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Avatar universal

Why take medication?

i always try to listen to feedback from patients rather than doctors - they aren't the sufferers and their experience isn't life experience its purely clinical for them.
I want to ask how many of you really benefit from taking medication?
I have had Bi-Polar for 19 years now and Ive been filled up on every drug to hit the market - all they have ever done is to turn me into a zombie and give me untold side effects!!! for e.g. i am easily 15-20kgs overweight thanks to medications.
I have been off medication for about a month now. I suffer from cervical and lumbar degeneration so this means there are times where i need to take heavy painkillers. due to experience with prescribed addiction in the past i refuse to take these things for more than a week or two at a time - i really DONT want to go there again! what this means though is i bounce up and down like a yo-yo on crack!
I really don't want to go down the path of becoming a walking pharmacy again by adding in BP meds - none of these drugs are pleasant to withdraw from and they're not pleasant to live on. anti depressants are no good either for obvious reasons!
all of my experience with medication in the past has taught me that we are all human guinea pigs - no-one can say for sure how the drugs work for BP depression etc. they think they know?! they do know about the myriad of horrifying side effects though - and i know from plenty of personal experience -  i gain so much weight but i lack the motivation or drive to work it off (if its even possible to? - haven't seen it yet that's for sure!) the real worry is the long term damage is unknown? i think we'll all be writing the textbooks of the future regarding that one!.
so i really want to hear if medication really helps any of you? I'm looking for reasons to re-consider for the sake of my children - one things for sure I really hate living with this damn curse!!!!
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1985196 tn?1402190098
Sorry to hear bout your trouble's with meds i've had probs with anti depressants sending me off the planet in the past , and yeah i agree it is like being a guinea pig , i often wonder what  effects it has on the brain in the long term after all these years of taking them it couldn't be to good i'd  imagine .     but       there's one thing i can suggest though is fish oil capsules multi B vitamins and Niacin (B 3)  especialy help me with stability also a healthy diet fruit and veg regular exercise , but if you go to a nutritionist vitamin shop or whatever there called and tell them you want something natural for Bi ploar or what ever the problem may be they should be able to help you out , i know it's made some improvements for me , anyways take it easy and hope things work out for ya .
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Avatar universal
such a dumb *** - i replied to your comment but replied to my comment not yours!!! duh!
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Avatar universal
Hey stormbear, I know I tried Abilify got side effects similar to parkinsons (involuntary muscle contractions and rigidity) i cant remember ever trying invega though? lol that doesn't mean i didn't! I know in the end they had me on a whole cocktail of rubbish including clozaril, epilim, valium and lexapro. To be honest the doctors were crazier than I was!
I ended up with sleep apnoea elevated liver enzymes and basal septal hypertrophy (enlargement of the muscle between the chambers of the heart. Side effects that have stuck with me ever since!
I don't know its all too much really - gotta live life on the roller coaster or risk worse by taking the meds? not sure which is safer playing Russian roulette with my moods or the guinea pig life on treatment?/?
like I said its a damn curse for me!!!
Its good though if you don't get any other side effects than weight gain! maybe treatment will be a success for you! least I'm hopin for ya! On weight gain though psych's have told me for years that's a common side effect of most of these drugs! as if we don't have enough to deal with already!!!
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1985196 tn?1402190098
hey , i've found that some anti pychotics work in stabilizing the moods but ,the problem is the weight gain and impulsive eating , i'm actually due to see the shrink in a weeks time to see about Ablify and Invega , apparently from two of my friends you don't gain any weight on them so fingers crossed i might be put on one or the other , i don't seem to get any other side effects , except i don't go well on antidepressants for the obvious reasons .
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Avatar universal
apologies for the random flow of that question i just cant type as quick as the flow of thoughts!
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