No Meds?!

[AlyMHill]

Does anyone here not take medication? Or did you take medication and you no longer do? I really would like to find some people who do not because I wish to get off of my meds.

[kmarie30]

I don't take meds. Just the odd Ativan a couple days a week

[trinidiva]

I'm trying to get off my meds....I'm taking it slow though. I've already gotten off one, and I'm still on one.

[AlyMHill]

I don't take meds. Just the odd Ativan a couple days a week

How is that working for you?

[AlyMHill]

I'm trying to get off my meds....I'm taking it slow though. I've already gotten off one, and I'm still on one.

I just started a new one. I'm being advised to just take both and hold tight but I really just want to be done with this.

[BettyInBlack]

I'm in the process of getting off my meds. I was taking Remeron 45mg. I'm now down to 7.5mg. I'm scared to stop completely, but I know I will.

It's been hard, but I feel much more "myself" since coming down. I also still have Xanax to take when I need it, but that had been rare lately.

I always say, listen to your body. I just felt that it would be better and healthier for me to get off and try and deal with it naturally.

Good luck :)

[kmarie30]

It works pretty well I just keep myself at a level I can function on hoping ill get used to it and it'll be normal to me. Some days are worse but it's there if I need them

[jamus75]

I'm in the process of getting off my meds. I was taking Remeron 45mg. I'm now down to 7.5mg. I'm scared to stop completely, but I know I will.

It's been hard, but I feel much more "myself" since coming down. I also still have Xanax to take when I need it, but that had been rare lately.

I always say, listen to your body. I just felt that it would be better and healthier for me to get off and try and deal with it naturally.

Good luck :)

If I listened to my body I would be at the ER everyday. Lol.
I'm also trying to not take any meds. Just gonna keep some Ativan around for panic attacks that can be controlled. Starting to think anxiety meds are not the right choice for me. Alot of people are in here with anxiety and take meds. If I start something like lexapro or Zoloft I want it to work so I don't have any anxiety or at least enough where it keeps it at bay. Benzos are great for panic attacks but haven't really seen where daily anxiety meds are working the way I thought they would work. For me right now I think no meds with anxiety outweighs anxiety with meds. This may all change tomorrow though.

[jessed03]

I'm in the process of getting off my meds. I was taking Remeron 45mg. I'm now down to 7.5mg. I'm scared to stop completely, but I know I will.

I always say, listen to your body. I just felt that it would be better and healthier for me to get off and try and deal with it naturally.



How did you find the Remeron? It was a great med for me, it changed my life in so many ways, allowed me to relax, but I always felt stoned. I felt overly calm, and way too spaced out! But I know that's a side effect. From my experience of tapering, 7.5 is about as effective for anxiety as licking your pillow :D so any good things happening right now, are all you! Felt so good when I came off 2 years ago. A real love-hate with the drug haha!

[AlyMHill]

If I listened to my body I would be in the hospital all of the time as well! I would be there for every muscle twitch, chest muscle pain, headache, feeling of numbness. You know the day to day crap we experience. I am trying to do what I always wanted to do. Follow a peaceful, zen life. I am going to go on a silent yoga retreat when we move soon.

I have had horrible experiences with Lexapro and Xanax (the regimen), and now my Zoloft seems to not work as well. I still use Xanax when "panic strikes" like a bat out of hell. Otherwise I just used Zoloft. Most of us are control freaks and that is why panic is so disturbing to us. I want to be able to control my body without the use of artificial and potentially unhealthy substances, like these meds.

Wonderful for those who have positive results. Unfortunately I am still on an uphill battle!

[BettyInBlack]

How did you find the Remeron? It was a great med for me, it changed my life in so many ways, allowed me to relax, but I always felt stoned. I felt overly calm, and way too spaced out! But I know that's a side effect. From my experience of tapering, 7.5 is about as effective for anxiety as licking your pillow :D so any good things happening right now, are all you! Felt so good when I came off 2 years ago. A real love-hate with the drug haha!

I like Remeron! It really helped me get passed being agoraphobic and major depression. I gained 30 pounds though, ugh! I found that it sort if stopped working, so that's why in getting off it. I'm doing pretty well too :)

And as far as listening to your body for the people who say they would end up in the hospital, I meant what you think would help. Doing what you think would be better for your health, being off meds or not. As far as physical anxiety symptoms, try to ignore those :)

[j2005]

I've never taken meds. I don't believe they solve any problems. They just mask symptoms. I'm not judging anyone, I just think people freak and then get put on drugs before they've tried to work through their anxiety. Thinking maybe its a fix. It can do as much harm as good. If you can't function, maybe drugs in the short term can help, but they are still not the answer.

