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Tired Of People Who Down Me For Not Taking Meds

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I used the meds for years trying to combat symptoms without treating the then undiagnosed PTSD. All I got was side effects, no releif. The only ones that did me any good were not even reuptake inhibitors, I got the ONLY releif I ever got from any of the dozens we tried from simple BEta blockers like propanalol. I was still depressed, but at least I was fooling my body about it and letting it relax without the constant adrenaline and hypervigilance for awhile.
I am recently diagnosed and will be offered drugs, I am sure. I have a bad history with the side effects and no real effects, so I don't know if I can be persuaded.
I can definitely relate to anyone that refuses them.
 
I couldn't bring myself to accept a prescription for SSRIs. I did take a prescription for Xanax at .25mg and have used one so far.

I have very strong deep feelings against taking any kind of medication. Fortunately, I have my husband's support in this and he is not pressuring me to take medication. I would rather try something natural first and have taken some Bach's Rescue Remedy.

One strange thing I've noticed though is that I can't even commit to trying something like valerian or St. John's wort to see if it would help. I stand in the store aisle and look at everything like that and even read about it but never end up buying anything.
This is completely opposite of my usual behaviour when I am trying to feel better.

I feel so afraid of not feeling myself if I take medication, also of the side effects. I tend to be sensitive to chemicals and very aware of how they make me feel. I don't want to start taking something if I'm not commited to making it through the initial weeks of potential side effects. Don't think I'd give it a fair chance.

Maybe it's also a case of not wanting to medicate the pain I don't understand yet. I do take ibuprofen sometimes, but I know that pain. This, I feel like I have to figure out still.

There were days early on when I seriously considered medication and I think I would consider it again if I have a hard time functioning. I always feel like a "bad patient" when I see the psychiatrist and have had some of my most anxious days thinking about this decision but he is not pushy about it.

If there were a surgery (with its own special risks etc..) for PTSD would this also be a big decision for all of us - yes...no..should I...shouldn't I...?
 
I recently tried a start up with a new T, and when she realised my level of aversion to meds, she got angry and flat told me she couldn't help me if I wasn't willing to "do my part". At one point, she actually started doing other paperwork during our session, and shortly after that I walked.

I work with machines, if all my skills boiled down to pouring in the right kind of oil at the right time, I wouldn't be worth a tenth of what my boss pays me.

If there was a "right oil" for humans, wouldn't it be well known and widely accepted? These people are trying to help us, no doubt, but they are sometimes limited by their own reliance on the chemicals.
 
Just me here,

1. it is your right as an informed patient to decide if you want chemicals and man-made brain modifiers in your bloodstream. By showing up for treatment sessions, you are doing your part.
2. If you have not done so already, get rid of that therapist! She is not doing her part, her JOB! and she is ignoring you by doing other paperwork when she is on the clock being paid by you to listen to you. She seems like a control freak because she wants you on meds, and if you don't do exactly as she says, she will ignore you and do other paperwork during your session. I would refuse to pay her because she did not do what she was contracted to do.
 
thanks 2quilt. I didn't actually have to pay her, I have pretty good coverage. Thing is, I was trying a new T because I thought I had gone the course with my previous t and was trying a new one. That experience put me off all help for awhile and then I had an event trigger my depression and I went back to my old T with my hat in my hand. The event was recognized as a "trigger" of my then undiagnosed PTSD. Our first session back together was all about how the PTSD was my primary diagnosis now, and the depression was secondary. I finally have a diagnosis that holds some promise for improvement after almost twenty years of treating symptoms.
All it took was some time off and a clear event that clearly triggered a severe depression, and it all came together for my old Therapist.
 
I am glad you did not have to pay her because she sure as hell did not earn a penny in that hour.
Your insurance company should know how poor quality she is. They are paying for poor quality and no service.
I have PTSD with depression, so I completely understand. It will get better, with therapy, and any other form of treatment you decide to try, not just meds, if you don't want them. Your choice is the final one.
 
