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PTSD Medication
- Post starter doobie
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- Admin
- #2
anthony
Founder
The reason they actually do that is not so much to stuff you around, but to actually prevent your body becoming immune to them. If you've been on them for years, and your suddenly getting worse, then chances are your bodies immunity to the medication is beginning to discard it, thus making you worse in every symptom.
Doctors do this to ensure our bodies don't become immune. If you talk with someone who has generally been on one type of medication a very long time, they will tell you that they started at "x" amount, then begun increasing it themselves as the initial dosage was no longer working for them, thus they get higher and higher, and actually into very dangerous levels.
Changing medications is a good thing, and it needs to be done, even though we often don't like change, it must be done, especially under the above mentioned circumstances.
Lexapro is the newest drug, and from all reports, the most accurate, as it was designed around PTSD, catering for anxiety, depression, etc etc, and rebalances the chemical imbalance that PTSD courses within our brain. Many people on other drugs who know about it, are changing or thinking about changing due to the increased performance it has on fixing PTSD at its core, and has less side-effects than most other drugs.
Many of the drugs they are still using today, where used decades ago, and where made to treat a specific symptom, not the core of the problem. PTSD is caused by an imbalance within chemicals between the left and right brains. Lexapro was designed to rebalance those chemicals, thus allowing those with PTSD to regain concentration, control anxiety and depression, whilst not knocking the person about physically with side-effects. All drugs have possible side-effects, some more than others.
Doctors do this to ensure our bodies don't become immune. If you talk with someone who has generally been on one type of medication a very long time, they will tell you that they started at "x" amount, then begun increasing it themselves as the initial dosage was no longer working for them, thus they get higher and higher, and actually into very dangerous levels.
Changing medications is a good thing, and it needs to be done, even though we often don't like change, it must be done, especially under the above mentioned circumstances.
Lexapro is the newest drug, and from all reports, the most accurate, as it was designed around PTSD, catering for anxiety, depression, etc etc, and rebalances the chemical imbalance that PTSD courses within our brain. Many people on other drugs who know about it, are changing or thinking about changing due to the increased performance it has on fixing PTSD at its core, and has less side-effects than most other drugs.
Many of the drugs they are still using today, where used decades ago, and where made to treat a specific symptom, not the core of the problem. PTSD is caused by an imbalance within chemicals between the left and right brains. Lexapro was designed to rebalance those chemicals, thus allowing those with PTSD to regain concentration, control anxiety and depression, whilst not knocking the person about physically with side-effects. All drugs have possible side-effects, some more than others.
- Admin
- #3
anthony
Founder
And this is why I don't trust pharmaceutical drugs.
And it just keeps getting better yet.
The end story was, we need much more research and trials performed before physicians even get close to getting medication prescriptions correct for their patients. Its a big guessing game, which I chose not to be part off. Basically, the summary concluded that more guinea pigs are required to pop copius amounts of drugs into them, all in order to make future sufferers better off. With todays technology, I am not willing to sacrifice myself for the drug companies profits, considering the global attention they gain when something goes wrong, and they dump everyone effected by their mistake. No go in my book...
And it just keeps getting better yet.
The end story was, we need much more research and trials performed before physicians even get close to getting medication prescriptions correct for their patients. Its a big guessing game, which I chose not to be part off. Basically, the summary concluded that more guinea pigs are required to pop copius amounts of drugs into them, all in order to make future sufferers better off. With todays technology, I am not willing to sacrifice myself for the drug companies profits, considering the global attention they gain when something goes wrong, and they dump everyone effected by their mistake. No go in my book...
- Post starter
- #4
anthony i have been wondering about natural medication like stohn wart and seredyn but i have been told by the nurses in hospital and my doc that they r only good for mild forms of anxiety and sleep and would not be useful for me... i would like to know your opinion on these....as i know i need help and this constant struggle and breathing is hard hard yakka....and breathing help with grounding myself...i just don't trust doctors sometimes...oh i am glad to be able to get back to being here again...
- Admin
- #5
anthony
Founder
Their right, that the natural alternatives are only good for mild issues. I honestly don't know if there are other alternatives for things like PTSD, but you would have to talk with a naturopath to find out. I tried some of these herbal, natural remedies first when I was first told I had PTSD, as my doctor said, if you don't try, you won't know, so I tried, and they did nothing for my PTSD.
