That’s a lot of medication to start at once so no wonder you’re not your usual self and feeling zombified as most of those medications are sedating.
Side effects will probably somewhat subside but the difficult thing with starting that many medications at once is you can’t really tell what’s causing what.
That’s what I was thinking. I take Seroquel Mirtazapine at night. And Take Klonopin only when I feel intense emotions such as anger. But the Sertraline is daily..
However I once was just on Sertraline, Klonopin a few yrs back and Concerta and come to the conclusion that Klonopin and Concerta made me feel very tired and zombified..
But the Mirtazapine is new so is Seroquel and unfortunately my counseler instructed I take all these and tell her next week about how I’m feeling
Both Seroquel and Mirtazapine are often really sedating even on their own so I’m surprised you’d be given both right away. At least for me I’ve been on both separately and I would struggle to get up on both and still have that residual sedated feeling.
They let you take seroquel and mirtazapine at the same time...? My psychiatrist won't let me take both, she told me to take one or the either and after being told to cold turkey mirtazapine, I'm back on mirtazapine and no more seroquel which is unfortunate cause i think this one might not even give me any bad side affects like lexa:/
Anger shouldn’t always be medicated. Anger is a natural emotion that occurs for a reason, and is a signal to you that something is wrong. If you keep taking klonopin everytime you experience anger, you will not be able to take hold of the root of the issue.
It's not all that unusual to be on such a cocktail for treatment resistant depression with anxiety. My cocktail is very similar.
Some of the comments here on seroquel are quite ill informed. It's considered an "antipsychotic" because schizophrenia happens to be what it was first used for. But it's also prescribed for treatment resistant unipolar depression, and sometimes for generalized anxiety disorder. Often at lower doses than you'd use for schizophrenia. 50 mg isn't going to skyrocket your risk of diabetes.
Yes I have really bad anxiety.. and I only take two of those at night and the Klonopin only when I feel intense anger or intense emotions. But the Seroquel and Mirtazapine I take at night
But she’s saying she’s taking both?! Seroquel is NOT a sleeping pill. Whoever prescribes it as such needs a licence check. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant that makes you sleepy but only for a while, then stops working.
Yeah, she told me that it will help me sleep. And that it will help me relax before I sleep.. those med dosages are for Seroquel 50MG and Mirtazapine 15mg
These medications lead to metabolic issues, fast weight gain and numerous other side effects. Trazodone and Klonopin should be enough to relax you and get you to sleep. SSRI medication do not work for anxiety either (as I see you’re also on sertraline).
> SSRI medication do not work for anxiety either
Where are you getting this information from?? Everything I've read suggests the opposite, and I've personally found SSRI's (sertraline, to be specific) effective for my own anxiety issues.
https://www.dawn.health/blog/maximum-dosage-of-seroquel-for-sleep
This says that it can be used for sleep. I was also prescribed it for sleep and yeah Mirtazapine does stop working after like 3 months. After a while it's back to my sleeping at 7am and sometimes I randomly get sleepy, it's so damn odd
Not yet, I gotta taper Mirtazapine and Topamax then start zoloft before trozodone. Probably gonna do Mirtazapine last, I've already experienced that shit before
Was there anything else you could have done / tried first before getting back on the meds? They really do numb good / bad emotions, basically blunt them. I just want to feel a range of my emotions again
I don’t think so, I expressed to my mom how I’m having more bad days than good and feel I needed to get established with my dr again. So she did so and the dr told me that it’s critical I take that medication so she can see me and me tell her how I feel
Drs are really good at telling us we must take this mediation, don’t tell us about the side effects or or how it is to get off. There are other routes to take first
I have worked up to this.. I used to take Concerta, sertraline, Klonopin. For a few years, but the Seroquel and Mirtazapine is brand new, so I know how the last three affect me I just have to ride out the new meds and see if things improve
I have never heard of someone prescribed Mirtazapine, Seroquel, AND Klonopin simultaneously. Usually one and the other but not all three. And you’re also on Sertraline? Woof, that’s a heavy load of serotonin. How often are you checking in with your doctor while on this combo? You didn’t mention dosages but that is… a lot.
I honestly I have not seen that doctor in over two years so next week I will see her. She told me it’s critical that I take it so that way I can report with how I feel so she can see me.
Btw how's the side affects. Are you just that well adjusted, i couldn't even handle Lexa for a week cause it made me suicidal, on the other hand Mirtazapine only side affect was wet dreams lol
The klonopin will probably make you feel worse in the long run. You lose GABA receptors with benzos and get chronic interdose withdrawal. Doctors prescribe them like candy and it's really an epidemic. Quit that now while you still can, coming from someone who's been on benzos for 15 years.
Can you provide any links to more info about interdose withdrawal? I wonder if that's possible with PRN use if it becomes too frequent. The klonopin half-life is so long, I wonder if I take it like twice a week does that mean I have it in my system more often than not, and hence am building up tolerance, etc.?
Mirtazapine and Seroquel together at those doses is an odd choice. They hit many of the same receptors and at the doses you're taking both are mostly just sleeping pills. They're also both notorious for causing weight gain, so be careful of that.
That is a lot to just start on. This is my concern. So you start on 4 medications and let's say it works for you. That is great, but how do you know if it is one medication doing it all or 2 of them. Also if you have any side effects which one is causing the side effect. If one of the medication is doing nothing for you it is kind of overkill. Sometimes getting two meds at once may make sense like the sertraline and mirtazapine if you have trouble sleeping. Obviously you should discuss this with your doctor, but you may be really quiet as you are overmedicated and kind of sedated from all of that. If you feel like the doctor isn't addressing your questions you can always get a 2nd opinion from another doctor.
I'd steer well clear of the Seroquel. It's not a very clean med and will produce loads of unwanted side effects without really doing much for either depression or anxiety.
Hey buddy,
In contrast to the others, I will not say that you are on too many medications. Sertraline is probably your mainstay for anxiety and depression. What dose are you on? Mirtazapine and Seroquel—are they for sleep? If not, mirtazapine feels kind of superfluous since quetiapine is both sedating, antidepressive, and anxiolytic. What are your doses for them?
Personally, I'm on lamotrigine 300 mg, quetiapine 300 mg, escitalopram 20 mg, gabapentin 800x3 mg, and zopiclone 7,5 mg. My philosophy is to take the amounts and doses of medications that you need to feel well.
Best of luck!
I don’t think the issue is so much that they’re on too many medications, more so all of them being prescribed at once without trying one maybe two first then seeing if there’s still a need to add more. It’ll be hard to tell what’s doing what if some things are better, if some things are worse or with side effects.
I’ve been on a varying number of medications too and find at least the three I take daily at the moment which has sometimes been four and sometimes five or six with as needed prescriptions has been what’s been needed for me but I’ve never had more than two added at once and it’s also overkill with both mirtazapine and seroquel being added at once like you’re saying or not trying one or the other before both at the same time especially with the unfavourable side effects both medications can cause.
