Posted by 49er on April 2, 2010, at 14:38:57
In reply to When is it time to give up on all the meds?, posted by greywolf on March 26, 2010, at 1:13:11
Greywolf,
I agree with the others who say it is a personal decision.
However, I think you answered the question when if I remember correctly, you said you were getting worse and not better. Isn't insanity doing the same repeatedly that isn't working and expecting a different result? I don't have it exactly right but I think you catch my drift.
I don't have bipolar but I came to the conclusion in 2006 that meds weren't the answer after suffering horrific side effects including a hearing loss and cognitive issues. I am now down to a low dose of 1 med after tapering off of what was initially a 4 med cocktail.
I have tapered very slowly. I am not going to lie and say it has been easy. But if I had tapered too fast, I am convinced I wouldn't have even succeeded in reducing the meds.
I feel like a normal human being. I know this sounds strange but I was so glad to be able to cry over an issue I had a right to be upset about. When it happened a year ago, I was too numb to feel anything.
You might want to check these sites out if you are serious about getting off meds:
http://theicarusproject.net/
http://alt-therapies4bipolar.info/If you do decide to get off of them, please taper slowly. I have usually tapered at 10% of current dose every 3 to 6 weeks. Your brain needs time to adjust to the neurochemical changes of having less drug in the body.
Usually (not always), folks who say that when they got off meds, their mental illness returned, tapered too quickly. Many times, withdrawal symptoms look like a return of the illness.
If you want to babble mail me, feel free to do so.
poster:49er
thread:940928
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100328/msgs/941797.html