You eventually have to work through it.

Or stay on drugs the rest of your life.

Not how I want to cope.

James

[laurandisorder]

I have been on various antidepressants for major depression and eating disorders. Mental health problems run on my Mum's side of our family - bad, bad mental health problems - so I am of the mindset that my depression stemmed from biological inclination coupled with trauma that I experienced at a crucial point in my life.

I think that anti depressants teamed with therapy work very well for treating depression, but I think that the stimulating effects of antidepressants; from increased serotonin/melanonin etc to the increased heart rate can actually on occasion exacerbate anxiety.

I don't know about you guys, but I can have a panic attack spurred by something random, foreboding or because I'm excited about something - my brain turns any adrenaline rush into panic mode.

Whilst I can't deny that Valium has enabled me to function enough to keep my job and live without fear of being crippled by panic or anxiety, the best way to work through anxiety is to accept it and focus on healthy and positive lifestyle choices in terms of diet, exercise and alcohol use.

That being said, I probably will be on antidepressant medication for the duration of my life. Honestly, I don't mind. I have found a medication that works well for me and basically saved my life - not to mention letting me live like a normal person.

Everyone's different when it comes to meds. I would never try to push them on anyone and I think anyone who does take a medication for anxiety/depression MUST do so under the close supervision of a doctor and in conjunction with therapy.

[AlyMHill]

I was one of those people who totally freaked out and let them put me on meds. Probably a huge mistake. I feel more nervous than ever at times. Today I made the decision to begin the process to wean myself off of the Zoloft. I will use the Xanax when I need to at first and then I will make my way to stop using that as well.

I was told my a nurse in the ER today that doctors are taught by professors who went to pharmacy school and are funded by pharmaceutical companies. She also said that its basically like telling your body to "shut up". Which I also heard in this audiobook I'm listening to.

My mission is now to focus on this move and then begin acupuncture, getting therapeutic massages, and doing yoga& meditation on the regular.

[AlyMHill]

Talking with my mental health guy today .

He said no drugs is best as it not a life sentence but a problem that needs addressing .

If drugs are needed then thats ok but he said that most people that take them that is all they do so when they are removed the symptoms come back .

He said the is percentage of people that do need them and some that dont depending on the problem at hand .

Very true! The issue is that so many of us hop on meds and don't actually deal with whatever is really going on in our lives that has caused this. That was my issue as well. It is hard for me to really get over everything that I need to while being hopped up on meds. Having them just in case is fine but everyday, is just too much for me now.

[Courtneykinns]

I never take meds! I take a .5 of ativan if i REALLY have to but i try not to.
I try the natural approach as in vitamins & trying to relax & get my mind off of the anxiety.
Ive been really nervous about getting dependent on meds so i try to stay away from them unless really needed. I just feel like trying to get rid of anxiety natural is better in the long run but i do suffer with the symptoms a lot.
I wish i could be on meds everyday, but i have to think whats best for me in the long run. :/

[AlyMHill]

I never take meds! I take a .5 of ativan if i REALLY have to but i try not to.
I try the natural approach as in vitamins & trying to relax & get my mind off of the anxiety.
Ive been really nervous about getting dependent on meds so i try to stay away from them unless really needed. I just feel like trying to get rid of anxiety natural is better in the long run but i do suffer with the symptoms a lot.
I wish i could be on meds everyday, but i have to think whats best for me in the long run. :/

I couldn't agree more! I was so scared of getting hooked on them and now I have to wean myself off of 2 different medications. Yuck! I am slowly but surely going the Natural route with things.

[jessed03]

I couldn't agree more! I was so scared of getting hooked on them and now I have to wean myself off of 2 different medications. Yuck! I am slowly but surely going the Natural route with things.

I do agree natural is better. I got onto the Mirtazapine, and it worked really well, but I knew I had to come off of it, and everything was going to unsettle again during that withdrawal period. At least with natural, once you've cracked it, you know you've cracked it.

How will meds affect your bipolar Aly? Is it something that needs to be medicated, or is it the type that can be managed through stress management and psychotherapy?

[AlyMHill]

Yeah I am expecting to feel weird at first for sure but I know that it will pay off. I was actually just told that I had Bi Polar II/ Mood Instability. So going natural will only make things better. I had no idea that I had even had it! Haha

Everything will work out, I just have to have faith.