Prescription Meds Discussion

[Trotskilicious]

Originally Posted by yo soy el mejor

i also don't like the idea of going to see someone just to get medication. I'M SAD! WHAT CAN YOU GIVE ME?

yeah i don't think a very significant portion of people act like this, i mean i'm an advocate of psychological treatment & medication but i did not take any sort of medication for about a decade because of the familiar cliches about how big pharma being evil and how weed is good 4 u and etc etc. that's mostly why i'm so condescending and cranky about people saying shit like that, because i lost a good bit of my life trying to overcome shit on my own and i've only made improvement in my mood and working life in the last few years because of prozac evening me out & also learning to love the void

i will say there are people that do go into the doctor looking for meds and create custom cocktails of prescription drugs, and they should be generally considered drug abusers and sometimes their doctors are either too weak willed to say no or, more rarely, quacks

actively participating and questioning and evaluating your prescriptions and therapy are essential, but it's certainly not something that's "you have to MAN UP and TAKE CHARGE of YOUR OWN LIFE" because that's pretty much bollocks from jump

[Trotskilicious]

however, dr. bongwater prescribes two bong rips an hour and a doobie after every meal

ssris are bad, man

[Starla]

I have a feeling that Stacee's boyfriend will be along very soon....

[Trotskilicious]

i think he's too busy exercising on weed

[Banana]

Originally Posted by killtrocity

how many pots did you smoke today nanner man

I don't smoke anymore and hardly ever drink.

[Banana]

Originally Posted by vixnix

I've put on so much weight, it's making me miserable. I don't know what to do. I binge eat and don't exercise. It sucks. I just ate about half a cup of peanut butter out of the jar.

I'm going back to my doctor to find something else because I'm sick of it. I'm on escitalopram and lamotrigine.

Well I'm no scientist but I think we may have found your issue and it sure as fuck isn't the meds.

[Trotskilicious]

"I just started dating a girl and she has to wear contacts. And I'm like...whatever. If you want to see better then you just have to have the right mindset."

[MyOneAndOnly]

Originally Posted by Banana

Well I'm no scientist but I think we may have found your issue and it sure as fuck isn't the meds.

Banana truth. Kind of like real truth except without the truth part

[duovamp]

Why the fuck do you guys give the trolls what they want?

STAHP.

[reprise85]

Originally Posted by yo soy el mejor

i was. am. i resisted for a long time. and when she first suggested medication, i declined, saying the last time i tried any was when i took seroquel in 07' and i just abused it by mixing it with alcohol. i didn't trust myself and didn't think medicine worked for me... but i don't really take anything when i'm plain ol' sick either.

i also don't like the idea of going to see someone just to get medication. I'M SAD! WHAT CAN YOU GIVE ME?

once i was clear-headed enough and had made plenty of improvements without it, i figured i should give it a real chance while continuing therapy and improv - which has also been great so far. although i do not want to rely on it 4ever.

I don't like the idea of people just going in and getting medication in a lot of cases, either. But I wouldn't judge someone who did that if it worked for them or if it got them them clear headed enough to see that they need therapy and/or other treatment.

But hey, glad to hear about your progress. That's awesome!

[reprise85]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

yeah i don't think a very significant portion of people act like this, i mean i'm an advocate of psychological treatment & medication but i did not take any sort of medication for about a decade because of the familiar cliches about how big pharma being evil and how weed is good 4 u and etc etc. that's mostly why i'm so condescending and cranky about people saying shit like that, because i lost a good bit of my life trying to overcome shit on my own and i've only made improvement in my mood and working life in the last few years because of prozac evening me out & also learning to love the void

i will say there are people that do go into the doctor looking for meds and create custom cocktails of prescription drugs, and they should be generally considered drug abusers and sometimes their doctors are either too weak willed to say no or, more rarely, quacks

actively participating and questioning and evaluating your prescriptions and therapy are essential, but it's certainly not something that's "you have to MAN UP and TAKE CHARGE of YOUR OWN LIFE" because that's pretty much bollocks from jump

I agree, most people don't act like that wrt psych medication. There are certainly people who go into docs looking for that perfect xanax, adderall, ambien controlled drug combo (and variations), but that's in the same league as faking chronic pain to get pain killers and etc (and plenty of people go into a xanax/oxycodone/soma coma from visiting quack-y doctors) But that's not a problem with the institution of psychiatry (or pain management), it's a problem with drug addiction and greed.