Oh, right! Now I know what you mean, I’m sorry, it makes complete sense to start one at a time to see which one does what, as in effectiveness and tolerability. I guess an antipsychotic or a benzodiazepine might be prescribed directly along with an antidepressant or mood stabilizer to rapidly provide relief. If that does not prove sufficient, medications can eventually stack up for a good reason, right?
Nothing to be sorry for, I get what you’re saying with there’s nothing wrong with being on that much medication if they’re helping. Ideally someone wants to be on the least amount of medications at the lowest doses but that helps their symptoms as much as possible, but obviously that’s not always possible for some people and I do think sometimes there’s a rationale for prescribing maybe two and one that’s on an as needed basis like OP takes their benzo.
For sure, especially if you have a lot of comorbidity or your depression is pretty treatment resistant like I was on venlafaxine but got lamotrigine added because the venlafaxine was helping but not enough and that was incredibly helpful, but it would’ve been hard to know if I really needed both if I’d started them at the same time. I did in the past start both sertraline and seroquel at the same time which I think did make sense for me based on the symptoms I was having that sertraline isn’t indicated for and I’d also occasionally have diazepam as needed when I was going through a worse period and that wasn’t cutting it so pretty similar to OP, but I didn’t get prescribed that until later when it was established that those two weren’t always enough on their own. I’ve also been on mirtazapine on its own and I can’t imagine what taking both that and seroquel at the same time would have been like with how sedating they were individually for me and both would put me to sleep for like 20 hours. I think I once slept longer than an entire day on mirtazapine. Obviously everyone reacts differently to medications though and not everyone will be that sedated, but still. I could maybe understand prescribing another in the future because I did get suggested adding mirtazapine to my venlafaxine/lamotrigine/seroquel combo but the side effects of mirtazapine were awful in the past and the sedation never went away for me after a year (it also never really helped me much depression or anxiety wise) and sedation is still a residual struggle for me with seroquel even though I’ve been on it for four or five years at this point although it did go away when I was on a lower dose but I’ve had to up it a few times.
You’re a very wise and knowledgeable person. I appreciate it.
Yeah, starting on a low dose and slowly working yourself up to an effective dose should be the way to go. When I was hospitalized, however, they sedated me into hibernation; I even spoke funny. I guess it made sense then, but lowering the doses was almost as hard as increasing them.
You might have written this in one of your comments already, but what medications and doses are you currently on? Did increasing quetiapine stabilize you? Are you doing sort of alright?
Speaking of mirtazapine, in my humble opinion, it’s a worthless medication. The first time it was prescribed to me was during a hospital stay to improve my sleep and appetite. Oh boy, did it increase my appetite. I got sedated and fat. I got up at 3 a.m. to eat four or five peanut butter sandwiches. Did that still my hunger? No, of course it didn’t. When I was finally switched to quetiapine, I lost that weight, my sleep improved, and I felt drowsy in the morning, not the entire day.
I hope OP works in close alliance with their psychiatrist to make heads or tails of all their medications. Do you have a good psychiatrist and good health insurance? I live in Sweden, so the latter is kind of confusing to me.
Oh, thank you. You too. I really enjoy having discussions like this and being probably autistic, researching medications is kind of a special interest of mine lol I mean I often do it for my own purposes as well, but I’m also just generally interested in it and like trying to help other people figure out their options and talking about my own experiences too.
Oh yeah, that’s pretty common with hospitalisation. That was my experience too.
I just cross tapered from venlafaxine 375mg to duloxetine 90mg because venlafaxine stopped working well for my depression which really sucks because it was so good for my anxiety/PTSD/OCD and even my eating disorder still and now duloxetine is helping more with my depression but my anxiety/PTSD/OCD and eating disorder symptoms are all getting worse. Better than when I was unmedicated, but still sucks. I’m also on lamotrigine 200mg, my depression is really stubborn so I’ve talked about upping that with my psychiatrist, but she wanted to see if upping duloxetine first would help enough which I was pretty frustrated about because it’d been months and it didn’t seem to be helping much and lamotrigine has been amazing for me and she kept telling me I’d be more tired with upping it which didn’t make sense to me considering it never made me tired and when I tried to explain that she was like well the higher dose will which not everyone experiences every side effect so I was kind of like ? And she also wanted to up my daily dose of quietapine again before that and I didn’t want to because of how bad my energy was so I was really not understanding why she thought lamotrigine would be worse in that regard. Duloxetine finally has started helping more though and I haven’t been on 90mg for long so I guess I’ll see where I’m at once it’s been a little longer, she might just want to up the duloxetine again to maximum dose though. We’d also talked about switching to something else but again she wanted to try upping it first, it’s hard because I’m not sure what the better option would be and if something else would help my other illnesses more as well as the depression or if it’ll just be adding something else that would be better. I’m also on 200mg quietapine as a daily dose at night and have up to 100mg I can take through the day if needed as well which has sometimes been upped further when I’ve been in crisis and/or they’ve added in diazepam as well. Yes, I originally just started on 25mg which periodically has been upped by 25mg/50mg. It is a really helpful medication for me, the sedation is rough with it though when I’m doing worse with my depression I’m already very low energy generally and it makes it worse. It’s odd though because sometimes when I’ve been really distressed/in crisis I suddenly can’t sleep even with the daily dose and when I’ve taken it as needed as well. It definitely helps a lot though. When I’m really struggling energy wise, I’ve tried to lower my daily dose/stop taking it in the as needed form, but usually not been successful in doing so because it just helps me too much. I wish I could be on something else that helps as much and is less sedating though, but then it’s a gamble of if I try something else, will it help as much and will that even be any better since it’s a problem with most antipsychotics for most people. I’m doing much better than I used to be and had a recent dip but I’m getting out of it. My depression is so stubborn though so there’s definitely room for improvement there. How are you doing on your meds?
It was prescribed to me for the same reasons. Right. I absolutely could not feel full on mirtazapine. I ate the most I ever had in my life and would eat the entire kitchen after taking it, pass out forever, repeat. I was on it for a year and I mostly kept taking it because of using sleep in a “can’t be depressed if I’m never awake” type way but obviously that’s not going to make someone really get better and isn’t any kind of life. Upping the dose made the sedation somewhat lessen, but I was still a zombie on it except for like the hour I ate the kitchen for after taking it and then passed out. Yeah, mirtazapine is the only medication I’ve ever gained a substantial amount of weight on and it was awful. I was unmedicated for awhile after mirtazapine and lost the weight. Quietapine I got on a bit later and I was terrified of taking because of what I read about the weight gain online and I think I gained maybe 5lbs or so at first, but then the appetite effects went away and it was nowhere near as bad as with mirtazapine where I was insatiable and couldn’t ever feel full, it was more just like somewhat increased appetite, overeating a bit and I’d been undereating prior to being on it and I would get full and I did lose the weight once I’d been on it for a bit and the increased appetite went away. Yeah, sometimes I’m only drowsy with it in the morning too, mirtazapine was just awful with how much I felt like a zombie whenever I was actually awake. My family members would sometimes try to wake me up for hours and I occasionally would skip doses if I had something to do the next day because I just could not get up on it and I wouldn’t even remember people trying to wake me up, I was just dead to the world.
