I've refused to take any meds for the reasons you mention. Also, I want to feel in control of my situation and taking meds would make me NOT feel this way. Though I realize for others, it's what they chose to do.

My therapist told me that if I don't want to be on meds, I just need to go through my life and see which things make me feel crazy and if I can, try to eliminate them.

So, I stopped smoking and drinking and only hang out with people who don't add drama to my life.

Guess what? I'm about 90% better!

Of course, everyone is different, but that worked for me. Oh, and therapy and doing LOTS of family of origin work. I even went on a week's long retreat to detox myself from toxic relationships.

I guess everyone is different. I need meds to have anything like a normal life. I'm on anti depressants and anti psychotics. Over the years, I've tried reducing them - always land in psych hospital in a freaked out state, completely unable to function and suffering really acute symptoms.
So, i'm very grateful and very happy for my meds. I don't have a sex drive - partly the meds, partly the life I've lived before. Small price to pay.

I have resigned myself to a life with some medication. Aside from the PTSD I have Bipolar and while the PTSD is active I am having some wicked mood swings and nightmares. Without medication I get extremely manic and/or depressed so it's not worth it.
I've never taken any medication that's decreased my sex drive, and I've taken a LOT of them.
Right now I'm having massive sleep issues, so I'm going to have to work on meditation since the meds aren't healthy - I don't want to walk around stoned or comatose, but there is a brain chemistry thing for me with the bipolar, genetically passed down, so here I am.

here's the info I got from rxlist.com -
Paxil (paroxetine hydrochloride) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) used to treat depression, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (premenstrual dysphoric disorder). Paxil is available as a generic drug, and dosing is usually once daily or as directed by your doctor. The most common side effects of Paxil are nervous feelings, drowsiness, dizziness, nasal irritation, insomnia, or mild nausea.

You may not need it forever -it could be 4-6 months and then you're feeling much better. you could try it, give it a few weeks to kick in and see how you do. I took it when I first got diagnosed with PTSD - it was one of the better antidepressants I've taken - it's not a weight gainer - I didn't have any bad side effects.

I see both sides. I participated in a major university trial with meds at high dosage that did me kidney damage, so there's that. But that wasn't the usual meds treatment from a therapist. Without that, I don't think I would have gotten off on the right foot in learning to cope with PTSD and stay high functioning after I was diagnosed in 1995. I think meds did do me some good.

I think the pendulum swings back and forth from the two extremes of and emphasis on talk therapy v. and emphasis on meds. Just speaking from my own experience, a prudent balance of the two is optimal. I wouldn't see one or the other as evil or as the cure-all, either. We each have to figure out with our docs our best blend of the two according to our circumstances and symptoms and our goals of how we want to be functional.

I do feel fortunate to live in these times with more options than people ever had in the past. I still yearn for the day the stigma on mental health issues will finally lift.

I refused for years to take meds.

Then relented.

The anti depressants suck for me. I have tried three different kinds. Really blew my anger out.
To the point I physically picked my nephew up and threw him out of the house because he disrespected Grandma.

My daughter asked me one day, "Why are you so angry dad?"

I screamed at the top of my lungs at cars on the road. to the point my throat hurt.

NO MORE...

Although a low dose ( half of a .25mg pill) of Xanex now and then when I have a panic attack or feel completely overwhelmed it helps.

I am scared to get hooked on it. So it has to be bad for me to take even half a pill.

depends on the individual: consider that the average length of time it takes to find the right medication that is effective used to be 7 years.

also consider that many people stop taking meds after a while and wind up back in hospital. Lack of insight is itself a symptom for many and so our heads are capable of telling us we don't need meds.

only you can know if it's worth it but consider that the right med could improve your quality of life...research shows that meds alone are not the answer. Finding a support group and building a support network can also be a huge part of improving your quality of life.

I started my therapy program before the rise of our current med therapy. For the first decades I used prescription drugs to get me through the broken periods with the goal of standing on my own as soon as possible.

In my own therapy circles, med therapy became the latest greatest around the turn of the millennium. I have not been able to trust it. At present, the smell of medical antiseptic triggers my flight instinct. Have not found my way past it.

Just me. No, I am not the most stable neighbor on the block. It is a daily struggle.

I just go back and forth with it. years ago i tried wellbutrin at the advise of a counselor. i took it for about 4 weeks, didnt feel results and stopped. I took citalopram after having a miscarriage to which i was very angry and becoming violent. It felt SOooooOOOOO strange. i felt like someone was reaching into my brain, and squishing it in the back of my head. i took them for a little over a month, and had to stop as i was pregnant again. so ive never taken anything long term.

im just scared of being on a cocktail. of not being able to stop. of being worse if i stop. i hear so much about people being hospitalized for trying to get off the meds. i also know people who do awesome on them and never want to really be off them.

I JUST WANT SOME STABILITY AND AM AFRAID TO TRY!!!

today, i would take them. today my heart is broken. today my breath is catching in my throat. my heart is racing, my chest is heavy. I am entirely on edge.