In other cases, poly-pharmacy can be useful. Like, I take 5 psych meds now - down from 6 at one time, and on really low doses of a couple of those (and going down by trial and error). None of them are controlled, and they certainly don't get me high. Am I addicted to them? Yes, if I don't take them I'm suicidally depressed. But I was also suicidally depressed before I took them and they have allowed me to get my life back. Am I a junkie? I don't think so. Is my doctor a quack? No, but some psychiatrists might not like his methods... however, it was basically try "extreme" polypharmacy or try electro-shock or possibly an MAOI - and all of those are extreme choices. But, I am obviously not an average case in that 1) I have severe PTSD 2) Know exactly what I'm taking and why 3) have responded very well to treatment (in the long run) where most people in my situation do not 4) am self reflective enough for psychotherapy and was even when I was extremely depressed. Also, think of drug maintenance like Suboxone for opiate dependence. Is someone on Suboxone a drug addict - well, they take an opiate every day or they get sick... but they live a normal life on it, don't get high when they take it, and show no other signs of addiction problems... like who really cares? You do what you gotta do, and the alternative (in this case being a junkie - I'm talking cases where people will DEFINITELY continue to relapse and eventually die because they cannot stop) is much worse. I personally maintained on Suboxone for a few months and got off of it with no problem, however I have a friend who has been on it for years after a terrible drug addict and is personally and professionally doing well. What's the difference?

It's complicated but I think a big part challenge for many people is getting over the idea that medicine, because of the necessity of corporations making and selling the drugs, is really any different from other things we consume. Everything we consume causes cascade reactions in our bodies and affects our neurochemistry. Because a drug is man-made does not make it worse than something that is natural. Why have such a value judgment on it? A compound is a compound, and unless something is being forced on you, I do not see why you should begrudge someone who is making an informed choice. It gets more complicated with drugging children, for instance, or the acutely insane. But in general, I think psychiatric medications are value judged in a way that is unfair, especially compared to "naturally occurring substances" and other medications that are not for psychiatric conditions. I put "naturally" in quotes because I'm not totally convinced that a drug humans make isn't "natural", since we are using tools to make new technologies just like man made crude tools for hunting. It's really not much different than that, IMO.

[duovamp]

Yeah but it still feels like you're being sold something. And that feeling sucks.

[reprise85]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

i'd like to point out that easily the two most self-absorbed total fuckwit douchebags said practically the same thing about this which is pretty much an endorsement in favor

nahmean

yeah i finally stopped feeling like i need to respond to them as well. fuck judgmental people who don't realize when they are out of their understanding. fuck them in the ear.

[reprise85]

Originally Posted by duovamp

Yeah but it still feels like you're being sold something. And that feeling sucks.

it's more of a selling game in that way because only 'popular' diagnoses are the ones that get research and development money for trials and etc. like it's been depression and psychotic illnesses classically (largely because these people have Medicare (and more recently private Medicare Part D plans') money to spend on medications, so there's a big market even when the severely ill are destitute, which of course they usually are), then as ADD became a more popular diagnosis more meds came out, and now that the recent wars happened there is more interest in developing medications for PTSD (also Medicare $$$ plays a factor here)

not the medication's fault though, and doesn't have any bearing on if it works or not.

it does suck that it's a business, but everything is a business. there's a shit ton wrong with the pharmaceutical business. definitely. and that i'd never defend, to be clear.

[MyOneAndOnly]

I was surprised when I first went to my GP and asked for Prozac. He talked to me for 10 minutes and wrote a script. I'd been in therapy for a while and my therapist had referred me. But I found out later that's my GP never even called my therapist. I could have made it all up.

Now I have my meds monitored and scripts written at an outpatient ED clinic. They speak directly with my therapist.

I have a feeling that if I wanted to abuse it I could go back to my GP and get him to write me a script for whatever I want.

[reprise85]

Yeah GPs are a big problem wrt psych medications. Much more likely to give out benzos like candy from what I've seen - at least low doses of them. Most won't touch more than basic SSRIs and benzos though, at least. If a GP tried to prescribe someone an anti-psychotic or bipolar medication I'd be highly suspicious, and any that tried to prescribe an MAOI (for example) would soon be sued for malpractice when a patient died. But getting benzos from doctors, especially old school doctors, seems to be very easy. Psychiatrists are used to addicts and patients trying to scam them for addictive medications all the time. GPs, not so much... or not tranquilizers at least - maybe more naive in that regard. I don't know, it just seems that way to me from various discussion on drug boards from years ago and etc.

But you wouldn't want a GP being your only care for a heart defect... maybe for high blood pressure, if it responded to common medications - would be fine. But if you had a serious heart problem, you'd go to a cardiologist and any GP who didn't refer you would be irresponsible. It's really not that different except that, like the general population, they can not realize how important psych issues are and pooh-pooh them as not being important.

Scotty I hope the new meds help you

[MyOneAndOnly]

Thanks. I hope so too.

[Trotskilicious]

Originally Posted by duovamp

Yeah but it still feels like you're being sold something. And that feeling sucks.

i mean aren't we being sold everything

[Trotskilicious]

man i hate the whole eyeglass industry man

they just make something to keep you buying lenses you know what i mean

they won't make anything that will fix you oh no you have to keep buying frames and glasses like every few years man

that's why i eat vegetables, that way i don't have to be a prisoner of big lens

[duovamp]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

i mean aren't we being sold everything

Yes. And that feels bad.

[duovamp]

This is why socialized medicine. Remove profit motive.

