General Does Any Ptsd Sufferer Use Alternatives To Medications?

[fight4him]

I was wondering if anyone here suffering with PTSD uses different therapies such as diet, ie leaving coffee sugar alone ect... exercise, meditation over taking medications and if so how is it working for you?

 

[cookinggal]

I have tried diet over medication in the beginning but not recently. I don't know whether you have regular PTSD or Complex PTSD, maybe discussing alternatives would be a good question to your doctor. Often times because the Side effects of simply stopping a medication can be worse then PTSD itself.

 

[The Albatross]

Yes I have made dietary changes. Limiting caffeine consumption and nixing concentrated sweets and sugars. I have found it to be beneficial as well as exercise and meditation/inspirational reading and adequate hydration (80 - 160 ounces a day depending on my exercise and the time of year). 70% of all adults are chronically dehydrated, and if you want an eye opener, google up the symptoms of chronic dehydration. I am self regulating without medication but was only on Effexor for one year. I have adverse reactions to many medications so felt I had no option unless I tried the dietary/hydration/exercise route. With some other stuff, like self study workbooks and therapy techniques I'm doing pretty good right now.

But depending on what you are taking, I would encourage you to have the discussion with your prescribing physician and/or therapist.

 

[fight4him]

Thank you so much for your reply :). My Husband has combat PTSD and does not want to go the route of meds either. I have completely changed his diet, cut caffeine intake, we walk and work out. He had some underlying health issues that have gone away with diet change and that has helped lots. He still has trouble sleeping but not as bad as it once was. We are trying to deal with it all more naturally and even though he still has times that it gets to him, he is tons better than he was a year ago. I have read a few articles on dehydration and it is amazing what it does to the body and mind. Vitamin D has been a god send for him as well. We did not realize he was deficient until he had a complete physical. Hoping to hear from others who are trying to fight this naturally :)

 

[JustBe]

Yes. I got off all the meds and all processed foods, I'm vegan and my service dog has my back 24/7.

I do cheat from time to time and have a coffee or pizza...

Also I'm now on a low dose of Citalopram for Chronic MDD (Major Depression) but that's independent of the PTSD as is the Synthroid.

Not working and simplifying my life as well as Therapy and amino acid support and herbal/homeopathic remedies help too.

 

[just me here]

If you can do some bio-feedback therapy I would recommend that you do. It works for me, except of course, when it doesn't. The drugs I tried were all in conjunction with talk therapy aimed at depression and after 2 decades of side effects and no real effects, I refuse to try any more. I am getting off of klonopin after 5 years, after that I plan to stay clear of any kind of mood altering drugs.

If they work for you, congratulations. I am just sick and tired of being strung out on one psycho drug after another, and frankly quite angry about the time wasted using "off label" drugs that were later proven to have no clinically proven effect on depression.

 

[piratelady]

I do try to exercise on a regular basis. I find cardio to be very helpful in calming my nerves. I also take some herbal remedies for anxiety and depression when needed. For depression, I was taking 5-HTP for a bit. For anxiety sometimes I take Valerian root. I also subscribe to some pod-casts to help calm my mind at night. There are some great ones out there for calming my mind down. Sometimes they do wonders for me.

 

[intothelight]

Medication is a really personal decision and I have had both good and bad experiences.

At the present time I am complete free of psycho-pharmaceuticals. I have made major lifestyle changes and really make sure that I eat right, hydrate, exercise, meditate, sleep, and keep stress to a minimum. Everyone of these things has helped me to stabilize and to find balance and enjoyment in my life. Therapy has given me the tools to manage PTSD symptoms when they arise and at the present they are not much more than a few blips on the radar.

But this past year has also taught me something about drugs and really changed my mind about using them when they are needed. For almost a year I have undergone chemotherapy and that therapy also required the use of steroids. Never have I had anything kick the PTSD up like steroids did, and at first I was very non-compliant in using medication to offset the steroid effect, because they were benzodiazepines. I will never again put myself or my family through that.

So personally I live just fine without medication, but there are times I have needed it. I guess my advice would be to not take mediation if you really can do without it; but don't rule out taking it completely, because you never know when you might need it.