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i Need help

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Puggelicious

Member
I've struggled with bipolar and Asperger's my whole life. I hate being not able to socialize with people the way i want to and my doctor suggests taking antipsychotics. I don't want to take them because they usually make me eat a lot and gain weight which i don't want because i was always fat as a kid and suffer with a lot of trauma. I do have manic episodes and very depressive states that fluctuate often but i really don't want to take the meds because I'm afraid it will affect my intelligence and the way i think. I just wish i could be normal without medication but sadly I'm abnormal without it.
 
Ive never been on that stuff, but its likely in my future. I understand your reluctance. Hope you find a path forward, sounds like a tough place
 
I suggest you discuss your reservations with your doctor. Sometimes one drug is better than another for any particular side effect, such as weight gain or dulling the intellect. Also remember that ultimately it's your choice and your decision.

Good luck.
 
Puggelicious said:
I've struggled with bipolar and Asperger's my whole life. I hate being not able to socialize with people the way i want to and my doctor suggests taking antipsychotics. I don't want to take them because they usually make me eat a lot and gain weight which i don't want because i was always fat as a kid and suffer with a lot of trauma. I do have manic episodes and very depressive states that fluctuate often but i really don't want to take the meds because I'm afraid it will affect my intelligence and the way i think. I just wish i could be normal without medication but sadly I'm abnormal without it.
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I remember being prescribed drugs to deal with my anger issues as a teen, I think they actually did cause me to gain more weight, (I already had issues with gluttony and weight-gain so I can’t say for sure.) and certainly did not help me with my anger issues, instead they caused me bottle-up my anger and develop other unhealthy and immoral habits like passive-aggression, resentment, and so-on.

I wish there was someway I can help you but I can’t think of any advice I can give you. Drugs may help with bipolar, but I seriously doubt that they’ll help you with Aspergers, they might make things worse like they did with me.
 
How can a medication "make" you eat more?

Have you ever been on Lithium? That's what does it for me. But I wouldn't worry about any of this affecting your intelligence. A low dose of an anti-psychotic isn't typically a problem.
 
Welcome! As others have noted, a healthy discussion is always good, and if you have the luxury, perhaps obtain a second opinion from another medical professional?
 
Fino said:
How can a medication "make" you eat more?

Have you ever been on Lithium? That's what does it for me. But I wouldn't worry about any of this affecting your intelligence. A low dose of an anti-psychotic isn't typically a problem.
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It's pretty well accepted that certain psychiatric meds do cause weight gain. They probably do something to the metabolism.
 
I feel for you. When I was younger I was put on Aropax (Paxil) and it made me gain a lot of weight and also made me feel worse. I think you should tell your doctor about your fears since you don’t want the medication to do more harm than good.
 
I'm on Abilify, it really helps me. It does seem to slow my metabolism a bit, thus the weight gain. I'm also in my early 40's so that could be part of it too. One of the side effects of Abilify and Risperdal is weight gain. I'll take gaining weight over thinking that bushes are people stalking my house. Haha.
 
Hi @Puggelicious

Welcome to the Forums

Glad to have you with us. Regarding anti psychotic meds I would take them if they have been prescribed. yes it is accepted that some of these meds have a side effect of weight gain. It not easy I'm sure
 
Do you live in a place where medical marijuana is?
 
OkRad said:
Do you live in a place where medical marijuana is?
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Medical marijuana and bipolar disorder often do not go together well. Since marijuana unless it's a mostly CBD strain is psychoactive. It can cause manic or depressive states more frequently. Not in everyone, but in some.
 
My hat is in the ring for the medical marijuana, for me it targets the nerve endings in my body that require Cannabinoids And NOT serotonin or dopamine. Serotonin and dopamine were tested in me, something only one doctor in my life has ever done. He said that the doctors were poisioning me with the antidepressants and using them for something I did not need.

They were trying to treat pain in me with them, which didn’t make any sense to me in the first place so different situation too. For me personally those were horrible drugs.

I’m not a doctor, and this is just my story you have to do what you have to do but I think they are dangerous. Also is the fact that 100% of the school shooters were on antidepressants (google it, easy to find).

Some ppl think they are great, and others like me think they are terrible. Something your going to have to decide for yourself, just educate yourself on it before you decide.
 
GadAbout said:
It's pretty well accepted that certain psychiatric meds do cause weight gain. They probably do something to the metabolism.
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Some probably do affect your metabolism. Some increase your appetite. Some resolve an issue that was preventing you from thinking much about eating. Since there are so many possibilities, it makes sense why so many medications have weight gain listed as a side-effect.
 