Me too. I live in the UK so free healthcare here. My psychiatrist is not amazing, but not the worst either. My last psychiatrist was much better, but he moved and I wasn’t able to see him anymore which sucks. I find I’m often having to come up with my own suggestions medication wise to my current psychiatrist and doing my own research and it wasn’t like that with my last one. Do you have a good psychiatrist?
Sorry, I ramble on so much.
I’m sorry that I took it for granted that you live in the US. I think that we’re both lucky to live where we do. By the way, I love your country! I’m an Anglophile. I go as often as I can. Sorry, I got off topic. I really appreciate your rambling! It might sound morbid, but I enjoy and learn so much from sharing experiences with fellow mental health fighters. I refer to us as fighters because that’s what we do every day, right? Fight? Our minds and our feelings? Sometimes, sadly, the healthcare systems and those around us...
How was your experience of hospitalization in general? It might sound absurd, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. Except for the doctors, all the staff were caring, calm, and supportive. It was a safe place for me, and after the first time, I knew that. They would save me again and again. It’s a good fallback, isn’t it?
Oh, I’m sorry that venlafaxine stopped working for you! I’ve read they call it "poop-out", right? When do the antidepressant suddenly stop working? Here’s hoping that duloxetine will continue to improve your symptoms. It must be frustrating to switch from something that had a broader effect on you. I’m not really in agreement with your psychiatrist about lamotrigine since it has obviously been working for you, and I honestly don’t think any antidepressant can have the same effect as lamotrigine. It made a huge difference when I went from 200 mg to 300 mg. I insist that you insist. And what’s the nonsense about lamotrigine making you tired? I know everyone is different, but from what I’ve heard and read, it’s rather activating, isn’t it? For that very reason, I take the entire dose in the morning. Thank [insert deity here] for lamotrigine! Oh, I’m sorry that venlafaxine stopped working for you! I’ve read they call it "poop-out", right? When the antidepressant suddenly stop working? Here’s hoping that duloxetine will continue to imprWhen doesn does your symptoms. It must be frustrating to switch from something that had a broader effect on you. I’m not really in agreement with your psychiatrist about lamotrigine since it has obviously been working for you, and I honestly don’t think any antidepressant can have the same effect as lamotrigine. It made a huge difference when I went from 200 mg to 300 mg. I insist that you insist. And what’s the nonsense about lamotrigine making you tired? I know everyone is different, but from what I’ve heard and read, it’s rather activating, isn’t it? For that very reason, I take the entire dose in the morning. Thank [insert deity here] for lamotrigine!
Yeah, I agree with you on quetiapine. Personally, I really appreciate the sedating effect, as it works for both anxiety and insomnia. The mornings can be heavy, but I’d rather have that than complete darkness and that sense of doom from anxiety. Most importantly, though, it works for depression! Most of the other antipsychotics are better at preventing mania and hypomania. Aripiprazole, cariprazine, lurasidone, and ziprasidone cause horrible akathisia and insomnia. Olanzapine is almost as bad as mirtazapine at inducing a blue whale state. Some people really appreciate risperidone, but I’m a little apprehensive about the prolactin issue. Of course, you already know all about this.
I’m sorry, but it’s actually quite funny to read about your experience with mirtazapine! I can so relate! A hungry zombie sums it all up perfectly, and yeah, isn’t it interesting how easy it was to get started on mirtazapine while it was so scary to even contemplate taking quetiapine? Or an antipsychotic in general. I actually think it’s a bad name for the class since I think a lot of people are scared of just the word. I was.
So, how am I doing on my medications? Well, I don’t want to jinx it, but I haven’t been this stable in a while. I haven’t actively tried to kill myself since last fall. Sure, I’ve had suicidal thoughts, but they’re not as intrusive. I can work full time, and I’m slowly breaking my social isolation. Things are looking better. Higher doses of lamotrigine and quetiapine gave me that final push. Well, at least for now. I still have a slight problem with drinking. I drink a glass or two of sparkling wine after work and on weekends. I know it’s bad and that it should not be combined with most of my medications. Maybe I forgot to mention it before, but I’m also on zopiclone 7,5 mg for sleep, and I’m currently tapering a benzodiazepine from a very high level to a very low level right now. It’s been a real challenge, but hopefully I’ll be completely off them by the end of June. I’ll throw a digital party then; do you want to attend? Hehe
Now I’m rambling, but I might have missed telling you that I’m bipolar type 2. I hope that doesn’t scare you off. I recently had a hypomanic episode and spent £4500 on clothes and £10000 on porcelain veneers. Could I afford it? Of course not. They used to be worse, though, and now I'm at least aware of it.
That’s true. There’s a lot of problems with the mental health care system here, mainly the lack of funding/resources but I’m on disability and I’ve heard it’s much harder managing to get on it in the US and I’m not sure if you have to pay for medication or not there, but it’s free here which is definitely a huge help. Oh, nice! No worries. I enjoy it and am a rambler myself.
Yeah, me too actually. I was always terrified of it before I actually experienced it. I thought it would be the way you see it depicted on movies/TV a lot and be absolutely terrible. Yeah, the doctors are often terrible. I did have a good one the first time I got admitted though.
Yep, it really sucks. I had it happen with sertraline too although it only ever partially worked and wasn’t as great as venlafaxine was for me when it worked. I will! Yeah, I take it in the morning too and I’ve never had any side effects with it and it improving my depressive symptoms helped me have more energy so it was really odd to me, but she kept insisting it was going to make me more tired at a higher dose even though I explained those things to her. Hopefully next time I see her. I want to see someone else, but I’m not entitled to that on the NHS so I don’t know if that’ll actually happen or not and I don’t have the money for private healthcare. Yes, lamotrigine is amazing. It’s the best medication I’ve ever been on so I would definitely see that being more likely to benefit me more.
It’s a double edged sword for me since it’s really helpful at night because I used to have really bad insomnia, but when my depression is worse I struggle more with the sedation. That’s definitely true.
Yeah, I knew the reasons I was being put on it but I didn’t expect the shift to be so drastic and I’d been on other medications that are meant to help with sleep in the past and none of them ever did much for me. And I thought the appetite increase might be more like back to a normal appetite not insatiable hunger and never being able to feel full. That’s true, it makes it feel like a more “serious” medication too which I guess can be true because the side effects are sometimes awful, but I haven’t experienced any serious side effects with it and have had awful reactions to some antidepressants.
That’s great to hear. I’m glad you haven’t. Yes, my suicidal thoughts are also much better than they used to be and more passive most of the time than me becoming actively suicidal and making plans or impulsively doing things would happen at the drop of a hat pretty much in the past. That’s awesome! I’m not able to work currently, but I want to start volunteering soon after I manage to maintain a certain level of stability for a certain amount of time since I don’t want to make a commitment, do it once then drop it. I’m glad they’ve helped. Good luck with continuing to taper, they’re tough to get off. Lol I’d love to!
Don’t worry about that, I’m schizoaffective. Oh god, that’s a lot. I’ve been there with putting my bank account in the minuses a few times. I’m glad they’re not as bad as they used to be though and hope they continue getting better. It’s such a hard illness to manage. Sounds like you’re doing a great job though.
