What To Do When Meds Stop Working!

[Sgt. EMJacobson]

I am curious as to what people who have PTSD do when the meds start to lose their effectiveness at controlling depression, anxiety, and stress. This is my situation, and I would love any feedback the members may have.

 

[anthony]

Well... unfortunately mate, really three options that come to my mind:

1. Change meds and go through withdrawals / med change to find something better,
2. Look at other methods to reduce your anxiety and depression so you no longer require either full medication dosage or remove it all together, and
3. Take more and hope it does something...

SSRI's inherit problem is that your body eventually becomes immune to the drugs your taking, thus no longer effective even when you have doubled or tripled the prescribed dose, which many with PTSD do and even physicians tell them to do!!!

The problem typically when you have reached your maximum dose and effectiveness is lost, is that you must normally withdraw in order to change medications, or worse, stupid physicians try and give you another medication to help the withdrawals, which kind off defeats the purpose in the first place of withdrawing.

Learning about PTSD is the most adept method in beating it, because when you know and fully understand every aspect of symptoms, and are armed with knowledge, you can then get stuck fair into your trauma and remove as much negative stigma as possible. Negative emotion is another way of putting it.

Not sure if that is helpful or not... just what comes to my mind at this moment.

 

[Sgt. EMJacobson]

Thanks

I appreciate the feedback, I guess that I kinda knew in the back of my mind what my options were, but its nice to get a little reinforcement.

-------

So I don't do it again, I was just curious as to how I should Write my Thread Titles from now on...

Thanks All!

EMJ

 

[Dylan]

Hi Sgt.

I don't know what kind of PTSD recovery work you've done/are doing, but I think of meds as an adjunct to the real recovery work. For me, medication comes into play when symptoms are out of control (making recovery work impossible), thereby putting down an emotional and mental "floor" so that I'm not plummeting 40 floors down, maybe just 10, when triggered (when I'm highly symptomatic). It will stop "the spin out" of what I call "looping" (where the physical symptoms take over and mental/emotional tools fail to have any impact).

Medication alone, long-term, doesn't work not only because, as Anthony said, we attenuate but because there is now also evidence that the brain eventually will "down regulate" the very receptor sites that the anti-depressants target, meaning we end up with fewer "good feeling" receptor sites than we had before medication! Which, therefore means more medication is needed, and so on and so on.

I have read that anti-depressants (SSRI and tricyclic class) actually have been shown to assist with CBT-type recovery but that the benzodiazepine (tranquilizing) drugs actually don't help at all. Just FYI...

Not the best of news if you've been led to believe that medication alone will manage the PTSD symptoms...

HTH-
-Dylan

 

[hapa_gurl87]

Talk to your psychiatrist tell them everything you know about your meds the side effects, symptoms etc. You should also keep track of your meds when you try a new one write down how its effected you differently than other meds or if you experience any possible changes. If you feel your meds aren't working it may just be the cocktail that is not working and needs to be changed. So talk to your psychiatrist of what other meds are out there that you can get on. it's a long and slow process to find the perfect cocktail but be patient even though it may feel impossible. Part of the reason your meds aren't taking effect is you may not be doing the other things that your body needs like exercise to lift your mood and decrease stress and eating a healthy balanced diet. There are also other alternative medicines out there like herbal concoctions you could go the whole holistic route if you want to try that like acupuncture or the other therapy's as well. It's important that you balance you life out so you don't just depend on the meds to make everything better it takes more effort than you may like or realize but don't give up and I encourage you to ask about all the options and to keep your mind open to what ever is out there.

 

[Mina]

So I don't do it again, I was just curious as to how I should Write my Thread Titles from now on...

Welcome to the forum, EMJ! :smile: Just be sure to use a capital letter at the beginning of every word in your thread titles. Here's a link to the FAQ:
[DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/faq.php?faq=faq_12#faq_faq_212[/DLMURL]
If you scroll about halfway down the page, you'll see the grammar section, including thread titles.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ruth09]

Changing meds is what I've been going through. Sucks. Alot. In between, I have gone "cold turkey", so to speak, to allow my brain to normal out before I went on the "new" meds. For me, the side effects of the old drugs would hang on for at least two weeks. For example, I didn't want the panic attacks from one drug to mix up with one that didn't give me panic attacks. This isn't a good thing to do, but this is my train ride and I'm in charge of all damage control. Did I say it sucks? Anyway,... my counselor works at a Vet Center and not at VA. So, my drug doc doesn't talk to my head doc. I hope you have better luck. Oh,... and keep, keep, keep a log of your drugs and their side effects. VA only keeps a log of the past 6 months, and the drug doc is too lazy to read their own notes. So, they will ask, how did such-and-such affect you?

 

[This Ends Now]

Sgt. EMJacobson,

Hello and welcome to the forum! I am sorry to hear your medication is not working effectively. I have been put on everything from Ambien to Zyprexa and am currently prescribed seven different synthetic medications (working so far thank heavens). Unfortunately the government is still withholding the one and only medication that is proven to be safe and effective, so we are all stuck with synthetics that work 75% of the time (if we are lucky). Your best bet is to keep a log of what you take, when, and what symptoms you experience (not only PTSD but side effects and withdraw). If you keep the log in a seam bound book and write in pen (to prove no alterations) then your doctor will probably take what you say just a little more seriously. It also helps to go online and research different prescriptions so you go in armed with information and well thought out questions about the possible side effects and interactions. You still will have to go through prescription roulette, which is misery beyond description and sometimes unsafe, but its worth the risk and eventually the doctors will find the "right" mix of drugs for you. It is also important to remember that just because two drugs are in the same "class" (such as SSRIs or Benzodiazepines) does not mean they will work the same (Prozac vs Paxil or Xanax vs Colonzepam), so sometimes it just takes a slight tweaking of the medication might work (or backfire, either way document it). If the new mix fails, go back to the doctor and try again, and again, and again... eventually they will get it right, just be sure to document everything!

There are also healthy ways to "pump up" your current medications before risking a new set of chemicals. For example, if you are on an SSRI you can pump it up by combining it with photo therapy (20 min of full spectrum natural sunlight to help your body produce more seratonin naturally) and exercise (to produce endorphines). Anxiety and sleep medications can be more effective when combined with meditation, yoga, aroma therapy, or the exact opposite of photo therapy (20 min of complete and absolute darkness to force your body to produce melatonin naturally).

I wish you the best of luck! I know this is a miserable, expensive, and time consuming process; but it is worth it in the end when you do find the right things to help your body and your recovery.

Liz H.

PS: Please keep in mind that alcohol and common over the counter medications can have serious and sometimes fatal interactions with these prescription medications. I do not know if you drink or not, nor do I know what medicines you use when you have a cold, but you should let your doctor know exactly how much of anything and everything you are putting in your body then cross reference his/her response with the pharmacist.

 

[Gunchief]

Sarge,
Welcome to the forum, Anthony's take on PTSd has helped me a hell of a lot. Watch the learning slideshow it helps a lot.
Dave