I'm sorry, I'm new to this board but in the nearly ten years of PTSD I've dealt with I've found meds a mixed bag. First there's just finding the "right" medication. The gambit you have to run and the risk. I took one medication (and in a really sad way, I can't remember which it was) that made me feel absolute despair upon taking it. If not for some sense of wanting to live through the night, I wouldn't have made it. Having said that, Zoloft helped...and hindered. The sexual side effects are a real drag, but worse yet is the numbing factor. You have a condition that makes you hypervigilant and then you take something that virtually numbs you...how is that a TREATMENT? I'm looking into this Dr. Lipov's Stellate Ganglion Block thing, but it's new for PTSD and I want more results before I try it. Otherwise, I'm just seeing if after two years plus of Zoloft my mind can function without it. Being on a low dose was somewhat helpful, but the side effects (sexual, fatigue, etc.) were still there. Either way, I wish you the best with whatever path YOU choose. No one else can choose it for you.
 
Artista,

As someone who has tried everything from faith healing to pharmaceuticals I want to congratulate you for standing up for yourself, researching your options, and keeping track of what works for you! Sometimes it does feel like p-docs are little more than drug dealers with degrees. I am saying this as someone who has a strong pro-med bias. There are many ways to keep your symptoms in check without having to resort to pharmaceutical roulette. Synthetics have lots of side effects and withdraw symptoms that are usually brushed aside or completely covered up by large portions of the medical field.

I am sorry if I have ever offended anybody with my strongly pro-med posts. Every situation is different and sometimes I seem to forget that.

I wish you well,

Liz
 
wow... had thought this a dead post! Really thoughtful responses and I am heartened to have some back up on the subject by those who "get it".
It is just crazy how some docs will "throw pills" at a problem rather than get to the root of it! I can always see for some of us, it is a huge help over, perhaps an insurmountable hurdle. I never judge what a person believes works for themselves! Just don't judge others as well.... really good info and I relate completely! : )

Thank you for the responses here! I wish you all the best at finding your right combo of therapy for this battle! Sometimes.... sometimes... I feel lucky in a weird way. This has made me take a real good look into myself and know me... own my reactions and experiences so i can be a better person. It is often the only bright spot. Others may take trusting themselves for granted. I work on it all the time and make sure I am in tune with me... the only person who needs to truly have my back! But then again. I have never been a "follower". I think this may spurn me to make a whole post about that elsewhere!!
 
It's true-someone on another post mentioned that there's 'good' that comes out of all this crap. Well there is, think you verbalized some of it well!

The docs make me crazy with their insistance on looking at books, deciding on a dose based on height/weight/age. then giving that does across the board like they're antibiotics-no wonder people get SICK. Meds ARE a choice, SO personal and if someone does decide it is the correct route to take the least the docs can do is pay attention and help discern the correct dose. Good grief-noone knows better than a medical professional how very, very individual people's chemistries are! I'm 'on' again-it's a very, very small dose but works for ME. When i feel instictively things are tooling along again and knocked back into shape I'll stop-until the next time. If I ever find a way to knock this into submission without Zoloft, I'll do it, too-for now, well, I keep the little blue things handy. :) Everyone is soooo different-wish folks 'out there' would just leave it alone, since they do not know what they're talking about.
 
It really is such a personal question. I am super sensititve to anything I put in my body. 9 years ago I went on anti-depressants because I was suicidal and needed something to "get me over the hump" so to speak. I was then told that I had PTSD, that my brain chemistry was fouled up because of it and should stay on meds the rest of my life. As time went on, I would still have "bad times" and would up my med. Pretty soon I went from 10 mg to 40 mg daily. One day I realized that I was completely numb. This numbing effect allowed me to make self destructive decisions....it was like I had no moral compass or even cared anymore.

I found a good therapist and he suggested that I talk with my dr about going off the anti-depressant. I ended up weaning off myself and am now trying more natural remedies, which seem to be working well.

My dr. has given me full rein to take or not take the meds. I have a standing perscription if I feel I need to go back on them. If I do it would be only 5 mg. I appreciate that he trusts me enough to make the decision for myself. IMHO that is how it should be.
 
What I find interesting is that both those who do take medication and those who don't take medication can feel guilty for it. Both ways take crap from others or feel guilty for their choice.

I feel guilty for not taking something even though I haven't been pressured by my doctors. Other people feel guilty thinking they are weak for taking something.

Enough crap to go around for everybody! It's great to be on here and see the real range of treatments people are on and feel supported no matter what the decision.
 
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