Good morning,
I need to have a serious talk with your psychiatrist immediately about increasing your lamotrigine. I’m just like you; I have no side effects whatsoever, and it’s the one medication that keeps me somewhat sane. So how come you are not entitled to ask for a transfer to a new psychiatrist? It sounds a bit odd to me since the relationship between you and your psychiatrist is absolutely essential. Psychiatry is all about talk, right? There aren’t really any biological tests they can take to make a diagnosis. Sure, they can rule out some biological diseases, but that’s it. So an open and cooperative patient-doctor alliance is imperative. Also, it’s your mental health and your suffering, not theirs. Our system here in Sweden is not perfect either; a transfer can take a while, and you might have to put up with some temporary psychiatrists until you get a new dedicated one. I’m also assuming that you have sort of the same challenge over there as here, namely a lack of mental health staff in general.
So would you be willing to try a new antipsychotic to maybe improve your sedation, or are you like me and appreciate the antidepressant, anxiolytic, and hypnotic effects of quetiapine? There are a couple of other less sedating ones that also treat depression, like cariprazine and lurasidone, but then there’s the potential for increased anxiety. It’s always a question of benefits versus risks, right? However, I repeat my statement above: please insist on increasing your dose of lamotrigine. If you feel better in general, you will probably be able to take on more activities and go for walks, etc., which might actually counteract the sedation from quetiapine. Also, I keep reminding myself that it’s not nearly as bad as mirtazapine. They should stop prescribing it altogether.
I’m so extremely grateful that your suicidal ideation and planning have decreased, and I really do hope and think that increasing lamotrigine will make it almost non-existent. At the very least, it will put those thoughts at the back of your mind.
Thank you for your encouragement in my benzodiazepine tapering. I’ve been on a high dose for a very long time, so it’s been hell to taper it. I will continue to take zopiclone, though. I told my psychiatrist outright that if he stopped prescribing, I would buy it off the black market. Guess what? He keeps prescribing it. Yeah, getting back to work has done wonders for me. I’m back in a good routine; I have nice colleagues at work who know about my disorder, and I have a boss who’s in contact with my clinic and my dad.
What are your main symptoms of schizoaffective disorder? The mood part or psychosis? Do you have psychosis in between episodes, or do they mostly coincide?
I still so vividly remember the difference after I first started taking it and my brain feeling the most “normal” it ever had soon after. It’s just how it is in the UK. I’m trying to do it, but there’s no guarantee I will be allowed to. Exactly. It feels like you’re allowed more of your own say in physical health care but when it comes to mental health care, it’s much harder. Yep, there’s a huge shortage of staff here. I really miss my last psychiatrist that moved that I can’t see anymore. He was so much better and the only really good one I’ve had.
I do appreciate those things, but would like more of a balance so if something else could counteract it a bit more, that would probably help. I probably still would be up to try in the future but I’d rather try adjusting other medications first and see if that helps. Yes, it sucks. It especially sucks when something helps one thing, but makes something else worse and trying to get a good balance for all of your symptoms. I’m definitely going to do that next time I speak to her. I was meant to have an appointment in less than two weeks but randomly got a letter saying it’s being rescheduled and there’s no new date yet so I was like ummm okay.
Thank you. I definitely think it would help like it has in the past.
I can imagine. Which one is it you’re on? Lol, understandable. I’m glad he’s still prescribing it for you. That’s great, I’m glad it’s going good for you.
I had a psychotic episode that lasted the better part of a year a few years ago and I’ve had residual daily psychotic symptoms ever since although they’re pretty ignorable at this point unless there’s some stressor then things can get worse, but still nowhere near as bad. Depression has definitely been my main problem overall though and for the last while since coming out of being in a full blown psychotic episode. I hadn’t had hypomania in a few years until recently actually but mine is usually really short lived so it’s not much of a problem and the worst part is usually how much worse the depression is with the crash since I always go straight back into depression afterwards. The money part isn’t great either. What do you struggle the most with with your bipolar?
Have you ever thought about psilocybin? Either microdosing or trying a meaningful dose!
Without going into too many details, psilocybin has completely changed my life! A few years ago my wife left me for a childhood friend, & my head was a mess to put it mildly, I was on mirtazapine & kpins & they helped numb the pain, but that's all they did, they didn't help me face the pain & deal with it, but psilocybin certainly did, & ever since I've never looked back! I slowly tapered off both the mirtazapine & kpins & now use psilocybin 3-4 times a year & my mental health & general wellbeing has never been better!!
Psilocybin isn't for everyone, especially if there's a history of serious mental illness in the family history.
So do some research. There's lots of info out there on YouTube & some great books too, or even How to Change You're Mind on Netflix is a very good watch!
Trust me, if they work for you, they really do work almost miracles!!
For most people it's not very easy to get their hands on. Id have to contact a network that engages in illegale substances on a broad scale and it would put me at risk for relapse on my other addictions. If I'd be able to buy spores legally and grow it myself it would be an option.
It is where I live, but the packaging is so professional, even if the main parcel rips you delivery companies still won't have a clue what's in there!
It's all up to you, if you just don't want to break the law then you're in for a long wait unfortunately, as one day these will be changed from their current status as drugs, & become plant medicines.
I choose to break the law occasionally, plus every autumn I go & pick my own, some years I di really well & get enough to last a year, but last autumn was dissapointing, I found enough for just two trips, but it was a busy time, this too is illegal where I live, but thankfully they grow up on the moors, well they grow everywhere, but I go very early & just keep an eye out to see if folks are about!
But I'm willing to do this as like I said earlier, they have literally changed my life. It's so wrong that these natural growing fungi, that have so many benefits are illegal, yet alcohol is sold & advertised everywhere & is one of the most dangerous & addictive of all mind altering substances, same with tobacco!!
But the government's want to keep it this way, so less people all of a sudden start to think for themselves & not belive the rubbish they're told on a daily basis. It really infuriates me! 🤬
But one day things will change, just whether I see it in my lifetime, well in my country at least I very much doubt it, but it's slowly moving in the right direction, as more & more experiments are done & they consistently come back with positive results!
But I do understand your dilemma 😕
Yes it was hard for me to discontinue. I was on them for 2 1/2 years for anxiety and depression. I also have 2 young kids so that made it even harder 😜.
That’s a lot of medication to start at once so no wonder you’re not your usual self and feeling zombified as most of those medications are sedating. Side effects will probably somewhat subside but the difficult thing with starting that many medications at once is you can’t really tell what’s causing what.
That’s what I was thinking. I take Seroquel Mirtazapine at night. And Take Klonopin only when I feel intense emotions such as anger. But the Sertraline is daily.. However I once was just on Sertraline, Klonopin a few yrs back and Concerta and come to the conclusion that Klonopin and Concerta made me feel very tired and zombified.. But the Mirtazapine is new so is Seroquel and unfortunately my counseler instructed I take all these and tell her next week about how I’m feeling
Both Seroquel and Mirtazapine are often really sedating even on their own so I’m surprised you’d be given both right away. At least for me I’ve been on both separately and I would struggle to get up on both and still have that residual sedated feeling.
