Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Eden1919]

@Former-Member I have stopped taking all my meds. I was on a mood stabiliser and an antipsychotic. the side effects that i had while on the meds included, tremmors, muscle spasms, dizzyness, tiredness, loss of motivation, weight gain, digestive issues, and more. i try to keep track of some things but i have never fully recovered so it gets complicated.  

[CherryBomb]

Hey @Eden1919, it's nice to hear that you're feeling a bit better (though weird as your wrote on your other thread).

Meds are not for everyone, and there are a few members that lead healthy lives without meds. Though I do think it's important that you let your treating team know. I get your concerns about being on a another order, and feeling worse on the meds. But being open about what's not working, and you're feeling now might help. The more info they have about this, the better, particularly if you start going downhill. 

Anyway, it's all a bit of jigsaw puzzle really. It takes time to figure out which pieces fit and work for your recovery. But I think it works best when you're able to make decisions, while also being open with your treating team. 

[Eden1919]

@CherryBomb I have told my doctors about all the side effects and how it makes me feel but they dont care. i am looking for a new doctor 

[CherryBomb]

@Eden1919 I'm glad you're looking for a new doctor. It's important that you feel like they're working with you. Have tried looking into Headspace?

[Eden1919]

yeah i have had bad experiences with headspace unfortuntely. @CherryBomb

[Former-Member]

@Eden1919   I am afraid that I am a quite blunt about things and you may not agree with what I am going to say but I get the impression that you would like to know how a carer would feel, and this is an honest assessment of how I think I would feel based upon the information that you have given me.

As a carer I would be concerned if you were the person I cared for and you refused all medication, particularly as you say you have not really recovered.  However, if I cared for you, I would take on board how you feel about things and I would advocate for you at the doctors to try and find treatment that resulted in less side effects. (I have made it my business to research all the conditions my patient has been diagnoses with along with the medications that treat them.  I am only too aware of the side effects of psych medication and how it can makeyou feel.) 

I noticed that you were not wanting to tell your carer ...  I would be most concerned if my patient was secretive with me, it is very important for me as a carer to have the trust of my patient and he needs to know I have his best interests at heart.   To be able to help I need to understand how he feels about things and he also needs to know how I feel, this is most important as if he ends up in hospital I have to step in and make decisions for him - I need to understand what his wishes are in relation to treatment options. My patient is very much aware that I will do my best to keep him out of hospital but if he displays certain symptoms he knows I will call in back up. Is your carer familiar with your condition and their treatments? Most carers have their patients best interests at heart and it might be worthwhile having an open and frank discussion about treatment options, hopefully you and your carer can get on the same page, this discussion then needs to take place with the treating team. Was there any review date set in relation to the current treatment?  

I am a great believer that one can live well in spite of a mental health diagnosis; you might  find the following sites helpful

http://www.bphope.com/

http://www.whatididtorecover.com/

This might not be what you want to hear but it might help you understand how your carer might feel.

Darcy

[Eden1919]

@Former-Member Thank you for your honesty. My carer does not really know anything about treatment options and symptoms except for what i tell them. I hide everything from them and i am good at it mostly they are surprised if i end up in hospital and dont know why so it is complicated. I dont really trust anyone with my interests so it is probably my fault. either way I dont think I will start trusting soon. There is currently no review date set. 

[Former-Member]

@Eden1919
Over and out for now. Take care and look after yourself.
Darcy

[molly26]

Very desparate and a lot sad.  Watching my son sink and drown in his depression (and he did lose his battle) was an incredibly difficult time.  It was incredibly difficult to understand his refusal, we had the means to support treatment.  It was a very lonely time, knowing and seeing my sons disconnection from the world.  I am working at accepting the choice he made and on reflection I look back at his refusal and wonder why he was not able to reach out for help.  

[Former-Member]

@molly26

words cannot express my sorrow for you and your family.

very brave of you to write your thoughts on here.

this is a safe place for you to express your emotions.