Worst physical experience resulting from mental illness and/or treatment

[S_A_D_]

Describe your experiences of some of the benefits and side effects of medication you've been on: What would you suggest sufferers avoid if possible? What should we consider? What worked great for you?

Note: We're not allowed to mention specific medications or doctors, or give specific medical advice

For example: I had to take a disgusting tasting medication that needed to be dissolved under my tounge. I was told I couldn't eat or drink anything for a specific period afterwards, so the meedication would be absorbed into the bloodstream through the mouth.

My strategy for dealing with the disgusting sensation was to use hyperstimulating distraction (spontaneous vigorous exercise) to ride out the habituation process, and after 90 seconds or so I couldn't taste the medication. As soon as I was allowed I would consume a strong citris fruit (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit), chewing to excess and getting as much of the juices under my tounge as possible.

[The_Real_David_Charles]

Dear S.A.D.,

Just picking up this loose thread from 3 days ago.   It's a good idea.  There are a number of bad side effects associated with mental illness treatment probably not helped by the actual mental illness itself.

I had a manic state that my regular psychiatrist decided to treat at home (!).   The main sedating drug had to be bought and, like yourself, the foul taste left a lot to be desired.   Somehow, I mixed it with strawberry flavoured milk: a litre of strawberry milk to a tablespoon of anti psychotic medicine.   (Do they make pink cows ?).

Bad side effect:   a swollen thorax, tongue and neck.    Inability to breathe. Suffocation.   My nose held out but the swelling was pinching it too (the mouth was fully closed off with swelling) so I experienced my first adverse reaction.  What do they call it ?  Aniphallactic ?    When I got to the main hospital they treated me with a substance to reduce the swelling but by then I had had a full stroke and lost the ability to walk for a few weeks, etc.

When my wife visited I was writing down a tune in my head.  I couldn't do much else - talk, take a leak without support, etc.   Maybe my music neurons bypassed the damaged part of my brain.     This is because the brain uses many areas to experience music.  The ear doesn't have a flap or way of closing.

These experiences always come with a merry "Now let's see how you go with these meds, see you next week" type of psychiatrists wonderland adieu.  I changed psychiatrists on release.

Psychotic meds have LOTS of bad side effects.  I noticed the other night there was a tv story about Nursing Homes tranquilising difficult patients with a vintage antipsychotic drug.   The use might be sedating but you end up with what they call the Haldal Shuffle.  Kind of like tying your feet with a short piece of string and then tumbling through the corridors in a gated manner.   Almost like you are wearing an adult nappy.    The tv research provided plenty of evidence of up to 50% use in some instances.  Most psych hospitals don't use this serious medication anymore.  It's way too damaging.  I had it once in London in 1987 and I still remember the effect.

I apologise for not giving the full 572 worded response.  I do what I can.

Adios, David.

PS  Being incapacitated by mental drugs leads to having assistance from the nurses when you eat, toilet and shower.  Mmm, doesn't sound too bad now.  Lol.

[geoff]

dear S.A.D, some of my side effects are that 'johnnie' was inactive, couldn't extend it, hope you know what I am talking about, the male organ, 'johnnie', nothing could get the blood from flowing.

My main medication that had a great affect on me was my anti-epileptic medication when it had to be increased considerably, it made me talk in a stupid gar gar way, it also made me unable to walk properly and my body had to slowly cope with this increase. L Geoff. X

[ilovetoread73_]

I take a medication that is proven to have given people gambling, money spending problems.  Court case was just settled.  I was aware of before taking and my partner too.  However the problem is that it makes it impossible to have an orgasm on it.  No wonder I eat so much chocolate now.  I cannot not take this drug as I would not last a night without it as my RLS is too bad.  I would not sleep and my husband tells me it's like being in a washing machine when I tried not to take it when pregnant.

[Zan]

By the sound of it we've all experienced what it feels like to be a "Lab Rat" in the hands of  so-called "Mental Health Professionals" who are all financially enriched and suffer no negative consequences for their pharmaceutical experimentation as they attempt to "fine tune" (love that word) the medication to treat a mental condition or conditions that they do not really know (or care) lie at the root of the problem.

