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some help

HannerCasual Contributor19 Nov 2018, 11:31 am AEDT

some help

Hi How are you?

I have been taking anti psychotics. I did a small reduction and went back up. I am finding that on less medication my self care goes up, I pay more attention to my appearance general self care, my sex drive comes back and generally I have more motivation, I also clean the house. When Im on 0.5 of medication I am less likely to clean the house, care about my appearance and feel a sense of motivation. It's the minimising of dopamine that's affecting my motivation. I am a very sself motivated person. Has anyone else experienced this on anti psychotics? Like been on a dose then lower dose and saw some changes..

It is tricky when you feel like you don' have psychosis I've always been a motivated person. Sexuality to me is something that motivates me, totally totally believe in the power of sexual energy and without it it's like you're a motor or machine. I also find i connect better with people on less medication and find that people don't understand me on medication (because I'm not connected to myself). there are many withdrawal effects of being on and coming off anti psychotic medication and I experience disability when coming off them after being taken them for 5 years. It is really scary as I was a fullly functionong person before. I could really only manage a short walkand was sscared to go to certain places due to the changes in how i was functioning and what i was getting used to. Has anyone experienced better health off medication?

Good luck and love

3 replies

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In response to: some help

AppleblossomSenior Contributor19 Nov 2018, 3:07 pm AEDT

Re: some help

Hello @Hanner

People on this forum have many and varied experiences of meds. You are not alone in noticing the diminshing of motivation on higher doses. When I married my husband 30 years ago he wanted me to help him come off a typical anti psychotic, which we did and he has managed without since. We did it extremely gradually.

Mostly I have been oin antidepressants, but in last 2 years on atypical antipsychotics. I have noticed the same things as you, and am keen not to increase, but also had a huge amount of stress and the need to be very stable for my child. I keep it at the minimum and hope eventually to come off them though realistically, that may take a few years.

Welcome to the forum

I know @eudemonism is struggling with his level of meds. Hope you dont mind being tagged Eude?

Take Care

Apple

In response to: some help

eudemonismSenior Contributor19 Nov 2018, 4:40 pm AEDT

Re: some help

Hi @Hanner I've been taking different anti pyschotics on and off for around 14 years now *but mainly on... I'm about to 33 y/o... and yes! I've noticed great improvements in all areas of my health when being off of anti psychotic medication but unfortunately the team of treating professionals don't see it that way... they see me as acutely unwell and in need of medication...
I've basically spent the most important years of my life living with the terrible side effects of anti pyschotics...
When off meds my weight came back to a normal range, my sex drive came back, i was expressing emotions again, i was walking more and swimming more, i was worried about my self care and image more... but the thing is... i was more at risk of becoming unwell + i used illicit drugs and got setup by a fellow patient-and became unwell again... so the professionals intervened and put me on a community treatment order... -taking medication is definitely being put between a rock and a hard place-because what the medication does to my mind and body-counteracts my brains ability to maintain normal dopamine levels and function well...-truth be known-i HATE THE SYSTEM... it really don't work well at all...

Basically, as long as I'm taking their anti pyschotics, my brain will never have a chance to return to normal. They've diagnosed while i was under the influence of drugs, which is wrong of them... and they've never had any scientific evidence to prove I've got a chemical imbalance to begin with... besides that my symptoms were brought on by environmental and social factors... i actually believe they broke the mental health act on MYSELF from day one...

So yea???

In response to: some help

jay2Senior Contributor19 Nov 2018, 5:25 pm AEDT

Re: some help

Yes I feel much better on really low levels of medication, I take lots of vitamin pills. Good for you. Some people can keep their medications at a low level and feel better and some cant. I keep mine at the bare minimum and 99% of the time I feel OK .If I begin to feel a bit of a shift in mood I will take half a tab.see what happens and go from there. I agree with you absolutely about sex,I am wondering if it is the hormone oxytocin that changes our moods for the better. I am of the belief that oxytocin should be looked into more thoroughly as a medication for depression. Doctors are a right pain in the but when it comes to medications, I believe they treat medications with a touch and go attitude, just to see how we react, we are guinea pigs for some doctors. My advice about doctors ,shrinks and other who administer to our mental health problems.NEVER GO AND SEE THEM ALONE always take someone with you as a witness. Good luck, as one shrink said to me",Whatever you are doing ,keep on doing it." because it's helping to keep you on top of your disability

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