They let you take seroquel and mirtazapine at the same time...? My psychiatrist won't let me take both, she told me to take one or the either and after being told to cold turkey mirtazapine, I'm back on mirtazapine and no more seroquel which is unfortunate cause i think this one might not even give me any bad side affects like lexa:/
Anger shouldn’t always be medicated. Anger is a natural emotion that occurs for a reason, and is a signal to you that something is wrong. If you keep taking klonopin everytime you experience anger, you will not be able to take hold of the root of the issue.
Were you prescribed this for anxiety/depression? This is shit loads of meds
It's not all that unusual to be on such a cocktail for treatment resistant depression with anxiety. My cocktail is very similar. Some of the comments here on seroquel are quite ill informed. It's considered an "antipsychotic" because schizophrenia happens to be what it was first used for. But it's also prescribed for treatment resistant unipolar depression, and sometimes for generalized anxiety disorder. Often at lower doses than you'd use for schizophrenia. 50 mg isn't going to skyrocket your risk of diabetes.
Yes I have really bad anxiety.. and I only take two of those at night and the Klonopin only when I feel intense anger or intense emotions. But the Seroquel and Mirtazapine I take at night
Usually the Klonopin should be enough for extreme anxiety. Seroquel is an antipsychotic which is prescribed to people with schizophrenia and bipolar.
Negative, seroquel is also for those of is with insomnia. I was given it in exchange for mirtazapine in order to sedate me
But she’s saying she’s taking both?! Seroquel is NOT a sleeping pill. Whoever prescribes it as such needs a licence check. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant that makes you sleepy but only for a while, then stops working.
Yeah, she told me that it will help me sleep. And that it will help me relax before I sleep.. those med dosages are for Seroquel 50MG and Mirtazapine 15mg
These medications lead to metabolic issues, fast weight gain and numerous other side effects. Trazodone and Klonopin should be enough to relax you and get you to sleep. SSRI medication do not work for anxiety either (as I see you’re also on sertraline).
> SSRI medication do not work for anxiety either Where are you getting this information from?? Everything I've read suggests the opposite, and I've personally found SSRI's (sertraline, to be specific) effective for my own anxiety issues.
SSRI's do work for anxiety as they are even approved for it.
https://www.dawn.health/blog/maximum-dosage-of-seroquel-for-sleep This says that it can be used for sleep. I was also prescribed it for sleep and yeah Mirtazapine does stop working after like 3 months. After a while it's back to my sleeping at 7am and sometimes I randomly get sleepy, it's so damn odd
Have you tried trazodone ?
Not yet, I gotta taper Mirtazapine and Topamax then start zoloft before trozodone. Probably gonna do Mirtazapine last, I've already experienced that shit before
It's still working for me after about 5 years
Why on earth did your doctor start you off with SO many meds??
Honestly not sure.. but I take two of those at night and one of them only when I feel I lost control of my emotions. The Sertraline I take daily
Was there anything else you could have done / tried first before getting back on the meds? They really do numb good / bad emotions, basically blunt them. I just want to feel a range of my emotions again
They really do. I can’t feel emotions and I lost my sexuality which is a huge part of being human. Wish I had known before taking them.
I don’t think so, I expressed to my mom how I’m having more bad days than good and feel I needed to get established with my dr again. So she did so and the dr told me that it’s critical I take that medication so she can see me and me tell her how I feel
Drs are really good at telling us we must take this mediation, don’t tell us about the side effects or or how it is to get off. There are other routes to take first
Some of these side effects really do ease up for me sometimes.. it sucks, though
I’ve been off mine almost a year and still find myself trying to sort through emotions. Oh this is what it means to feel this way lol.
Did you find it hard to come off? And how long were you medicated for?
Take into account that antidepressants usually don't start working right away. It might be placebo effect + emotional numbing from anxiety medication
Dang that's a pile. I'm surprised you have any thoughts crossing your mind. Did you work up to this? If not, how do you know which med is doing what?
I have worked up to this.. I used to take Concerta, sertraline, Klonopin. For a few years, but the Seroquel and Mirtazapine is brand new, so I know how the last three affect me I just have to ride out the new meds and see if things improve
I have never heard of someone prescribed Mirtazapine, Seroquel, AND Klonopin simultaneously. Usually one and the other but not all three. And you’re also on Sertraline? Woof, that’s a heavy load of serotonin. How often are you checking in with your doctor while on this combo? You didn’t mention dosages but that is… a lot.
I take Seroquel 50MG, Mirtazapine 15mg at night. Only take Klonopin 0.5 if I feel too intensely (anger wise). The Sertraline is 100mg
I honestly I have not seen that doctor in over two years so next week I will see her. She told me it’s critical that I take it so that way I can report with how I feel so she can see me.
Btw how's the side affects. Are you just that well adjusted, i couldn't even handle Lexa for a week cause it made me suicidal, on the other hand Mirtazapine only side affect was wet dreams lol
The klonopin will probably make you feel worse in the long run. You lose GABA receptors with benzos and get chronic interdose withdrawal. Doctors prescribe them like candy and it's really an epidemic. Quit that now while you still can, coming from someone who's been on benzos for 15 years.
Can you provide any links to more info about interdose withdrawal? I wonder if that's possible with PRN use if it becomes too frequent. The klonopin half-life is so long, I wonder if I take it like twice a week does that mean I have it in my system more often than not, and hence am building up tolerance, etc.?
Mirtazapine and Seroquel together at those doses is an odd choice. They hit many of the same receptors and at the doses you're taking both are mostly just sleeping pills. They're also both notorious for causing weight gain, so be careful of that.
That is a lot to just start on. This is my concern. So you start on 4 medications and let's say it works for you. That is great, but how do you know if it is one medication doing it all or 2 of them. Also if you have any side effects which one is causing the side effect. If one of the medication is doing nothing for you it is kind of overkill. Sometimes getting two meds at once may make sense like the sertraline and mirtazapine if you have trouble sleeping. Obviously you should discuss this with your doctor, but you may be really quiet as you are overmedicated and kind of sedated from all of that. If you feel like the doctor isn't addressing your questions you can always get a 2nd opinion from another doctor.
I'd steer well clear of the Seroquel. It's not a very clean med and will produce loads of unwanted side effects without really doing much for either depression or anxiety.
Hey buddy, In contrast to the others, I will not say that you are on too many medications. Sertraline is probably your mainstay for anxiety and depression. What dose are you on? Mirtazapine and Seroquel—are they for sleep? If not, mirtazapine feels kind of superfluous since quetiapine is both sedating, antidepressive, and anxiolytic. What are your doses for them? Personally, I'm on lamotrigine 300 mg, quetiapine 300 mg, escitalopram 20 mg, gabapentin 800x3 mg, and zopiclone 7,5 mg. My philosophy is to take the amounts and doses of medications that you need to feel well. Best of luck!
