Hi Kenny,
You ask good questions. 🙂
I'm no longer medicated. I was for many years and always struggled with remembering it even though I was only ever on 1 med at a time. Other than the pre-packaging which pharmacists offer for a price I have no strategies to offer on managing multiples.
The med before last, which I was on for about 8 or 9 years (too long I think), would "remind" me by having rather unpleasant side-effects if I was late taking my dose. It was quite excruciating to get off too. When I got down to the lowest dose available I had to start opening the capsule each day (day1 - remove 1 granule, day2 - remove 2, day3... , etc) for weeks until I was on less than half a capsule, then stopped altogether. This drug seemed to help when I first went on it but by the end of those years I don't think it did much good at all, even when I was on the highest permitted dosage.
I always struggled with the idea of being on medication and for a long time really fought the whole thing. In the end I recognised that I did need help, and hoped medication would provide some relief. I can't honestly say now whether it helped any more than a placebo would have. I do know that the side effects of the last anti-depressant I was put on were absolutely hideous!
However I have to concur with one of the others who has accepted that there is probably little difference (except in our attitude) between taking medication for say diabetes, or another physical illness, and for a psych condition. My rider would be that if you have something physical which responds to changes in your diet, lifestyle, etc then surely you work (as best you can) at being well so you can take less of it, or even none if possible.
I don't think medication or no medication is bad per se, but I do suspect that it's better for our health if we can minimise tinkering with chemicals internally. This has been very much part of my personal journey - discovering repeatedly and painfully that my body has very low tolerance for any chemical or hormonal "tinkering".
So when people tell me they've been told they'll have to be medicated for the rest of their lives, and they loathe the idea, I suggest that they don't allow anyone else to tell them what's possible or impossible. It's probably not a good idea to ditch meds cold turkey at the drop of a hat, but that doesn't necessarily mean a life sentence. No one knows you like you do, it's your journey, and you can choose to work on wellness as a long-term "project". This will undoubtedly have ups and downs, but as a sufferer of bipolar I can honestly say that it is possible to achieve enough life-balance in the long term to manage without medication.
I guess my medication has become: silence, prayer/meditation, computer games, reading, cooking soup, writing poetry, being at the river. I can even share some of this medication with others, and this is something else I am grateful for. 🙂
Best regards,
Kristin
PS Sorry I do seem to have strayed into the pro/anti discussion a bit, but hopefully with some relevance to your original question.