ForestGumpett said:
My hat is in the ring for the medical marijuana, for me it targets the nerve endings in my body that require Cannabinoids And NOT serotonin or dopamine. Serotonin and dopamine were tested in me, something only one doctor in my life has ever done. He said that the doctors were poisioning me with the antidepressants and using them for something I did not need.

They were trying to treat pain in me with them, which didn’t make any sense to me in the first place so different situation too. For me personally those were horrible drugs.

I’m not a doctor, and this is just my story you have to do what you have to do but I think they are dangerous. Also is the fact that 100% of the school shooters were on antidepressants (google it, easy to find).

Some ppl think they are great, and others like me think they are terrible. Something your going to have to decide for yourself, just educate yourself on it before you decide.
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They were treating physical pain with anti-depressants?
 
Fino said:
They were treating physical pain with anti-depressants?
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Yes. It only made me high the first couple of weeks as in too high to feel the pain during those two weeks and much higher than medical marijuana, then my personality changed and I got very hateful, right out mean! As soon as I stopped and changed the meds to a regular pain pill I went back to my giggly silly self.

Luckily we are blessed with a GP that will give us old fashioned opiods since we do not abuse them...AND THEY WORK! I refused morphine back in 2014, these I have now is as strong as I wish to take. Being stoned on your behind is no kind of life. The medical marijuana does help with pain, and it helps big time with sleep - hence the pain goes down. It honestly helps my life be a bit more “normal” since I can wash laundry and cook sometimes, things others take for granted. I still do all my shopping on-line and my husband has to go to the grocery store and most all outings on his own. Takes twice as long if I try to go with him.

Some ppl really cannot take them and they are dangerous to some. There are others that swear by them and think they are wonderful.

Guess I’m a bit of a tin-foil-hat person, seeing that these antidepressants bring in around $600. USD A month per prescription roughly here in the States a lot of people believe they are pushed by doctors that DO GET KICKBACKS HERE (a whole website with doctors names and how much they get can be easily found) and they money trail in a lot of cases go to the politicians via pharmaceutical companies be it in stocks, inside trading or whatever they do to get really rich.

Why give an antidepressant to someone in pain when they do not work for a lot of people? Will they give them for diabetics to see if it helps them too? It’s ridiculous to me, but .... folks gotta decide for themselves.

Sorry for the long answer, figured I’d just put it out there, is what it is. I do not trust most doctors, have gotten bad meds and miss-diagnosed way to many times. Wish it wasn’t this way. They mean well, more should listen to their patients IMHO.
 
ForestGumpett said:
Why give an antidepressant to someone in pain when they do not work for a lot of people
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if !you slow down adrenaline, a lot!of your pain is significantly reduced, anti depressants(older type fastest) can slow it down,that's why mindfulness is extremely important.
 
Streetwise said:
if !you slow down adrenaline, a lot!of your pain is significantly reduced, anti depressants(older type fastest) can slow it down,that's why mindfulness is extremely important.
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NO, NO AND NO! Respectfully, your telling me that I should take something that made me bat poop insane, mean as a snake, and....SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS 100%, YES ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF SHOOTERS/KILLERS WERE ON THESE DRUGS?
^^^ (Somebody prove that wrong! Can’t be done.)
JUST TO REDUCE ADRENALINE??? Friend, sigh...I’d rather eat right and exercise! Does the same thing, and nobody dies or goes to jail and blamed for something DRUGS MADE THEM DO!

Seriously, it really isn’t for everyone - please do some homework on what this is doing to the young people.

Look, just ask yourself, did your doctor TEST your dopamine or serotonin first? Yeah, that is what I thought.


Edited to add: There is absolutely nothing wrong with opiods, when used properly. Why should people, and mostly older people do without medication that is actually for your problem...because the Chinese are selling fentanyl to some kids in West Virginia? UN-beleveable, unless....YOU FOLLOW THE MONEY YOU’LL GET YOUR ANSWER TO WHY ANTIDEPRESSANTS ARE PASSED OUT SO WILLY NILLY!
 
If you have a complex medical case, such as autism plus any co-morbidity, you are a study with sample size = 1. You and your doctor have to figure out a drug combination that works for you. Once you get to some level of acceptable function, you tend to not want to adjust anything further. Along the way, you will have some alarming side effects, but as I said earlier in this thread, sometimes the side effects can be alleviated by choosing another drug.

Commenters, please don't push your pet theory on other forum members, because psychopharmacology is not that exact (especially for complex cases) and insisting on your favorite drug type for another user is annoying as ****.
 
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