Luanne Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Has anyone decided to go off all their medications? I'm on 5 different medications and it seems like the side effects are more trouble than the help the medication is actually giving. I wouldn't do this without talking to the two doctors who are prescribing these medicines. I'm just tired of taking them... tired of going to the doctor every week to manage them ... etc. The only doctor I want to see at this point is the doctor who is going to check my carpel tunnel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 It would depend on what the medications are for. In general, people going off that many meds doesn't usually seem to work out very well. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Honestly, I would never go off meds without direct medical supervision. I have tapered depression meds on my own before, and I think it was stupid to do that, now knowing how it could've messed me up, IDK what you are taking, but I do understand wanting to cut down on meds in order to feel better--but truly, I think it's super important to be under a professional's supervision when doing so. ETA: I see you ARE going to talk to your drs. That's good! I'd be very clear about the way the side effects are affecting you, and make sure they understand it isn't just a preference or a ...IDK< "lazyness" about coming in, it's really more than that. You may hear that you need to suck it up (gosh, I'm blunt today! headcold limiting vocab...) and just deal, but more than likely, they can help find alternatives of some sort. Hope it works out for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I think you owe it to yourself to see the doctors and explain to them that the side effects you are experiencing are not acceptable to you, and to insist that they offer you some alternatives (assuming you still need to be on some kind of medication and that going off of them entirely is not an option.) It is both frustrating and depressing to have to take medications that may be making you feel worse than you feel without them, so I hope your doctors are sympathetic and helpful. :grouphug: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 My BFF is a cancer survivor (as I think you are). Over a couple of years, and with appropriate doctor's supervision, she's med free. She went through acupuncture for pain very successfully, as well as working with nutrition, pt, and other stuff. It was a long, purposeful road but she did it. I think you absolutely can do it (or possibly move away from some), slowly and with supervision. But, if you need them, you need them. Medication isn't weakness. "Suck it up" isn't a good plan for long team health management. Take care of yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I'm in the don't stop without doctors supervision. I did work for a doctor that took one med at a time and sloooowly weened geriatric patients off of them. Often they didn't need them. It makes me wonder if the medical world stops or cuts back meds too fast for the body to readjust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Have you told any of your doctors about the side effects? Doctors are not mind readers and if you don't tell them, they can't help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Have you told any of your doctors about the side effects? Doctors are not mind readers and if you don't tell them, they can't help you. I have and their solution was to put me on more medicine to help taper the side effects .. thus causing all new side effects for the new medication. I'm going in circles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I have and their solution was to put me on more medicine to help taper the side effects .. thus causing all new side effects for the new medication. I'm going in circles. I understand what you mean, because my mom always reacted to medications, and it seemed to take forever to finally get something to work for her that didn't make her feel terrible or get a weird rash or some other supposedly "rare" side effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I am under the impression that this is not the best place on the internet to find support for your issue. Helpful and supportive link #1 Helpful and supportive link #2 Therefore, I shall proceed to don my flame retardant suit since I feel that this more polite than sending unsolicited unpopular opinion private messages to fellow boardies who have enough on their plates already. Best of luck to you, Luanne. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Well, my dh stopped taking his cholesterol meds years ago. They'd been making him feel not right for years and hadn't changed his cholesterol numbers at all. Once he stopped that med he started feeling better. Exercise and cutting out starches helped his numbers more than the meds did. He has no plans to stop taking his thyroid meds, though. His mom struggled with the side effects of her meds after her breast cancer treatment. But I can't remember how that all was resolved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I am under the impression that this is not the best place on the internet to find support for your issue. Helpful and supportive link #1 Helpful and supportive link #2 Therefore, I shall proceed to don my flame retardant suit since I feel that this more polite than sending unsolicited unpopular opinion private messages to fellow boardies who have enough on their plates already. Best of luck to you, Luanne. :confused: She never said they were psychiatric drugs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I have and their solution was to put me on more medicine to help taper the side effects .. thus causing all new side effects for the new medication. I'm going in circles. Look for new doctors. If they don't listen to you, then get ones who will. Also, are you still in your first year off of chemo? That plays with the body the first year. If you are taking any vitamins, over the counters meds, or herbal/natural remedies- make sure all doctors have those listed as well. Some can interfere and cause rare/odd side effects. You will not believe how many people don't tell doctors these meds as they are all natural/otc/ just a vitamin. Didn't a few weeks ago you post about getting a natural alternative for depression. If any of the drugs you are on are for that, please follow the doctor's orders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I am under the impression that this is not the best place on the internet to find support for your issue. Helpful and supportive link #1 Helpful and supportive link #2 Therefore, I shall proceed to don my flame retardant suit since I feel that this more polite than sending unsolicited unpopular opinion private messages to fellow boardies who have enough on their plates already. Best of luck to you, Luanne. I thought Luanne was talking about medications relating to her recent battle with cancer. I don't think she has ever mentioned being on psychiatric drugs. I know you mean well, but I think you jumped to a pretty big conclusion (unless you have details I haven't heard about -- I was off the forums for a while there, so I apologize if I missed something!