Medications

[Chimpy]

After being on ADs for well over 20 yrs now.....I have to say I honestly don't feel any better even though I have seen soooooo many doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists. They make me feel calmer as I also suffer from anxiety but the biggest problem is I feel soooooo tired all the time . Everything is an absolute effort which in turn makes me worse because I very rarely achieve anything but the normal everyday routine. I come off them and feel more alive, achieve more but then become anxious about things again and the brain gets a bit scrambled. I have been diagnosed with rapid Bi Polar where it was explained to me I have very rapid turnarounds......every 2 weeks I have a few days of manic where I can conquer anything then I come down for a week or so and then the mani returns. To be honest I have learnt to tell everyone exactly what they want to hear as its like....here we go again, same old questions, same old answers. I wonder at times if I really need medication or whether I can do trol this myself? The trouble is the onset of manic is quick as in the click of a finger!!

[carer1]

i so know how that feels , i dont have the energy to sneeze so get very little done so i feel guilty etc etc im just severe depression and anxiety

[JessF]

Hello Chimpy, I think we've all fallen into this trap where we think we're doing ok, so we stop medication, then everything goes to pieces. We forget that the reason we're doing ok is because of the medication in the first place. There's no guarantee that medication will bring you unbridled joy, unfortunately, but I think you have answered your own question in acknowledging that you do feel calmer when on the medication.

As for the tiredness, this is a common side effect of medication and exercise can be a big help. I resisted this idea for years, but it genuinely is true that if you make even a little effort to go for a bit of a walk every day it gets the heart pumping and can combat your tiredness.