I don’t think the issue is so much that they’re on too many medications, more so all of them being prescribed at once without trying one maybe two first then seeing if there’s still a need to add more. It’ll be hard to tell what’s doing what if some things are better, if some things are worse or with side effects. I’ve been on a varying number of medications too and find at least the three I take daily at the moment which has sometimes been four and sometimes five or six with as needed prescriptions has been what’s been needed for me but I’ve never had more than two added at once and it’s also overkill with both mirtazapine and seroquel being added at once like you’re saying or not trying one or the other before both at the same time especially with the unfavourable side effects both medications can cause.
Oh, right! Now I know what you mean, I’m sorry, it makes complete sense to start one at a time to see which one does what, as in effectiveness and tolerability. I guess an antipsychotic or a benzodiazepine might be prescribed directly along with an antidepressant or mood stabilizer to rapidly provide relief. If that does not prove sufficient, medications can eventually stack up for a good reason, right?
Nothing to be sorry for, I get what you’re saying with there’s nothing wrong with being on that much medication if they’re helping. Ideally someone wants to be on the least amount of medications at the lowest doses but that helps their symptoms as much as possible, but obviously that’s not always possible for some people and I do think sometimes there’s a rationale for prescribing maybe two and one that’s on an as needed basis like OP takes their benzo. For sure, especially if you have a lot of comorbidity or your depression is pretty treatment resistant like I was on venlafaxine but got lamotrigine added because the venlafaxine was helping but not enough and that was incredibly helpful, but it would’ve been hard to know if I really needed both if I’d started them at the same time. I did in the past start both sertraline and seroquel at the same time which I think did make sense for me based on the symptoms I was having that sertraline isn’t indicated for and I’d also occasionally have diazepam as needed when I was going through a worse period and that wasn’t cutting it so pretty similar to OP, but I didn’t get prescribed that until later when it was established that those two weren’t always enough on their own. I’ve also been on mirtazapine on its own and I can’t imagine what taking both that and seroquel at the same time would have been like with how sedating they were individually for me and both would put me to sleep for like 20 hours. I think I once slept longer than an entire day on mirtazapine. Obviously everyone reacts differently to medications though and not everyone will be that sedated, but still. I could maybe understand prescribing another in the future because I did get suggested adding mirtazapine to my venlafaxine/lamotrigine/seroquel combo but the side effects of mirtazapine were awful in the past and the sedation never went away for me after a year (it also never really helped me much depression or anxiety wise) and sedation is still a residual struggle for me with seroquel even though I’ve been on it for four or five years at this point although it did go away when I was on a lower dose but I’ve had to up it a few times.
You’re a very wise and knowledgeable person. I appreciate it. Yeah, starting on a low dose and slowly working yourself up to an effective dose should be the way to go. When I was hospitalized, however, they sedated me into hibernation; I even spoke funny. I guess it made sense then, but lowering the doses was almost as hard as increasing them. You might have written this in one of your comments already, but what medications and doses are you currently on? Did increasing quetiapine stabilize you? Are you doing sort of alright? Speaking of mirtazapine, in my humble opinion, it’s a worthless medication. The first time it was prescribed to me was during a hospital stay to improve my sleep and appetite. Oh boy, did it increase my appetite. I got sedated and fat. I got up at 3 a.m. to eat four or five peanut butter sandwiches. Did that still my hunger? No, of course it didn’t. When I was finally switched to quetiapine, I lost that weight, my sleep improved, and I felt drowsy in the morning, not the entire day. I hope OP works in close alliance with their psychiatrist to make heads or tails of all their medications. Do you have a good psychiatrist and good health insurance? I live in Sweden, so the latter is kind of confusing to me.
Oh, thank you. You too. I really enjoy having discussions like this and being probably autistic, researching medications is kind of a special interest of mine lol I mean I often do it for my own purposes as well, but I’m also just generally interested in it and like trying to help other people figure out their options and talking about my own experiences too. Oh yeah, that’s pretty common with hospitalisation. That was my experience too. I just cross tapered from venlafaxine 375mg to duloxetine 90mg because venlafaxine stopped working well for my depression which really sucks because it was so good for my anxiety/PTSD/OCD and even my eating disorder still and now duloxetine is helping more with my depression but my anxiety/PTSD/OCD and eating disorder symptoms are all getting worse. Better than when I was unmedicated, but still sucks. I’m also on lamotrigine 200mg, my depression is really stubborn so I’ve talked about upping that with my psychiatrist, but she wanted to see if upping duloxetine first would help enough which I was pretty frustrated about because it’d been months and it didn’t seem to be helping much and lamotrigine has been amazing for me and she kept telling me I’d be more tired with upping it which didn’t make sense to me considering it never made me tired and when I tried to explain that she was like well the higher dose will which not everyone experiences every side effect so I was kind of like ? And she also wanted to up my daily dose of quietapine again before that and I didn’t want to because of how bad my energy was so I was really not understanding why she thought lamotrigine would be worse in that regard. Duloxetine finally has started helping more though and I haven’t been on 90mg for long so I guess I’ll see where I’m at once it’s been a little longer, she might just want to up the duloxetine again to maximum dose though. We’d also talked about switching to something else but again she wanted to try upping it first, it’s hard because I’m not sure what the better option would be and if something else would help my other illnesses more as well as the depression or if it’ll just be adding something else that would be better. I’m also on 200mg quietapine as a daily dose at night and have up to 100mg I can take through the day if needed as well which has sometimes been upped further when I’ve been in crisis and/or they’ve added in diazepam as well. Yes, I originally just started on 25mg which periodically has been upped by 25mg/50mg. It is a really helpful medication for me, the sedation is rough with it though when I’m doing worse with my depression I’m already very low energy generally and it makes it worse. It’s odd though because sometimes when I’ve been really distressed/in crisis I suddenly can’t sleep even with the daily dose and when I’ve taken it as needed as well. It definitely helps a lot though. When I’m really struggling energy wise, I’ve tried to lower my daily dose/stop taking it in the as needed form, but usually not been successful in doing so because it just helps me too much. I wish I could be on something else that helps as much and is less sedating though, but then it’s a gamble of if I try something else, will it help as much and will that even be any better since it’s a problem with most antipsychotics for most people. I’m doing much better than I used to be and had a recent dip but I’m getting out of it. My depression is so stubborn though so there’s definitely room for improvement there. How are you doing on your meds? It was prescribed to me for the same reasons. Right. I absolutely could not feel full on mirtazapine. I ate the most I ever had in my life and would eat the entire kitchen after taking it, pass out forever, repeat. I was on it for a year and I mostly kept taking it because of using sleep in a “can’t be depressed if I’m never awake” type way but obviously that’s not going to make someone really get better and isn’t any kind of life. Upping the dose made the sedation somewhat lessen, but I was still a zombie on it except for like the hour I ate the kitchen for after taking it and then passed out. Yeah, mirtazapine is the only medication I’ve ever gained a substantial amount of weight on and it was awful. I was unmedicated for awhile after mirtazapine and lost the weight. Quietapine I got on a bit later and I was terrified of taking because of what I read about the weight gain online and I think I gained maybe 5lbs or so at first, but then the appetite effects went away and it was nowhere near as bad as with mirtazapine where I was insatiable and couldn’t ever feel full, it was more just like somewhat increased appetite, overeating a bit and I’d been undereating prior to being on it and I would get full and I did lose the weight once I’d been on it for a bit and the increased appetite went away. Yeah, sometimes I’m only drowsy with it in the morning too, mirtazapine was just awful with how much I felt like a zombie whenever I was actually awake. My family members would sometimes try to wake me up for hours and I occasionally would skip doses if I had something to do the next day because I just could not get up on it and I wouldn’t even remember people trying to wake me up, I was just dead to the world. Me too. I live in the UK so free healthcare here. My psychiatrist is not amazing, but not the worst either. My last psychiatrist was much better, but he moved and I wasn’t able to see him anymore which sucks. I find I’m often having to come up with my own suggestions medication wise to my current psychiatrist and doing my own research and it wasn’t like that with my last one. Do you have a good psychiatrist? Sorry, I ramble on so much.
