I have been diagnosed with bipolar,
although i'm not so sure I trust the
diagnosis; I think a big part of the
problem is the religious cult I grew up
in, but that's another story. But
anyway, I had been on a combination of
neurontin, xanax, trazodone, and lexapro
for a number of years, and then started
questioning my cultish religious beliefs.
This wrecked havoc with my marriage, and
I panicked, threatened suicide, and wound
up in the hospital. They took me off all
my old meds and put me on depakote, which
didn't suit me, and after a lot of trial
and error, I wound up on a zyprexa/proxac
combination (what's that stuff called?).
Then, a couple of months later, I was
divorced, unemployed, and ineligible for
any government assistance, so I tried to
cut back on the meds gradually because
they are so damn expensive and I didn't
want to have to choose between them and
food/shelter. To my pleasant surprise, I
was able to go off the meds completely,
and i've been drug-free for several months
now (but haven't told my doctor).
Since I went off the meds, I have gone
back to school, gotten a job, and have not
experienced any symptoms of bipolar. I
am getting good grades and paying my
bills. I would probably be homeless if I
were still on the damn pills. Leaving
the damn religion has freed me to think
rationally and without the guilt and fear
of god and hell and sin and all the
cognitive dissonance due to the lies my
old cult tells that twist its members'
perceptions of reality, and all that caca,
I can manage myself just fine.
The problem is, the side-effects I
experienced while drugged have not gone
away. My metablism has dropped as has my
appetite (i used to eat breakfast
religiously; now I eat one or two meals a
day, late in the day), I get cold easily,
i'm in the worst physical shape of my
life, and my sex drive is pathetic. I
also feel less creative. I keep thinking
after enough time being off the meds
things will return to normal, but hell,
it's been several months; how long does it
take?
What in the world could be causing this
and what can I do about it?
|
boogaloo
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Dec 2004 Posts: 33 Location: kitchener
Hello Posted: 12-25-04 00:42am
Well you could be experiencing a hypomanic
episode. Sometimes they can last for
years, and be very productive. Lind
hamilton (movie actress-starred in the
terminator) well she is also bi-polar and
one of her manic phases lasted 8yrs. And
she made 2 movies. Toward the end of her
years she started with uncontrollable
mania, which involved drugs and alcohol.
(just as an example). I'm not trying to
pop your bubble, just giving you insite.
Your previous experiences could've also
been a form of post tramatic stress from
your life during you cult years.
Regardless, if things are going good, stay
away from drugs and alchol, and monitor
your emotions and behaviour (maybe keep a
log, to see if you have a pattern of some
kind, and if so to see if/and what your
triggers may be). Other than that, I say
enjoy felling good
|
Writer_girl
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 12 Oct 2005 Posts: 20
Takes a While to Recover. Posted: 10-12-05 07:26am
You wrote: the problem is, the
side-effects I experienced while drugged
have not gone away. My metablism has
dropped as has my appetite (i used to eat
breakfast religiously; now I eat one or
two meals a day, late in the day), I get
cold easily, i'm in the worst physical
shape of my life, and my sex drive is
pathetic. I also feel less creative. I
keep thinking after enough time being off
the meds things will return to normal, but
hell, it's been several months; how long
does it take?
------
how long does it take? For me it took a
year to fix my sleep patterns after coming
off of benzos. You might have something
called protracted withdrawal. I think
it's understandable that you are in "the
worst physical shape of your life".
That's how I was after coming off of psych
meds. I was on 4 and had to taper off
because of the brain fog among other
debilitating side-effects.
So even though it's been several months
you're probably still recovering.
Especially if you'd been taking these
drugs for a long time (years and years).
It takes a while for the brain and body to
re-adjust to life without psych meds.
I hope you have a speedy recovery and feel
better really soon...But if you don't try
to remember that you're just re-adjusting
and I doubt it's a re-lapse (though of
course it could be I don't know you).
Just something to keep in mind.
|
poetprose
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Posts: 22 Location: Ontario
Re: Hello Posted: 11-12-05 07:10am
boogaloo
wrote:
well you could be
experiencing a hypomanic episode.
Sometimes they can last for years, and be
very productive. Lind hamilton (movie
actress-starred in the terminator) well
she is also bi-polar and one of her manic
phases lasted 8yrs. And she made 2
movies. Toward the end of her years she
started with uncontrollable mania, which
involved drugs and alcohol. (just as an
example). I'm not trying to pop your
bubble, just giving you insite. Your
previous experiences could've also been a
form of post tramatic stress from your
life during you cult years. Regardless,
if things are going good, stay away from
drugs and alchol, and monitor your
emotions and behaviour (maybe keep a log,
to see if you have a pattern of some kind,
and if so to see if/and what your triggers
may be). Other than that, I say enjoy
felling good
one of her manic episodes lasted 8 yrs???
I don't mind admiting I have alot of
trouble with that statement
