Reaver

Hi,
Anyone ever hear of an ex heavy drink/drug user whos afraid of meds? I think I've just redefined irony because thats me.

I packed in everything three yr ago but am still battling reliance on a small number of otc codeine tablets (which I find far harder to quit) but I'm very scared of proper meds.

My depression is getting to me (I feel like my body and mind is dying most days) and would like to hear encouragement from anyone who has had results from meds.

Ive no idea what I'm diagnosed with as no one has had the good grace to tell me, they just hand out pills which I store in the cupboard and dont take - Lexapro,Clorbamazipine? xispin, whatever theyre for.

They scare me because the effects are so profound. They knock me for six and change my personality. It feels like they dont even know how they work, its just a case of try em n see.

Is this the only choice I have, to be broke up on meds, or broke up with depression? If its a case of getting a drug to make me feel better and function was that not what I was doing as an addict?(not that I'd walk that road again)

Sorry if this sounded like a rant, I have no idea where to go from here. Thanks for reading.

tarryon

I have been on anti-anxiety, anti-depression & other meds for years and know just how you feel. I was taking them even before I got sober. Now that I'm sober I would like to get off them. The side affects are so bad. I was quite ill, though and don't want to go back to that.

You definately should be able to ask any dr that prescribes you the meds what they are for. I do have a diagnosis of Schizoafffective. That is pretty serious and I know I can't just play around.

I did have trial and error or several meds and that is part of discovering what works for the individual.

We are not drs, though, and we need to accept their help. That is part of recovery, too.

Reaver

Thanks for the reply T, at least I'm not alone in my frustration with this. I was speaking with a guy today that suggested taking a chromium supplement. Apparently the effect should be immediate. If anything works I'll post it.

theuncertainty

Hey, Reaver. I agree with Tarryon that you should be able to ask any Dr prescribing meds what they're for and for a description of how they work or should work or are believed to work. I really want to make informed decisions about my healthcare. The Dr. is there to help me do that; they're the professional. If they can't tell me or aren't willing to take the time to tell me, I'll find some one who will. Not all meds work the same way for every one and the Dr should be able to work with you when something doesn't work.

That being said, I only recently started taking Lexapro prescribed by my psychiatrist for depression. We started at a really low dose and are trying to find what level is needed to level me out.

Reset

Wow I'm glad you posted that because I opened this particular part of the forum for a very similar reason.

Long story short: I'm depressed, went to a shrink, was told to ditch the alcohol and then we can talk about fixing the depression, now that the alcohol is out I'm still depressed, and now the shrink is saying I need anti-depressants.

But I don't want anti-depressants. I can't get my head around why exactly though. I've never taken them before so I know nothing about the side effects. I just always figured that the way out of this was real therapy like with some goateed German doctor while I sit on the couch kind of stuff.

Anyone have some advice on this? Is my reluctance to take anti-depressants irrational? Do I have warped expectations of fixing my problems without some kind of medication?