Your Take On Different Meds...

[Zephyr]

I just want to see how everybody else is effected by what.

For myself... (in order)

Depakote- the best thing since sliced bread, the best that I've ever had and it evened me out perfectly, but it made the acid levels in my liver increase to a deadly level. Too much blood work involved though, I had to have a monthly blood check.:(

Lithium- the worst! ever since I started taking it I've had a horrid short term memory and I'm tired adn cranky all of the time. I'm off of it now, but I think it had permenent effects on my short term memory. Plus all of the blood work involved every month sucks.:mad:

Seroquel- what I'm on now. I like how it's low-dependancy, and my doctor allows me to adjust my own dosage with how I am feeling unless he thinks otherwise when i go in for checkups. It doesn't make me feel happy and it doesn't make me feel depressed. That's when you know a medication is working, when you wake up one day and you're finally in control of how you feel:cool:

[Sapphire]

Bi-Polar (Manic Depressive) --> Drugs and Meds

[glamgurl36]

if you really need them t6he side effects might not be as bad as the actually problem. but i have had depression before and opted not to take drugs and just try different methods of being happy...so far it has worked.

[Maverick]

The process of finding medication that works for you can be difficult and frustrating. All our bodies are different and what may work for you may have nasty side effects for someone else. Doctors can be very quick to prescribe medicine that may not always be the best choice or needed. It is very important to research the medicine you're prescribed with its uses and side effects. Also you shouldn't hesitate to ask questions on why you're being prescribed a particular medicine.

I'm not saying to rebel against your doctor but to be actively involved in your treatment. You are one of many patients to the doctor and along with their influences of pharmaceutical drug companies and insurance companies, you need to be actively involved in looking at what you're being described and at least consider if its the best choice or not.

[thesphinx]

I was on Lithium and it seriously messed up my eating and appetite.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

I was on Buspar for a little while. My GP prescribed it to me, saying "oh, well, most doctors say this doesnt work, but I think it does so lets try it." While on the Buspar I had the biggest panic attack of my life at freshman orientation. If my mom hadn't been there handing out ID cards, I don't know what I would have done. I could even talk by the time I got to her, I was just in hysterics. Thanks Buspar, you really helped with my anxiety.

Next I was put on Xanax, which I take whenever I feel really anxious, and it is truly god's gift to anxious people. And I haven't had a major panic attack since, just little blips on the radar.

I was put on Ambien, to help me sleep. It did it's job, but I had some trouble with hallucinations while it was kicking in. One night I was lying in bed, and just my head and one of my hands was sticking out from under the covers. I saw my hand and thought it was a cadaver's hand that someone had placed in my bed, and it scared the crap out of me. I jumped about a mile in the air and was about to scream when I realized that the hand was gone. I realized later that it had "disappeared" because it was attached to my arm, which I'd just moved. That I could deal with, but when I built up a tolerance to Ambien and had to up the dosage, it gave me these splitting headaches, every afternoon about 2 pm and they'd last until I fell asleep at night. So no more Ambien. I've since learned to fall asleep on my own.

Then we tackled my depression with Wellbutrin. I lost 7 pounds in the first week on it, which was a nice bonus, but it just didn't handle the depression well enough, and of course it did nothing for my occasional bouts of mania.

So we switched to Prozac. Which REALLY brought out my manic side. All that meant was that we added Lithium too. Prozac didn't work as well as we'd like, so we switched to

Effexor. I love Effexor. The best anti-depressant I've ever been on. I feel happy these days, most every day. Finally.

The Lithium is a mess though. Ever since I've been on it, I've been tired and lazy, requiring about 14 hours of sleep per day. I've also gained 23 pounds which isn't exactly doing wonders for my self-esteem. I hope to switch to something else soon.

[BlueStar]

Meds saved my life.
Worst med I've ever been on: Lithium. It made me sick to my stomach all of the time, shaky and I couldn't function very well. I couldn't have caffeine or I'd be hunched over the toilet vomitting.
Best med: Valium. It takes away my anxiety. I'd have to throw Loxapine in there as well. I don't hear voices anymore. I'm schizophrenic.

[Malcolm Tucker]

Well, I'm not sure if this counts, but I was on pain killers (Difene 75g) 3/day. I took them, even though my back was better. It was nothing bad but I thought I would make a contribution.

[Φρανκομβριτ]

For depression:

I was on Remeron, then switched toi sertraline.

I was on 300mg of sertraline a day, and then we switched to sertraline + welbutrin SR

Was taking 200mg of welbutrin SR and 200mg of sertraline a day

Now, I have switched to Welbutrin XR, which i take 300mg a day of, and I take 150mg of sertraline a day.

It takes a while to get them right. Today was my first day going froom 100mg sertraline to 150, and I had a horrible sensation, but Im going to continue and see what happens. Overall, I guess it keeps me from killing myself.
For sleep:

.5mg of clonazepam. Works great!

Athsma:
Flovent 250, 2 inhalations a day
Salbutamol (Ventolin) 2 inhalations a day, and as needed
Symbicort 150, 1 inhalation a day.

I can do everyday activities now, unless its -30c or less