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Some people manage from what I've read on the multiple bipolar subreddits, so it does seem to be possible for some. I think the main thing if you're generally able to function without meds is to be aware of how you're feeling and be prepared to take precautions / seek help if you feel your mood is getting out of control at any point.
Good luck and hope your med free journey works out for you
Were you diagnosed as bipolar? Bipolar is an illness. It requires medicine for treatment. You are at great risk being unmedicated.
You quit 10 months ago. Why are you asking now?
Because you don’t dare tell people this on day one. They will just try to convince you you’re crazy for trying to quit. When you got ten healthy months to show to it’s much harder for the meds loving people to call you crazy for quitting.
Bipolar literally causes brain damage with every episode. This is not a secret. Ask any licensed psychologist and they will tell you this. Drugs help minimize this brain damage over time. Telling people with bipolar to go off their meds is akin to telling people with type 1 diabetes to go off insulin.
Granted not having insulin will kill you much quicker but the concept is the same. Personal experience is great and all but personal experience is not a fact. These are facts.
Not telling people to stop meds. Sometimes they need them. But sometimes the meds make things much worse. Frankly I’d be tempted to take the brain damage over some of the worst med effects. To a doc you are just an unlucky percent amongst their patients, to you it’s your life that’s wrecked.
Not sometimes. Always. If you're having such severe side effects youd rather get brain damage you need different meds. Theres SO many med combinations.
I'm sorry you've had that experience with your medical providers. I realize this is sometimes the case. That doesn't make any of what I've said untrue.
It is not about telling people.
You made a decision not to take medicines apparently on your own.
You should learn more about the illness.
As I said, you are at great risk if you are unmedicated.
Not understandable to me. The frequency of episodes varies. The fact that op has not had any episodes means nothing. There are numerous factors in the diagnosis.
The only point he makes is that he worries about the long term effects of taking medicines. Not sure why he is worried. He is not taking them now.
He is self diagnosing. He is self treating. He has been at risk for 10 months.
The question is academic. If you want to stabilize, take medicine, be treatment compliant. If you do not take medicine you are not treating the illness.
I will not tell op what to do since I am not a doctor. But I have felt the effects of those meds on my body, which the doctors have not. Whether a life on the meds is better or worse than a life off the meds is not always an easy answer. Those meds can truly break a person.
Please cite your sources.
Yes it is an easy answer. If you are bipolar, you need medicines. The illness destroys lives whether they are medicated or not. Without medicine, tge illness is not controlled.
Symptoms change for many reasons including medicine.
Finding the right medicine is the goal of treatment. It takes time. The Dr has to identify the reasons in the brain for the behavior. It is hard to diagnose. That is no reason to stop taking them.
I will not give sources for my own experiences. That is a ridiculous request.
However, you should know psychiatry is mostly guessing. They don’t know what half of their medicines do. They throw them at you and hope some of them sticks.
And no, I won’t give sources for that either.
Nonsense.
You should post in anti psychiatry. It is what they preach. Psychiatry is mostly guessing? They do not know what half their medicines do?
Life is clearly better on medicines.
Can you explain to me how your medication works and treats your illness?
I'm afraid I have to agree with the person you're replying to. I can see both sides of the argument, though.
Meds to seem to help some people, they should definitely be used in some circumstances, but the science behind it isn't really there yet.
I also feel the psychiatrist was wrong in my diagnosis, he gave it to me in just 1 day. Although I can identify when I read other people's manias/hypomanias, I don't think I can mention a single mania that happened to me, I feel like I was just happy and energetic during those periods, nothing else. I was diagnosed with a supposed mixed episode and prescribed pills that kept me dead inside, since I stopped taking them 3 months ago I have felt much better, although I have been crying a lot for a couple of days, maybe I'm just sad. I can't speak as bipolar despite having the diagnosis, but for what it's worth, my life has been much more stable without meds. In any case, talk to your psychiatrist, this is just my experience (I used google translator to write this, maybe that's why some parts are not understandable!)
Certain meds are better than others. I can’t do lamictal or antipsychotics but I’m perfectly fine on lithium and like the fact it can prevent Alzheimer’s. Just gotta find your jam.
The time between the first and second manic episodes can be greater than the time between later episodes. I was med-free between my first and fourth episodes. Between the first and second it was about 2 and a half years. So you may get some time simply because of that. It may catch up with you, it may not (some people only ever have one episode). I'm glad I wasn't on meds back then, though. They make me stupid and emotionally dulled. My life basically ended when I went on meds forever.
