Overly Medicated

[myvandj]

I have CPTSD. I have been in recovery for a year now. I am finally getting to the root of my past trauma through Therapy with the most amazing therapist. Last night I saw my PD (which by the way has no bed side manners). He is now increasing my medication. He said that he was increasing it due to flashbacks and nightmares(which are by no means unbearable). How can I use my coping skills if I don't deal? My concern is shouldn't I experience some pain in order to recover. Meaning I have learned skills this past year to cope that are very effective. Currently I am taking Cymbalta 120 mg, Wellbutrin 300 mg and lamictal xr 225 mg and now he wants to increase my lamictal to 300 mg. I just feel that is way too much medication. In the past I dealt with years of abuse and my PTSD and I was either on no medication or zoloft (at a very low dose). I managed to cope then. The only real reason I became more depressed was because I was on zoloft way too long that it pooped out. not to mention I was seeing a NP for 3 years that was switching my meds like crazy within a few months. Not realizing maybe the zoloft just didn't work anymore. She was also my therapist. She used our sessions to talk about my son and bad mouth my husband (and my husband is the most loving stable person I've ever had in my entire life). She would also talk about herself. Anyway like everyone here there is so much more to my story. Right now I want to know if my medication is interfering with my recovery. Is it making me numb to the point I can't feel my true emotions? I really want to get to know the real me not the me altered by being overly medicated. I am open to using alternative medicine if I need it. I want to know if anyone has had a similar experience or give can me advice.

 

[justwannabeme]

I am dealing with meds myself, my GP is on side of the fence, my naturopath is amazing, but he is on the side of the fence. And my T, well he is also amazing...even thou I am pissed at him. I am trying to stay away from the antidepressants and sleeping pills...I hate the side effects, but on the other hand, the depression can get pretty scary. It is a fine line for me, a balance that I am still trying to get. The naturopath way is more expensive for me, I have a medical plan at work to cover prescriptions. I can take codine for pain and pay 20.00 for it and get it all the money back when I submit my receipts...but the side effects. YIKES. then the seritonin thing, to much is bad, not enough is bad....meds for me are nasty but so is PTSD, balance.... I pay 200. an ounce for MJ and I don't get my money back. But no side effects. But the flashbacks get bad and I wish I was numb, but then how will I move forward if I can't feel anything. How can I move forward when I feel to much ....and it goes around and around. Advice on meds is not something I can give, but there are lots of great articles here that have really helped me sift thru the shit. Anthony has done such awesome work for us with all his research, I was using google and getting so overwhelmed then I found here and I am really glad I did. Lots of great support here and no side effects, except the good kind!!

 

[myvandj]

Thank you for your quick response. I am currently looking into naturopath and other alternative medicine. I also take MJ and have found it works better than any other treatment. I am so glad I found this forum and have it is reassuring to know I don't have to go through this alone.

 

[cherryblossom]

I'm assuming that by MJ, you mean marijuana? Does your Doctor know you use marijuana? How much do you use?

I'm not into judging anyone for finding a treatment/substance that works for them. But taking illegal drugs in conjunction with prescribed drugs can be really bad news if you are not honest with your physician about what you are taking. One major side effect of marijuana is paranoia, and as a result of that - anxiety. For anyone to 'heal'/manage PTSD symptoms, one needs to be free from addiction/dependency to alcohol and illegal drugs. Even with natural remedies one needs to be upfront and honest about illegal and legal (prescribed) drug use and abuse.

I have been in recovery for a year now.

myvandj, I don't really understand what you mean by this? Can you explain?

 

[myvandj]

Yes, my doctor knows and therapist that I occasionally use Mj. I am not dependent on it. I started smoking when my depression and anxiety was at it's worst. I don't want to use anything mind-altering anymore As for being in recovery for a year now means that I finally started address my PTSD. I have learned to love myself and no longer feed into my abuser values. I am no longer avoiding dealing with my past or internal pain. Hope I cleared that up for you.

 

[justwannabeme]

I should have clarified, yes MJ is for marijuana, I have a medical license for it, got the diagonsis of sever arthritis in neck, spine and SI joints, the same week as my PTSD diagonsis. The paranoia and all the related effects, like the giggles and muchies, I don't have them. Never did. It is like tylenol or equavilant for me. My 31 yr old daughter turns green and gets really sick when she tried it, kinda what alcohol does to me. and most meds, but thats only for me. I am just starting with this PTSD healing and I am learning that I have a lot to learn.

 

[MurphyJB]

My boyfriend smokes on a regular basis to help manage his PTSD.
It actually helps his anxiety A LOT.

 

[brokenchild]

At one point I felt exactly as you did. I was numb, even number than I really was, because of all the mdications I was on. I had a sleeping pill, a pill to help with the nightmares, a pill for anxiety, a pill for depression, etc.

It came to the point where my psychiatrist wanted to give me a medication to counter act the side effects of another medication. I'm not making this up!! THAT'S when I took myself off of everything I was on, in a not so good way. I went without taking anything for YEARS and am now just on an anti-depressant.

I didn't want to not feel. I had not felt for years, and to a degree still don't. I want to heal/recover, not mask everything. I tried that in other ways nad all it did was make things harder to deal with when I wasn't using my (destructive) coping mechanisms.

I'm not saying to stop taking your meds, that's a personal decision. But that's the one I made.