Has anyone stopped taking bipolar medication for good? If so how do you feel now?
I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder in 1995, I had post natal depression and they didn’t pick up bipolar till later. I have been taking Epilum for many years and have discided to cut down the dose slowly and then stop.
I want to go cold turkey, but scared I could have problems. I feel okay at present, has anyone been through this?
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Me……. i was taking 600mg daily of Effexor ……….. it’s actually hit and miss, trial and error with those meds for they never do know which one is going to either work effectively or agree with you …… first they had me on huge Xyprexa tablets that looked like horse pills ……. i doubled my weight in 3 months and turned into an zombie ……… i got diagnosed with bipolar / schizophrenia after the birth of my last son (who’s now 7) ….. however, nobody thought to ask me whether i was chugging back vast amounts of alcohol daily or flying high on sugar and highly processed packaged and junk food ……… 2 years ago i got reassessed and they were shocked that i was on medication at all …… the psychiatric nurse was shocked i wasn’t brain dead ….. he actually told me that i was an extremely articulate and very intelligent person and was at a loss to explain the hideously high dosages of meds they had me on …… they weaned me off by reducing my dosage to 450mg daily for the first week ………. 300mg daily for the second week ……. 150mg for the third week …….. after that my regular "GP" suggested that i stay on 150mg daily for a few months (even though he knew that i had been misdiagnosed) ……. naturally i went bananas and threw the script at him and stormed out ……. i detoxed the boneheaded stubborn willfull as merryhellll way ………. i simply stopped taking the 150mg daily ……. not a good idea i can assure you ……. the moodiness and brain frizz that ensued produced a lot of stress ……. even though 150mg daily is approximately 5 times the regular dosage of what they will prescribe for somebody with severe depression i still managed to ditch it through eating loads of leafy and green vegies in as close to their natural state as possible ……….. 2 or three bowlfulls daily ……. brilliant for levelling out stress and anxiety as they are rich in calcium and magnesium in perfect balance …… calcium and magnesium work in tandem for neural and heart health and for an efficient digestive system and of course for bone and teeth health …… i started taking a multi B complex supplement including all the B’s ie ~ B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and folic acid …. which is what antidepressants will rob you of ie ~ water soluble B complex and vitamin C amongst others …… the B complex are essential for healthy nervous, immune and digestive functioning ……. get one free of gluten, wheat, soy, lactose, sugar, preservatives as they have no place in a good quality supplement anyway and also just in case you also have unaddressed food intolerances such as coeliac or lactose and wheat (which i have and enlightened myself on) ……. the meds i had been on caused me a plethora of symptoms from digestive issues to achy bones, insomnia, constipation, brain fog.
Take fish oil supplements as well to support healthy neural, heart and immune system functioning and help to level mood swings ……. eat good quality protein such as lean meats, chicken and fish …….. you only need a portion the size of your palm daily ……….. organic nuts and seeds like almonds, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts are also good protein sources and will help with the stress and tension and anxiety of detoxing ….. foods rich in protein are good for the irritability of detoxing from anything.
Hydrate yourself properly ……. 8 glasses of water daily and ditch the sodas, pop and soft drinks, and cut right back on caffeine and alcohol if you drink any too as they’ll all dehydrate you terribly and inhibit the effective absorption of calcium, wash out your B complex and vitamin C and trash many others.
Don’t fall into the trap of getting a quick buzz from candy, lollies, sweets, chocolate and the like ……. processed sugar will only serve to stress an already stressed system …….. go for low sugar fruits like strawberries, watermelon, cantelope, pears when you need something sweet …… eat small meals 5 to 6 times daily to aid in the digestive process and give you a constant flow of energy.
This is what i did……… i was misdiagnosed ………. you need to firstly get reassessed and then follow a structured plan to reduce your meds if that is your decision …….. don’t detox too rapidly as i did ……. i swear i’m made of iron given what i did ……….. at 150mg daily i should have simply kept halving it ie ~ 75mg the 4th week, 37mg the 5th week, 17mg the 6th week etc….. hey, i sincerely wish you the best mate for i surely do know the pain of having your brain numbed beyond belief …….. let food be thy medicine Soccrates said …….. ditch the processed junk and sugary and alcoholic drinks if you drink any and do it slowly but hang in there for you are the best judge of whether or not you need those meds.
Sheesh, my misdiagnosis was due to the fact that i had raging intolerances to procssed sugar, wheat, gluten, soy, lactose ………. and i was a screaming alcoholic ….. best ball and chain i ever did ditch ……. bit sad but at least i saw the light and bucked the system and regained my health and vitality……. these days i feel great and have energy to spare …….. but you have to go easy on yourself and wean yourself off that toxic sludge slowly if that’s your choice…..;0)
peace baby
♥
My uncle has had bipolar for about 20 years, he took his medication steady but decided to stop. He then began having severe episodes causing the family extreme grief regardless of his gentle and caring nature. Hardest thing was trying to get him back on his medication again. I would suggest fully discussing this with a doctor before cutting the dose or stopping completely.
I see a pattern here on yahoo answers, and also in people I know/hear about. There are a lot of folks with bipolar who say they do just fine when they go off their meds. But if you hear from their relatives, they are desperately worried about their bipolar loved one, and pray they would go back on the meds. So I think this is that problem of "lack of insight" where a LOT of people with bipolar disorder are not really aware of how extreme their behavior is. HONESTLY I have not heard relatives here on yahoo answers say their bipolar loved one was doing just fine off meds. I suggest you go to bazelon.org and fill out a psychiatric advance directive if you live in the US, so if you end up in a mental hospital due to total relapse, you have specified your treatment wishes in a legal document that is binding on doctors (within normal medical practices).
I don’t take meds even though I have severe & chronic symptoms of bipolar, but this is only because I have never been able to find meds to help me, after trying like 20 of them. I even went thru ECT this past summer. (didn’t help). I just keep hoping that something will come out on the market that will help me & try and live the healthiest lifestyle I can. But I am suicidal maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the time, and am in the mental hospital most every year for a week or so. And there are many more crises where I don’t go inpatient, too.