and my doctor said i can even have a healthy baby and not have to quit them. It’s embarrassing to be on meds b/c most people make negative stereotypes, but I want to tell you that all the things you think you can’t do– i didn’t used to be able to do as much, so I have accepted meds as part of my life– it’s not an addiction; it’s an illness, and it’s not our fault, and people who *really* love us will accept that. I hope this makes you feel even a little better, even if you do decide to go off meds anyway. I wish that were an option for me. KGA
Response:
coping97 wrote: >It’s freaking not fair, but i am going to stay on meds because otherwise i >was >depressed all the time, suicidal, only wanting to stay in bed, etc.
Good. >Meds saved me, and my doctor said i can even have a healthy baby and not have >to quit them.
That is so irresponsible for your doctor to say that. Do a web search on lower birth weight and (whatever med it is you are on). don’t want to get your OCD riled up, but I just heard some negative things about that. Your baby will suffer the consequences unless you research the safety of taking medication while you are pregnant. DENNIS
Response:
Ladybug wrote: > So my question is – is that normal > for the first couple of days every time i go down 10 mg?
Hi Sussan, I don’t know if it’s normal but it’s what I experience. Whenever I decrease my dosage I feel more anxious for awhile. I have to give myself time to adapt to being less medicated and allow myself some time to let the stuff I learned in CBT – my new habits – become more like natural reactions. It can take a while. Be patient and allow yourself time to relearn to react to life in a health, non-OCD kind of way. > If so – whats > the point – why not quit it all at ones and be done with it? What will > happen when i get down to 10 mg a day and then stop entirely? > My doctor told me that if i felt my ocd flaring up i should go up a > bit but im on 50 mg now and going up to 60 again would bring me back > to square one and i havent accomplished what i wanted. What am i > supposed to do – live with the thougt that i will be eating this shit > for the rest of my days?
You are thinking in terms of black or white. Meds or no meds. IMO, you should give yourself enough time at 50 mgs to feel better. If it takes a few months or a year – that’s ok! Then when you feel you can go donw again – go to 40 mgs (or whatever) and again be patient. > I want to use my creative skill – i have MANY
In your opinion, what would be the best job/career in the world? — monkey
Response:
I’m good. what is the best meds out there?? Thanks
Response:
Pamela Stevens <BrainLoc…@webtv.net> wrote in article <20973-3A377704…@storefull-281.iap.bryant.webtv.net>… | I’m good. | what is the best meds out there?? Thanks That’ll depend on your own unique chemistry, Pamela. What works well for one person may not well for someone else. — Thrasher
Response:
SalArmy4me wrote: > You have two choices. You can either keep taking your medications > under the supervision of a doctor or you can lead a life of endless > torture at the hands of a merciless illness. The more you try to get > away from that fact, the more you will suffer.
What about those who chose CBT and are able to manage their OCD without meds? Are you sure your ‘two choices’ are not a result of black or white thinking? — monkey
Response:
On Mon, 11 Dec 2000 13:32:25 +0100, Ladybug <whigfie…@hotmail.com> wrote: Thank you all for the replies. It took a couple of days but now i feel "normal" again. My ocd is flaring up a bit but it gives me an opportunity to fight back. Before i was so drugged that i hardly had any ocd attacks. On one hand thats nice but on the other hand i cant see how it helps make me feel better in the long run. I also have a fear that the meds will suddenly stop helping – that they wont be enough and that i at some point will have to eat an even higher dose. I would rather just eat 10 mg for the rest of my life if thats possible and enough. My preference thoug is to get completely OFF meds and be able to fight this as i used to be able to. I just got so tired at the end. It seemed easier to give in and just do the freaking rituals instead of feeling scared all the time. At the end my rituals got the better of me and i felt like they took too much time, were too embarresing and so on so i asked for help. I was too worn down to fight back. I feel better now. Kind regards Sussan — http://www.aub.dk/~zannie/hamster/
Response:
Sussan: I’ve been doing pretty good, thanks for asking. Take it slow and easy getting off meds … let your body have plenty of time to adjust, don’t rush it. No, it’s not fair, but then life rarely is fair. But, you are an intelligent woman, and you can get through this. Being on medications for a chemical problem (which chemical is under debate, but something is not getting through) is something that all of here deal with (are we willing to be on medication at all, how much, how long) … at least you are dreaming … if it takes medication to be YOU, then take medication for as long as you need to take it. I know that it isn’t a true comparision to compare OCD to some other physical illness, but when you get down to the bare bones, it all boils down to what you are willing to do to continue to live and continue to live as normally as possible. A brain clouded by OC thoughts and depression isn’t going to be very creative. All my best … Lachryma
Response:
You have two choices. You can either keep taking your medications under the supervision of a doctor or you can lead a life of endless torture at the hands of a merciless illness. The more you try to get away from that fact, the more you will suffer. You didn’t create the world and the facts of living, but you live here, and thank God you have the option of taking viable medications when 50 years ago you wouldn’t have had that chance. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.
