medication i want to stop it

[newwie]

Hi,

Wondering if anyone out there is going through pni without medication.
I have tried three different ones now and may have to change to the fourth one as not agreeing with me yet again. I have given it two weeks now and still getting bad nightmares sweats and very bad headaches.
I want to be able to not take the medication and wondered if anyone had any natural products that have helped them out?
Medication doesnt seem to work for me as dont feel any better on it than did without it to be honest and been a while now.
I think if i go without the medication i do fear getting worse as the inbetween periods are slighty worse as i panic about the effects but if i can prepare myself mayve it wont be that bad, (cant be any worse really)
Not making much sence really am i?
I know my cpn and health visitor will not agree with this but its not there life is it.
I just want to go back to the life and times that i used to have before i had georgeanna i do love her i think but its changed me and not for the better.

Would really appreciate your comments on this as not sure what to do?

Many thanks
Sharon

[Caroline]

Hi Sharon,

you asked if anyone out there is going through PNI without meds- I not long ago asked the same question... and was actually relieved when I found out that there are some women doing without and I am not the only one. It's hard for me to say if you should give them one or two more tries- from what I've heard and read so far (mostly in this forum) they do work and speed the recovery enormously once you've found the right ones!
For me personally, I know me being depressed from earlier years that were even more black and dark and desperate than what I have been and still am going through PNI; and even then I didn't want to take anti-d's. But this is just me. I can honestly say that I feel improvements and maybe recovery (don't want to make it shy away once spelled out), so I am not thinking about anti-d's anymore- but if I ever felt so desperate as when at my lowest in my life and this state continued- I would give them one,two,three tries and maybe more.
From what I've read in this forum the meds take around four weeks to kick in- so maybe despite the side effects or the symptoms of PNI (I don't know how you can differentiate them in this case) that still trouble you, you should stay on them at least two more weeks?! As you rightly said: This is your life - not that of your health visitor or CP. So you have the RIGHT to find out and maybe they will start to work. I don't know if that helps you- women who took/take anti-d's can probably say better things on that. I just wanted to state that I feel as if I am recovering and not collapsing into total despair even without taking anti-d's- maybe my PNI is a milder version? I don't know. Maybe I would recover quicker taking ant-d's?
Hope this was still some use for you.

XXXTake care, Caroline

[Veritee]

I never had any medication. I think the PNI took longer to go - but it was right for me and I do not think would not take medication if I was able to go back.

But what is right for one is not for another. Everyone has to do what they need to do to get through this thing, for some that is meds others counselling and many other paths

You have to choose what feels right for you

Veritee

[Alex]

Hi Sharon,

I have stopped taking medication because of the side effects. I have tried 2 different types. The first gave me an eczema-like rash particularly on my back and in my hair and I couldn't cope with the vivid dreams any more. With the second type the rash all but went but the dreams didn't and I didn't seem to be feeling any better - at least the first lot worked! It took a good fortnight to 'come down' off the medication. I felt really out of it and dizzy. Now I can only describe the way I feel as much more raw. The good times I appreciate that much more because I feel that it's really ME feeling good, but the bad times are so so bad. Each time I hit a low I think I can't go on and that I'll go back to my GP again, but then a good day will sneak in and I think I'll just try a bit longer without.

Incidently the rash that I had has come back with a vengeance even though I'm not taking anything. As soon as my stress levels start bubbling up I start scratching like an old bear and the skin on my back and again in my hair is awful. I can only use the most natural of shampoos etc. Anyone else got this problem?

I have heard of a natural anti-depressant called 5-htp which you can get in places like Holland and Barrett. Helps with insomnia and anxiety. Haven't tried it myself as it costs a fortune - anyone else heard of it?

Have you gone down the oil of evening primrose/ vitamin B6/ st johns wort/ agnus castus routes? My mum has tried to get me to take all of these at one point or another but because the results aren't instant I don't seem to be able to stick with it (you might find the same!). But anything's worth a try during the lows... Maybe if you really want to give the alternatives a go before going on to more anti-d's you could do a stint with one or more of these? Obviously get proper advice first!!

Hope some of this helps.

Alex.

PS There is absolutely no reason why you should take any notice of anything I've just said as I can't even sort myself out let alone be of any help to you... I'm sat here scratching my head for England. I may reach bare bone in a minute...