I usually smoke pot when i get like this to calm myself down. but i dont have any. all i know is. i cant seem to do this all alone by myself. and i cant think with all these racing thoughts!

meds are highly beneficial for some folks,,, This is a very individualized topic,, I would not even dare give advice but to share my oncologist told me to take my med like a multivitamin I do believe there was a depression component to my cancer when one is depressed makes sense immunity is too,, some of us have chemical imbalance there are side effects to herbs too ,, I would not use herbs without a certified DO so who takes meds those who need them I can tell in one day when I dont take my lexapro it stabilizes my serotonin,, That of course is me and the level of trauma I had as a child if i need a kilon or sleep med I take it prn do not abuse it,,, so I have an amazing therapist took 51 years to get correct diagnosis of c ptsd or did whichever you like but I am glad I never ever knew cuz for a long time I was a very successful functioning teacher I found the greatest cure for trauma as the holocaust survivors and skid rows would say is love ,, good ole love I got unconditional love from my students for years and I made it through cancer I guarantee you on that love took my students to do a musical at the cancer hospital and shortly therafter got diagnosed with the big C i can tell you that i was enamoured with an outpouring of love from the community the resident artist was a friend who wrote a classical guitar piece for me to play for the other pts had I known I had DID might have gone on disability I tried once the disability guy said MS M I wont do that to those kids,, when I did go on it i said to myself everyday ignorance was bliss and disability is disabling now I have found my self doing my music again no matter how s,,,, ty I feel AA taught me to get out of my dirty diaper do the next right thing again giving back raised my serotonin and slimmed my butt from sitting on it all day in self pity ,, I put the cork in it ,, I win, so that is my story I am now writing a book about all these life experiences I am done with the cash cow therapy the best therapy for me is to get off my butt and help others ,, my 3 cents bmw SURVIVOR warrior Amazon woman LOL

PTSD affects the HPa and the limbic system in the brain. I take an antidepressant, which has done wonders for my sense of well being and gabapentin to take down hyper arousal. Gabapentin replaced Xanax, which worked fine but is addictive, whereas Gabapentin is nonaddictive and has been used successfully for PTSD-ers since 2000. Gabapentin smooth everything out...the nightmares are sweet, memory is returning and I have hope for my aging brain not having to suffer from the high percentage of dementia because the hippocampus is shrunken from too much cortisol. SSRIs actually calm the brain enough that the hippocampus can regrow. Very important factor as we age.

When I first went on meds at age 62 I was scared to death and had avoided them all my life, but my doctor said that in 3 months time I would be able to see how anxiety-driven decisions had actually hurt me in the long run. And she was right. Once I got the anxiety down, something I had NEVER been able to do with health foods, etc., I began to see how harmful my decisions were to my body. I had high blood pressure, osteoporosis, acid reflux and IBS--all conditions not helped by chronic stress.

I got on meds for all the diagnoses and felt stablized and contented. My kids have requested I NEVER go off meds, which tells you something right there. OCD and chronic PTSD need chemical adjustments from the brain down. Therapy helps, too. As do mindful meditation, support groups, and healthy reattachment techniques. But this I know for sure: I need medication first and foremost.

May this post be of encouragement.

What'snew, I posted elsewhere in reply to your gabapentin testimonial that at one time it helped me, too, so I'm glad. (Turned out it had bad side effects for DavidRock, though, if I recall correctly).

bmw, I ADORE what you said about the unconditional love of students. In 2010, 2 things happened to me, as you know. 1) My kidneys crashed and I had to go off all meds, and 2) my kidneys crashed and I couldn't work as a chaplain any more.

Going back to teaching out of necessity I wanted for it to be more than just a fall back plan, but a calling just as the chaplaincy had been. Taking your attitude toward it, that has come true this year! I wish I'd been in one of your musicals, bmw. It had to be an awesome experience. Keep writing about that. I'll stay inspired by you not to feel afraid facing PTSD without meds and to appreciate that I'm working with students like you did.

Muji

brother Muj you are a gift and I too believe an amazing teacher you teach us all on here,,, glad to be here in this experience with you ,, you have also had many many challenges yet you keep the faith bro,,,

With your wind underneath my wings, bmw...

I've tried many meds over the years and havent been able to find one that i could tolerate.i'm one of those people who are super sensitive to side effects.I tolerated xanax but grew a tolerance to it,and then needed to stop it...jimbo,one of the anti-depressants made me agressive too.i think it was effexor.I've tried them all i think or at least alot of them.maybe thats why they prescribed abilify this last time.Ive decided not to take it.
Sometimes i wish there was something I could take that would help me just a little bit.there are those days that are incredibly tough to get thru.

My doctor told me I was doing more damage to my body off meds than he could possibly do by giving me meds. I truly believe my own chemistry is too-adrenaline, too acidic based, just too-too. Period. OCD is too much thinking, PTSD is too much fear: from birth on, I have been involved in a too-too-world. Too much for me, to soon, and too long.

Meds take care of my "too-too's" like nothing else has. I'm so glad I had that breakdown, which got me over my too-too fear of the very thing that could help me. I'm in breakthrough mode now and it feels great!

That's my story, which is not necessarily yours. Each has to decide what is too much--whether too much emotional pain or in the varies remedies.