Please, Stop Telling Us What Medications We Should or Should Not Take!

Natalie ~ WOW! Great post! I agree w/you on this issue & have dealt with it myself in the past - I still do even when it pertains to mental issues caused by my MS or other illness. It's RIDICULOUS! Like you, I have also written & STRESSED to ppl that we're ALL different. Our chemistry is different from each other - meds, therapy, diet, etc. affect us all uniquely. People create ignorant opinions without being educated or even empathetic on these matters. I'm right by your side on this, Natalie! Thank you.

Natalie,
I agree that people should not be telling other people to NOT take their medications.... however, I think it is important that people be proactive with their own health care and not just blindly accept advice from anyone without doing their own research and experimentation. Too often we just do what we are told by somebody else who may mean well but who may not have the best information at hand.... this may include psychiatrists and other medical people who operate from a limited perspective not necessarily by intention but by training and actual time constraints that limit their continuing education. There are many options out there to help people feel better. Some things including medications work for some people and not for others. Look for what has the potential for the greatest benefit with the least potential for harm or toxicity including adequate sleep, nutrition and exercise as basics.
Thanks for allowing my point of view to be heard.

Great post! Everyone responds differently to medications and psychotherapy. Knowing oneself is probably the hardest especially if you diagnosed at a later age. It's harder to accept because you haven't been this way your whole life and what worked for you before doesn't work now. I have MDD and it's chronic. I advise to fill your toolbox with as much as possible and see what works and doesn't. When something stops working take a look at that toolbox again.

I totally agree! "I had a horrible time with medication X." Or "don't take medication Y because you will gain 60 lbs". Everyone reacts differently to different medications. My sister had a friend that reacted poorly to a common medication. When my doctor put me on the same medication she proceeded to tell my mother how I was going to do A.B.C.. because her friend did. And that mom should 'make' me get off the med. (I was in my 30's for heaven's sake.) But they started a campaign throughout the family to get me off 'those horrible medications'. I learned two things from this... 1. Don't tell anyone anything. 2. My family are morons.

Thanks for sharing your post.
I was detected to have mental illness problem. My symptoms are like these. Delusion [believing television, others are talking about me], I feel anxious in certain situations [i would think lots of negative things, cannot stop thinking].
After I was instruct to have pills. It took a week before the side effect take place. My eyes become smaller, I response slower in verbal communication, response slower in actions, I am scare of flashing faces before me. My face tightened, and cannot give an appropriate facial expression.
So taking pills or not is the rights of patient. However, the patient should talk with the doctor about the side effects. It is acting in both way.

Authors Note: I had to edit this comment as it contained specific drug names and associated companies.
Hi My Good Friend Natalie,
I am sorry that I have to disagree with you on this one. . . I myself have advised patients to examine the literature .....I don't give advice. I let people educate themselves. The truth is out there, to coin a phrase.
Still your friend,
Mark Braun, MS,RPh

Applause. As the assistant of a psychiatrist for 15 years I have said this hundreds of times a year. Again, applause.

Brava!! I NEVER tell people what to take. I don't even share my experience unless they ask and then just say what works for me may or may not work for them but that I am not a professional. I recommend Googling the name of the medication and learn all you can about it - be proactive and involved in your care! I look things up in Medscape all the time; it can be intimidating unless you have a pharmaceutical background but it really helps me. It has a place where you can list all of your medications and it will tell you if any of them interact with the others you're taking. I look all of this up and my doctor and I discuss this as educated people. He listens to me and I guide my own medication dosages with him having the final say-so.
So get educated and don't listen to people trying to tell you what medication(s) to take! Everyone's experience is different!!
Thanks for addressing this and encouraging people to think for themselves. This is a big problem and people need to quit doing this!

My son has had bipolar disorder for 25 years. I get advice all the time on which anti-psychotics he should or snould not take. I believe that HE is his own expert. He knows what works and what doesn't, how he feels, etc. What I want to know is...where do you find a low-fee psychiatrist who will spend a sufficient amount of time with a client to ferret out the correct medication without a "try this and see" approach. Too many shrinks seem too busy. They ask a couple of quick questions and hand out pills in less than five minutes. Then they're off to the next appointment. I walk away wondering if they know anything at all about my son.

Thank you! Robert Whitaker's book Anatomy of an Epidemic is a must read for anyone Take a look at Robert Whitaker's book Anatomy of an Epidemic. In Anatomy of an Epidemic, Whitaker reports on the long-term outcomes literature for schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, and bipolar illness, and also the literature that details outcomes for children treated with psychiatric medications. Whitaker questions the efficacy of psychiatric medications as he reviews the scientific literature for the past 50 years and pieces together a documented account of how psychiatric drugs affect long-term outcomes. Whitaker poses the question: could our drug-based paradigm of care be fueling a mental health epidemic. A startling read!

Totally agree, took me years to get the right combo of meds, its not for me to sabotage your recovery, remission is a blessing, may we all get there soon.