General Do You Know How Their Medication Effects Them !!!

[amethist]

I thought I would put this out for discussion, after a rough few days of taking a low dose of one of the meds my husband takes.

I lost it big style over the weekend, to the point that I realized I needed more help than just all the usual stuff I had been doing to keep myself well.

So Tuesday morning I took myself to the Dr's before it got totally out of hand, nit picking and having a go at hubby at 6.30 am was the point of realization that something was not as it should be.

She gave me a low dose of one of the meds hubby takes, and agreed that a combination of the menopause and being a supporter had finally taken its toll. Hubby takes 60mg and I was prescribed 20mg, being told to take the first dose that lunch time after eating, followed every morning after breakfast. to go back in 2 weeks to see how I was getting on.

I lasted 2 days with them, and went back yesterday morning to have them changed to something less potent. I could not function at all, could not think straight, lost my balance, could not coordinate my movements and to top it all, just looked at a potato, not really sure how to peel it. My whole body ached so bad, like it did not belong to me at all, I felt completely disoriented with what was going on around me.

48 hours later, and I am still not clear of the last one, not taking the others until my head is fully clear, as per Dr's orders.

So if this is how 20 mg's has effected me, I know understand why hubby can do very little at all, and why he complains of pain in his neck, arms, jaw, spills things, drops things, struggles with so much. yet there we all are telling him to do this, go out for a walk, get busy, get interested in something, you name it for months every one has been pushing and shoving him to do a lot more.

Now I know and understand he can't, the medication has him completely screwed, and he could not explain any of this. No wonder he cannot always talk with out struggling, looks at me like I am from outer space and gets so angry. He is so drugged up, by what he was told is the best out there, er no its the best to drug them up so they cant function at all

We are in the process of fighting for a new Psychologist to put this right, but know we cannot just take him off them until he has a replacement.

So maybe before you get too frustrated when they won't, can't do much, maybe, just maybe the medication is the reason they are like this, and it is not just them being lazy.

Amethist

 

[amethist]

It is now 72 hours since taking the last of the medication first given. I can honestly say I still feel a little of the effect they caused. I slept all night again, which is very unusual for me, from 10pm until gone 7 this morning.

So 3 days of feeling like I was on another planet, from just 20 mg of the Paroxetine, and hubby takes 60mg. :eek: We have reduced it by 10mg by breaking one of the tablets in half.

Just waiting now for the call for his appointment to see a new Psychologist and get these changed ASAP.

 

[Navy Spouse]

I'm so thankful my husband refused medication. That is awful what it did to you and to think your husband is taking such a higher dose than you. I'm sure it felt good to sleep through the night but what good is it if you can't function during the day? The side affects of these medications are worse than the symptoms they are suppose to treat.

My husband goes to group therapy once a week. All the guys are on a some sort of medication except him. Most of them now have drinking problems. That would say to me the meds aren't working.

I'm sure for some people medication may work but from everything I've read and heard it sounds as though they are more harm then good for a lot of people.

 

[amethist]

Navy Spouse I dont blame him, now I myself understand some of the effect they have.

This morning is the first day I feel like myself, back to feeling slightly stressed and edgy. So tonight I will start taking the other medication, which I do know is only a mild one and will just take the edge off how I am feeling. That is all I wanted int he first place, not to be drugged up so bad I did not know what day it was.

Then we wonder why some of them self medicate with alcohol, maybe wrong but at least they know the effect it will
have on them.

So from now on we are going to use the aromatherapy more than we have been doing. Last night he had a soak with a balancing combination of 4 drops each of the following oils, Basil, Geranium and Cedarwood. He was a bit un nerved by the booming fireworks, but calmer than the night before.

 

[Lemmingnot]

My husband's new medication has been a lifesaver. In less than a month on a new drug combo, he says he is much calmer, his startle response is diminished, he doesn't have self-defeating thoughts and can read and concentrate much better. I have noticed that he is much calmer, smiles and makes appropriate jokes more, shows less moodiness. In fact, his recovery time when encountering triggers is so much faster that now I'm the one still reacting with old responses.He's actually looking forward to christmas, a BIG trigger for him, while I've become so used to this time of year being awful that I'm a little twitchy.

He's been a sufferer for 40+ years and says he has never had success with drugs in the past. I guess I'm saying don't knock out drugs as part of a treatment plan. It's a shame that it takes so long to find out that some may be wrong for you, but sometimes they really can be good.

 

[Tabitha]

After seeing my therapist for the 1st time she prescribed me Prozac but after seeing what the Risperidone and Paxil did to my N I'm terrified to take anything. We didn't know if it was one or the other or a combination of both but it wasn't pretty. The "looked at a potato, not really sure how to peel it" comment summed it up. She got out of bed and looked at HER own car and said "Baby, that car looks familiar." Scared the crap out of me.

I asked her basic questions like do you know where we are and the year just to make sure she wasn't totally out of it.

It is scary to see how their meds can affect their ability to function.

 

[amethist]

Hubby has struggles for the last week on 30 mgs of his morning medication, saying yesterday he felt really bogged down with how he was feeling.

So yesterday I made a suggestion. He also takes a mild med 1mg in total, in the evening, down from 1.5mg twice a day. So I suggested he take another 0.5mg just before he goes to bed, which is anytime between 9 and 10 pm, usually closer to 9pm. He did this last night and has been brighter all day, even getting stuck in cleaning the cooker and cat flap for me this morning.

If this works and takes the edge off of anxiety, then we will stick to it for a while.

Some will say dont do that, go and see your GP before you tweak them about. He would if anyone of them talked any sense, we have done better on our own than with them. just letting them know what has been done after the fact. As they messed up last time, you may understand why it is done this way.

 

[Tabitha]

I totally understand taking it upon yourselves to tweak the meds (as long as it's a reasonable amount of tweaking of course..not something like tripling the dose or stopping completely out of the blue)

N started off with 20 mgs of Paxil and within a week and a half they upped her to 40 mgs for no apparent reason. After about another 2 weeks she said she felt "high" all the time so I suggested she wean herself back down, which she did. And for a while she felt much better on just the 20 mgs. Unfortunately she doesn't take it at all anymore because she says it stops her pain meds from working. Not sure if I believe that to be true but I'm trusting her instincts.

N took the risperidone once and had that foggy "who's car is that...i'm not sure if i'm awake or dreaming" feeling. After telling her therapist about it she said "Oh it's okay, that's normal at first just don't stop taking it" I'm sure it may be "normal" for some but N & I both agreed that we'd rather her be somewhat agitated and pissy at times rather than incoherent and confused all the time. So she decided to not take them again.

It's really frustrating because N used to take Xanax for her anxiety and it worked wonders & she didn't abuse them but she was getting them from the "pill mill" that also gave her gobs of pain meds and muscle relaxers that she didn't even need. Well now the therapist won't put her back on them because of the potential for abuse.