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General Medication....?

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Sunshine71

MyPTSD Pro
Hi guys

Is anyone sufferer NOT on medication? Is my hubbie the only one?
Several years ago he tried several anti depressants and they didn't work - he felt dreadful and fuzzy and it took him ages to wean himself off.
We are worried about medication and the side effects and so now he isnt taking anything.

Thanks all - Sunshine x
 
Yep. I am not on meds. I have been recovering from a nervous system injury from taking psych meds and I have CPTSD and some ADHD.
So, I use supplements like magnesium and benadryl works great.
I am in therapy and I have a reg mindful art practice. I also do accupunture.
It is a more expensive route to take, but maybe better in some ways, but also harder.
 
Sunshine, in our case, it's been a long trial and error process as the psychiatrist tries to find the right combination of meds to help. In the beginning, her primary care doctor prescribed and just kept adding on top of existing prescriptions. That became dangerous, especially with the benzodiazepines. It took a while to find a psychiatrist and he is handling her meds now. The goal is to reduce the amount of meds and to change the ones that cause side effects that are bothersome enough to make her want to stop taking anything. The psychiatrist tells her that it is possible to come completely off the meds, especially if the psychologist therapy is working but to be prepared to always have a need for meds to compensate for what therapy cannot manage. Side effects can be mitigated through trial and error till they find what works for the individual. Hope this helps.

Take care.
 
I would like to add a response to the "meds to manage what therapy can't manage."
Because I cannot take meds I use magnesium, fish oil, vit D, mindfulness, excercise to help manage what therapy can't.
Also, therapy manages quite a bit, if not all of my symptoms. But that means a lot of therapy. Both my t and my psych give me therapy just my primary t does trauma work and I see my psych doc not for drugs but for CBT, ACT when I can.
It can absolutely be done without drugs.
Also, accupunture can treat PTSD symptoms.
 
He's only tried one class of medication.

(These work on seratonin and/or norepinephrine.)

There are other classes of medications.

(Some of which work on other neurotransmitters like dopamine.)

If he's taking a seratonin drug but really needs help in the dopamine department, of course those drugs he's been taking won't help.
 
My sufferer is not on mental health meds and won't take them. He was taking an antidepressant for nerve pain for a short amount of time, and boy howdy did his (what I now realize were) PTSD symptoms improve. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of suggesting (while we were finally starting to acknowledge PTSD in our relationship, during counseling) that he seemed so much better with that medication, so in his refusal to deal with PTSD, he refuses to even consider antidepressants ever again, for any other reason (like nerve pain).

He basically refuses to do anything to improve. He's very much in a "I am good enough the way I am" state right now, even though he's dissociating, losing time, raging, and being otherwise symptomatic a lot.

So no, you're not alone, @Sunshine71
 
I'm on meds and was on meds years ago that didn't work, that were anti-depressants. I talked to my T yesterday and he said what I take just blocks the intrusive thoughts but nothing produces serotonin. For me, it's to exercise and he agreed that exercise produces serotonin. What sucks is, I have to exercise every single night. So, I get off work then exercise. ( no life) ah, well. It's how I have to live. I also take gabapentin but that is for a different condition but works well with my mood disorder and ALSO take a mild pain pill ( not one that messes anybody up) 2 or 3 times a day for the other condition.

So, yeah... big believer in meds because I am a whole different person without them ( beyond negative)

But yeah, some meds just don't work.
 
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