Is it possible to live med free

[hell1971]

I really want to be med free, is it possible or am I putting my family and friends through avoidable stress.
I feel stable now and although it has taken a long time and Ive only been stable about 8 weeks I feel like Im ready to come off the meds.

[Lillybust]

I've had bad reactions to every medication, and most recently lithium was the worst with hair loss and inability to think.mmi could no longer function at the job I had for 22 years.  I took early retirement which is very stressful.  Politically the new director had been trying to get rid of me for years.nni ended up in the hospital 5, years ago and have been on and off all meds known to mankind.  Nothing really worked.  My pdoc quit and I retired.  Now I am isolated without health insurance.  I am talking to social security on Monday and hoping that my disability is approved so I can find a new doctor.  My living situation is not good, an unhealthy relationship.  One day I feel okay and then I can tell I am having an episode.  Rapid cycling.  I am trying to hang in there but really really scared.  All I know is that body is glad to be med free and I am trying to ride the ups and downs and keep myself busy.  I am just not able to put chemicals in my body and I used to be an overly functioning professional and now I can barely function at all.  When I was overly functioning I was not on meds.  The meds decreased my ability to focus and in combination with a non supportive and viscous work environment I just had to quit and give myself a break.  I thought that would help me get better, but it is not great.  I am pretty scared and don't know where to turn.  Social security is my only hope.  

[docrrao]

Hi friend did you get any withdrawl reaction or symptoms when you stopped Risperidone?.Just wanted to know as i am a little more edgy when I am on 0.5mg than when I was on 1.5 mg.Is Risperidone known to give any withdrawl reaction on stopping?.

[ILADVOCATE]

Just as much as we can't make any statements about the need for treatment and your friends can't your therapist unless they have a medical degree can't either. It appears that your therapist doesn't understand the nature of bipolar in general. It would be best to have your psychiatrist refer you to a therapist who does. A "nervous breakdown" was just a euphemism in the past used to avoid the stigma of having a psychiatric disability. Having a diagnosis should not make you feel any less of a person. Its how its managed. And for bipolar treatment is an essential part of it. Yes people have emotional lives and every day real world issues that need to be talked over and that's what a therapist is for but they should not make any statements regarding a person's treatment. Only a psychiatrist can do that. I would strongly suggest changing therapists.

[kathy434]

I would like to say yes you can stop your meds, but I honestly learned that this is a false belief many of us have at times.
One reason is denial that you have an illness.  It is not cured, only managed, and like diabetes and other illnesses, one has to constantly manage the illness.  In doing this you feel healthy and normal.  But it is because your meds are working to stabilize you and keep you from swinging moods.  So I am telling you to absolutely Not stop your medications!  Speak about this with your doctor first and listen to his imput on your idea.  He is very experienced.
I have been on meds for years and felt pretty great all that time.  I weaned off most and then the big one that stabilized my moods.  Within about 6-8 weeks I was flying pretty high, laughter and fun and having a grand time.  I knew I made the right decision.  Then I hit a moment of break in reality (psychosis).  I caught it in time, but my doctor informed me that my behavior was totally unlike me and that it was obvious that I would have to be on meds for the rest of my life.
It is easy to dismiss the reality of your illness and think everything is fine.  It is your meds that are making you feel good.  Stay on them.  Your brain needs these meds to keep it functioning in a healthy way.               K

[Alex_X_18]

I don't think there a person on this site who doesn't wanna be "med free" its sad but true,......the first time I went without my medications was at the age of 13.....
It looked like I was doing realy well at first. It took about three months before I had the biggest breakdown I've ever had in my entire life,....I had been diagonosed bipolar two years before and had never had a manic episode or any kind of rapid cyclying only small moodswings nornally I would cry for an hour or so and then be fine...but ever since the incendent that happened with my medications I would get episodes and get over stimualted and become manic so easily...sometimes I adopted the new idea or belief I could go without medications simply out of being manic, thats the thing when you get so outta line you don't even relaise there is something wrong going on (and thats normally when you wind up in the hospital).....and yes at that time,... I thought I was normal.....but really I was hyper and agitated and anxious (at least thats what I relaised later on) bottom line its not a very good idea.I learned frist hand that meds are for you not against you and that with the right mediavtions and help you can become stable ....
but I would advise against stopping your medication if you still feel a strong enough urge to do so make sure it is under close doctors supervision .......

