They Want To Increase The Meds I Already Stopped Taking...

[moonbeam]

So they put me on Paroxetine. I hated it. Even after most of the side effects went away I still didn't really feel any benefit. It made me just numb enough that I couldn't cry when I really wanted to. As a result, I turned to um less healthy ways to let it out (self-harm). I stopped taking them, and am doing a little bit better, well at least I can cry now.

Apparently its the only thing officially approved for PTSD in the UK, so they won't let me try anything else. They know I stopped taking it but they want me to go back on it a higher dose. I tried explaining my reservations but they aren't budging.

I'm still self-harming so not sure if I should go back on the meds to try and help but I really don't think upping the dose will work. I've managed to convince my brain that just not taking meds is an option (why is suicidal ideation always the first thought).

Only options I can see are going without meds, going on the shitty meds, or just not going at all. Any suggestions?

 

[Justmehere]

Can you get a second opinion?

 

[Lucycat]

It may be the only thing 'approved' for PTSD on the NHS but there are plenty of other things used off license. I had - and still take on a lesser dose - Quetiapine - on the NHS. You have a right to challenge the decision. Do not accept something that you are not happy with. They cannot bully you into taking any medication that you are not happy with.

 

[digger]

Who are 'they'? GP? Psychiatrist? Both?
How long were you on the paroxetine and how long have you been off it? If you gave it a fair shot and really didn't feel it was helping you, then keep asking to try something else. What specific symptoms do you most want help with from meds? If you break it down that way, you don't necessarily have to be looking at drugs purely for PTSD, if for example depression or anxiety are the main problems you want to deal with. There are lots of people here from the UK, and I'm pretty sure that those on meds are not all taking paroxetine.

 

[moonbeam]

Thanks.

I tried it for 2 months but really found it unhelpful. I've been off it for just over 1 month. And they is the psych consultant. My GP doesn't feel like he knows enough about mental health to make the call. And my psychotherapist is on holiday.

I actually only went on the meds because the psych suggested it would be beneficial and give me more solid ground. Which I feel I now have less of than I did originally.

I think I might just go without meds. I don't actually want new meds, I really don't want the paroxetine again. I mainly just want to stop the decline into darkness and hurting myself.

 

[KwanYingirl]

I don't know moonbeam. When I wasn't taking the right meds and/or not taking anything I was unstable depressed dissociated and cut a lot. I take an atypical antipsychotic drug called Geodon. It made me gain a shitload of weight but I feel so much clear minded on it. Really helps with anxiety I still struggle cutting. The generic name of it is Ziprasidone. I'm sorry for you folks in England that get so hassled by your healthcare providers. What you have to go through to even get a referral boggles the mind.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

You need to get meds for specific aspects of PTSD like Digger said. These typically are broken up by these symptoms: Depression, Anxiety, Mood Stabilization and Sleep. I'm in the UK and I'm on a combination of medications, including two anti-depressants, an anxiolytic, sleep meds and a antihistamine, though I only take the two anti-depressants on a daily basis. It took a lot of trial and error to find what worked for me and it was only by chance this combination was tried as I was weaning of of one whilst starting another but it worked so well I fought tooth and nail to keep them both- never though I would do that! Both of them are less common and entirely unrelated to the SSRI class of medications which I found all gave me a lot of side effects and no positive ones.