I would quite honestly move to Lexapro at present, being the newer drug on the market specifically formulated for such illnesses as PTSD, compared to others that have been around for 40 years, and still being used just because their common, instead of actually fixing and treating some off our illnesses. Lexapro is what I used to get myself to where I am today, and I had little recourse bringing myself off it slowly.
I would quite honestly move to Lexapro at present, being the newer drug on the market specifically formulated for such illnesses as PTSD, compared to others that have been around for 40 years, and still being used just because their common, instead of actually fixing and treating some off our illnesses. Lexapro is what I used to get myself to where I am today, and I had little recourse bringing myself off it slowly.
D
Deleted member 3
Doobie,
Anthony is right, the best place to head for advice on natural medicine would be a naturopath. Try to find one that is not too left of field but willing to consider that both alternative and conventional medicines can complement one another. You don't want someone to tell you to come immediately off your meds, or indeed to do that at all if that is not right for you. Someone who has their head screwed on the right way will be able to help. There is actually a governing group for alternative medicine here in Australia, although it is not mandatory to join, they would be a good place to start. I suggest ringing one of the natural therapy colleges who can point you in the right direction. I was studying naturopathy for a little while (I did not finish my studies) but I do know that you can get extremes in both sides of medicine.
Alternatively, acupuncture would be something worth considering. I know that 'needles' are not some peoples thing but it is really not as bad as it sounds and the benefits are worth it. The thing with acupuncture is that it can work with your current treatments without you having to have chinese herbs. If you consider this avenue, you want someone who does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as they usually treat using acupuncture, chinese herbs or a combination of the two. I believe some private health insurers will actually pay for this.
Sorry, Anthony is the wrong one to ask about 'natural' anything. Although he is getting a little better, he is still a sceptic.
Anthony is right, the best place to head for advice on natural medicine would be a naturopath. Try to find one that is not too left of field but willing to consider that both alternative and conventional medicines can complement one another. You don't want someone to tell you to come immediately off your meds, or indeed to do that at all if that is not right for you. Someone who has their head screwed on the right way will be able to help. There is actually a governing group for alternative medicine here in Australia, although it is not mandatory to join, they would be a good place to start. I suggest ringing one of the natural therapy colleges who can point you in the right direction. I was studying naturopathy for a little while (I did not finish my studies) but I do know that you can get extremes in both sides of medicine.
Alternatively, acupuncture would be something worth considering. I know that 'needles' are not some peoples thing but it is really not as bad as it sounds and the benefits are worth it. The thing with acupuncture is that it can work with your current treatments without you having to have chinese herbs. If you consider this avenue, you want someone who does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as they usually treat using acupuncture, chinese herbs or a combination of the two. I believe some private health insurers will actually pay for this.
Sorry, Anthony is the wrong one to ask about 'natural' anything. Although he is getting a little better, he is still a sceptic.
I was finally able to get back online tonight to check on things and I read that part about not trusting Pharmaceutical drugs that Anthony wrote. I personally do not trust them either. They make you feel ok for awhile and then they have to keep uping the dosage to get the same effect. This really worries me and is one of the reasons I weaned myself off my medication. I do not want effexor to be a crutch I use to get me through. It was making me happy all the time but I was then not dealing with the emotions I needed to deal with because the meds masked that and then I would hit rock bottom and they would up my meds.
I have been coping reasonably well without the meds but still have some ups and downs. The downs though are not as bad as they used to. It is the anger I feel at times now that I trying to work on dealing with. The meds supressed this for so long that now I am starting to get rid of the anger. I could be a real bear at times and do not blame my husband for not wanting to deal with this side of me.
I am working on this a lot lately and trying to get this anger worked out and out of my system. I truly feel if I was still on the meds I would be in worse shape then I am know.
I am not saying that the meds are not meant to be helpful just that we can become dependent on them that we do not deal with the situations that we are facing.
I have been coping reasonably well without the meds but still have some ups and downs. The downs though are not as bad as they used to. It is the anger I feel at times now that I trying to work on dealing with. The meds supressed this for so long that now I am starting to get rid of the anger. I could be a real bear at times and do not blame my husband for not wanting to deal with this side of me.
