Medication

I have been on medication for most of my life. I started unravelling as a teenager, with lots of different diagnosis, lots of shrinks experimenting with medication all sorts, and trying life not on them at all.

ultimately, the realisation that I should stay on an old fashion med. (which I cannot type in for some reason) for ever has been the best for me, I tried a dosage that I could function but I was like a flat line all the time. With the dose I currently take all is rosy in the garden, sometimes I take a prn drug, but when I do get low maybe twice a year now, I just tell the gp what I am up to. Incidentally, trying more modern drugs just give me tardive dyskinesia which just sort of highlights that you have mental health issues.

I now live in a different country and in a rural town, there are peer support services, and if I start running about with an axe or something, I would be able to see the public pysch services....I am totally phobic to public services having had a wonderful (not) time with Qld Health....hopefully they have lifted their game which would not be too hard as it was very very awful.

Hi Kenny

Medication was once a necessity for changing thoughts and behaviours through the process of psychosis in the diagnosis of schizophrenia. While experiencing psychosis through periods without medication I had memories of past experiences which were the onset for irrational thinking and confusion which had soon become set delusional beliefs. The medication was a challenge and I was none compliant for a period of 8 years taking nothing but my own faith in false beliefs and conclusions about every moment I was experiencing not in touch at all with any legitamit reality of those moments. The obstructive nature of the psychosis disabled me from relationships even brief ones, it was then I submitted after years of self torture and first accepted use of medication. I will not make this pro or anti as I do believe recovery can be achieved with or without meds, but in personal experience I would recomend a medicated state to have a more useful approach with psychosocial therapies than a psychotic one. So I am glad I used both medication and the services which resulted in recovery. The direct challenges I found were with sedation, weight gain, muscle tightening, smoking as coping on medications, and diet due to poor taste and sedation. The first six months were the hardest distonia (muscle spasms) would get me every day and I hated it. The challenge was not a nice experience but necessary.

Regards

Access

I have had to go on new medications, been on them for about 6 weeks now and feelng terrible and hating them with a passion. So many side effects and really not sure that they have had that much of an effect and they are interfering more now iwth my day to day life! nothing is easy i guess... see what happens!

What testing can be done to accurately test for specific drug for different Mental Illneses based on genetic and biochemical markiers for certain mental illnesses? As this is so desperately required. It appears to me it all is based on trial and error as if you are the guinea pig.

Australia needs to get with the programme and adopt some other practices as mentioned above (accurate testing) to ensure safety with less side effetcs from all there anti-psychotics, antidepressants etc.

At present overall the drug treatments are not successful.

As long as it helps I dont have a problem with it but I have a problem with doctors (gp's) who keep giving scripts out and dont even ask me how I am or discuss the subject of BPD.

Yes I agree @Change123there needs to be clear medical protocols for that.

With all due respect, I disagree with @Loopy re all good things have a price tag ... uh uh .. money is fact of life .. but just one fact.

Luv the pic tho. I was brought up to love the beach sun & surf ..in the 2 years I spent with my father ... I know people who ran away from hoome & lived on the beach .. its ok in a warm clime ...

I am with you on this one @Former-Member. Having recently changed meds I am suffering side effects and am sick of it. I want to stop altogether but i know my support people will say no. We'll see what happens when i mention it.

I am sure trying all sorts of AD is not doing any good for my body, mind and health. It can't be good for my body.

Medication can be a roller coaster ride if it doesn't agree with you. I had side effects to medication and finding one that fits my profile with minimal side effects was challenging. I take my medication regularly. With some of the medications I have been on I had concentration issues and I looked drugged up, even though I have never done illicit drugs. I had physical side effects such as tremors down one side of my body. I am lucky that I have found medication that agrees with me and has little side effects. I am able to now function quite well.