Deciding to get off medication...

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texas_state11
texas_state11 Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I'm Kristin and I'm on MFP because I need to lose weight very badly. I weigh 272 (last time I weighed) and I wonder if anyone else may have some problems like mine... I was diagnosed with severe OCD when I was 16, ten years later my OCD has gotten much better but I am on a lot of medication. I'm on Venlaflaxine 150mg, Geodon 80mg, topamax 10 mg, and latuda 40 mg. For one, I have sleep pretty much all the time because I never have any energy (which I believe is because is of all the medication) and I believe the medication has made me gain a lot of my weight. I want to get off and I was wondering if anyone has ever been on any of these medications and what your experience was going off of them?
Thank you
Kristin

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    The only person who can, and should, advise you about coming off medication is your doctor. Please talk to him / her ...maybe s/he can help wean you off the meds or reduce them with no impact on your health
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    The only person who can, and should, advise you about coming off medication is your doctor. Please talk to him / her ...maybe s/he can help wean you off the meds or reduce them with no impact on your health

    Yes, this.

    You should not stop taking your meds on your own without consulting the prescribing doctor. Just tell him/her what you wrote above and ask for help coming off the meds. He/she may have another option for you that would have fewer side effects.
  • Lemongrab13
    Lemongrab13 Posts: 206 Member
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    The only person who can, and should, advise you about coming off medication is your doctor. Please talk to him / her ...maybe s/he can help wean you off the meds or reduce them with no impact on your health

    That.
    And you can always get a second opinion if they don't change over your meds. But no one online can advise you on this, it's not safe.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Your doctor knows you better than we do. Call your doctor to make an appointment to talk about your concerns.
  • LadyRN76
    LadyRN76 Posts: 4,275 Member
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    The only person who can, and should, advise you about coming off medication is your doctor. Please talk to him / her ...maybe s/he can help wean you off the meds or reduce them with no impact on your health

    ^^^absolutely^^^

    Do not go off medications on your own; either by weaning or cold turkey could be very dangerous. Make sure you have a long talk with your physician and make sure he/she understands your concerns fully and what your goals are; good luck!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    definitely talk to your doc first.

    you could be feeling better because of the meds and with something like OCD (unlike blood pressure for instance), you have no easy quantifiable way to know if going off was a good decision or not.

    good luck
  • Jodsmission
    Jodsmission Posts: 130 Member
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    ^^^^^THIS^^^^
    You really need to talk to the doctor before stopping any much less all of these. Going cold turkey off of these is not safe nor would it be healthy for you physically or mentally. You need to come up with a plan with your doctor to slowly reduce what you rae taking if you feel it is draining you.
    I have reason to suspect there is really one culprit amongt the group so he /she may have an alternative option for you.
    On the weight side of things you have lost 8 lbs remind yourself the weight came on slowly and comes off slowly . 8 lbs is great. Keep trying and set daily goals for exercising. If you start walking 20 minutes a day then you start building and this will help with the energy levels.
  • oedipa_maas
    oedipa_maas Posts: 577 Member
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    I can't say this strongly enough: Do not -- DO NOT -- do this on your own. I'm on a zillion pills for psychiatric illnesses, but my doctors work with me to avoid pills that put weight on, pills I don't react well to….there are a lot of meds out there. Have hope. I've been on some of your meds (e.g., Geodon) and they are nothing to mess around with. Please do not take it upon yourself to chuck everything.
  • texas_state11
    texas_state11 Posts: 18 Member
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    Thank you all for your replies I really appreciate it. I plan on talking to my doctor when I see him in a couple of months,
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    Don't wait a couple of months. Call him soon and get a referral to a qualified dietitian to help you create a weight loss plan that works with your medication.

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