Is it normal to think that no psych meds work?

Several years ago, I was having outbursts and hitting myself. I was grouchy all the time, and blurting out inappropriate things. I was prescribed meds that made me dizzy, and hungry. I gained almost 100 lbs. I didn't know the meds caused the weight gain until I was finally off of them. The pills did not help at all. I couldn't stay calm, and it was very scary. I thought it was normal that the meds didn't work. I figured psych meds didn't work for anyone, and this was normal. I took these awful pills for at least 10 years. I felt obligated. Now I am on different meds that keep me calm, and I've lost most of the weight I gained. The pills were bad,but I took them anyway. Is this normal?

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50% Normal
Based on 10 votes (5 yes)
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Comments ( 8 )
  • charli.m

    I think a lot of people take what their doctors say at face value, which is fine for most things. I also think people should try and inform themselves as to known side effects of the drugs they take. I'm not trying to put this on you, I can totally understand why someone in the position you were in wouldn't necessarily look into it - you weren't in an optimal position to be caring for yourself. Mental health issues do that :(

    I think a lot of people don't realise that medications work differently for different people, and for a lot of things, especially in mental health, there's no one drug that works exactly the same for everyone. Then there's the whole working out the right dosage...

    People need to communicate this to their prescribing doctor...but when you're in a bad headspace, you don't think of that. You think that this is just the lot you're stuck with and you have to suffer through it. This is one of many reasons I don't think it is safe to medicate patients without them also seeing a psychologist.

    I'm glad you finally got to a point where you found something that works better for you. I'm sorry you had to suffer through that for ten years. I can't imagine how awful that was.

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    • Ellenna

      Good response and can I point out it's not only psych drugs which work differently for different people. I can't (well, really, WON'T) take statins any more for high cholesterol because of the hideous negative effects and it's taken 7 years since I had a heart attack to find a non-statin drug that works for me, but only if I take it every second day.

      I'm on far more medication than I like because of a heart condition, arthritis and emphysema and I check the side effects on the internet before I have any new script made up so I know what to watch out for. However, that's obviously more difficult for people in need of psych help because they're more vulnerable and any worthwhile shrink should explain the drug and possible negative effects to them.

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      • charli.m

        I thought I covered that, but doesn't hurt to reiterate.

        I can't take Tramadol. My doctor told me I had an allergy - I don't swell or itch or get any standard allergy symptoms, but that's his words so Idk. In further reading, I've found there are certain people who have a reaction to it where their pain is actually increased by taking it. I guess I'm one of those lucky ones?

        Another point to consider is that the more medication you take, the more chance of negative interactions, because it's not possible to test all the interactions of different drugs people take. They just don't have the data on it.

        Pharmacology does involve an amount of trial and error.

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        • Ellenna

          Regarding drug interactions, pharmacists in Australia check for interactions when new medication is prescribed, so there must be data to refer to.

          The problem with the trial and error is that it's the patients who are sometimes the guinea pigs and it seems to take a long time sometimes for doctors and drug companies to acknowledge the extent and seriousness of negative effects, for example statins (again). Manufacturers used to admit around 2% of patients experience negative effects and now acknowledge it's more like 10%, and some of those negative effects cause permanent nerve and muscle damage, sometimes crippling.

          It took years for the contraceptive pill manufacturers to admit the negative effects women were experiencing on the original high dose pills in the 60's were real and not in our heads.

          I have the constant dilemma of balancing the lifesaving potential of medication with negative side effects ...... getting old can sometimes be very boring!

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          • charli.m

            Yes...but my point is that it is difficult, near impossible, to list the side effects of every single medication with multiple other medications. The more medications, the less data available.

            I don't know how I can say that any clearer, tbh.

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  • charlie.m Thank you!

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    • charli.m

      No worries :)

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  • OlaftheGreat

    My first round of anxiety meds made me worse. Ditto second. Eventually found one that worked, at least until I realized they made me depressed to the point of complete emotional numbness. Still waiting to see what the new ones will do. 😑

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