Don't Treat?

Don't go off your meds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was that clear? You will get manic if you do. So so so many people have been right where you are now. They feel okay, they stop taking the meds, they get sick because they were trending that way anyway. If you're hypomanic with your meds, what's going to happen if you go off?

Hang in there. I know it's a pain to take the meds everyday, but it's so much better than the alternative.

serafena

tortoise,

antideps take 4-6 weeks before they begin to work, so only taking 5 days would do you no good whatsoever. If you're that miserable when "normal" then you're not normal -- you're depressed. Have you ever kept a mood chart? There's a great one at MoodTracker Try doing that for a month or two and track what your true moods are before you decide to go off your meds.

serafena

I've made up my stubborn mind to go off meds.  I have almost zero attention span / ability to focus.  I know I'll go back on meds sooner or later, and it will be something different than what I am on now.

So for now, I have an appointment with my pdoc and tp next week.  I starting weaning down with this morning's dose.  My SO is 100% on board with this too.  I am comfortable with a strategy to try to keep my mood stabilized at elecated, but not as high as hypomanic.

I know I can use sleep to manipulate my mood - so I will do that.  My morning wake time is established by my dog that is trained to wake me up.  So I have to watch the clock in the evening and get exactly 7 hours of sleep.  When I feel the beginning of depression, I'll use 30 - 60 mg of caffiene, plus the strategies I've worked on with my tp.  I'm pretty good at dealing with the anxiety and panic.  My first response is the dog alerts me to oncoming anxiety/panic and then applies deep pressure therapy for almost immediate improvement, although short-lived.

I have homework to do to look into diet changes also.  My diet can definitely use improvement, and this will give me something to focus on.

I hope I'm not making a big mistake here, but I can't afford to stay on this med - because of cost and being in school.  If my pdoc suggests something else, I'll definitely consider it!  But otherwise, this is the plan.

  I fully understand missing the hypomanic states, and i to have reduced (Not quit) my meds to try and get a happy  balance between good mania and bad decision making. (my problems with bipolar have led me to bad decisions in sexual areas) So about 8 weeks ago i started reducing my respridone from a full tablet to half a tablet. Than i sat back and waited to see what would happen. I had one major mania which i broke by upping my doseage back to one tablet until it had passed.

    I now experience more hypo mania and am enjoying a much more vibrant sex life that is fully  in control. I have no desire to wander and if i ever start to feel out of control i  go back to one tablet for a few days to ride it out.

   Trust me i know what you are feeling, have you thought about just reducing your meds for a while instead of going completely off the meds? I feel like i am getting the best of both worlds, i get all the fun of being bipolar and all the safety of being normal. LOL LOL LOL

   Bill

 

     I hear you, this is an area that you really have to trust your gut. To many people just get medicine after medicine and take them. They never challenge their doctor or trust their own feelings on how things are going. Thats why i am taking it slow and easy. Plus as an athlete (old though i may be ) i tend to be more in touch with my body and how it is feeling. Like i told my wife if i saw one sign of my old bad decision making coming back i will immediately up my dose again and learn to live with it. She understands and likes my hypo manic states also, but the cheating was not something she wanted and neither do i.

    That said out SO's have a part in helping us keep it together and on the path we need to be. I for one tend to be very emotionaly tuned and have a very very hard time dealing with discord within my family. Thats just one area i have strived for balance harmony. ALso my wife understands that with my hypomania comes increased sex drive, so she needs to be willing to have sex more often. ( ) Rough living with us bipolar poeople isnt it. LOL LOL LOL

    Keep us informed with your progress and i wish you all the luck i have to give. If you need someone to talk to just post here, we are a very understanding and supportive bunch.

Bill

Hi,

I went off meds about 6 months after being dx'd.  I was off for an entire year. I weaned off with the (reluctant) support of my pdoc.  At first I felt great, for a few months. Then I relapsed into a major depressive episode that I didn't seek treatment for right away.  Since being back on meds for the last few years, lately I am frustrated beyond all imagination. I have tried everything and the thought has crossed my mind to go off again since nothing is working. But I'm not going to do that because it is inevitable that relapse will occur.

I've only had one "high, hypomanic" period since September. The rest of that time I've been in varying degrees of depression every single day. While I see your point about feeling the hypomania, getting so much done, feeling sooooo much better then being depressed, that's not necessarily the goal....it's to be stable, have that important balance.

I wish you luck. I don't know how many meds you have tried or combos of each of them, but it's your decision and it's good you have the professional support.

Good to hear from you, tortoise, and that you're taking care of yourself. Nice work!

Keep us up to date,
serafena

Yes,

You will probably need an anti-anxiety med for the panic. They shouldn't make you manic.

Good luck,
serafena

Hopefully your pdoc doesnt yell at you, thats the last thing u need. Often time people put way to much faith into pills pills pills and not enough into finding a way to live with it. Now of course this doesnt apply to everyone or every disease. However in our cases this disease does have positives that "normal" people can't understand. I for one have to use an anti depressant during the winter due to my not being able to excersise and lack of sunlight. Otherwise i suffer from severe depression. I have worked thru winter after winter without meds and it has become increasingly hard for me to do it without some sort of medicine help.
That said i have been thankfull for having a pdoc that has listened to me and is willing to exlore the possibilities of living on less meds. All in all i have done a lot this last year plus learning and understanding what helps and what hurts me. Keeping a journal of my moods, triggers, and meds has helped me greatly also.
Good luck and kee us informed
Bill

I was on Saphris for a short time and the short time it was working I did feel "normal" and it felt so strange.  I know exactly what you are talking about.  It is like you don't know how to act or what to do with yourself because you are so use to living out of sorts all the time.  I was just started on Lamictal and Tegretol, we shall see how that works out.  I have been right where you are, feeling better, stopping meds, trying the herbal/ammino acid route, it is very hard to know what is the right thing to do sometimes.  Good luck on your new meds, good luck to both of us.  Hopefully we will be able to find the right "Balance" soon.

Gem

 Hey there, glad to hear things went well. Thats great you have a therapy dog, you will have to post his/her picture soon so we can see what he/she looks like. LOL LOL Keep up the good work and keep us informed.

      Bill  

I'm so sorry you're having trouble, tortoise. Let us know how you're doing, and don't feel bad.

serafena