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are you having trouble with anger and anxiety as you transition meds

Posted by kmilstein @kmilstein, 5 days ago

I've been rapidly transitioning medications in the past 7 months and experiencing great amounts of side effects including significant anxiety and anger. I only have a few people who understand, but a really good friend just doesn't get what I'm going through. I'd like some support or to hear of similar experiences.

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Mentor
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | 3 days ago

@kmilstein Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I bet there may be several members here, besides myself, who will tell you they transition slowly between mental health medications. Is there a reason you are doing a rapid change? Remember, our bodies need to "unlearn" the old medication and learn the new one and its affects on us! What medications are you speaking about, and why did your doctor point you towards a rapid changeover?
Ginger

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kmilstein | @kmilstein | 3 days ago

@gingerw Hello and thank you! Good to get a response. What is a Volunteer Mentor? Do you welcome new members? I'd like to hear from others, too. I must first say I am not a fan of psychiatry nor the medications, but I have been on them for over 40 years. Yes, I've been hoping to transition slowly, but back in November of last year I needed to get off Clozaril and Topamax that I'd been on since about 1997 and they decided to do it in the hospital. They took me off of it cold turkey in about a week! It was horrible to say the least. I had hallucinogenic nightmares and shut down for which they blamed me! Although I've been in psych units before, this was terrible and I hope I never have to do it again. They put me on what is considered a current antipsychotic Cobenfy, barely tested. Because of coming off the Clozaril/Topamax so quickly I grew somewhat manic and spent a couple thousand dollars, mostly on books. I needed to also be on Olanzapine to quell mania. That caused my blood cells to get too low so I had to be withdrawn from that quickly, which was excruciating. The Cobenfy left me depressed, so my psychiatrist switched me to Vraylar which caused me to overeat as well as me having an eating disorder on top of that. Finally, she switched me to Latuda, but meanwhile I've got a tremor and my tongue is moving in my mouth. I've gone through great anxiety and anger, probably a combination of the medication side effects and opening up emotions. She recently gave me propranolol to help with the anxiety. I do have support, just not people who have "been there," and I'd love that kind of support or other stories besides my own to understand better. Finally, my psychiatrist says that when I hopefully start therapy one of the first things I should do in therapy is learn to accept that I'll be on meds for the rest of my life. While this may be true, I find it defeatist and not in line with my dreams or aspirations. While my psychiatrist has really stuck in there for me and I give her credit, we have different philosophies of how people with mental health challenges should be treated. Meds can I guess be helpful, but right now the side effects have been devastating. My tongue is moving around in my mouth, I have ditties going over and over in my head, my lips are completely dry and I have a noticeable tremor in my hand. The whole thing has been a nightmare, needless to say. Anyone who can relate, I'd love the support and to hear from you!

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2 replies
Profile picture for rashida
rashida | @rashida | 2 days ago
In reply to @kmilstein "@gingerw Hello and thank you! Good to get a response. What is a Volunteer Mentor? Do..." + (show)
Profile picture for kmilstein @kmilstein

@gingerw Hello and thank you! Good to get a response. What is a Volunteer Mentor? Do you welcome new members? I'd like to hear from others, too. I must first say I am not a fan of psychiatry nor the medications, but I have been on them for over 40 years. Yes, I've been hoping to transition slowly, but back in November of last year I needed to get off Clozaril and Topamax that I'd been on since about 1997 and they decided to do it in the hospital. They took me off of it cold turkey in about a week! It was horrible to say the least. I had hallucinogenic nightmares and shut down for which they blamed me! Although I've been in psych units before, this was terrible and I hope I never have to do it again. They put me on what is considered a current antipsychotic Cobenfy, barely tested. Because of coming off the Clozaril/Topamax so quickly I grew somewhat manic and spent a couple thousand dollars, mostly on books. I needed to also be on Olanzapine to quell mania. That caused my blood cells to get too low so I had to be withdrawn from that quickly, which was excruciating. The Cobenfy left me depressed, so my psychiatrist switched me to Vraylar which caused me to overeat as well as me having an eating disorder on top of that. Finally, she switched me to Latuda, but meanwhile I've got a tremor and my tongue is moving in my mouth. I've gone through great anxiety and anger, probably a combination of the medication side effects and opening up emotions. She recently gave me propranolol to help with the anxiety. I do have support, just not people who have "been there," and I'd love that kind of support or other stories besides my own to understand better. Finally, my psychiatrist says that when I hopefully start therapy one of the first things I should do in therapy is learn to accept that I'll be on meds for the rest of my life. While this may be true, I find it defeatist and not in line with my dreams or aspirations. While my psychiatrist has really stuck in there for me and I give her credit, we have different philosophies of how people with mental health challenges should be treated. Meds can I guess be helpful, but right now the side effects have been devastating. My tongue is moving around in my mouth, I have ditties going over and over in my head, my lips are completely dry and I have a noticeable tremor in my hand. The whole thing has been a nightmare, needless to say. Anyone who can relate, I'd love the support and to hear from you!