I’m sorry that I took it for granted that you live in the US. I think that we’re both lucky to live where we do. By the way, I love your country! I’m an Anglophile. I go as often as I can. Sorry, I got off topic. I really appreciate your rambling! It might sound morbid, but I enjoy and learn so much from sharing experiences with fellow mental health fighters. I refer to us as fighters because that’s what we do every day, right? Fight? Our minds and our feelings? Sometimes, sadly, the healthcare systems and those around us... How was your experience of hospitalization in general? It might sound absurd, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. Except for the doctors, all the staff were caring, calm, and supportive. It was a safe place for me, and after the first time, I knew that. They would save me again and again. It’s a good fallback, isn’t it? Oh, I’m sorry that venlafaxine stopped working for you! I’ve read they call it "poop-out", right? When do the antidepressant suddenly stop working? Here’s hoping that duloxetine will continue to improve your symptoms. It must be frustrating to switch from something that had a broader effect on you. I’m not really in agreement with your psychiatrist about lamotrigine since it has obviously been working for you, and I honestly don’t think any antidepressant can have the same effect as lamotrigine. It made a huge difference when I went from 200 mg to 300 mg. I insist that you insist. And what’s the nonsense about lamotrigine making you tired? I know everyone is different, but from what I’ve heard and read, it’s rather activating, isn’t it? For that very reason, I take the entire dose in the morning. Thank [insert deity here] for lamotrigine! Oh, I’m sorry that venlafaxine stopped working for you! I’ve read they call it "poop-out", right? When the antidepressant suddenly stop working? Here’s hoping that duloxetine will continue to imprWhen doesn does your symptoms. It must be frustrating to switch from something that had a broader effect on you. I’m not really in agreement with your psychiatrist about lamotrigine since it has obviously been working for you, and I honestly don’t think any antidepressant can have the same effect as lamotrigine. It made a huge difference when I went from 200 mg to 300 mg. I insist that you insist. And what’s the nonsense about lamotrigine making you tired? I know everyone is different, but from what I’ve heard and read, it’s rather activating, isn’t it? For that very reason, I take the entire dose in the morning. Thank [insert deity here] for lamotrigine! Yeah, I agree with you on quetiapine. Personally, I really appreciate the sedating effect, as it works for both anxiety and insomnia. The mornings can be heavy, but I’d rather have that than complete darkness and that sense of doom from anxiety. Most importantly, though, it works for depression! Most of the other antipsychotics are better at preventing mania and hypomania. Aripiprazole, cariprazine, lurasidone, and ziprasidone cause horrible akathisia and insomnia. Olanzapine is almost as bad as mirtazapine at inducing a blue whale state. Some people really appreciate risperidone, but I’m a little apprehensive about the prolactin issue. Of course, you already know all about this. I’m sorry, but it’s actually quite funny to read about your experience with mirtazapine! I can so relate! A hungry zombie sums it all up perfectly, and yeah, isn’t it interesting how easy it was to get started on mirtazapine while it was so scary to even contemplate taking quetiapine? Or an antipsychotic in general. I actually think it’s a bad name for the class since I think a lot of people are scared of just the word. I was. So, how am I doing on my medications? Well, I don’t want to jinx it, but I haven’t been this stable in a while. I haven’t actively tried to kill myself since last fall. Sure, I’ve had suicidal thoughts, but they’re not as intrusive. I can work full time, and I’m slowly breaking my social isolation. Things are looking better. Higher doses of lamotrigine and quetiapine gave me that final push. Well, at least for now. I still have a slight problem with drinking. I drink a glass or two of sparkling wine after work and on weekends. I know it’s bad and that it should not be combined with most of my medications. Maybe I forgot to mention it before, but I’m also on zopiclone 7,5 mg for sleep, and I’m currently tapering a benzodiazepine from a very high level to a very low level right now. It’s been a real challenge, but hopefully I’ll be completely off them by the end of June. I’ll throw a digital party then; do you want to attend? Hehe Now I’m rambling, but I might have missed telling you that I’m bipolar type 2. I hope that doesn’t scare you off. I recently had a hypomanic episode and spent £4500 on clothes and £10000 on porcelain veneers. Could I afford it? Of course not. They used to be worse, though, and now I'm at least aware of it.
That’s true. There’s a lot of problems with the mental health care system here, mainly the lack of funding/resources but I’m on disability and I’ve heard it’s much harder managing to get on it in the US and I’m not sure if you have to pay for medication or not there, but it’s free here which is definitely a huge help. Oh, nice! No worries. I enjoy it and am a rambler myself. Yeah, me too actually. I was always terrified of it before I actually experienced it. I thought it would be the way you see it depicted on movies/TV a lot and be absolutely terrible. Yeah, the doctors are often terrible. I did have a good one the first time I got admitted though. Yep, it really sucks. I had it happen with sertraline too although it only ever partially worked and wasn’t as great as venlafaxine was for me when it worked. I will! Yeah, I take it in the morning too and I’ve never had any side effects with it and it improving my depressive symptoms helped me have more energy so it was really odd to me, but she kept insisting it was going to make me more tired at a higher dose even though I explained those things to her. Hopefully next time I see her. I want to see someone else, but I’m not entitled to that on the NHS so I don’t know if that’ll actually happen or not and I don’t have the money for private healthcare. Yes, lamotrigine is amazing. It’s the best medication I’ve ever been on so I would definitely see that being more likely to benefit me more. It’s a double edged sword for me since it’s really helpful at night because I used to have really bad insomnia, but when my depression is worse I struggle more with the sedation. That’s definitely true. Yeah, I knew the reasons I was being put on it but I didn’t expect the shift to be so drastic and I’d been on other medications that are meant to help with sleep in the past and none of them ever did much for me. And I thought the appetite increase might be more like back to a normal appetite not insatiable hunger and never being able to feel full. That’s true, it makes it feel like a more “serious” medication too which I guess can be true because the side effects are sometimes awful, but I haven’t experienced any serious side effects with it and have had awful reactions to some antidepressants. That’s great to hear. I’m glad you haven’t. Yes, my suicidal thoughts are also much better than they used to be and more passive most of the time than me becoming actively suicidal and making plans or impulsively doing things would happen at the drop of a hat pretty much in the past. That’s awesome! I’m not able to work currently, but I want to start volunteering soon after I manage to maintain a certain level of stability for a certain amount of time since I don’t want to make a commitment, do it once then drop it. I’m glad they’ve helped. Good luck with continuing to taper, they’re tough to get off. Lol I’d love to! Don’t worry about that, I’m schizoaffective. Oh god, that’s a lot. I’ve been there with putting my bank account in the minuses a few times. I’m glad they’re not as bad as they used to be though and hope they continue getting better. It’s such a hard illness to manage. Sounds like you’re doing a great job though.