After 7 years of being "drugged to the eyeballs" by these so-called Professionals, eventually I was told the reason the anti-psychotics did not work was because I had Bi-Polar (as in it was my fault, not theirs), and tough luck buddy for the permanent damage caused by Big-Pharma's concoctions we pumped into you at the Australian taxpayers expense that added a few million to Big-Pharma's profits!

Drugs -- no more. I've chosen to do without them and try to enjoy the merry-go-round of ups and downs that anyone with a permanent brain trauma/frontal lobe injury will be able to describe. As for trust -- well I now have ZERO! Gee thanks Mental Health team -- you certainly know how to screw with your Lab Rats!

[Pounce]

I was on two ADs recently, one of which made me drowsy and gave me the munchies. Then when I went to my doctor hoping to stop them, he said I should stop taking them immediately. Not because of the weight gain, but because he was convinced I was manic - another side effect of that medication!

[Doolhof]

Hi Everyone,

This is another great thread, I have been enjoying reading the posts. I woke up this morning feeling lousy, had a coffee and M&Ms for breakfast and hooked up to BB to see what was on offer here.

I was going to start a post about how lousy life is at present, but I have actually been cheered by a few different threads, so that is cool. Or maybe the chocolate and coffee are kicking in! Ha.Ha.

Medication! I was on an AD for a while, then I went back to my Dr telling him he had better change it. He asked why and I told him it was because I was developing road rage and wanted to run everyone else off the road. I was even starting to think about how many points I would score for knocking down a cyclist, or better still people on the footpath.

I had become very aggressive in my thinking so my medication was dutifully changed!

A few years ago I had a breakdown and was sent to a mental health ward. I will say that I didn't find the staff to be all that helpful. Yes, I was fed three times a day and could speak to a nurse for 5 minutes every morning but that was about it.

I found the other patients to be of more help and comfort than the staff. A group of us seemed to band together and supported each other. We listened to each others stories, hugged and cared for each other.

Without medication I am very erratic and quite suicidal, so it is not really an option for me. I am the one bringing in a wage at present as my husband has been unemployed for two years now.

I would love to have 6 months off work and life in general to see if I could eventually cope, but that is just not possible.

My last AD had me totally stressed out and running around 100 miles an hour. This one has calmed me right down and I find it hard to get things done. I would like to find something in the middle!

Cheers to you all from Mrs. Dools, Lauren

[Pounce]

 Hi Zan, yes one does feel like an experiment at times. The problem is they don't know enough about the causes and how and why different medications work for different people/symptoms etc. So the approach is - here, try this (no mention of negative side effects), then a couple of months later - hmm, that's not working, let's increase the dose, add something else...then, whoops, that one triggered a manic episode, here's something worse.... and so the experiment continues.

[Pounce]

Hi David, that sounds awful! It's such a shame that some medications end up making things worse rather than better. I hope you've managed to recover from that terrible episode

[ilovetoread73_]

I just wanted to add one medication that is not prescribed that has made my sleep disorder - RLS absolutely unbearable.  It is antihistamines - also phenothiazines - basically any class of drugs that stop you from being sick when you've been sick too much!  I found out about the antihistamines reaction for those who have RLS when I was on an island out in the middle of nowhere off the coast off Vanuatu.  I managed to get bitten twice by a wasp which was like hot need going into my leg.  I must admit I would rather be bitten 50 times by a wasp then ever experience the reaction because of my RLS from the antihistamine.  I think it does something perhaps to the nervous system.  Well it has got to be the worst reaction I have ever experienced, it seriously made me feel like I couldn't handle the feeling it was causing very long.  The other one was from the same class of drugs that stop throwing up.  This one when it initially came out and I had a lesser reaction than to antihistamine because of my RLS (undiagnosed at my young age then).  It also made my heart feel like it was beating very fast.  Dr could not understand.  It's always good to understand what you can about your body and what these drugs do even if they are not prescribed but over the counter.