ahalo Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I'm on six meds - Vyvanse, Clonazepam, Buspar, Lamictal, Latuda, and Prozac - and people tell me they think I'm over medicated and a shell of myself. I don't know what to think. I have a pretty flat affect most of the time, it's hard for me to think what to say in a normal conversation. I was always worried getting help would change my personality for the worse and it seems that it has. But I have to be med compliant- on outpatient court commital plus I'mmiserable without the meds. Has anyone ever been throygh a similar experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Emperor Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 People don't understand why I'm on just three medications, so I get where you're coming from. They say I'm not like myself. I also had to give up a bit of my personality for the sanity. I don't know how to deal with this, and I wish I could give some advice, but I haven't figured out how to combat it myself. You're not alone though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koali777 Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 YES! I stop feeling love on antipsychotics, start getting flat, tired, unmotivated, lifeless and less funny. Antidepressants make me way too happy. I agree with above poster. Personality for sanity...although I'm a bad person to talk to right now because I'm being a douchebag about my meds and wanting to quit them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 My meds make me a little bit flatter too. But I can still, when I feel stable or well, make jokes and be emotionally expressive. I cannot imagine living the drama of my feelings without medication. i don't don't want to return to that extremity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eden Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Vyvanse, without which you would have no concentration, Clonazepam, without which there would be extreme anxiety, Buspar, I'm going to assume you experience A LOT of anxiety, Lamictal for mania/hypomania, Latuda presumably also for mood, and Prozac for depression. ADHD, anxiety, more anxiety, hypomania and depression.. that's a lot to NOT treat. The only thing I would consider is switching from an AP to an extra mood stabilizer, it would be less likely to blunt you in social encounters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I disagree that meds change our personality. You are still the same person, even if the meds do slow you down a bit. The important thing is knowing how much the meds help us and keep things from spinning out of control. Maybe our friends are disappointed that we aren't the life of the part anymore, but they don't know the full extent of our suffering, what the illness has cost us, and how important it is to walk the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Emperor Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I disagree that meds change our personality. You are still the same person, even if the meds do slow you down a bit. The important thing is knowing how much the meds help us and keep things from spinning out of control. Maybe our friends are disappointed that we aren't the life of the part anymore, but they don't know the full extent of our suffering, what the illness has cost us, and how important it is to walk the line. ^ That is good. I would never say it took my personality away completely, but I have been a little slower, not a quick-witted and funny as i used to be. I forget things easily. It sucks. But it's worth it to be sane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewmurphyj Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 It's funny, everyone seems to say that the medicine takes away their personality, their ability to feel. If anything, I think the medicine has restored my personality. I feel like talking to people and being social again. I also notice that I don't lash out anymore or feel strong agression and instead take a logical, calculated stance on things and really think about how to respond. So maybe it just takes the right medicine to get the right effect. Keep trying, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 That's excellent news matthewmurphyJ. When it works well, it feels like a miracle, doesn't it? ahalo, have you asked your pdoc about having a blunted affect? In my experience with myself and my friends, if on the whole we are better, but we have a blunted affect, it means some minor tweak is needed with our current meds (or exchange for another med from the same class) is needed. I personally have never needed a radical change if I am generally doing well, but am a little flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I'm on three psych meds, and everyone in my life (parents, friends, doctors) thinks that's too much. BUT I've learnt not to care what they think. They only see what's on the outside, and I was very good at hiding my suffering, so they have no idea how bad it is. The Seroquel gave me back the ability to feel like a normal human being. Lofepramine allows me to sleep - something which nothing else has ever done for me. Wellbutrin has done wonders for my anxiety, and in doing that it has had a positive effect on my depression. Other people are welcome to think that I'm a different person, that the meds have changed me - because they have. But I don't think they've changed my personality. And if they've changed my ability to exhibit emotions or whatever, well that's a small price to pay for the chance at having stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluechick Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Other people are not pdocs. Their opninions are worthless, a waste of time, and usually counter-productive. As for the side effects, those can be handled through med tweaks. I had the flat effect for about nine months. I told my pdoc that he had to fix it or I was going off meds. I wasn't really going to go off meds but I wanted him to think I was going to in order for him to take me seriously. It is critical that you be firm with your pdoc and very, very vocal. When I first told my pdoc that I didn't like the flat effect, his reposnse was "that's good. You need to be flat. It's better than being manic." Um, no. I refuse to live like this. Be a strong part of your treatment and never accept no for an answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antigone Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 I've been dealing with flattened affect, too. I never smile anymore (which is horrible, inasmuch as I have children who NEED to see this). I don't laugh. I used to be hilariously funny. I know part of this is a trade-off to the wildly outrageous manic behavior that was so fun for everyone else and so destructive for me. But I need to fix it. My husband thinks I'm always scowling at him and he took a picture to show me. I felt absolutely nothing while he was taking the picture, didn't think I was making any face. The result is a look of disapproval somehow. I can't have that around my children. I have to force myself to smile in appropriate situations. I respond mechanically to snuggle requests from my daughter (that she even has to request it is a crime in itself). I fucking hate mental illness. I don't really tell people how many meds I take. But I reassure people who know about my MI that I am under the care and close eye of a good pdoc and we are always working to make it better. That's as much as they need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 I cannot imagine living the drama of my feelings without medication. i don't don't want to return to that extremity. This is sooo true. I Was just thinking this today. I'd rather be "here" now than in the "world" i was in before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.