Am i going to be on meds for life?

[recluse]

I've been on Citalopram since around June 2007, and they help me a great deal. The thing i am worried about is that i am dependent on them. I stopped taking them for a while without consulting my dr a few months back but without them i was a wreck! I had no choice but to start on them again and i feel kind of weak for having to rely on them once again.

Is there anyone else worried that they are reliant on meds to function?

 

[Jenniee]

,.,.,.,.,.

 

[recluse]

I lowered gradually, but i should have consulted my dr. I foolishly thought i would be able to cope without them. I was fine for one month o'r so then i began to feel really anxious and depressed.

 

[Jenniee]

,.,.,.,.,

 

[spaz]

What is the issue with taking meds? I take zoloft and seroquel and it really helps with anxiety and i am now thinking about getting a employed and doing other stuff like maybe relationships. I know i can't do it without them, i have tried a thousand times. So for me meds are for life. They have made my life better. I have no reason to stop taking them and every reason to continue.

 

[recluse]

Yeah my meds help me a great deal too spaz. But do you ever worry that you feel too reliant on them? Would you feel stronger and prouder battling it without meds?

I kind of feel that being on meds is an easy way out, and when i am on them i am not really the real me if you know what i mean.

 

[nico82]

I know what you mean, I'm so tired of taking pills. I've been on some form on an anti-depressant for like the last 12 years (I've tried 4 so far) and I wish I didn't have to take them but then I remember how seriously low I feel when I'm off them :?

 

[spaz]

I agree with you about 'not feeling yourself' when on meds, and for me that is the good part. Myself off medication is an anxious wreck who drinks too much to deal with anxiety. So the 'real me' is much worse than the 'fake me' on meds. I actually think that medication allows me to be more myself- I can do things that I would like to without major stress.
I don't think there is anything to gain by trying to tough it out without meds. I have tried that and my quality of life is invariably worse.

 

[Psychedelicious]

I feel the same way, at least you are only on one thing. I don't see any problem with keeping on taking it if it's working for you. I take like..... 5 different kinds of pills a day, I know it's a lot. I can't do without them. I could probably be okay with some of them, but if I don't have any I get really really sick. I'll probably be on pills for life too. I guess I don't care enough to want to change that though.

 

[recluse]

I take them for depression and anxiety pinker.

Yes they help me a great deal. They make me more confident and happy i suppose. I still get depressed but not as depressed. They aslo slow down my racing mind.

 

[lyricalliaisons]

If someone has a mental condition, just like a physical condition, they're put on meds to help them... not to hurt them. The meds change your brain patterns into a more "normal" brain pattern. If you stop taking them.. after the med goes out of your system.. your brain goes right back to it's original "abnormal" state.

If you had diabetes you would have to take insulin for the rest of your life, whether you wanted to or not. If you had high blood pressure/cholesterol, you would have to take those meds, whether you wanted to or not. For the rest of your life. My mom is on numerous meds for physical health problems & she will have to take these for the rest of her life, although she hates taking them.

Since September of '07, I've been on meds & I know I will be taking them for the rest of my life. I don't like it at all. In fact, when I first realized I was going to have to take meds for the rest of my life, it really upset me. But they help a great deal & I know I would be dead if it weren't for them, so I will always continue to take them. My life has improved greatly since I started taking meds (although still pathetic) & I wouldn't stop taking them for the world.

 

[freestylemonster]

I just started on cymbalta and it really does help lift my mood and lower anxiety. I don't like the idea of taking meds for the rest of my life buuuut if I have to I don't mind

 

[dan_e]

Hey Freestyle, how long have you been using Cymbalta and do you notice any side effects? Just curious because I always see it on tv and might want to try it. My current meds aren't doing that much.

 

[freestylemonster]

I've been on it for 5 days so far. The only side effect is that I felt sick the first few days, but that went away. Also I had trouble peeing but that's going away too.

 

[Irishbhoy]

I've been on it for 5 days so far. The only side effect is that I felt sick the first few days, but that went away. Also I had trouble peeing but that's going away too.

I was on it for about a year and a half, side effects were insomnia(Big Time) and my sex drive disappeared. It basically just stabilised me but I'm glad I changed my drug.