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Look for new doctors. If they don't listen to you, then get ones who will. Also, are you still in your first year off of chemo? That plays with the body the first year. If you are taking any vitamins, over the counters meds, or herbal/natural remedies- make sure all doctors have those listed as well. Some can interfere and cause rare/odd side effects. You will not believe how many people don't tell doctors these meds as they are all natural/otc/ just a vitamin. Didn't a few weeks ago you post about getting a natural alternative for depression. If any of the drugs you are on are for that, please follow the doctor's orders. The natural alternative for depression was for my almost 27 year old daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Hi Luanne!! :grouphug: Like you, I am currently on 5 meds and not happy with the side effects, which in my case includes a case of burning mouth for the last three years :thumbdown: I get tired of pills and injections and doctor visits and it does really drag you down. Unfortunately, my drugs with the worst side effects are the hardest to wean off. Going cold turkey would (literally) kill me. But my doc worked out a schedule for me to gradually reduce the amount I inject each day. It' feels like it will take FOREVER to even get the level down, but I keep telling myself to be patient. Even if I can't get totally off the drug, my doc and I are hoping that injecting less each day will reduce the side effects. I was pretty nervous talking to it with my doc, but he was sympathetic and understood why I want to try to wean off the drug. I did have to hold firm that I didn't want to try more drugs to fight the side effects. Been there - nothing seems to work right on me. :grouphug: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropymama Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I don't know what medications you're on, and I'm not a medical professional, so grain of salt, ya know? I know that my mom cut all her medications several years ago. She was very, very committed to living a healthy lifestyle, exercising daily, eating very well and taking lots of supplements (vitamins, etc.), going to counseling, on and on. It worked for about five years and then she went back to the meds. For her it was doable, but the lifestyle changes were drastic. Something to think about. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 You may want to check with a functional medicine or holistic doctor. They may be able to suggest natural products to use in place and help with tapering off the present medications. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BooksandBoys Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I have and their solution was to put me on more medicine to help taper the side effects .. thus causing all new side effects for the new medication. I'm going in circles. I did this dance with my allergy and asthma medications. At my worst, I was taking 6 different meds daily and occasionally using my rescue inhaler. After I changed jobs, which significantly reduced my exposure to allergens, I talked to my doctor about testing myself on less medication. She told me that she was not willing to help me wean off of my medications, so I did it myself. I started with the allergy meds, then dropped the daily asthma meds. Funny thing: I went from having weekly asthma attacks while taking 6 medications to having no asthma attacks after quitting (I had a few during the early weeks of weaning off of the allergy medications). It's been 9 years since I stopped my meds and I haven't had an asthma attack. I still keep a rescue inhaler, just in case. I've used it occasionally when I get bronchitis, but it's only preventative. I suspect that I had outgrown my asthma, but that the meds were masking this with their side effects. Now, having said all this, I don't recommend that people wean themselves off of medications without a doctor's assistance. If I had not been a broke grad student, I probably would have looked for a doctor who was willing to help me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I would go off them and add them back in one at a time, but only if they were critical/life saving and I couldn't manage the symptoms any other way. I have an elderly relative (the elderly take longer to rid their bodies of meds) who had to be hospitalized for an entire week because his prescription meds had so many side effects they were interacting so badly that they had changed his personality. I am very suspicious of the need for most meds - many things we take meds for can be better-managed with diet, exercise, and behavioral modifications - and I avoid meds like the plague. See Dotwithaperiod's post about Risperadol for a good explanation as to why I feel that way (because J+J is surely not the only company to operate this way, and Risperadol is surely not the only med marketed this way. In fact, I think it is the norm for pharmaceutical companies). ETA: I would not go off the meds without a doctor's supervision. They will most likely try to continue to push the meds if you tell them you want to go off the meds, so you must be firm in your intent and follow-through by wording it as you *are* going off the meds and would like to do so with medical supervision, and not by saying you would *like* to go off the meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 This has been the result of my friends' and relatives' complaints about side effects, as well. Pushing drugs is easier and cheaper than most other options. I have and their solution was to put me on more medicine to help taper the side effects .. thus causing all new side effects for the new medication. I'm going in circles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I have no clue, but you're in my thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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