I am working on this a lot lately and trying to get this anger worked out and out of my system. I truly feel if I was still on the meds I would be in worse shape then I am know.
I am not saying that the meds are not meant to be helpful just that we can become dependent on them that we do not deal with the situations that we are facing.
- Admin
- #8
anthony
Founder
That is my sentiments exactly Sue. Medication has a purpose, and that purpose is for short durations only to help you during the very tough times. At some point though, a person must take responsibility for their actions and get off the medication and begin dealing with their real emotions, anger and feelings, not the masked one's that the medication gives them (or false emotions for a better term).
I would always recommend a person to get medicated when they are first diagnosed with PTSD, because that is the point where you have no idea about what is happening to you, nor how to control it, so medication is a definate solution at that point. After that though, people need to educate themselves on the illness, start dealing with their issues head on, and begin taking themselves of the medication so they can fully deal with the remaining issues and learn how to cope with the real underpinning emotions, and not the medicated one's that are false emotions and feelings at best.
The problem for those that have had PTSD for 20+ years, is that they didn't know then, what we know now from the illness, and what the best ways are to deal with it for a better, quicker recovery.
I would always recommend a person to get medicated when they are first diagnosed with PTSD, because that is the point where you have no idea about what is happening to you, nor how to control it, so medication is a definate solution at that point. After that though, people need to educate themselves on the illness, start dealing with their issues head on, and begin taking themselves of the medication so they can fully deal with the remaining issues and learn how to cope with the real underpinning emotions, and not the medicated one's that are false emotions and feelings at best.
The problem for those that have had PTSD for 20+ years, is that they didn't know then, what we know now from the illness, and what the best ways are to deal with it for a better, quicker recovery.
Lima Tango
New Here
Hi,
GT my partner saw this thread the other day and drew my attention to it. He felt we should share our recent experiences re medication.
In February of this year, after a long period of feeling very low despite being on his medication, GT and I raised the problem with our psych’. He took the pragmatic view that if the tablets were no longer doing the job then GT should try new ones. His instructions were to wean himself off them gradually reducing the dose every day, have five days “washout” and then begin the new medication.
Two days into the washout period I noticed that GT’s wicked sense of humour was returning along with sudden outbursts of temper. However on reflection the bad periods were outnumbered by the good and this encouraged us to persevere. We had another week to go before the next appointment with the psychiatrist and decided to stay off the meds’ until we spoken with him. His reply was “give it a try and we shall see”.
The time on medication had allowed us to develop mechanisms to cope with life. When GT first started on meds’ he would continue to work and deal with life as usual, he would have to focus harder to get things done and would “break through” the medication resulting in night sweats, anger and loss of sleep. As the psychiatrist explained what is the point of me prescribing medication if you continue in this fashion. So, hence the change in our outlook and lifestyle.
I was enjoying GT who was so much more engaged and I even found that I had missed being the butt of his seriously wicked sense of humour. He found that he could tackle a lot more jobs because the medication had made problem solving difficult.
The most important thing was that we had to take a good long hard look at the way we did things and had to make many alterations in our lifestyle. We found that we couldn’t just carry on as we had before and that we had to avoid certain things that were trigger points for stress. Take travelling; it was the single most stressful thing for him and he was always emotionally drained when he left the environs of our farm. He found that he had to limit his exposure. We do the movies and lunch but choose our times and places carefully to avoid crowds. We shop early and never on the weekends or public holidays. We try not to do too many things at a time. This we call management. We only socialize with a small circle of well known and trusted friends and our family. I get out and about a lot more than he does. I keep in touch with SMS messages so he doesn’t have to worry unduly about me.
The headaches he experienced in the first six to eight weeks of this period appear to have lessened and he does not get as upset as easily any more. The thing I’ve learnt is that whatever, one must be patient in this period as it takes a long time for the effects of the old medication to wash out of the system just as it took a long while to get used to the medication when he sought to take it in the first place. We were warned never to be too impatient with either process.