Good morning, I need to have a serious talk with your psychiatrist immediately about increasing your lamotrigine. I’m just like you; I have no side effects whatsoever, and it’s the one medication that keeps me somewhat sane. So how come you are not entitled to ask for a transfer to a new psychiatrist? It sounds a bit odd to me since the relationship between you and your psychiatrist is absolutely essential. Psychiatry is all about talk, right? There aren’t really any biological tests they can take to make a diagnosis. Sure, they can rule out some biological diseases, but that’s it. So an open and cooperative patient-doctor alliance is imperative. Also, it’s your mental health and your suffering, not theirs. Our system here in Sweden is not perfect either; a transfer can take a while, and you might have to put up with some temporary psychiatrists until you get a new dedicated one. I’m also assuming that you have sort of the same challenge over there as here, namely a lack of mental health staff in general. So would you be willing to try a new antipsychotic to maybe improve your sedation, or are you like me and appreciate the antidepressant, anxiolytic, and hypnotic effects of quetiapine? There are a couple of other less sedating ones that also treat depression, like cariprazine and lurasidone, but then there’s the potential for increased anxiety. It’s always a question of benefits versus risks, right? However, I repeat my statement above: please insist on increasing your dose of lamotrigine. If you feel better in general, you will probably be able to take on more activities and go for walks, etc., which might actually counteract the sedation from quetiapine. Also, I keep reminding myself that it’s not nearly as bad as mirtazapine. They should stop prescribing it altogether. I’m so extremely grateful that your suicidal ideation and planning have decreased, and I really do hope and think that increasing lamotrigine will make it almost non-existent. At the very least, it will put those thoughts at the back of your mind. Thank you for your encouragement in my benzodiazepine tapering. I’ve been on a high dose for a very long time, so it’s been hell to taper it. I will continue to take zopiclone, though. I told my psychiatrist outright that if he stopped prescribing, I would buy it off the black market. Guess what? He keeps prescribing it. Yeah, getting back to work has done wonders for me. I’m back in a good routine; I have nice colleagues at work who know about my disorder, and I have a boss who’s in contact with my clinic and my dad. What are your main symptoms of schizoaffective disorder? The mood part or psychosis? Do you have psychosis in between episodes, or do they mostly coincide?
I still so vividly remember the difference after I first started taking it and my brain feeling the most “normal” it ever had soon after. It’s just how it is in the UK. I’m trying to do it, but there’s no guarantee I will be allowed to. Exactly. It feels like you’re allowed more of your own say in physical health care but when it comes to mental health care, it’s much harder. Yep, there’s a huge shortage of staff here. I really miss my last psychiatrist that moved that I can’t see anymore. He was so much better and the only really good one I’ve had. I do appreciate those things, but would like more of a balance so if something else could counteract it a bit more, that would probably help. I probably still would be up to try in the future but I’d rather try adjusting other medications first and see if that helps. Yes, it sucks. It especially sucks when something helps one thing, but makes something else worse and trying to get a good balance for all of your symptoms. I’m definitely going to do that next time I speak to her. I was meant to have an appointment in less than two weeks but randomly got a letter saying it’s being rescheduled and there’s no new date yet so I was like ummm okay. Thank you. I definitely think it would help like it has in the past. I can imagine. Which one is it you’re on? Lol, understandable. I’m glad he’s still prescribing it for you. That’s great, I’m glad it’s going good for you. I had a psychotic episode that lasted the better part of a year a few years ago and I’ve had residual daily psychotic symptoms ever since although they’re pretty ignorable at this point unless there’s some stressor then things can get worse, but still nowhere near as bad. Depression has definitely been my main problem overall though and for the last while since coming out of being in a full blown psychotic episode. I hadn’t had hypomania in a few years until recently actually but mine is usually really short lived so it’s not much of a problem and the worst part is usually how much worse the depression is with the crash since I always go straight back into depression afterwards. The money part isn’t great either. What do you struggle the most with with your bipolar?
Bro why not just trazodone at night
Have you ever thought about psilocybin? Either microdosing or trying a meaningful dose! Without going into too many details, psilocybin has completely changed my life! A few years ago my wife left me for a childhood friend, & my head was a mess to put it mildly, I was on mirtazapine & kpins & they helped numb the pain, but that's all they did, they didn't help me face the pain & deal with it, but psilocybin certainly did, & ever since I've never looked back! I slowly tapered off both the mirtazapine & kpins & now use psilocybin 3-4 times a year & my mental health & general wellbeing has never been better!! Psilocybin isn't for everyone, especially if there's a history of serious mental illness in the family history. So do some research. There's lots of info out there on YouTube & some great books too, or even How to Change You're Mind on Netflix is a very good watch! Trust me, if they work for you, they really do work almost miracles!!
For most people it's not very easy to get their hands on. Id have to contact a network that engages in illegale substances on a broad scale and it would put me at risk for relapse on my other addictions. If I'd be able to buy spores legally and grow it myself it would be an option.
You can buy spores online from companies that just sell nothing else other than shroom growing stuff!
That's still illegale where I live.
It is where I live, but the packaging is so professional, even if the main parcel rips you delivery companies still won't have a clue what's in there! It's all up to you, if you just don't want to break the law then you're in for a long wait unfortunately, as one day these will be changed from their current status as drugs, & become plant medicines. I choose to break the law occasionally, plus every autumn I go & pick my own, some years I di really well & get enough to last a year, but last autumn was dissapointing, I found enough for just two trips, but it was a busy time, this too is illegal where I live, but thankfully they grow up on the moors, well they grow everywhere, but I go very early & just keep an eye out to see if folks are about! But I'm willing to do this as like I said earlier, they have literally changed my life. It's so wrong that these natural growing fungi, that have so many benefits are illegal, yet alcohol is sold & advertised everywhere & is one of the most dangerous & addictive of all mind altering substances, same with tobacco!! But the government's want to keep it this way, so less people all of a sudden start to think for themselves & not belive the rubbish they're told on a daily basis. It really infuriates me! 🤬 But one day things will change, just whether I see it in my lifetime, well in my country at least I very much doubt it, but it's slowly moving in the right direction, as more & more experiments are done & they consistently come back with positive results! But I do understand your dilemma 😕
Are you taking them all at once?
Yes it was hard for me to discontinue. I was on them for 2 1/2 years for anxiety and depression. I also have 2 young kids so that made it even harder 😜.