My thought too! I mean I wasn’t there, but my initial reaction about the med being great or a disaster kind of tracks with my experience and understanding of mental health medication. Is that just the way that person talks? Maybe they were trying to have dialogue with you in a way they thought you’d appreciate, and it just backfired? I don’t know. Not trying to defend them but just thinking about assuming best intentions, it can help things feel more level for me sometimes.
Either way, it sounds like you want a second opinion. That sounds reasonable to me, especially when you’ve had those kind of disasters before! If you can only get monthly appointments then maybe that is a good thing - give you some time to get another opinion and review the options? And as the psych said, think about it some more. Of course most meds suggest drinking little to no alcohol to be effective… so there’s that to focus on!
Try not to be disheartened that this appointment hasn’t worked out as you’d hoped. I know that’s easier said than done when you’ve waited so long for help. But it’s a process and it will take time! They may suggest alternative meds that you’re more comfortable with, this one is always there to come back to if they do. Give it a chance
No one knows how the brain really works, or most of the drugs that are commonly prescribed! Just that for some people they can work, so they try them. It’s shitty if people aren’t honest about that.
I have so many conflicting feelings on mental illness, wellness and all the associated shit that goes with it. There’s so much complicated stuff! But I know right now I’ve found a medication that keeps me relatively level and certainly not desperately miserable the whole time. So there’s that.
Glad you are in a place to be able to get by without medication (or at least as much) and found things that are working for you. That’s awesome
You’re right, I think I was on the defensive yesterday because I really didn’t like the word ‘antipsychotic.’ My better half also opened up about how living with me and my ups and down really made him feel and… it wasn’t pretty. So, after a lot of soul searching and spending the night reading everything I could get my hands on about the pill, from reddit to research papers I decided to give it a try. I’ve been on SSRIs for over a decade and had at least 3 weird episodes per year.
If things get weird, I can stop taking it. But I guess I should try something different, because what I’ve been doing so far hasn’t been exactly great.
Psychiatry is a lot of test-retest, test and error. Because the organ in question is the most complex of the body. It’s like the less absolute predictable médecine and they do not pretend to have the absolutes answers. But this doesn’t mean they aren’t scientific. I always tell people to be cautious with anecdotical research on internet… beside experimental studies and real research protocols (that you can find on the data base like PudMed), you can’t be sure of the data you find on the web. Of course,Iived experience from others is informative, but there is nothing in their statements that you can relate to your condition specifically, because you can be anywhere different on the normal curb of potential reactions to the prescription in question. People here and on other platforms will give you truly kind and rich descriptions of their lived experience and that you can take in account, for better or for worst. But the only experience we have is here to give you is our experience. A psychiatrist have experience with a lot more people than just himself. Not only within their caseload of patients, but from studies. Second opinion is never a bad idea if you don’t like the idea of taking meds. Although an antipsychotic can be given for lots of reasons depending on the dose. From difficulty to sleep, to panic attack, to mild anxiety, to cyclothymic disease, BPD, schizophrenia… the label doesn’t mean anything, it’s more about the quantity and about the combination with other meds and, more importantly, the diagnoses you have and how it manifest itself through you (comparing to other people who can have the same “label” but doesn’t have it at the same level or living with it the same way or reacting to meds the same way). Like antidepressants can be prescribed for a lot of things to, so is for antipsychotic. At this point it’s more the word that is scary than the meds itself.
For me I can’t stand meds I kind of go crazy everytime I take them. But I had to try to see and if I was to do it again I’d do it because I’ve learn a lot from those experiences. And of course I was really in distress and needed help…. At the point where I was seriously I think I would have tried anything to feel better. But it didn’t work and now all I do is psychotherapy. With years of it I’ve manage my life a lot by changing progressively my thought process and behaviours and my relation with emotions.
And that is me but, since we are in anecdotical sharing here, I think being sober solve alot of problems in those areas.
I hope you find the right balance between all this
This has been my experience as well. Sobriety made it possible for the meds to work as intended and also once I was no longer taking medication, for my body to work as intended.
Things I have found to be true for me…
Trying out many meds to see what worked for my unique body chemistry…it is definitely trial and error. It took a long time to discover what worked for me and then that would require tweaking over time as well. Sadly, not a one and done.
Most of the meds have lengthy and frightening possible side effects and boy, some of them hit me hard.
Most importantly, all the meds I was prescribed did not mix well with alcohol or other drugs. Once I found some that I could tell were working, I also found that I would sometimes have horrible reactions when drinking in conjunction, so I would go off the meds (as opposed to stopping drinking).
The vast bulk of my anxiety and so far 100% of my depression has been alleviated through sobriety. Alcohol was incredibly detrimental to my mental health, created intense mood swings and heightened emotions. I was not pleasant to be around. I will add that in retrospect I also believe that hormonal fluctuations were greatly affecting my moods as well.
So no, you aren’t crazy wondering about all of this.
