What natural medication?

I honestly don't think I need my medication anymore, but don't know what to do?

• I'm 22 now and when I was 18 and living at home I was dating a guy who you could say wasn't too nice. Living at home drove me nuts too because my parents were always in my stuff and blaming me for things I didn't do. I was always depressed and my mom took me into a psychiatrist. in the psychiatrists office he didn't even really ask ME anything he mostly talk to my mom about me while I sat there and to avoid a fight I kept quiet. She said she thought I was bi polar and he asked HER a bunch of questions and said I was and put me on meds for it. I dumped the guy and that lifted my depression a lot and I just had to deal with the aggravation of living at home. Anyway the side effects of this medication are horrible. I have a constant headache when I take it, I wake up after 4 hours and can't sleep then about 4-5 hours later I am exhausted and fall back to sleep for about 9 hours. It makes me, I guess you could say emotionally numb. I don't get depressed but I can't get happy either. I'm just kinda there which takes a lot of fun out of things. I have horrible cramps on my period (sorry it is one of the side effects). In college I worked an externship and my full time job which averaged 72-80 hours a week so during that time I had to stop the medication on my own and I felt soo much better. No depression or anything and I actually could feel emotion again. Now heres the problem. My doctor is basically a quack. He will not listen to me but wants me to come in every 3 weeks and I sit in the waiting room at least an hour and a half to two hours. When I get back there he asks if I am working at the same place and how it is then writes a prescription and pushes me out the door telling me to come back in 3 weeks. I want some doctor who will listen to me and understand I really don't think I am bi polar and feel great without the medication and the medication wears me down. Even friends noticed I was happier without it. I called my insurance company and they gave me a list of psyhcatrist in my network and I couldn't find any taking new patients. I ended up calling one almost 50 miles away that was taking new patients. The receptionist asked me all these questions like If i have ever been in trouble with the law, if I want to hurt myself or others, if I do drugs or alchohol and all were no except I told her maybe once a month I will get together with some friends for a drink or two but thats it. The doctor reviewed everything and they called back and said they couldn't take me now so now i am stuck. I am thinking I will just stop the medication all together on my own and just not bother with that quack doctor anymore. The only problem is my family will flip as they think I truly am bi polar and I only think I don't need the meds anymore. If you were me, would you just stop the meds on your own? My personal feelings are I'm an adult, I live on my own and know my feelings better then anyone else so I think if I want to stop taking it thats my business, but I don't want to make a mistake or anything. What should I do? Thank you everyone who took the time to read this I really appreciate it

• Answer:

  Yeah, you shouldn't simply stop your meds. Please tell me exactly what you're taking, and the dosage and frequency (once a day?). We'll go from there, I want to help you! EDIT: OK, lamictal - wonderful stuff for some people, but way overused by some doctors. It is among the newer mood stabilizing medications. It does have less side-effects than some drugs, but as you've seen, it can have some pretty bad ones in some folks. Aripiprazole (Abilify) is probably safer, but it too can have bad side-effects. You can't just stop taking it, however. It can lead to seizures and other problems. You have to taper down off of it. Did your doc tell you about Stephens-Johnson syndrome? If he didn't, then yes, he's probably a quack! You were disgnosed with bipolar disorder, but it could be the wrong diagnosis. You may not be sick at all, many of us go through tough times at that age. I agree, your doctor isn't spending the proper amount of time with you to make a proper diagnosis. You may have depression w/ mania, not the cycling of highs and lows that describe bipolar. A new doctor may cut off the Lamictal all together, or they may prescribe a lower dose along with an SSRI (prozac-type drugs) or SNRI (effexor-type drugs.) The fact is, there are many classes of drugs that might help you, everyone is different. Some doctors make the error of blanket diagnoses. Bipolar is a common, catch-all. They are hurried, or simply money-hungry. The key is to find one that will spend time with you, and try different meds (if you need them) and adjust them as necessary. You might not even need meds, the boyfriend thing can be dealt with using cognitive behavioral therapy or a simple change of your lifestyle/surroundings. The key is to find someone who will listen. I can't diagnose you over YA, and I wouldn't anyway. Find someone who you feel listens and gives you the time you are PAYING FOR!!! They tend to forget that sometimes, since the insurance company pays them the same for the 5 minutes they see you, the same as if they saw you for an hour. See where I'm going with this? Now, how to find them? You may have to pay out of pocket and be reimbursed later. Try the phonebook, and call SAMHSA, the government website that will direct you to someone tailored to your needs. Look outside your HMO. I know many doctors are busy and not accepting new patients. It's up to you to be persistent! It may cost you up front, but your health is priceless. If you want to try tapering off lamictal (it's easy when done correctly), just go to a doc-in-the-box clinic, and they can help you with that. You are legally an adult. No one can stop you. Still, if you do have BP, you need to learn the signs and symptoms of mania/depression. Tell a trusted friend to watch for any symptoms, since BP's tend to not see anything as being wrong with them, even when they are very ill. That way, you have a safeguard against any harm that may come from being off your meds, if you are indeed BP. Lamictal is some nasty stuff, I would at least try living without it, but do it safely and with medical help. Hope that helps, good luck! EDIT: I'll check back tonight or tomorrow, so if you have any questions, just add them up there in the question box. My email doesn't work.