Am I over-medicated and misdiagnosed

[PonyExpress]

I have three children 9, 4, and 2 1/2.  When I gave birth to my last child(my second girl,4 also a girl)I suffered from post-pardom depression. I went into a hospital and was medicated and hospitalized for 5 months.  At the time it seemed that everyone knew what they were doing but now I wonder.  I have never understood why I was in that facility for that long considering I have never been suicidal or self harming in any way.  It seems I could have been treated as an out-patient and would not have missed 5 months of my babies life.  At the time I was so highly medicated that I didn't know the difference. They kept me in until the insurance ran out and gave me no medical advice or follow-up for my medications.  I was abandoned and left to deal with it on my own.  I have been in treatment consistently since my release and my doctor has taken me off some, but I feel that I am still under to much medication. Now that I am out and my little girl is 2 1/2 I wonder how I made it for 38 years before I had her with only the help of an antidepressant. Can your body really change that much?  Can the sexual abuse of a parent and the memories of that change you that much?  Can it change you so much that you need 150mg zoloft and 1200mg neurontin every morning to function, when you wake up, and 200mg of serequil, 200mg of topomax, and 1200mg of neurontin at night to sleep? It just baffles me how a person can live their whole childhood and teen years and survive abuse, but need this much drug intervention to live life when they have so much going for them. I can recognize the things that may have triggered the memories of my childhood, but I am also intelligent enough to know that this is not my childhood and this is my chance to make a better life for myself.  I just wonder if the drugs, although they may not be dependent, may carry a sense of dependency simply because I have been told that I need them.  An sometimes when a person that does not have the confidence, they need to make these major life decisions that is all they nee(drugs).  Just to be told.  So what does a person like me do, spend the rest of my life taking these drugs, which I preferably do not wish to do, or do I try to find the safest way to ween myself off?  Or do I just need to research until someone finally tells me that this will be my breakfast of champions and my midnight snack?

Thank You for you time and consideration,
Sincerely,

Deby Hirsch

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I am a firm believer that you should be on the minimal number of and lowest possible dose of medications like this. You should definetly find a psychiatrist who will work with you to diminish or eliminate this massive cocktail, but tapering them off one by one, until you decide what you need and what you no longer need. That is the way to answer this question, by intelligent experimentation under expert supervision.

[Miena]

Hi Deby...
I have no children but went through simlar circumstances with doctors labeling me and teling me what I needed, being hospitalized...your story rings a bell with me.

I think there is a way to get off these meds, by weaning yourself slowly, very slowly. You will want and need a doctor to help with this, but I personally don't trust psychiatrists, and I certainly would not be hospitaized again.

There are so many withdrawal symtoms that can occur, it's best to work with a doctor, maybe an internist or pharmacologist. I also take neurontin and know they can be hard to get off of. When I try, I fall to crying spells and panic attacks...not to say that you will, just me! But that's a HIGH dosage you're on, so I'd be very careful in choosing a doctor to work with.

Even if the drug is not supposed to be something to get "addicted" to, your subconcious certainly takes priority as to how much you "need" them, whether you are conscious of it or not. This has been my experience, anyway.

So find doctors you really trust, tell them you want to get off the meds, and see how responsive they are to helping you meet that goal. If they are not, keep looking. Someone will want to help you gain your independence from these drugs, and then you will know for sure if you need them or not.  

I'm going through it myself right now, so I can certainly empathize with you. It takes time, alot of patience. I've been to about 19 plus doctors, but found one I think I trust to help me, so I know you can, too!

Good luck to you, Deby!
Miena

[Hero101]

Allow me to clarify something.
Today psychiatrists have classified certain states of mind or modes of behaviour into many categories.
Previously, anyone who was not heterosexual was thought to be suffering from a disorder.

Their job is to spot a specific aliment or disorder and prescribe the respective treatment.

Psychiatrists differ on this quite often due to the fact that some are better than others and it is also due to the fact that psychiatry is very subjective.

I shall mention one thing that ou most probably have already observed. Once treated, a whole new world of symptoms can be noted. More often than not these symptoms are often thought to be caused by the patients initial illness. There are many contra-indications of these drugs.

Let us take Zoloft for example. Zoloft is used as an anti depressant. I did some research and I shall only convey the symptoms that I found to be extremely common.

Agitation is one of them. It is described by the makers of zoloft as agitation when studies concluded that this agitation was closer to violent behaviour.

Clouded thinking is another. This causes the user to live constantly be in a state of mind where he/she does not take the consequences  of his/her actions into account and has also been found by many of the users to be the main reason why they did not spot these symptoms until stopping the drug.

Depressed mood. This can only be described as a general feeling of hopelessness.

One of the most common symptoms is sexual dysfuncion. In the least it causes low sex drive and often inability to reach climax.

I do not mean to scare you but the thought that your dependance on them exists only in your subconscious is not completely true either. The withdrawal symptoms are dire.
You may do a google search yourself about 'zoloft withdrawal'. You will get approximatley 80 000 results.

Common withdrawal symptoms include drowsiness, nausea, stomaches, flu-like symptoms, increased anxiety and the strangest feeling of electric jolts.

Doctors say that they can last up to two weeks.
I have seen many posts saying that they can last up to one year.
Mine was four months until it stopped completely.

When I tell doctors this they say that it is impossible and always find another explanation which I know for certain is untrue.

Doc's right. The less meds the better. You are so drugged that you might not know what is causing what.

I would suggest that you see a psychologist to help you work through these issues. Be VERY sure to find the right one. It could very well be the best decision that you have made in your entire life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.  

[DrugFreePolly]

Dear Deby,

I am 40 year old mother of three children..ages 14 boy, 8 girl and 6 girl :-). When I was around 37 1/2 I became very depressed, anxious and felt I could not handle taking care of the house, kids or anything. I was very distressed. I visited my family doctor, who referred me to a psychiatrist. Within 10 minutes, the psychiatrist diagnosed me as being bipolar and admitted me to a psychiatric ward for a week. I too was heavily medicated with several drugs. When I came home, I was even more depressed, hearing I was "mentally ill" and would need medication "like a diabetic needs insulin" for the rest of my life. This was just a 'drug-pusher's' slogan to get me hooked on psychiatric meds. The past 2 1/2 years have been a living hell for me. I became lethargic, depressed and even sucidal! I too had functioned great for the first 38 years of my life. I had worked full time in the medical field and taken care of my children with no major problems. Two months ago I made the decision that I wanted my life back. I went off medication. My psychiatrist refused my phone calls when I informed his office of my decision. I worked closely with a pharmacist.....and I am now drug free. I can't believe how much I have missed out on in the past 2 1/2 years! I also can't believe how drugged up I was during that time. I am now currently working on getting my house back in order and am enrolled in college, which I will be attending this fall. Coming off the medication was not an easy task. I experienced many withdrawl symptoms. The pharmacist assured me it was a side-effect of the tranquilizers, antidepressant and mood stabilizers...and encouraged me to tuff it out. This was good to hear, because I felt like I was going 'crazy'. Deby, I look back now.....and I know for a fact that NO doctor or anyone can diagnose a person in 10 minuets. No blood or diagnostic tests exists that can tell if there is a chemical imbalace in the brain......so this is just all guess work. These drugs are dangerous. The psychiatric and pharmaceudical industry stole 2 1/2 years of my life.....I am now getting it back.

Deby, I wish you the best of luck to you and your family. SEE A DOCTOR or PHARMACIST if you decide to quit medication. Remember, you are NOT alone :-).