![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Simcha on August 27, 2002, at 9:38:44
Folks, I'm starting to question this. I have. to get a new psychiatrist now that I've moved.
Currently I'm on 40mg. of Celexa, 200mg. of WellbutrinSR, and 1mg. of Clonazepam.(Klonopin)
I've been on this mix for about 9 months now. This has been an excellent mix for me. I'm not depressed. My sexual OCD does not seem to plague me. The teeth grinding is under control. My legs don't twitch.
I have a new therapist. He claims that he believes I might be able to get off of the drugs and produce my own set of brain chemicals. I sat in a lecture yesterday (I'm training as a counselor) where the psychiatrist says that he does not like to prescribe for depression because he claims that it is more of a behavioral thing.
Well, I've been depressed most of my life. I've had OCD for as long as I can remember. I'm always had the anxiety disorder of grinding teeth and twitchy legs. I was in therapy and 12 step programs for ten years before adding meds to the mix.
Guess what? The meds made the difference. Suddenly I've made major advances in my life and I'm stable. I'm still doing the therapy and 12 step.
I'm somewhat concerned that these health practicioners who might talk me into getting off of my meds "for my own good" may be doing harm in light of my history. Both sides of the family have mental illness. With me, I think there is a genetic component.
Oh, and I've finally arrived at a comfortable place with side effects. Now the sweating is the only thing that seems to be somewhat of a pain. I've always sweated alot though. Also I can actually have sex when I want to. I'm eating fine. I've gained some weight but I think that has stabilized.
Well, what do y'all think about long-term use of these drugs? We don't know the long-term side-effects of all of them and sometimes doctors tell us that these are short-term band-aids for what ails us? I'm trying to sort through all of this.
Thanks,
Simcha
Posted by Seamus2 on August 27, 2002, at 10:59:22
In reply to Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by Simcha on August 27, 2002, at 9:38:44
Is your psychiatrist a fellow named Procrustes, by any chance?
Posted by Guy on August 27, 2002, at 11:51:11
In reply to Re: Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by Seamus2 on August 27, 2002, at 10:59:22
I've heard many people, including health professionals, say: "When the sailing is smooth, don't rock the boat." I guess you have to look at your overall history and your current status when deciding whether or not to discontinue meds. Some people have an episode of instability, while others struggle with their mood disorder for years and years. The latter group is the one that has to be more careful about rocking the boat.
Posted by judy1 on August 27, 2002, at 12:08:38
In reply to Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by Simcha on August 27, 2002, at 9:38:44
I think you sound wonderful, and you should stand your ground and tell those (who mean well) that you are doing great on your cocktail, but are willing to learn coping skills (they are useful to have, whether you are or aren't on meds). I have never been fortunate enough to find the magic combo so that is why i seek to be off of meds, the cons outweigh the pros for me. But if i felt as good as you, i would never mess with that. best of luck- judy
Posted by Ritch on August 27, 2002, at 13:25:31
In reply to Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by Simcha on August 27, 2002, at 9:38:44
Find a psychiatrist who is going to continue your meds. I have only went off meds totally one time in 25 years and had BAD BAD results. Hey, if the stuff kills me, at least I was reasonably sane while I was alive!
Mitch
Posted by jda1292 on August 27, 2002, at 19:39:37
In reply to Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by Simcha on August 27, 2002, at 9:38:44
Fire this moron immediately! If your feeling good don't change a thing. Let this sadist make his nickle off a guinea pig, not you!
There is nothing wrong with feeling 'normal'. If you need meds take them and get a new doc. Is this person board certified? Check out their credentials at the American Medical Association site. I once had an american doctor who did not look like he originally came from somewhere else, but when he started cutting my klonopin off after I complained of complications I checked him out. He graduated from University of Guadalahara? and he was not board certified. He acted like he trained at Yale or Harvard.
My new doc did not change a thing. You've got to watch out for some of these monkeys.
> Folks, I'm starting to question this. I have. to get a new psychiatrist now that I've moved.