Response:
"Ladybug" <whigfie…@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4mh93tgv7mijm250lov8t73tuvnjkrs0dh@4ax.com… > Hi All.. > How is everybody doing? Its been a while since i have posted and read > very much but i have noticed the number of post going up wildly – > whats going on? Ah well, i am getting off meds now. Im happy about > that but i have a few questions thoug. I am supposed to go down by 10 > mg at a time. One month on 50 mg, then a month on 40 and so on. Well 2 > days ago i went down to 50 from the 60 i have been having for several > months now. Its not that im not doing fine on meds but i just feel > like a druggie eating all that and i would rather not eat it. So for > the first couple of days i have been annoyed at very small things, > VERY antisocial, very procrastiating and feeling very sad. My rituals > have also come back to some extent. So my question is – is that normal > for the first couple of days every time i go down 10 mg?
I found that to be normal and it lasted for more than a few days. It took me more than a year to slowly taper off luvox and another year to get off Buspar. I am sure you have heard of people getting off meds quickly only to return to full blown ocd. As you reduce your meds, you will need to learn to deal with events in your life is new ways. You will have to replace the meds with new coping skills, new ways of relating to others and the world, etc. I could not have done it without a therapist. > If so – whats > the point – why not quit it all at ones and be done with it? What will > happen when i get down to 10 mg a day and then stop entirely?
If you learn new ways of responding to your world, you will not be so adversly affected by events, anger will dimish, anti social behavior will diminish, you will be happier and will want to get out there and enjoy life more. But learning slowly but surely is the best way to go. > My doctor told me that if i felt my ocd flaring up i should go up a > bit but im on 50 mg now and going up to 60 again would bring me back > to square one and i havent accomplished what i wanted. What am i > supposed to do – live with the thougt that i will be eating this shit > for the rest of my days? Thats freaking not fair.
Some people will have to take meds the rest of their lives. I thought I was one of them 5 years ago but persistence, acceptance and determination helped. > And another thing – > no matter what education i can think of its too stressfull for me to > complete and even function in the job afterwards. I will have to be a > secretary or some creepy shit like that. Why does stuff like this > happen to me?
Maybe you have too high of expectations for yourself. Learning what your abilities and capabilities are will be a must. Those capabilities include your tolerance for stress. Not everyone is cut out to be policeman, president of the US, air traffic controller etc. > I want to use my creative skill – i have MANY but its > all just too damn stressfull. My life sucks.. its almost christmas and > i am seriously looking forward to that but afterwards i have NOTHING > to look forward to. I might as well just stay in bed all day and do > nothing and wait for my body to rot till i die.
We do create our own reality. Hopefully, after lying in bed all day for days on end, you will find your "bottom" (bottom as in this is as low as I want to be) and begin the journey out. I understand your frustration. Speaking for myself, I would not have understood what I have said in this post 6 years ago. I didn’t start recovery until after I "gave up" and was willing to give up all that I had known or believed. Only then could I start creating a new reality for myself. — Take care of your "self". whatatrip rbol…@eburg.com —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–