Finding what works for our unique body chemistry can be a struggle, but when we do, it can provide that extra bit missing and allow us to live more healing fuller lives. This can give us emotional respite while we work thru issues that may linger in our tissues. Or for some of us, we require the assistance to lead manageable lives because of our body chemistry.
We all need to do what works for us. I do know 100% that long term sobriety will contribute to our mental, emotional and physical health.
*I feel like my original post was maybe somewhat misunderstood or even taken to offense by some, for which I’m sorry, I’ve never doubted that prescription meds can be important in many circumstances, nor that they may have helped any one of you personally. So given that mental health can understandably be a sensitive topic, I thought I’d instead replace it with an interview of a professional mental health counsellor discussing my more critical standpoint much better than I could… Hope this helps somehow anyways Amy!
Personally I’m not a fan of meds for myself. But for many mental health disorders they are a huge benefit. You are telling someone who has identified as having mental issues not to take meds. That view is incredibly dangerous as mental health medications have saved countless lives.
The natural medicine industrie and lobby is as much greedy as the pharmaceutical. Except at least one is trying to do scientific protocols to legitimate their use and the other doesn’t. I’ll let you interpret which on is which, and decide which one you trust, but I think it’s not reasonable to go and suggest to someone to go against a medical opinion without having properly evaluate the case in question…
Ah look, I’m well aware nobody knows Amy’s situation as well as her of course, and if her gut feeling is telling her she shouldn’t, and to at least consider a different psychiatrists opinion first, I agree
They saved mine. ADHD with mild depression. Medications combined with CBT counselling and relevant supports and check-ins. Without this framework for balance and self-care, I wouldn’t be able to hold my job or save my marriage (both of which I’ve done in part thanks to the neurological support of appropriately-prescribed medications).
try something different, because what I’ve been doing so far hasn’t been exactly great
This is deep and simple. We’ve all got fears that keep us stick in the booze and drugs rut, and most of us crave routine. But stepping out of that comfort is exactly how we get better. Good for you!
So I thought I’d give an update. I’m really glad I decided to try the treatment, because it’s actually helping! A lot. I haven’t had any crazy mood swings, haven’t drank, been sleeping well and most importantly I’ve been incredibly productive at work. I’ve gotten more done in the past 3 days than in the past 2 months put together. So yeah… so far so good. Who knows, I might turn into an actual human being at some point soon.
Thank you everyone. It’s really really strange. I’ve had good phases before, but they were just phases of me feeling extra amazing before the inevitable burn-out, blackout and 3 week recovery stage.
Now I’m just… level, stable. I even saw my family and despite my dad’s best efforts to get under my skin, I wasn’t bothered and managed to brush off his shitty comments. That was the moment I knew listening to the good psych was a good idea.
I’m still absolutely terried of posible side-effect, but on the bright side it’s keeping me well away from booze. I really don’t wanna know how these pills interact with alchohol, I’m sure it ain’t pretty and I don’t wanna find out.
Off the bat I would like to say that I am not medically qualified to say yay or nay to your psychiatrist’s chosen path of treatment.
It sounds like you may be referring to Seroquel / Dopoquel. I went on it and it was a catastrophe for me, but I know many people on it who rave about it. Each patient’s reaction to a medication is subjective. Antipsychotics are prescribed in low doses for anxiety as a co-script with an antidepressant. It doesn’t mean that the patient is psychotic. It’s just a drug classification.
In my 17 years of experience with psychiatrists I’ve realized that their job is to diagnose and prescribe. I’ve received very little therapy from a psychiatrist. AA, on the other hand, has not only provided me with a platform for therapy, it’s also helped me stay sober for 18 years and turn my life around.
I feel that you should try the 2 together. Get to AA meetings and stick with your psychiatrist. He won’t know if his treatment will work until you try it. Recovery is multi-layered and the reality is that we often do need meds to assist with the therapy we choose.
I say AA because it sounds to me like that is your primary addiction and often when people get sober from drugs, they compensate with their primary addiction because it’s the one thing they haven’t fully admitted to.
Be patient and remember that we didn’t become addicted overnight, so we don’t recover overnight.
I wish you well on your journey of recovery and look forward to seeing you as another recovery miracle.
Thank you for your very thoughtful response. It’s not seroquel, but I’d rather noy be too specific because I am not endorsing the use of any drugs on here. With my med, it works for some and it’s a disaster for others.
I have a Borderline Personality Disorder and most definitely an alcoholic with occasional drug abuse. I’ve tried AA a while back, I might try meetings again soon. Atm I’m seeing this psychiatrist and have weekly sessions with a therapist. Meds are hit and miss, but I’ve been on the same ones for over 10 years and… they didn’t exactly help me not get weird, right now the changeover is helpful and I’m truly grateful for it. For the first time in a while I’m breathing without worrying what weird shit I’ll be up to 5 mins from now.