>
> Currently I'm on 40mg. of Celexa, 200mg. of WellbutrinSR, and 1mg. of Clonazepam.(Klonopin)
>
> I've been on this mix for about 9 months now. This has been an excellent mix for me. I'm not depressed. My sexual OCD does not seem to plague me. The teeth grinding is under control. My legs don't twitch.
>
> I have a new therapist. He claims that he believes I might be able to get off of the drugs and produce my own set of brain chemicals. I sat in a lecture yesterday (I'm training as a counselor) where the psychiatrist says that he does not like to prescribe for depression because he claims that it is more of a behavioral thing.
>
> Well, I've been depressed most of my life. I've had OCD for as long as I can remember. I'm always had the anxiety disorder of grinding teeth and twitchy legs. I was in therapy and 12 step programs for ten years before adding meds to the mix.
>
> Guess what? The meds made the difference. Suddenly I've made major advances in my life and I'm stable. I'm still doing the therapy and 12 step.
>
> I'm somewhat concerned that these health practicioners who might talk me into getting off of my meds "for my own good" may be doing harm in light of my history. Both sides of the family have mental illness. With me, I think there is a genetic component.
>
> Oh, and I've finally arrived at a comfortable place with side effects. Now the sweating is the only thing that seems to be somewhat of a pain. I've always sweated alot though. Also I can actually have sex when I want to. I'm eating fine. I've gained some weight but I think that has stabilized.
>
> Well, what do y'all think about long-term use of these drugs? We don't know the long-term side-effects of all of them and sometimes doctors tell us that these are short-term band-aids for what ails us? I'm trying to sort through all of this.
>
> Thanks,
> Simcha
Posted by graybeard on August 28, 2002, at 10:59:26
In reply to Re: Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by jda1292 on August 27, 2002, at 19:39:37
Research abstracts I've read and other posts in psycho-babble recommend that if you've had a long history of depression, or if you've had a lot of previous medication failures or relapses in treating depression, stay on your current effective meds indefinitely.
My psyMD told me last month about her patient who was doing good on Prozac, went off Prozac and when the depression returned months later, the Prozac was no longer helpful.
Posted by madison88 on August 29, 2002, at 0:26:37
In reply to Re: Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by graybeard on August 28, 2002, at 10:59:26
what the hell kind of dr are you seeing? my god. reading your post, by the time i got to the end of it i was seething. i would give anything to feel like you do. definitely fire the guy. don't even consider going off meds or screwing with anything.
Posted by Simcha on August 30, 2002, at 10:31:57
In reply to Re: Long-Term Use of Psychotropic Drugs, posted by madison88 on August 29, 2002, at 0:26:37
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Thanks for the support.
I'm not firing my therapist because he actually has no control over my meds. He is not insisting I drop med therapy. He was just saying that in an ideal world I would be able to live without the meds. The world is less than ideal.
He does not prescribe and has no influence on those decisions, therefore:
I'm still looking for a psychiatrist here in CA. My new health plan will be in effect Oct. 1st so I need to wait until then to make sure I get a pdoc who is covered by my new plan.
You all have really helped confirm this for me. I really believe that I need to remain on my medication indefinitely. Any doc that can't support that is not doing me any service. I know my history. I know my patterns. I know that all of the major breakthroughs in therapy have happened while on medications. Therefore I believe that the meds are necessary for me.
Thanks All!
Simcha
Posted by waterlily on August 30, 2002, at 20:55:44
In reply to Long-Term Use of Psychotropic , posted by Simcha on August 27, 2002, at 9:38:44
I have a family history of depression too. It goes back at least to my grandfather and even forward to one of my daughters. I've been on antidepressants for almost 8 years and fully expect to be on them for the rest of my life. The few times I've tried to go off meds I was in very good spirits and very optimistic that I would be able to go off completely. Didn't work. My psychiatrist thinks I'll be on meds for the rest of my life and has never thought I needed psychotherapy but my husband did, so I finally started therapy over a year ago. I have a very capable psychologist and she does help me, but I do not think that working with her is going to totally do away with my need for medicine. She originally said she would be able to get me off meds, but changed her mind after getting to know me better. I can tell a distinct difference between circumstantial depression and clinical depression. It just feels different to me. So long as I'm functioning normally on my current medications I'm not going to mess with them.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.