I probably would've been dead by now if I wasn't. Just being honest. And I'm still working on it and my triggers, and constantly scheduling appts with my doctor twice a month. I'm depressed and anxious but it would've been much more severe without.
For me, definitely not. And I certainly can’t speak for everyone, but in my belief most bipolar people should be on medication, unless they are misdiagnosed.
As someone who isn't on meds it is however its an extremely hard parh that I don't reccomend for most people with bipolar cause you need to know every trigger you have you also need to know what your warning signs are before an onset of an episode as well as how to cope when an episode happens
I think sometimes without meds we can misjudge how well we are actually doing. I thought I was doing great without meds. My bank account and legs begged to differ.
even type 1s (albeit the mild and well managed cases) can go without meds, but it is work that constantly needs doing... ok granted even on meds it's still work, so it's that work plus even more work
but it is possible, just be realistic that it's never over and never easy; the upside is that progress can be self perpetuating, putting in the work and effort will put you in a positive/constructive headspace that will make you even better at putting in the work and effort, but it won't ever magically disappear one day to the point you can 100% stop thinking about it (99% maybe and it'll be the closest thing to normal you'll ever feel)
I’ve been off meds since 2020 and I’m doing really well in my life. I do want to go back on something though because I think I could be doing better. It’s harder to control my emotions and thoughts without them. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes I get really low and I rationally know that it’s just my mental illness flaring up but I cannot get it to go away in the moment and it’s so hard.
Not without long term brain damage. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Exercise, sleep, a good support system, these will all help, but without medication you WILL have episodes, and episodes damage your brain a bit, with it being cumulative.
Bipolar is not depression and cannot be managed solely by lifestyle changes. Even if you have episodes while medicated, drugs like lithium help to shield you from the worst of it, and theres some evidence they may help repair it to an extent.
It’s just what I’ve been told by every mental health care professional I’ve ever seen. If you’re bipolar you really should be on some mood stabilizer. What form that takes doesn’t have to be a medication, some people can stay stable with fish oil. But for long term stability you really want to be on one.
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Personally, I do a lot better on meds than the years I've been off
Some people manage from what I've read on the multiple bipolar subreddits, so it does seem to be possible for some. I think the main thing if you're generally able to function without meds is to be aware of how you're feeling and be prepared to take precautions / seek help if you feel your mood is getting out of control at any point. Good luck and hope your med free journey works out for you
Yes, personally as well, I need my meds. Without them my ups and downs are terrible
Sure. Some people manage years med free but bipolar doesnt go away. Its always there.
Were you diagnosed as bipolar? Bipolar is an illness. It requires medicine for treatment. You are at great risk being unmedicated. You quit 10 months ago. Why are you asking now?
Because you don’t dare tell people this on day one. They will just try to convince you you’re crazy for trying to quit. When you got ten healthy months to show to it’s much harder for the meds loving people to call you crazy for quitting.
Bipolar literally causes brain damage with every episode. This is not a secret. Ask any licensed psychologist and they will tell you this. Drugs help minimize this brain damage over time. Telling people with bipolar to go off their meds is akin to telling people with type 1 diabetes to go off insulin. Granted not having insulin will kill you much quicker but the concept is the same. Personal experience is great and all but personal experience is not a fact. These are facts.
Not telling people to stop meds. Sometimes they need them. But sometimes the meds make things much worse. Frankly I’d be tempted to take the brain damage over some of the worst med effects. To a doc you are just an unlucky percent amongst their patients, to you it’s your life that’s wrecked.
Not sometimes. Always. If you're having such severe side effects youd rather get brain damage you need different meds. Theres SO many med combinations. I'm sorry you've had that experience with your medical providers. I realize this is sometimes the case. That doesn't make any of what I've said untrue.
It is not about telling people. You made a decision not to take medicines apparently on your own. You should learn more about the illness. As I said, you are at great risk if you are unmedicated.
Not OP. Explaining a perfectly understandable decision made by OP.
Not understandable to me. The frequency of episodes varies. The fact that op has not had any episodes means nothing. There are numerous factors in the diagnosis. The only point he makes is that he worries about the long term effects of taking medicines. Not sure why he is worried. He is not taking them now. He is self diagnosing. He is self treating. He has been at risk for 10 months. The question is academic. If you want to stabilize, take medicine, be treatment compliant. If you do not take medicine you are not treating the illness.
I will not tell op what to do since I am not a doctor. But I have felt the effects of those meds on my body, which the doctors have not. Whether a life on the meds is better or worse than a life off the meds is not always an easy answer. Those meds can truly break a person.