[vixnix]

then the drug companies just go straight to the governments and the dumbass ninnies that run it go ohhh yeah i guess our country does need a whole heap of these barely tested junk chemicals, pls charge us $$$$$$$ for them, slick and impressive big pharma entity, we r shit and don't understand what u make but u so shiny and we want what u got.

and then said ninnies talk with the medical ninny focus group and they all agree that all the doctors in the country should give lots of that $$$$ drug to patients because otherwise it won't have been worth buying.

And then the GP says to the patient oh u have that? I know of something that can help u, miserable fat working class patient, it's this thing that u can have because the government already spent $$$$$ on it instead of giving your kids teachers a payrise. u so lucky, have some $$$$ medicine.

[RenewRevive]

quit taking Citalopram 6 weeks ago. i'd been taking it for around 18 months and prozac for at least the same length of time before that, maybe 2 years, for ME, depression and anxiety. i underwent some cognitive behavioral therapy late last year which helped me focus on a non-medicated future. entering into a loving relationship in march gave me the final push to quit after my last script ran out. so far, no negative effects at all so i'm real happy to be off that stuff now.

[Starla]

I hate benzos. I realize that sometimes they are necessary when other drugs don't work (btdt myself). The withdrawal off xanax was a trip to hell... and something I'd never want to go through again. I'm amazed by people who can get off of them quickly after being on some large doses of it. I was only on 0.5 mg up to 4 x a day. I hate when doctors prescribe them, but if it gives a person their quality of life back, then so be it. It's not like you can walk off debilitating anxiety or ptsd.

[kelsome]

after having shitty withdrawals for a couple weeks, I finally feel normal taking my originally prescribed 10mg of lexapro. yay

[null123]

the causes of mental illness are very complex of course but there is no social/environmental component to poor eyesight, whereas I would say that for most people, circumstances create the the majority mental health problems. not to soapbox too much but I think most people know we live in a broken society that generates masses of directionless isolated people starved for meaning and connection to other people. that said, I'm not opposed to someone choosing medication to deal with the problem because the reality is many times circumstances can't be or won't be changed sufficiently to get past stuff or maybe the entrenched unhealthy (psychologically) habits are too much to break away from without meds before other options can be pursued. in the end I don't think millions of people are just biologically fucked up and suffering "chemical imbalances". it's a social problem.

[Trotskilicious]

and your doctorate is in what now

[Starla]

Originally Posted by Charmbag

the causes of mental illness are very complex of course but there is no social/environmental component to poor eyesight, whereas I would say that for most people, circumstances create the the majority mental health problems. not to soapbox too much but I think most people know we live in a broken society that generates masses of directionless isolated people starved for meaning and connection to other people. that said, I'm not opposed to someone choosing medication to deal with the problem because the reality is many times circumstances can't be or won't be changed sufficiently to get past stuff or maybe the entrenched unhealthy (psychologically) habits are too much to break away from without meds before other options can be pursued. in the end I don't think millions of people are just biologically fucked up and suffering "chemical imbalances". it's a social problem.

I don't always see medication as the first line treatment without investigation of other factors, such as environmental toxins, nutritional and mineral deficiencies, or other physiological illnesses. I think it's important to rule out other problems before resorting to medication. However...an abnormal level of neurotransmitters in the brain is not a social problem.

I've experienced criticism for taking medication in the past... it sucks, because they don't get it. If I didn't take it, didn't deal with my shit, and just let myself fall apart, then what? I'm not all pro medicine and I'm against medicating people off the cuff the way many doctors do. I think there are way too many people on meds who don't need to be, but there are a lot who have to be.

[RenewRevive]

I was on 20mg fluoxetine, stepped up to 40mg for about a year, then on to citalopram at 20mg. to be honest, although I would up using it for too long I am glad I did, because it eventually gave me the push I needed to deal with some long-standing problems. I have found withdrawal easy, but was on a low dosage and citalopram is apparently the easiest SSRI to kick. my experience was an immediate prescription, first appointment, then seeing a bunch of different doctors giving vague, unhelpful diagnosis (and only if I pushed for one) until I eventually got a counselling referral. they seemed happy to medicate tbh. would I have found kicking as easy if it wasn't for my life changing for the better? maybe not. like I said, I found the overall anti-anxiety meds experience to be helpful and would never judge those using them long-term. certainly my condition wasn't as serious as many.

[reprise85]

Originally Posted by Starla

I don't always see medication as the first line treatment without investigation of other factors, such as environmental toxins, nutritional and mineral deficiencies, or other physiological illnesses. I think it's important to rule out other problems before resorting to medication. However...an abnormal level of neurotransmitters in the brain is not a social problem.

I've experienced criticism for taking medication in the past... it sucks, because they don't get it. If I didn't take it, didn't deal with my shit, and just let myself fall apart, then what? I'm not all pro medicine and I'm against medicating people off the cuff the way many doctors do. I think there are way too many people on meds who don't need to be, but there are a lot who have to be.

this exactly