mental health thread

[Scarlett O'Hara]

Originally Posted by stp

Going off anti-depressants can really mess you up during weaning. I went off way too quickly and went through all sorts of weirdness.

Oh I see, that's most likely it but I've been off them for 8 months so you'd think it would be gone now eh? I was on Fluxotine and it has a really long half life so was easy to get off. It's amazing feeling the difference from what I was on them (emotionless and numb) to now (emotional). It's probably just taking a while for my body to produce it's own natural serotonin and I've got a history of having uncontrollable estrogen. What one were you on, may I ask?

[P A N]

relevant to the thread, but not immediately relative to the ongoing convo...

i've always found the idea of taking pills to combat what i view as the human emotional spectrum a strange one. i don't ever know why, but i just don't trust it. i'm not claiming to know that it's bad for you or that doctors are full of it (although heavily indoctrinated thought is also something i have a hard time trusting), but the idea just doesn't sit right with me. i don't judge those that do take pills to deal with their issues, i just choose to stay away from it. i also stay away from doctors, because in the end, it's up to me which one i choose to believe and roll with, which is essentially a form of self-diagnosis.

ANYWAY. i thought this video was very interesting when i watched it a couple weeks ago. just a TED Talk about pills and such, for those who might be interested.

[Burning Down]

Originally Posted by Vanilla

Oh I see, that's most likely it but I've been off them for 8 months so you'd think it would be gone now eh? I was on Fluxotine and it has a really long half life so was easy to get off. It's amazing feeling the difference from what I was on them (emotionless and numb) to now (emotional). It's probably just taking a while for my body to produce it's own natural serotonin and I've got a history of having uncontrollable estrogen. What one were you on, may I ask?

Were you weaned off or did you just stop cold turkey? I stopped Ativan (lorazepam, which is a benzodiazepine) cold turkey in high school, against my doctor's advice, and while that was the best thing for me to do at the time for my mental state, I experienced terrible withdrawal and in hindsight I should have been weaned off of it.

[Scarlett O'Hara]

Originally Posted by Burning Down

Were you weaned off or did you just stop cold turkey? I stopped Ativan (lorazepam, which is a benzodiazepine) cold turkey in high school, against my doctor's advice, and while that was the best thing for me to do at the time for my mental state, I experienced terrible withdrawal and in hindsight I should have been weaned off of it.

I did cold turkey and had absolutely no symptoms as a result. Benzo's are really hard to get off because of their withdrawals. I think it's always better to go off it by tapering with anything but I certainly haven't always done that in the past. I was on Opiates for pain relief used for my two conditions and found it so hard to get off.

[Burning Down]

Originally Posted by Vanilla

I did cold turkey and had absolutely no symptoms as a result. Benzo's are really hard to get off because of their withdrawals. I think it's always better to go off it by tapering with anything but I certainly haven't always done that in the past. I was on Opiates for pain relief used for my two conditions and found it so hard to get off.

I want to avoid going back on benzo's just because of the withdrawal.

I found it extremely hard to get off Vicodin last year after my surgery - I had a sizable stash and was taking it for every ache and pain because it basically eliminated the pain.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Vanilla

Oh I see, that's most likely it but I've been off them for 8 months so you'd think it would be gone now eh?

Yeah I would have thought by eight months you would be clear of any effects attributable to the Fluoxetine.

Originally Posted by Vanilla

What one were you on, may I ask?

I was taking Paroxetine for about six months. The efficacy was waning and the doctor suggested upping the dose but I decided to go off it instead. I went down to half a day for a week then stopped and had all sorts of brain zaps, fogginess, flu-like aches and emotional turmoil. The major symptoms faded after a week or two but the fogginess and fragile emotions took about three months to normalise.

[Scarlett O'Hara]

Originally Posted by Burning Down

I want to avoid going back on benzo's just because of the withdrawal.

I found it extremely hard to get off Vicodin last year after my surgery - I had a sizable stash and was taking it for every ache and pain because it basically eliminated the pain.

That's fair enough hun! I hope that you don't need to go back on it. That's exactly what I did too, I was taking it all the time even though I didn't need to. What was the surgery for?

Originally Posted by stp

Yeah I would have thought by eight months you would be clear of any effects attributable to the Fluoxetine.

I was taking Paroxetine for about six months. The efficacy was waning and the doctor suggested upping the dose but I decided to go off it instead. I went down to half a day for a week then stopped and had all sorts of brain zaps, fogginess, flu-like aches and emotional turmoil. The major symptoms faded after a week or two but the fogginess and fragile emotions took about three months to normalise.

That's what I thought. Wow that is a few side effects! Sorry to hear that. What do brain zaps feel like exactly?

[Burning Down]

Originally Posted by Vanilla

That's fair enough hun! I hope that you don't need to go back on it. That's exactly what I did too, I was taking it all the time even though I didn't need to. What was the surgery for?

Acute appendicitis and my appendix had ruptured causing a lot of internal bleeding and pain.

[Scarlett O'Hara]

Originally Posted by Burning Down

Acute appendicitis and my appendix had ruptured causing a lot of internal bleeding and pain.

Oh no that's awful! I've had my appendix out too but it was not really needed.

[Paedantic Basterd]

Originally Posted by stp

( Moved this from sexual experience thread )



No not professional in any way. Just what I have gleaned from my own experiences first and second hand. Unfortunately bipolar isn't something I have any personal insight with. Finding the right shrink is certainly a challenge. I'm not exactly pro-meds but I do think they have their place. I also think they are way over-prescribed. Lables are good and bad when it comes to mental illness. I think it's never as clear cut as a simple lable would suggest. Generally it's the closest fit to a cluster of symptoms, usually biased to the prescribing doctor's area of expertise. I guess I can only say to keep looking for a good match shrink-wise. Oh and look after yourself. The basics like diet and exercise are too easily dismissed.

Sorry if that comes across as patronising or anything. I wish you wellness.

Every individual needs a different combination of approaches and techniques, and some of those may include aspects of biomedical, behavioural, and insight therapies. The most important think is to find a psychologist who you like, and that can take some shopping around, but it plays a massive role in client recovery.