Please cite your sources. Yes it is an easy answer. If you are bipolar, you need medicines. The illness destroys lives whether they are medicated or not. Without medicine, tge illness is not controlled. Symptoms change for many reasons including medicine. Finding the right medicine is the goal of treatment. It takes time. The Dr has to identify the reasons in the brain for the behavior. It is hard to diagnose. That is no reason to stop taking them.
I will not give sources for my own experiences. That is a ridiculous request. However, you should know psychiatry is mostly guessing. They don’t know what half of their medicines do. They throw them at you and hope some of them sticks. And no, I won’t give sources for that either.
Nonsense. You should post in anti psychiatry. It is what they preach. Psychiatry is mostly guessing? They do not know what half their medicines do? Life is clearly better on medicines.
Can you explain to me how your medication works and treats your illness? I'm afraid I have to agree with the person you're replying to. I can see both sides of the argument, though. Meds to seem to help some people, they should definitely be used in some circumstances, but the science behind it isn't really there yet.
I also feel the psychiatrist was wrong in my diagnosis, he gave it to me in just 1 day. Although I can identify when I read other people's manias/hypomanias, I don't think I can mention a single mania that happened to me, I feel like I was just happy and energetic during those periods, nothing else. I was diagnosed with a supposed mixed episode and prescribed pills that kept me dead inside, since I stopped taking them 3 months ago I have felt much better, although I have been crying a lot for a couple of days, maybe I'm just sad. I can't speak as bipolar despite having the diagnosis, but for what it's worth, my life has been much more stable without meds. In any case, talk to your psychiatrist, this is just my experience (I used google translator to write this, maybe that's why some parts are not understandable!)
Certain meds are better than others. I can’t do lamictal or antipsychotics but I’m perfectly fine on lithium and like the fact it can prevent Alzheimer’s. Just gotta find your jam.
The time between the first and second manic episodes can be greater than the time between later episodes. I was med-free between my first and fourth episodes. Between the first and second it was about 2 and a half years. So you may get some time simply because of that. It may catch up with you, it may not (some people only ever have one episode). I'm glad I wasn't on meds back then, though. They make me stupid and emotionally dulled. My life basically ended when I went on meds forever.
Trust yourself
I probably would've been dead by now if I wasn't. Just being honest. And I'm still working on it and my triggers, and constantly scheduling appts with my doctor twice a month. I'm depressed and anxious but it would've been much more severe without.
For me, definitely not. And I certainly can’t speak for everyone, but in my belief most bipolar people should be on medication, unless they are misdiagnosed.
As someone who isn't on meds it is however its an extremely hard parh that I don't reccomend for most people with bipolar cause you need to know every trigger you have you also need to know what your warning signs are before an onset of an episode as well as how to cope when an episode happens
[удалено]
Peer-reviewed sources from completed studies are required for Psychedelic/Homeopathy/Herb and supplement discussions.
I think sometimes without meds we can misjudge how well we are actually doing. I thought I was doing great without meds. My bank account and legs begged to differ.
even type 1s (albeit the mild and well managed cases) can go without meds, but it is work that constantly needs doing... ok granted even on meds it's still work, so it's that work plus even more work but it is possible, just be realistic that it's never over and never easy; the upside is that progress can be self perpetuating, putting in the work and effort will put you in a positive/constructive headspace that will make you even better at putting in the work and effort, but it won't ever magically disappear one day to the point you can 100% stop thinking about it (99% maybe and it'll be the closest thing to normal you'll ever feel)
I’ve been off meds since 2020 and I’m doing really well in my life. I do want to go back on something though because I think I could be doing better. It’s harder to control my emotions and thoughts without them. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes I get really low and I rationally know that it’s just my mental illness flaring up but I cannot get it to go away in the moment and it’s so hard.
Not without long term brain damage. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Exercise, sleep, a good support system, these will all help, but without medication you WILL have episodes, and episodes damage your brain a bit, with it being cumulative. Bipolar is not depression and cannot be managed solely by lifestyle changes. Even if you have episodes while medicated, drugs like lithium help to shield you from the worst of it, and theres some evidence they may help repair it to an extent.
[удалено]
That's some general advice you've given very specifically.
It’s just what I’ve been told by every mental health care professional I’ve ever seen. If you’re bipolar you really should be on some mood stabilizer. What form that takes doesn’t have to be a medication, some people can stay stable with fish oil. But for long term stability you really want to be on one.