Anna

Hi all,

I want to get off the medication merri-go-round. They either don't work, stop working or have such dreadful side effects and getting off them can be the hardest part due to the withdrawl symptoms.

I am not confident I can do the diet / exercise thing (I'm a bit of a quick-fix girl) but I am going to try. Thanks for this opportunity to share the road for a while,

anna,

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Dec 06, 2010
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Sorry Michelle, I got mixed up!
by: Anna

I'm so sorry Michelle, I mixed up who had sent the comments. Thank you for your thoughtful reply :-)

Dec 06, 2010
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Grateful for the encouragement
by: Anonymous

Thank you so much for commenting Nilesh (I hope I got that right but I can't see it from this screen!). Being new to the site I had kind of lost my thread and couldn't find the page I had set up :-) It sounds as though you have some really wonderful support around you which is so good and I hear you on the sleeping - not sleeping is one of the worst and most difficult to live with aspects of these problems. However, I have always had an issue with medication and I think it is part of my depressive thinking rather than my therapeutic thinking - it seems to be part of my unrealistic belief that I should be able to....cope, be well, not be depressed etc etc but it bugs me all the same. I have a good doctor and have just started seeing a new therapist who is really skilled. Having said that, I am trying to implement the advice here and have had reasonable success so far. I have just received part 4 and it was EXACTLY what I spoke with the therapist about yesterday - all the negativity and critical/judgmental stuff I tell myself on a daily basis. Finding a way/ways to recognise and stop that thinking is my goal for the next week and then part 4 of this course arrives and its exactly the same. Thats cool!!
I really appreciate this site and it feels good to be part of a site that is trying to help people struggling with depression to make changes to their lives on a more permanent basis to try and beat depression. Thanks again for replying, you made my day :-)
Take Care,
Anna

Dec 01, 2010
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Meds and Lifestyle
by: Michelle

Hi Anna,
I have bipolar disorder and am doing well on a combination of three meds, with minimal side-effects. Recently I discussed with my psychiatrist the possibility of tapering off my meds under her supervision to see what would happen, i.e. if I would be OK with less meds and ultimately none.
She told me that before we could consider such a proposal, she would need to see me in a better lifestyle (primarily of sleep, exercise, and nutrition). She believes that with my levels of bipolar, what I can work toward is being able to get by with somewhat lower doses of two of the three meds, but with lithium staying the same.
I'm committed to "submitting to supervision" because times in the past when I messed around on my meds I paid for it in hell.
What I need to somehow be able to be equally -- if not more than -- committed to is getting, KEEPING, my rear in gear regarding diet and exerise. Sleep, thanks to the third med, is better than it has been in at least six years.
For me, I know that exercise and healthy diet are essential for not just feeling and doing "better," but for feeling and doing truly "good" and "very good."
My therapist tells me -- and I know she's right -- "just 20 minutes a day, just 10 if you don't have 20, just MOVING, will help you. Just one healthy meal a day, is better than just plodding along on cereal and a peanut butter sandwich." She helps me set and monitor small goals, and I bring my log into my sessions so we can deal with my ups and downs both in the bipolar and in the lifestyle changes we're working on.
I hope all the best for you. It's fine to be a "quick-fix" girl... maybe just do it a few times every day? ;-)

Dec 01, 2010
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All the best
by: Nilesh

All the best.

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