How many of us take psychiatric medication?

[01011010]

Not I

 

[Totenkindly]

Does St. John's Wort count?

No.

You might as well just be eating pencil shavings.
(Wait, you're not eating pencil shavings, are you? If you are, maybe you should be on anti-Deps!)

 

[Lateralus]

I would only take psychiatric medication if I was literally forced to do so. I rarely even take ibuprofen for headaches. Granted, I only get a handful of headaches a year, but I only take ibuprofen for the worst. I didn't even take the prescribed painkillers when I broke my arm.

 

[mlittrell]

excellent poll idea. im not thrilled with the state of psychiatry in this current day

 

[Eldanen]

No.

You might as well just be eating pencil shavings.
(Wait, you're not eating pencil shavings, are you? If you are, maybe you should be on anti-Deps!)

I get bored sometimes and I chew on pencils. The taste is kind of good.

Oh, and about the coffee thing.... Even an ounce of anything with coffee in it will give me huge jitters and I'll start bouncing off the walls. I can't stand the stuff.

 

[Valiant]

I don't take any meds, but maybe I should!

 

[cherchair]

I've taken mood stabilizers for years and always will as I have bipolar I with rapid cycling and a tendency to mania/mixed mood. Life is too unpleasant for those I love when I'm not on meds; I also hate hospitals. I've been prescribed ALL the antipsychotics but had severe adverse drug reactions. Take Klonopin for anxiety. I don't like the side effects of the meds--or at least the Depakote--but dislike mania and depression and mixed moods even more. Now, hypomania...! If I could maintain at hypomania, I'd never take another pill.

BTW, I feel the meds merely mask the symptoms and don't change who I am. I wouldn't trade having bipolar for being a "normie"; the "illness" has enriched rather than detracted from my life.

 

[miss fortune]

I have in the past but absolutley hated the side effects.

Should I be on them? According to my therapist, yes. I'm functioning though, and I'm happier off them than on, so that's what matters the most

 

[Simplexity]

I haz the meth.













Ok, ok. Methylphenidate.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I don't and I never did.

 

[ptgatsby]

No.

You might as well just be eating pencil shavings.

(re: St John's Wart)

That's what I thought, until a friend of mine did an analysis while in med school. It's actually a bunch of anti-depressant chemicals rolled into one (and uncontrolled amounts due to the variety of factors). It works as well as other anti-depressants, in general... which isn't to say much about it, really.

 

[Eldanen]

(re: St John's Wart)

That's what I thought, until a friend of mine did an analysis while in med school. It's actually a bunch of anti-depressant chemicals rolled into one (and uncontrolled amounts due to the variety of factors). It works as well as other anti-depressants, in general... which isn't to say much about it, really.

It's widely used in Europe. It's mostly an SSRI (though it also inhibits the reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine) with some MAOI properties tossed in for good measure. Doctors will generally hand out SJW over there before they'll prescribe an anti-depressant.

In a study done by the NIH, I believe they tested SJW along with placebo and Zoloft in a double blind study. From this they tried to say that SJW did not work as an anti-depressant. However, neither did Zoloft, in this study. Also, in this test they used synthetic hypericin, instead of actually using the plant itself. There is some debate over which parts of the plant act to create the anti-depressant qualities. While a lot of people say hypericin, there's also hyperforin to take into account. SJW tea is probably better than anything else because you get everything. Aside from the debate on which parts of the plant are the active components for improving mood, it's also not known exactly how much of these ingredients are needed to effect the change. While the general answer is .3% standardized hypericin, some studies have found that upwards of 5% hypericin were needed to make a dent in depression. However, upon reaching this level, SJW was found to be highly effective, supposedly.

 

[cafe]

I'm on a low dose of Celexa for SAD. It makes me sleepy and seems to decrease my appetite, but I think that is better than a really nasty case of winter blues.

 

[King sns]

I have anxiety and panic for which they had me on zoloft and klonopin for acute panic attacks. I quit them after about 2 months. Now I just try to exercise and eat and sleep right, and limit caffeine and alcohol.. (If I feel anxiety.) My lifestyle proved to cause a lot of my problems.

 

[Gauche]

Well, I use medicines for anxiety regularly. Usually either Cocaine, Marijuana, Heroin, or LSD.

 

[dee]

I don't take any medications, although I have taken an array of "natural" relaxing supplements.
And I don't mean weed , just healthy herbs and stuff that are supposed to help with anxiety.

 

[Cimarron]

From the poll, it looks like the clearest difference is between J and P. But a poll is a poll...

 

[cherchair]

It's widely used in Europe. It's mostly an SSRI (though it also inhibits the reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine) with some MAOI properties tossed in for good measure. Doctors will generally hand out SJW over there before they'll prescribe an anti-depressant.

In a study done by the NIH, I believe they tested SJW along with placebo and Zoloft in a double blind study. From this they tried to say that SJW did not work as an anti-depressant. However, neither did Zoloft, in this study. Also, in this test they used synthetic hypericin, instead of actually using the plant itself. There is some debate over which parts of the plant act to create the anti-depressant qualities. While a lot of people say hypericin, there's also hyperforin to take into account. SJW tea is probably better than anything else because you get everything. Aside from the debate on which parts of the plant are the active components for improving mood, it's also not known exactly how much of these ingredients are needed to effect the change. While the general answer is .3% standardized hypericin, some studies have found that upwards of 5% hypericin were needed to make a dent in depression. However, upon reaching this level, SJW was found to be highly effective, supposedly.

I've read enough warning about this and its effect on bipolar to stay the hell away from it (can cause mania, rapid cycling, etc). Of course, even one of the traditional mood stabilizers causes me to get manic, so...

I was surprised and disappointed that the usual stigma about MI and psychtropic drugs, so common irl exists here as well. I kinda expected more, I guess, I don't know why. It's more subtle here, but it definitely insinuates itself in the posts on this thread. If you don't need meds to function, great, you're lucky; it's the subtle self-righteouness about it in some (not all) of the posts that got to me. BTW, though I take a lot of drugs for the bipolar, I don't take anything else--not recreational, not alcohol, not even aspirin for the most part. Wait, wait, I take that back. I take an anti-osteoporosous med once a month.

 

[briochick]

I'm on a moderate dose of welbutrin. I take it for anxiety, compulsions, a wee-bit of semi-pyschosis (I think I catch stuff out of the corner of my eye, or hear whispers but never actually see anything or hear anything distinct so I was told it's not classified as actual psychosis. of course my brother sees and hears stuff all the time and is he nuts? no. he's psychic.), depression, intense-to-the-point-of-overwhelming emotions. Welbutrin doesn't work as well as the other meds I take and it causes my to get tongue tied (which virtually never happened before I took it) but it doesn't cause weight gain (and the others did) and all I really need is the edge off and I can deal with the rest. I don't need the meds to fix me.

I've never taken drugs, and I've never fancied getting drunk. Slightly buzzed has always been quite enough for me. I don't drink often. Once or twice a month. I take a multivitamin, and claratin, and valerian root for good sleep, and occasionally a sleeping aid when the nightmares are wearing me out...

I exercise regularly, try to get enough sleep, and drink teas, I also know a good bit about the effects of different herbs and spices on the body and mind and try to utalize those too.

 

[JocktheMotie]

(I think I catch stuff out of the corner of my eye, or hear whispers but never actually see anything or hear anything distinct so I was told it's not classified as actual psychosis.

Uh-oh. I have the same thing. Should I be worried?