Medications and Time

[crashtruckchuck]

Medications and Time

Hey all,
Sorry I haven't been around but I've been out and about trying to keep to my head shrinkers advice of keeping a particular schedule. I have found that keeping my mind active with the mundain crap that I never wanted to do is helping alittle. Yard work, house work, remodeling, painting and the like has given me an outlet to get out the things inside my head. Anytime I think of a bad situation I pick up a hammer or a paint brush and go to town. My wife loves it, because she get's the things around the house that she want's and I have an escape.

The lead off to my thread was medications. I know that we have probably been on them all at some point in time. It took me 4 and 1/2 months to get off the paxil which I DO NOT RECOMEND. I am on wellbutrin, prozac, clonopin and trazadone. Along with Lamictal and Gabapentrin. Sounds like alot right? Well, the combonations of all those drugs, therepy and regular visits with the shrink along with exercise and the house stuff have finally given me the breakthrough I have desired for so long. I know that I will never be the same and I know that the depression, hypervigilance and paranoia will still be there but, there is hope my brothers and sisters. I can't believe it but, I have had a few days where I felt like my old self.

Your drug regimine may be different, and it may take a while to balance out, but believe me, once you fine the right combonation and the support you need, all this shit seems lesser and lesser each day.
I am in no way cured of this terrible affliction, but I can say that I have a small moment of clarity that I have been searching for for a long long time.

I will always remain here to help anyone I can to achieve what I have achieved in such a short period of time. I can't say that you will feel better in a few years like I did, but I can tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel. Stay strong and remember that even though you feel hopeless or desperate, there is still something great for you in the end.

Like I said I will always be here to help, and I am in no way 100% cured. but I have found a way to cope which may help others.

 

[anthony]

That is excellent that you have found something that works for you. There is no one solution that can blanket PTSD, but every single outcome is unique and individual. Some will be medicated, some won't, some will have flashbacks, some won't, etc etc. The symptoms, severity and how we manage it are constantly different. Glad you are doing things outside though, as that is a huge help usually for depression alone, and anger at times. Well done.

 

[SpentRound]

It took me 4 and 1/2 months to get off the paxil which I DO NOT RECOMEND. I am on wellbutrin, prozac, clonopin and trazadone. Along with Lamictal and Gabapentrin. Sounds like alot right? Well, the combonations of all those drugs, therepy and regular visits with the shrink along with exercise and the house stuff have finally given me the breakthrough I have desired for so long. I know that I will never be the same and I know that the depression, hypervigilance and paranoia will still be there but, there is hope my brothers and sisters. I can't believe it but, I have had a few days where I felt like my old self.

I was on Prozac, which helped a lot at first, but I ended up getting on so high a dose that I slept even less than normal and my hair was falling out. I went off of it about a month and a half ago and things were great. I was sleeping again. I was feeling better. I was starting to take interest in things again. I had my regular visit with the doc that prescribes my meds and I opted for none, because that's my preference anyway especially if I seem to be doing ok.

Less than a week later, I had my regular visit with my psychologist. He decided we were gonna go deeper into "my abyss" than normal that day - we did, and everything came crashing down all over again. I'd gone back to my old self - and not the good one - the one whose desperation finally drove me to meds, the one who doesn't have the will to get off the couch, gets outright enraged at nothing, etc, etc, blah, blah.

My two cents: Hope is a dangerous thing if you don't pace yourself. I know someday I will get better and though I won't be the same, I'll know that I've won my war, and won't have any major concern of returning to my dark place. But at the same time, I never assume the next drug/combination will be the cure; I'm only optimistic that it is leading me in the right direction.

CrashTruckChuck: Speaking of the next drug, I just got put on Paxil, probably adding Trazadone later. I wanted to know about your experience with Paxil since you obviously have something to say about it! And since this post was a couple years ago, how've you been doing since?