Posted 7/12/2019 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
Hello, I am new here and have never been on any kind of forum, so this is a little bit scary.
I am currently taking Cymbalta and Wellbutrin to help with my anxiety and depression, as well as Klonopin for when I have panic attacks. However, I am running out of medication (I only have enough for 9 more days), and I do not have a way of getting a refill or a new prescription.
Last fall I moved away from home for college, which means that I had to transfer my Medicaid information to a new county. However, I ran into many problems while trying to do so and I was never able to get healthcare in the new city where I go to school. Thankfully, at the time a psychiatrist I was seeing back home gave me enough medication to last for 3 months to give me time to transfer my Medicaid before my case was closed. Those 3 months came and went and although I tried reaching out, I wasn't able to access mental health services. And I ran out of medication. I remember how awful the withdrawal symptoms were and I am really afraid of falling back into that dark place. I got very depressed to the point where I could no longer get out of bed. I was really nauseous, weak, barely eating and would get these weird shock-like sensations through my whole body very often. I was also very suicidal and very depressed, and I was finally convinced by my very worried mother to go to a crisis center on campus to seek help because I felt like I could not go on. I told the psychiatrist there about my entire situation and my history with mental illness. They gave me a refill on my medication but I never got a follow up appointment and have not seen a doctor since.
Now, I am back home for the summer, but because my case was cancelled when I moved away and since I do not permanently live here anymore I couldn't get mental health services at the place where I used to for so many years. I was told that if my case were to be reopened, it would be 2-3 months before I would be able to see a doctor and by then it will be too late.
I am afraid of going through withdrawal symptoms again and I am so tired of taking medication. I have been taking medication for my anxiety and depression since I was 12 years old and I am really afraid of having to deal with this for the rest of my life. I do not want to have to take medication forever. I have been wanting to get off it, but if that were to happen I'd have to gradually wean off the medication with lower doses and such. I have tried visiting and calling different health centers nearby but I am always told that they cannot offer me services, there is no doctor who can give such high doses on such controlled drugs, or they just give me a phone number to call which will usually end up with them giving me another phone number to call because they cannot help me. I feel very stuck and anxious and I do not know what to do anymore.
I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with withdrawal symptoms from these medications? Or how to handle being constantly pushed around by the health care system but never having access to the help I need?