I’ve learnt to leave him alone when he needs space. I’ve also tried to lessen the load on him by doing as much of the contact-with-outside-world stuff as I can so he can limit his exposure to potentially stressful situations. When we have a huge blow up he takes his bedroll off somewhere on the acreage to chill and I don’t pursue him as I used to. As Anthony said, you have to learn techniques that work for you and apply them. Life is different but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
Cheers and good luck Lima Tango.
GT my partner saw this thread the other day and drew my attention to it. He felt we should share our recent experiences re medication.
In February of this year, after a long period of feeling very low despite being on his medication, GT and I raised the problem with our psych’. He took the pragmatic view that if the tablets were no longer doing the job then GT should try new ones. His instructions were to wean himself off them gradually reducing the dose every day, have five days “washout” and then begin the new medication.
Two days into the washout period I noticed that GT’s wicked sense of humour was returning along with sudden outbursts of temper. However on reflection the bad periods were outnumbered by the good and this encouraged us to persevere. We had another week to go before the next appointment with the psychiatrist and decided to stay off the meds’ until we spoken with him. His reply was “give it a try and we shall see”.
The time on medication had allowed us to develop mechanisms to cope with life. When GT first started on meds’ he would continue to work and deal with life as usual, he would have to focus harder to get things done and would “break through” the medication resulting in night sweats, anger and loss of sleep. As the psychiatrist explained what is the point of me prescribing medication if you continue in this fashion. So, hence the change in our outlook and lifestyle.
I was enjoying GT who was so much more engaged and I even found that I had missed being the butt of his seriously wicked sense of humour. He found that he could tackle a lot more jobs because the medication had made problem solving difficult.
The most important thing was that we had to take a good long hard look at the way we did things and had to make many alterations in our lifestyle. We found that we couldn’t just carry on as we had before and that we had to avoid certain things that were trigger points for stress. Take travelling; it was the single most stressful thing for him and he was always emotionally drained when he left the environs of our farm. He found that he had to limit his exposure. We do the movies and lunch but choose our times and places carefully to avoid crowds. We shop early and never on the weekends or public holidays. We try not to do too many things at a time. This we call management. We only socialize with a small circle of well known and trusted friends and our family. I get out and about a lot more than he does. I keep in touch with SMS messages so he doesn’t have to worry unduly about me.
The headaches he experienced in the first six to eight weeks of this period appear to have lessened and he does not get as upset as easily any more. The thing I’ve learnt is that whatever, one must be patient in this period as it takes a long time for the effects of the old medication to wash out of the system just as it took a long while to get used to the medication when he sought to take it in the first place. We were warned never to be too impatient with either process.
I’ve learnt to leave him alone when he needs space. I’ve also tried to lessen the load on him by doing as much of the contact-with-outside-world stuff as I can so he can limit his exposure to potentially stressful situations. When we have a huge blow up he takes his bedroll off somewhere on the acreage to chill and I don’t pursue him as I used to. As Anthony said, you have to learn techniques that work for you and apply them. Life is different but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
Cheers and good luck Lima Tango.
- Post starter
- #10
well just want to let you know that i have gone to hospital and weaned of meds..no meds for 47 days and i do feel capable..
its an inspiration to read these comments here on others getting of meds and coping...i do feel better though i don't want to mozz myself...i am tending to avoid saying it cause i feel it will all come tumbling down....
but thanku anthony and its interesting and i can totally connect with needing medication at early stages and maybe now that i do have a better understanding and can manage the discipline of other techniques...mayb that's why i wasn't successful with doing it at other times..
thanks all take care and keep well
its an inspiration to read these comments here on others getting of meds and coping...i do feel better though i don't want to mozz myself...i am tending to avoid saying it cause i feel it will all come tumbling down....
but thanku anthony and its interesting and i can totally connect with needing medication at early stages and maybe now that i do have a better understanding and can manage the discipline of other techniques...mayb that's why i wasn't successful with doing it at other times..
thanks all take care and keep well
- Admin
- #11
anthony
Founder
Great stuff Doobie.... really promising to hear. I will say, don't beat yourself up if you fall down for a day, a week or longer without meds, as long as your not going to kill yourself or someone else, you learn really quickly to fight through it and get back to where you were again... recovery begins to become more rapid as such... Again... well done.
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