[zzzmykids]

Let's see, idiot gp never recommended pdoc.  When meds caused year of hell and pain, why he just took me off of them.  I am still mentally, physically and emotionally recovering from THAT setback and damaged ALL relationships. Now, currently can't take antidepressants, gone through the ones on market and have adverse side effects. Fortunately I have a proactive psych and together we are managing the affects of being off of anti's with antianxieties, exercise, diet, seeing my internest for blood work up, my chiropractor/kinesiologist/nutritionist and my Christian talk doctor.  But still tired and fight staying out of bed.
I don't like taking meds. Don't like side effects. BUT as a person who has Bipolar and is in constant need of medication I have to tell my brain it is NOT in control of me, it is just another organ like the pancreas is for diabetics....to LIVE as normal a life as I possibly can, I will ALWAYS take the meds and you should too, no matter what your brain is trying to convince you.  If bipolar, hell, take the meds .

[paranoid_cataclysm]

I hear doctors sometimes take people off their meds under certain circumstances like if they're not facing stressful life situations and such.  A psychiatrist on youtube who I watch the videos of and looked up who has good ratings for his treatment on medical websites and such claims you don't stay on meds forever.  But this is all after like a year or more of stabilization.  I don't know I'm not doctor so I don't know or understand their way of thinking and strategy when it comes to this stuff but I know one of the most common and bad mistakes a person usually makes is they feel stable so they decide they don't need their meds anymore and stop taking them and then they sometimes end up in the hospital.  If you join something like PACT/ACT they make you call them every day and let them know you took your medication if you have access to a phone or else they start coming to your house every day and making sure you take it.  I guess this works because the people in it have a lower incidence of hospitalization and such according to the website of NAMI.

[hell1971]

Thank you all for your comments, I guess I want to go med free to prove or disprove I have bipolar. I know 3 pdocs have confirmed my diagnosis but my therpapist thinks I just had a really bad breakdown, some of my friends think this too, so I guess the reason I want to be med free is to see if I am truly bp or not.

[Malaksharif]

Hi
glade to know that you are doing better

but may i ask you why do you wanna go med free?????you did not say???????

i mean if you are sick of taking pills every now and then ,,try to imagine that you are talking vitamins not just meds,,,,,,i used to be like that and now me and my husband call my meds vitamins ,,,,,,,,,we almost forgot that it is for bp,no it is for my health,,,,,,,,,,,,,,people all the time take all sort of vitamins for their health ,skin or hair and they even feel special that they are taking more care of themselves.


as for me am withdrawing my meds now to be med free but because am trying to have a baby and i want my body to be med free for the sake of the fetus in future (of course with my pdoc)
no need  to tell you that am taking a huge risk this way ,but am doing it because i do not think that an innocent child should be fed on drugs like these even if pdoc says some meds are ok(they are never sure of anything))
only for the baby am doing this and after i become pregnant and have my baby (God willing) i will go on my meds immediately

PLEASE,, don't ever think of doing this,,,,no one went med free and stayed ok,,i think everybody here agrees with me,,,,,,,,,i believe many people tried and for no reason they went worse and had to resort to stronger meds with more side effects,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i think you have to thank God that your meds are working for you now

WRITE ANOTHER POST ASKING IF ANYONE IS MED FREE AND IS STILL OK OR WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM

please reconsider,am concerned about you and your family

[mags22]

I totally agree with adel_ezz.

After only 8 weeks you can't be sure you are stable.  It could simply be that you're subconscious wants for you to be stable.  I have sooo many times thought after a bad episode that I was stable only to realize later that while I wasn't in a extreme mood swing I was definitely not balanced and was still making poor decisions.  Going off your meds could end up causing you to go right back to where you just came from.  

I know that it would be nice to live med free, and I did it for several years until 2 years ago when I started rapid cycling again, with devastating consequences.  I hope you can be patient and take your time, and then after giving yourself plenty of time where you remain stable, if you still feel the need to come off the meds, make sure you have access to a doctor who can see you VERY often to help monitor you and your moods as you taper off and quit the meds.

All the best:)  

[adel_ezz]

i would NOT rush into that.

again 8 weeks is nothing so as to judge.

you should be reminded that you became stable due to medications.

i would wait a year without any mood swings to decide and only then with a trustful pdoc

[ILADVOCATE]

People with psychiatric disabilities need to take medication for life myself included (even though the medications are in clinical study). After stability comes the idea sometimes that people can do without medication but the truth is that people feel stable but may not understand what the medication is there to treat. Ask your psychiatrist what the mediations are helping on and what things were like before your started medication and why you started it.