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@kmilstein I hear you - even though I have not experienced what you have gone through or are still going through! I have always felt medications, although necessary for many conditions (e.g., cancer, heart disease, epilepsy, mental illness etc. with correct diagnosis), can create a vicious cycle once you are on them. You get prescribed a drug, it causes a side effect bad enough to be prescribed something to cope with it, then that creates a side effect which needs something else so you can cope with that … and you end up on this medication spinning wheel which unfortunately you have to be on to prevent a possible disastrous effect! But that’s just my thought on medications and I could be wrong.

I do feel for you though, and hope you will find a doctor who is not inclined to throw prescriptions at you in the hope something will stick. Again, just my opinion as a person with no medical degree.

REPLY
Profile picture for Ginger, Volunteer Mentor
Mentor
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | 22 hours ago
In reply to @kmilstein "@gingerw Hello and thank you! Good to get a response. What is a Volunteer Mentor? Do..." + (show)
Profile picture for kmilstein @kmilstein

@gingerw Hello and thank you! Good to get a response. What is a Volunteer Mentor? Do you welcome new members? I'd like to hear from others, too. I must first say I am not a fan of psychiatry nor the medications, but I have been on them for over 40 years. Yes, I've been hoping to transition slowly, but back in November of last year I needed to get off Clozaril and Topamax that I'd been on since about 1997 and they decided to do it in the hospital. They took me off of it cold turkey in about a week! It was horrible to say the least. I had hallucinogenic nightmares and shut down for which they blamed me! Although I've been in psych units before, this was terrible and I hope I never have to do it again. They put me on what is considered a current antipsychotic Cobenfy, barely tested. Because of coming off the Clozaril/Topamax so quickly I grew somewhat manic and spent a couple thousand dollars, mostly on books. I needed to also be on Olanzapine to quell mania. That caused my blood cells to get too low so I had to be withdrawn from that quickly, which was excruciating. The Cobenfy left me depressed, so my psychiatrist switched me to Vraylar which caused me to overeat as well as me having an eating disorder on top of that. Finally, she switched me to Latuda, but meanwhile I've got a tremor and my tongue is moving in my mouth. I've gone through great anxiety and anger, probably a combination of the medication side effects and opening up emotions. She recently gave me propranolol to help with the anxiety. I do have support, just not people who have "been there," and I'd love that kind of support or other stories besides my own to understand better. Finally, my psychiatrist says that when I hopefully start therapy one of the first things I should do in therapy is learn to accept that I'll be on meds for the rest of my life. While this may be true, I find it defeatist and not in line with my dreams or aspirations. While my psychiatrist has really stuck in there for me and I give her credit, we have different philosophies of how people with mental health challenges should be treated. Meds can I guess be helpful, but right now the side effects have been devastating. My tongue is moving around in my mouth, I have ditties going over and over in my head, my lips are completely dry and I have a noticeable tremor in my hand. The whole thing has been a nightmare, needless to say. Anyone who can relate, I'd love the support and to hear from you!

Jump to this post

@kmilstein There are no doubt several members who have experienced similar circumstances to yourself! I'm sad that you have been yanked around with medications, and your body has not been given enough time to fully process what it needs to.

While it not necessarily a bad thing to "be on meds the rest of your life", getting the best combination for you can be a lengthy trial-and-error period. That can be discouraging, right?

BTW as a volunteer mentor, I was chosen by @colleenyoung, the director for Mayo Clinic Connect, to be a mentor for specific support groups, based on my experience and interactions with members. I remain a member, with my own health concerns.
Ginger

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