Unknown userMember
How to Cope when Switching or Adjusting Meds
For many people who live with mental illness, one component of the treatment and recovery journey can include medication (sometimes more than one). However, over the course of the lifespan, sometimes people’s circumstances, symptoms and/or diagnoses can change. At one time or another, people may find themselves making adjustments to or switching their medication/s. As I’m sure many of you have already experienced, changes in medication can sometimes be an arduous, frustrating and confusing process.
For this reason, I thought it might be worthwhile opening up a new thread to explore the different ways in which to cope when switching between or adjusting medication. Here are few quick ideas that came to mind, just to get the ball rolling…
- Work as a team. Changes in medication and/or dosage are ideally managed in partnership with your treating medical doctor and/or psychiatrist.
- Be patient. Switching or adjusting medications can be a delicate process, sometimes involving a bit of trial and error. It can be hard to know at first whether the medication is working adequately, or if it is the right one for you.
- Ask lots of questions, and stay informed. Some examples of questions you can ask your doctor or psychiatrist might be;
- What exactly is the medication supposed to do?
- How am I supposed to take it (e.g., once daily with meals)?
- When it should begin to take effect?
- What are the side effects, if any, and what should I do if they occur?
As we begin our conversation, I just wanted to quickly mention the Forum’s Community Guidelines around discussing medications, which you can read more about here. We ask that members please refrain from giving specific details about their specific medications (e.g., discussing specific medication names and/or dosages).
With that in mind, I’d like to open the floor for your tips, tricks and ideas! I know several community members have already raised some really interesting insights about their journey with medication. One such interesting discussion that comes to mind was started by @kenny66 - you can check it out here.
A quick shout out to some of our existing members that might have experience in this area - @kenny66, @Akash75, @hiddenite, @Loopy, @Pixie, @Neb, @tabby, @Rick and @kato – we’d love to hear from you! Have you ever experienced a change in medication? If so, how did it go? What worked for you? What didn’t work for you? What wisdom or insights can you offer to others who may be currently walking through, or getting ready to walk through, a similar journey? Do you have any nuggets of wisdom to share on this particular topic?
Stay cool,
- Mosaic
